shopper marketing

Marketing consultants help agencies grow

Top 10 Benefits of Hiring a Marketing Consultant

Leave a Comment / Shopper Marketing / By Aaron Richman / September 25, 2023

Marketing agencies operate in a dynamic and highly competitive environment where staying ahead of the curve is essential for success. In this landscape, marketing consultants serve as invaluable assets, offering expertise, fresh perspectives, and specialized skills. This blog delves into some of the myriad benefits that marketing consultants bring to agencies, spanning from augmenting the agency’s capabilities to enhancing client satisfaction and growth.

Top 10 Benefits of Hiring a Marketing Consultant

Marketing Consultants Can Help Agencies in 10 Ways

1. Diverse Skill Sets for Holistic Solutions: Marketing consultants often possess a wide range of skills and experiences in various marketing domains. These professionals can complement an agency’s internal team by bringing specialized expertise in areas such as strategic planning, digital media, content marketing, sales promotion, branding and more. The diversification of skills allows agencies to offer holistic and integrated marketing solutions to their clients, ensuring that all facets of a marketing campaign are executed with excellence.

2. Fresh Perspectives Ignite Creativity: Marketing consultants bring a valuable outsider’s perspective that can breathe new life into an agency’s creative processes. They are not constrained by the agency’s historical methods or biases, allowing them to see opportunities that might have been overlooked. Consultants can challenge the status quo, encouraging teams to think outside the box and devise innovative strategies. This fresh perspective fosters creativity and can lead to breakthrough ideas that set the agency apart from competitors.

3. Specialized Knowledge Elevates Expertise: Some marketing consultants specialize in niche industries or specific marketing tactics. Marketing agencies can harness this specialized knowledge to better serve clients in particular sectors or target demographics. This specialized knowledge is particularly valuable when agencies seek to expand their client base into new verticals. It enables them to demonstrate a deep understanding of the client’s industry, instilling trust and confidence.

4. Scalability in Response to Client Demands: Client workloads often fluctuate in marketing agencies, with projects of varying sizes and complexities. Marketing consultants provide agencies with a scalable resource pool. Agencies can engage consultants on a project-by-project basis, ensuring that they can meet client demands without the commitment and overhead of hiring full-time employees.

5. Client Satisfaction and Retention: By integrating the expertise of marketing consultants into their services, agencies can significantly enhance the quality and effectiveness of their client relationships. Consultants can contribute fresh ideas and refined strategies that lead to better results, ultimately boosting client satisfaction. Satisfied clients are more likely to continue their partnerships with agencies, leading to increased client retention rates.

6. Cost Efficiency: Hiring full-time employees with specialized skills can be expensive for agencies, especially when those skills are not needed continuously. Marketing consultants offer a cost-effective alternative. Agencies can access specialized expertise without incurring the overhead expenses associated with permanent staff. This cost efficiency extends beyond salary considerations. It also includes savings related to benefits, training, and equipment allowing agencies to reallocate their budgets more strategically and maximize ROI.

7. Training and Development of Internal Teams: Marketing consultants can play a role in training and developing the agency’s internal team. They can share their knowledge, provide mentorship, and facilitate workshops or training sessions to enhance the skills of in-house staff. This knowledge transfer ensures that agency teams stay updated on the latest marketing trends, technologies, and best practices. It promotes a culture of continuous learning and improvement within the agency, enabling it to remain competitive and adaptive.

8. Adaptability to Market Changes: The marketing landscape is characterized by rapid changes, driven by evolving consumer preferences, technological advancements, and shifting market dynamics. Marketing consultants are often at the forefront of industry developments, and they are skilled at helping agencies adapt to changes and emerging trends swiftly. Whether it’s adopting new digital tools, pivoting strategies in response to market shifts, or capitalizing on emerging opportunities, marketing consultants provide agencies with the knowledge and guidance needed to stay current and competitive.

9. Deliver Faster Results: Marketing consultants possess a wealth of hands-on experience and streamlined decision-making processes allowing them to swiftly identify effective strategies, mitigate common pitfalls, and optimize campaigns, ultimately accelerating results.

