shopper marketing - JAMZ Marketing

Shopper Marketing Consultant: 5 Secrets of My Success

Leave a Comment / Shopper Marketing / By Aaron Richman / April 17, 2022

Five Key Attributes of a Shopper Marketing Consultant

Recently, several connections looking to make a career pivot asked me to share the secrets of my success as a Marketing Consultant. For me it comes down to 5 key things:

Experience: I have expertise and a track record of success in developing B2B and B2C marketing strategies for a multitude of product categories (eg. CPG, technology) for some of the world’s largest brands. Plus, I have adapted, consciously becoming proficient in pre-shop shopper media and Ecommerce over the last 6 years as digital became a key component to reaching shoppers along the path-to-purchase.

Analytics: I believe analyzing data to gain insights is the foundation of any strategy. I tend to use a mix of first-party and third-party data from around the globe which provides a unique perspective on shopper behaviour while helping build robust marketing plans.

Creativity: I like to bring a fresh perspective to solving marketing challenges, so I ensure I am knowledgeable about all the latest trends and solutions in the omnichannel space. To achieve this I subscribe to dozens of E-newsletters, connect regularly with other marketing consultants and build relationships with key vendors and partners who help keep me “in the know”.

“You Before Me” Attitude: I am a partner who always puts my client’s needs first knowing if they are successful everybody will benefit. I accomplish this by always being available, adding value on a frequent basis and complementing internal resources with my knowledge base.

Passion & Enthusiasm: I love what I do, and nothing makes me happier than helping my clients drive product consideration and sales conversion.

Are you looking at becoming a Marketing Consultant?

Let’s talk. I am happy to share my experiences.

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Higher food prices are driving consumers to actively look for price promotions or discounted products.

Escalating Food Prices Shifting Grocery Shopping Behaviour

Leave a Comment / Shopper Marketing / By Aaron Richman / March 29, 2022

Escalating Food Prices Shifting Grocery Shopping Behaviour

Every day this week I am seeing new Canadian data about the impact of higher grocery prices on shoppers. And the news is not good! The latest data comes from Numerator via an article in Canadian Grocer Magazine specific to the fresh produce category.

Some facts:

78% of Ontarians noticed prices are going up for fresh vegetables and 75% noticed this for fresh fruits.
55% of Ontario shoppers find the price hikes to be “moderately to extremely concerning”

The Results:

46% of consumers say they’re buying more fresh fruits and vegetables only when they’re on sale
32% are cutting back on fresh fruits and vegetable purchases
Shoppers are starting to buy frozen and canned fruits and vegetables more frequently.

Different day, different category or product...

My take:

Different day, different category of product, but same key insight – grocery shoppers are actively looking for price promotions or discounted products to save money (70.2% according to a recent @Caddle survey).
Where are shoppers turning to find savings? Coupons via companies such as Checkout 51, Websaver.ca and Save.ca and digital flyers through apps such as Reebee and Flipp.

In fact, a recent survey from Dalhousie University and Caddle suggests using coupons is the most popular cost-saving strategy consumers intend to follow at the grocery store in 2022. A total of 52.8% of Canadians intend to use coupons more often. Plus,45.5% said they plan to check flyers more often before buying food.

How are higher grocery prices impacting your brand or household?

Aaron’s Top 5 CPG Shopper Marketing Trends for 2022

Leave a Comment / Shopper Marketing / By Aaron Richman / January 7, 2022

2021 was an exciting year in shopper marketing highlighted by the rapid expansion of E-Commerce, advancements in technology and the re-definition of how shoppers shop the CPG category.

With 2022 upon us, I want to highlight 5 key trends to look for in the CPG world, in Canada, this year:

The emergence of social commerce partnering brands with social influencers to generate sales direct-to-consumer.

Brands allocating more advertising dollars in grocery media retail networks utilizing retailer owned data to target offers to shoppers.

Increasing investment in technology (eg. AI) to collect first-party data and use to personalize offers to brand buyers.

Increase support of E-commerce sales especially with the introduction of a 15-minute home delivery service channel.

A rise in use of price promotions and digital coupons to drive conversion while helping Canadian grocery shoppers to save money in the face of massive increases in food costs.

What trends do you see coming to the forefront in 2022?

Shopper Marketing Minute: Back-to-School Displays

Leave a Comment / Shopper Marketing / By Aaron Richman / September 25, 2021

Yellow school buses are quintessentially connected to back-to-school, but is it time for brands to look at different iconography?

Watch the Shopper Marketing Minute to find out.

Love to hear your thoughts so leave a comment.

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SHOPPER MARKETING MINUTE: QR CODES ARE MAKING A COMEBACK

Leave a Comment / Shopper Marketing, Technology / By Aaron Richman / June 23, 2021

QR codes are making a big comeback.

How big?

A recent survey in the US by MobileIron, shows 72% of people scanned a QR code in the past month.

Nowhere is the use of QR codes more noticeable than at your local grocery store where brands are looking to enhance a shopper’s experience.

So I went on a virtual store check with Shelfgram.com to see how some CPGs are using QR codes, After reviewing pictures from stores across Canada, I have observed the top 3 ways brand are QR codes are

Share Recipes
Share product information
Share details on a promotional offers

Are you using QR codes in your marketing campaigns? Are they working?

Leave me a comment and let me know.

Until next time, thanks for visiting.

