As veterans of the consumer goods industry, we’ve seen that there isn’t a clear division between consumer marketing activities and shopper marketing activities in the vast majority of companies. This line becomes increasingly blurred when a consumer and shopper are the same person—which is why an integrated marketing mix is the best solution. The consumer marketing team should develop the consumer profiles and use their skills to get the consumer excited about the brand, thereby influencing consumption. The shopper marketer, for his part, must understand the consumer but also profile the shopper—regardless of whether the consumer and shopper are the same person. Then, the shopper marketer takes on the job of creating a mix that will encourage the shopper to meet the consumption needs for the brand.
The consumer marketer, for example, knows that he wants to get a 12-ounce bottle of Heineken into the beer lover’s refrigerator. He knows the touch points that will appeal to the consumer. The shopper marketer takes this to the next step: “We want shoppers to buy this beer for these consumers so that they have it in their fridge, ice cold, on the occasion when the consumer wants it.” He then jumps in to determine who the shoppers are for the product.
As a shopper marketer, here is your mantra: “Know thy shopper!” You need to know your shopper so well that you can identify the precise stores that he shops in—and the outlets that know how to help you achieve the outcome you want. Having statistics to prove that contention, you can make the right investment in the right customers. (But that, too, is for another course on Shopper Research.)
When we developed the five-step Total Marketing model, no matter what the scenario—in-store or out-of-store, brand loyalist or newcomer—we always came back to the importance of the consumer and the shopper as the first links in the chain. We realized that shopper marketing could only achieve optimum results if the program was totally integrated with consumer marketing activities. They are separate mindsets—if not separate people—but have equal importance in the path to purchase.
This blog found in Course 12: Consumer vs. Shopper Needs.
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Making increased consumption the center of all activity will go a long way to integrating the two disciplines. The consumer marketers will have to find the new consumption opportunities. Understanding that consumption can only happen if the product is made available, when required, for consumption, will lead down the shopper marketing path….to purchase.