10. Flexible Resource Allocation: Marketing consultants offer clients flexibility of being hired on a project basis or to provide on-going support allowing agencies to access specialized expertise when needed, optimizing costs while tailoring the consultant’s role to align with evolving agency goals.

Bottomline, marketing consultants are indispensable assets for marketing agencies seeking to excel in a fiercely competitive and ever-evolving industry. Their diverse skill sets, fresh perspectives, specialized knowledge, and adaptability provide agencies with a multifaceted toolkit to thrive in a dynamic market. Whether agencies require support in specific projects, seek to enhance client satisfaction, or aim to expand their services into niche industries, marketing consultants offer a wealth of benefits that contribute to agency growth and success.

To check out my service offering visit my profile here.

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Shopping Lists help drive sales conversion!

Leave a Comment / Shopper Marketing / By Aaron Richman / August 19, 2023

One of the questions I get asked most often by my CPG clients is “how can we improve our sales conversion rates?” via Ecommerce sites or in-store.

Typically, I advise clients that driving higher conversion rates starts in the pre-shop phase of the shopper journey by driving consideration utilizing shopper digital media with a goal of literally getting their brand on a consumer’s shopping list. Why is this so important? Well, according to a new research study from my friends at AdAdapted from their whitepaper titled “The CPG Pre-Planning Report”, shopping lists are an important part of the path to purchase.

Here are a few top-line insights:

82.1% of shoppers use a shopping list “often” or always.

80.1% of consumers use both pen-and-paper and digital grocery shopping lists.

54.3% of survey respondents use pen-and-paper while 49.6% note using a digital grocery list “often” or “always.”

Individuals across all age demographics utilize both types of lists, but Gen Z and Millennials tend to use digital shopping lists more often.

Consumers have a range of digital options available for managing their grocery lists including basic note-keeping apps (58.8%), digital grocery list apps (41.8%) and retail eCommerce apps (40.4%).

Shopping list apps are increasing in popularity with grocery shoppers

For more insights you can download a copy of AdAdapted’s full report by clicking here.

AdAdapted ads solution helps brands get on shopping lists and into shopping carts

And if you want help getting your brand onto shopping lists and into shopping carts consider AdAdapted’s media advertising solution which focuses on a new advertising genre: shopping list marketing. It is a solution many of my clients have used to drive consideration and sales lift.

A top line overview:

AdAdapted is a mobile only ad platform using patented technology.

AdAdapted’s solution allows brands to reach an exclusive shopper audience by serving ads via digital shopping list apps across North America. In the USA, there are 130 million Americans who have a grocery shopping list app on their mobile device with 46 million active users every week. In Canada, there 6.2 million Canadians who have an app with around 750,000 active weekly users.

The solution also allows brands to also serve ads on any other app on a shopper’s phone using mobile device IDs. For example, if a shopper has a digital shopping list and The Weather Channel on their mobile device, AdAdapted can serve ads to both apps.

Using patented Add-It™ technology allows shoppers to add the featured product to their shopping list app or directly to a retailer shopping cart without leaving the app.

Utilizing first-party data AdAdapted can hyper-target ads, for example, to category users, competitive brand buyersand within proximity of key retail stores.

If you want to know more about AdAdapted’s shopping list ad solution feel free to contact me at aaron@jamzmarketing.com or check out their website by clicking here.

Until next time, thanks for visiting.

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Loyalty Rewards Programs Help Retailers Retain Customers

Leave a Comment / Shopper Marketing / By Aaron Richman / August 2, 2023

Canadian grocery shoppers love loyalty rewards programs! This according to a recent research study from Caddle that shows practically all Canadians use at least one type of loyalty reward program led by the PC Optimum card with 91% penetration. And with the cost of groceries continuing to rise, rewards programs will maintain their popularity with consumers who are seeking out value-based offers in order to stretch their weekly shopping budget.

Sobeys Scene card loyalty rewards program POS in-store.