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Grocery shopping behaviours are changing during covid

SHOPPER MARKETING MINUTE: POST-COVID GROCERY SHOPPING BEHAVIOUR

Leave a Comment / Shopper Marketing / By Aaron Richman / May 31, 2021

Welcome to the Shopper Marketing Minute. As Canada slowly starts to open up post-pandemic, Marketers are wondering which grocery shopping behaviors will go back to pre-Covid norms and which new ones will stick.

A recent research study of 10,000 Canadians by Dalhousie University and Caddle provides our first insights into expected shopping behaviour over the next 6 months.

The top 3 key takeaways for me:

1.Online grocery shopping will remain popular with over 22% of Canadians stating it will be the method they use the most to buy groceries.

2. Promotions and deals will continue to be a heavy influencer of purchase decisions for over 70% of Canadians as our economy slowly starts to rebuild.

3. Loyalty programs are likely to influence what grocery store 73.3% of shoppers make purchases at. This is significant considering 25% of Canadians changed stores during the pandemic.

Do you have any predictions?

COVID HAS IMPROVED THE CAR BUYING EXPERIENCE!

Leave a Comment / Shopper Marketing / By Aaron Richman / February 15, 2021

For me, the car buying experience is an unpleasant one. Overbearing sales reps and managers using their sales 101/Herb Tarlick playbook to get me to sign a deal despite protestations of “I am not buying a car today”. However, COVID has changed everything forcing local dealerships to change their sales approach making the shopping experience less pressurized. Here is how:

*Online Tools: car companies have made it easy to research vehicles with increased use of virtual showrooms, video, and other shopping tools.

*Live Sales Video Chats: plug in my postal code and within minutes I am speaking to a sales rep at my local dealer from the comfort of my own home.

*At-Home Test Drives: some dealers are making it easy by bringing the vehicle to my home to test drive

*Appointment Only Dealer Meetings: Want to feel safe? Go to a car dealership. Very few people, safety protocols in place and cars ready to test drive before you arrive leading to appointments times of 45 minutes or less.

*Dealer Incentives: Automotive sales are down and prices are rising in Canada, so dealers are getting aggressive with incentives to motivate you to buy.

Hopefully, car dealerships take the learning from COVID to make the car buying experience even better in the future.

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Shopper Marketing Minute – Product Innovation and COVID

Leave a Comment / Shopper Marketing / By Aaron Richman / June 19, 2020

In this episode of Shopper Marketing Minute, I discuss whether or not the timing is right for CPGs to be introducing new product innovations into the marketplace during COVID19. For full transcript see below:

I’m interested in this topic because recently, I have read two articles with differing points-of-view. The first article indicates many CPGs are cutting back on product innovation, choosing instead to focus on streamlining the number of products they manufacture to increase the speed to market of core brands to meet the demands of shoppers. The other article was based on a survey that shows two-thirds of CPGs are actively working on product innovation today and they plan on bringing them to market as soon as possible.

My opinion — it is important for CPGs to deliver new products shoppers want based on changing food trends and to develop new revenue streams. However, the two biggest unanswered questions for CPGs are:

When will retailers be open to bringing new products into their stores?

Will shoppers be open to trying new products vs. trusted, comforting brands?

Have an opinion please leave a comment.

Thanks for watching.

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Shopper Marketing Minute – Impact of COVID on Brand Loyalty

Leave a Comment / Shopper Marketing / By Aaron Richman / June 6, 2020

In this episode of Shopper Marketing Minute, I discuss how COVID19 inadvertently is causing the largest product trial program of all time and its impact on brand loyalty. Read the full transcript below:

There is no doubt panic buying in the early stages of COVID, caused serious product availability issues driving shoppers to buy and try new or competitive products for the first time. As the market calms, what should worry CPGs is 58% of shoppers intend to continue buying a brand they tried for the first time during the pandemic putting brand loyalty in flux.

So – what should leading national CPGs do about it?

Well – I recommend a very simple approach – SPEND!

Spend along the entire path-to-purchase — pre-shop, in-store and post-shop.

Spend on a mix of shopper tactics including shopper influencer programs, in-store media, price promotions, contests and loyalty programs.

And most importantly – spend to re-establish your dominance in the shopper’s consideration set and drive conversion.

Net, net — if you spend loyal customers will come back.

If you have an opinion on this topic, please leave a comment.

Until next time…thanks for watching.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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Shopper Marketing Minute – Shopper Value

Leave a Comment / Shopper Marketing / By Aaron Richman / June 1, 2020

In this episode of Shopper Marketing Minute, I discuss how CPGs can win with shoppers by offering both monetary and non-monetary value adds. Read the full transcript below:

Today I want to talk about VALUE FOR SHOPPERS because as food prices rise and financial pressure on families intensifies, shoppers are looking for value when they go food shopping. In fact, a recent survey shows 88% of shoppers are “actively seeking” a sale price or special offer in-store and 79% online.

So as a CPG company, should a price promotion or digital coupon be part of the shopper marketing mix?

Absolutely.

But, I also recommend CPG’s surprise and delight shoppers by offering them non-monetary VALUE ADDS such as:

1. Provide easy meal solution ideas
2. Offer bonus points through a retailer loyalty program
3. Or giving them access to their social community to share their stories.

Net, net — value does not always have to equate to a price drop to win with shoppers.

If you have an opinion on this topic, please leave a comment.

Until next time…thanks for watching.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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