For grocery retailers, the benefits of loyalty rewards programs are plentiful and include:

* Customer acquisition – According to the Caddle research study, loyalty programs rank second behind price on things Canadians consider when deciding where to shop. Moreover, 51% of shoppers state loyalty programs play a key role in choosing where to shop.

*Customer retention: Loyalty programs are highly beneficial to grocery retailers, bringing them repeat customers, larger basket sizes and higher customer lifetime value. In fact, if a retailer stopped their loyalty rewards program, 74% of shoppers would change their shopping habits by shopping at the store less frequently.

*Zero-party Data: Loyalty programs allow grocery retailers to capture historical purchase data that can be utilized to improve marketing strategy, to develop seamless online and in-store shopping experiences and to personalize messaging and offers to individual shoppers.

Finally, despite high consumer usage and satisfaction, retailers face two key challenges moving forward to ensure their loyalty rewards programs. First, shoppers want more personalized offers with 44% of Canadians stating more relevant offers would motivate them to use their loyalty rewards program. And second, shoppers want the ability to redeem loyalty points in more places than just the retailer stores.

It will be interesting to see how loyalty rewards programs evolve over the next 12-18 months. If you have a comment, please leave one. Until next time, thanks for reading.

Check out the full Caddle report on The Shifting Landscape of Consumer Loyalty by clicking here.

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Retail Media to Reach $85B in Sales By Moving In-Store

Leave a Comment / Shopper Marketing / By Aaron Richman / June 21, 2023

Retail media networks expanding by moving in-store to reach shoppers

With predictions that sales will reach $85 Billion by 2026 (source: Forrester), retail media networks are rapidly assuming a pivotal role in the grocery industry, with an increasing number of food retailers either entering the space or adding to existing digital offerings via E-commerce sites or mobile loyalty apps with a goal of driving pre-shop consideration and online sales.

With the growth of retail media being driven by fast-growing interest by CPGs in reaching shoppers through the channel, retailers are turning their attention to expanding digital advertising solutions in-store. The key reason, as per a recent article by Insider Intelligence is “in-store retail media offers massive audiences that are an average of 70% larger than digital audiences for leading brick-and-mortar retailers”.

Retail media: In-store vs. digital US Monthly reach (Source: eMarketer)

In-Store Retail Media Options Are Exploding

* Kroger is testing smart screens in its cooler section which can display advertisements and promotions.

* Walmart USA announced its testing in-store audio ads something already available in multiple banners in North America through a partnership with companies such as Stingray Advertising.

* Many retailers are adding video screens in aisles, endcaps, and self-checkout lines.

* Tokinomo has partnered with retailers globally to bring its robotic POSM shelf advertising solution to interact with shoppers in-aisle in real time.

* Smart carts, from companies such as Veeve Inc., originally introduced as a checkout solution are evolving into retail media hubs pushing information and offers to shoppers depending on where they are in the store.

In the digitally enabled grocery store, retailers will be able to improve shopper experiences while pushing valuable, personalized product offers to shoppers as they move up and down aisles driving impulse purchases and shopping cart size.

Bottomline – retail media networks are fast becoming an integral part of the digital media mix, especially, as more CPGs are demanding a ROI (eg. sales conversion) for digital advertising spends from their media and shopper marketing agencies. For me there are two things to watch:

1. Will CPGs increase overall digital media spend or start shifting above-the-line advertising budgets to retail media networks?

2. A key challenge for retailers will need to ensure they do not bombard grocery shoppers with too many ads to the point where they start to detract from the shopping experience.

Until next time, thanks for reading.

To learn more about JAMZ Marketing visit the author bio here.

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Omnichannel marketing to older generations

Omnichannel Marketing and Targeting Older Generations in 2023

Leave a Comment / Shopper Marketing / By Aaron Richman / April 27, 2023

FACT: 95% of the consumer package goods (CPG) omnichannel marketing briefs I read have brands wanting to target Gen Z and/or Millennial audiences. But, isn’t it time for CPG brands to start shifting some advertising dollars to reach older Gen X and Baby Boomer audiences?

Consider this. By 2028, the older 60+ age group will account for more than 1/3 of overall growth in grocery spending!

ONE-THIRD!

According to a recent article by Mercatus Technologies, demographic shifts and the expansion of households in the USA are contributing factors.

For example, in the USA, over the next 5 years: No age demographic will expand faster in terms of population than age 60+. Also, household composition is changing with birthrates in decline leading to a significant increase in single person households. Plus, today the majority of wealth in the USA is held by age 55+ today (70% of the $111.04 trillion of U.S. net worth!).

So older/richer and smaller = sales growth in the age 60+ group.

Yet CPGs continue to spend omnichannel marketing budgets to target, for the most part, younger generations.

Why?

Is there a bias against targeting older demographics with advertising (besides life insurance, pharmaceuticals and adult diapers)?

In a recent article written for The Message, advertising consultant @Eric Blais surmised: “ageism can also be reflected in the advertisements themselves, with many campaigns featuring only young and attractive models or actors. This can send a negative message to older individuals, making them feel invisible or irrelevant”.

Is it because the younger audiences offer brands an opportunity to build long term loyalty with a group of consumers whose buying power will increase. Plus, with Ecommerce booming, Gen Z and Millennials are digital natives making them easier to reach through online advertising, social media, and mobile apps.

Both are plausible explanations.

If you have an opinion, I would love to hear it.

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Older marketing agency workers can help train future leaders

Ageism Running Rampant in Marketing Agencies

Leave a Comment / Shopper Marketing / By Aaron Richman / April 8, 2023

As reported in a Globe & Mail newspaper story in the Institute of Canadian Agencies (ICA) Talent Census Report showed only 11% of the marketing agency workforce was older than age 51! Crazy when you compare the broader labour market in Canada where persons age 51+ account for 35.42% of the workforce. In fact, 70% of the agency workforce is under age 40!

Now that I am of a certain vintage, I have started to explore this topic. Admittedly, I am one of the lucky ones whose clients appreciate the knowledge and experienceI bring to them every day. However, all too frequently of late I am hearing from industry friends, who I consider in the prime of their careers, being phased out of roles for a variety of reasons all disguised as one thing – ageism!

So why are there so few elder states-people in the industry? The two most common theories are first, are older workers are less creative and, second, older workers more expensive. Well let me be the “old guy” to dispel these myths.

CREATIVITY: The perception older workers are less creative than younger counterparts tend to be based on the belief younger people are more in touch with current trends and pop culture, making them better suited for marketing work. However, I will argue older workers are just as creative as younger ones as they often bring diverse perspectives and life experiences to the table, which can be invaluable in creating effective campaigns.

EXPENSE: The perception older workers are more expensive than younger ones is based on the belief that we have more experience and, thus, are more likely to demand higher salaries. While we may command higher salaries, the reality is older workers are more cost-effective than younger workers as we are more productive, less likely to require extensive training and more likely to stay in jobs longer, reducing the costs associated with employee turnover.

The consequences of ageism in marketing agencies in Canada are significant. For example, discrimination against older employees can lead to a loss of experienced and skilled professionals, perpetuate negative stereotypes about aging, and negatively impact the mental and physical health of older employees. To combat ageism, marketing agencies must create a culture of inclusion and diversity, value the perspectives and experiences of older employees, and provide opportunities for growth and development for employees of all ages. By doing so, agencies can create a more diverse and innovative workforce, better serve their clients, and ultimately succeed in a competitive marketplace.

If you are age 50+ and working for a marketing agency I would love to hear your thoughts on the subject of ageism.

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2023 Omnichannel Marketing Trends

Leave a Comment / Shopper Marketing / By Aaron Richman / February 24, 2023

Top 5 omnichannel marketing trends for 2023

Omnichannel marketing is evolving so here are my predictions on what the top 5 trends for 2023 will be within CPG that will dominate the grocery landscape.

1. Brands will increase focus on online grocery shopping

While in-store will remain the #1 channel for grocery shopping, many brands are starting to invest more dollars to build an online ecosystem to ensure they reach shoppers to drive pre-shop consideration and online sales conversion.

2. CPGs will expand emphasis on personalization to improve conversion rates

A recent research study from McKinsey & Company shows 71% of consumers expect personalization and 76% will switch brands if they don’t like their shopping experience. As a result, many brands are using customer data and insights to create targeted and personalized experiences and offers direct to consumer or in partnership with key grocery retailers.

3. Retailer Media Networks will continue to grow in popularity

In my recent blog “Omnichannel Marketing & the Growth of Retail Media Networks”, I wrote about how retailer media networks are gaining in popularity. How popular? According to a trends report from the Path to Purchase Institute (P2PI) a survey of 166 marketing executives, shows retailer media networks as the number one most important omnichannel tactic in 2022. This trend is only going top continue this year.

4. Shoppers will increasingly demand brands be more sustainable.

Sustainability is becoming a key factor in consumer purchasing decisions. Brands that demonstrate a commitment to sustainability are more likely to attract and retain loyal customers. This will include promoting sustainable production practices, reducing packaging waste, and offering eco-friendly products.

5. High grocery prices will continue driving more shoppers to buy private label products.

As Brian Ettkin at Numerator Canada stated in an article in Canadian Grocer Magazine in October 2022: “Canadian shoppers have become more reliant on private label in today’s high inflation environment and there is no sign that sales will slow”. I agree. Especially given that grocery prices will continue to rise in 2023 and the consumer perception of the quality of private label products is improving all the time.

What are your top 5 shopper marketing trends for 2023? I want to hear from other omnichannel marketers what is on your trends list.

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Omnichannel Marketing & the Growth of Retail Media Networks

Leave a Comment / Shopper Marketing / By Aaron Richman / February 18, 2023

Retailer media networks are gaining in popularity according to a trends report from the Path to Purchase Institute (P2PI) in the USA. The survey, which includes insights from 166 marketing executives, shows retailer media networks was the number one most important omnichannel tactic in 2022.

In fact, the P2PI survey shows that investment in retailer media networks increased by 58% last year, more than any other omnichannel tactic.

Omnichannel Tactics Investment — #1 increase in omnichannel tactics spend is retailer media (Source: P2PI)

What are Retailer Media Networks?

Retailer media networks are digital platforms that allow retailers to sell advertising space to brands on their e-commerce websites and mobile apps, as well as on other digital channels such as social media and email marketing.

The growth of retailer media networks can be attributed to several things. First, the acceleration of E-commerce sales has led to more retailers investing in their online presence and looking for ways to monetize it. Second, it provides retailers with a new revenue stream by selling advertising space to brands. Finally, it allows brands to reach consumers in a more targeted and relevant way by leveraging retailers’ first-party data to deliver personalized ads to consumers who are most likely to be interested in their products. This can lead to higher conversion rates and a better return on investment for brands.

Retailer Media Networks Important Omnichannel Tactics in Canada Too

In Canada, the increasing popularity of retailer media networks mirrors that of the USA.

How popular?

Last week, I contacted Atedra, the media sales partner in Quebec for IGA, to inquire about a digital media plan for a CPG client. Last year, demand was increasing steadily, but typically marketers could plan a campaign 2-3 months out. Leap forward to today and demand is increasing so significantly brands need to start planning 9 months out.

While retailer media networks are gaining in popularity, here are two things to consider.

First, while marketing budget allocation is increasing, major media are still garnering the biggest slice of the advertising dollar pie.

Second, many large CPG clients I deal with find the cost of entry for retail media quite high. As a result, many are investing in retailer agnostic shopper media through vendors such as Flipp, ShopliftR, AdAdapted and Neptune Retail Solutions who can all target hyper-locally to reach category shoppers to drive purchase consideration and sales conversion.

I am curious what other marketers think about the growth in retailer media networks. Leave a message and share your thoughts. Plus. do not forget to check out the Path to Purchase Institute’s survey results on omnichannel marketing tactics here: https://tinyurl.com/rps4h7jm.

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Omnichannel Marketer: Secrets to My Success

Leave a Comment / Shopper Marketing / By Aaron Richman / January 23, 2023

At 91.5, Eugene shared his sales and marketing experience with me

Young Marketers Should Seek Advice from Experienced Omnichannel Pros

People often ask me to share the secrets of my success over the 20 years of running JAMZ Marketing.

Lesson 1:

No matter what your age you can always be learning from someone with more experience than you. I was reminded of this fact last week when I met Eugene poolside in Florida. Eugene is 91.5 years old and retired for over 20 years. I engaged Eugene in conversation and I am sure glad I did. Eugene is the former owner of the one the largest RC Cola bottling and distribution companies in the USA northeast. The stories of his life in CPG he shared to overcome business challenges were golden. Here are few examples:

1. In the 1960’s, when he needed to increase sales he looked outside of traditional grocery and C-store channels and instead partnered with the fastest growing department store in Upstate New York — revolutionary at the time.

2. He introduced the first glass bottle return program with his new retail partner to help drive store traffic and loyalty.

3. In the mid-1970’s, when most companies were still doing accounting by hand, he bought one of the first Tandy TRS 80 computers and designed his own accounting software with no experience.

Key lessons learned from Eugene:

– Work hard.
– Take a creative approach to problem solving.
– Customer service is everything.

My lesson for younger agency personnel: don’t look past older people inside or outside of your company. Instead engage them. Ask questions. You just might learn a thing or two.

If you have any questions or just want to connect to share experiences feel free to connect or DM me.

#marketing #anniversary #business #experience #shoppermarketing #omnichannel #success

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Grocery shoppers looking for value, not price sensitive: Weston

Leave a Comment / Shopper Marketing / By Aaron Richman / May 10, 2022

Headline after headline and research study after research study suggest grocery shoppers across North America are being hard hit by skyrocketing CPG prices and are shifting their shopping behaviour to stretch their grocery budgets.

Case in point, a few headlines from my weekend reading:

“Majority of Canadians will change food buying habits amid rising prices”

“Foot traffic slows at grocery stores as inflation takes hold”

“Consumers likely to trade down to chicken as beef prices soar”

Galen Weston: Shifts in price sensitivity not that dramatic

In contrast, I read an article via Canadian Grocer Magazine titled “Consumers Still Spending Despite Food Inflation” in which Loblaw chairman and president Galen G. Weston is quoted saying “customers are definitely seeking value, but the shift isn’t as dramatic as one might expect”.

Further, Mr. Weston suggests the company is seeing “a slight swing towards price sensitivity as opposed to a dramatic left turn…an indication of the consumer having more money in their wallets still, than they would have had pre-COVID levels,”

As a frequent grocery shopper, I have more than a “slight swing” towards price sensitivity. Rather, I am continually shocked at how high prices are getting in every category of product wondering how the vast majority of Canadians can afford to eat.

As an omnichannel marketing consultant I am wondering if Mr. Weston is either out of touch with the challenges average food shoppers are facing today (I like to think not) or just playing to his shareholders. After all, his quotes are coming on the day Loblaw’s announced its first-quarter results.

grocery shoppers surprised at grocery prices — Rising grocery prices leaving shoppers surprised

Grocery Shopping Behaviour is Shifting

But just in case Mr. Weston needs a reminder, here is some data from a research study in January from Dalhousie University Agri-Food Analytics Lab in partnership with Caddle, in field long before inflation hit 6.7%, the Russia-Ukraine war which has put additional stress on global supply chains and “shrinkflation” became a thing:

63% per cent of respondents said they intended to change their food buying habits in 2022.

51.7% per cent of Canadians saying they intend to avoid restaurants in 2022.

45.5% said they plan to consult flyers more often before shopping for food in order to find savings offers

30.3% said they will buy in bulk more in 2022

26.8% per cent said they will buy discounted food about to expire.

How are higher grocery prices impacting your household?