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Many brands overlook shopper marketing, but it’s a very effective and valuable aspect of marketing that can help increase sales and secure repeat customers.
Before developing your brand and attracting customers with shopper marketing campaigns, you should first understand what it is and how it compares to different forms of marketing. Keep reading to learn more about shopper marketing and how to start using this strategy to improve your customer experience.
Shopper Marketing, Defined
Shopper marketing is all about connecting with customers during the shopping process. It affects and improves every part of the shopping experience, making it an excellent way for your brand to drive sales and stick in people’s minds long after they leave the register or enter their payment info online.
Shopper marketing prioritizes your customers’ needs to ensure that their shopping experience is positive and that they will want to return to your store in the future. Whether your focus is on in-store or online shoppers, shopper marketing is critical to spreading your brand’s message and guiding customers down the purchasing path.
Why Is Shopper Marketing Important?
Shopper marketing is essential for any brand but is particularly important to brands trying to maintain a physical store, such as grocery stores. Because many people hold the belief that brick-and-mortar stores are losing relevance, shopper marketing is especially beneficial for companies that sell consumer packaged goods (CPG).
Therefore, if your store focuses on CPG brands, shopper marketing should become one of your top priorities. To begin building your shopper marketing strategy, here are some of the best marketing tactics your business should implement.
Loyalty Programs
Loyalty programs are a great way to make your customers feel special and valued. They give you the chance to connect with the customer on a deeper level, as you can better understand them and their shopping preferences.
There are many different forms of loyalty programs, such as memberships that give you cashback on your purchases or in-store credit cards that offer unique perks.
Virtual Experiences
Given that social media and digital media are incredibly relevant in today’s world, it is no surprise that many shoppers enjoy virtual experiences. The pandemic has led to a shift in shopper marketing where many brands are gaining attention through their online platforms.
For example, if an online clothing brand allows its customers to make personalized avatars that can “try on” clothes, this would be a virtual shopper marketing experience.
Chatbots
Chatbots are a great way to interact with shoppers and draw more attention to your brand. They can make every customer feel individually catered to, and they provide a chance for a more customized and straightforward shopping experience.
Integrating chatbot prompts in multiple locations on your website can be beneficial to ensure that customers are engaged both before and during the main point-of-sale.
Customer Surveys
One of the most tried and true forms of shopper marketing is conducting surveys at the end of the user’s shopping experience. By doing this, you accomplish two things: 1) Letting the customer know that their opinions are valued, and 2) Getting valuable feedback on ways to improve your brand to drive more customers to you.
Displays
Point of purchase (POP) displays are another mainstay of shopper marketing. When you’re developing a shopper marketing plan, using displays will help you to grab your customers’ attention. Try adding unique displays to your store and then analyze your sales to see how different set-ups affect customer interest.
Free Samples
We all love them and can attest to their effectiveness. For grocery stores, giving away free food samples is one of the best ways to market your brand to potential customers.
Online retailers can take a different approach to this. You will often see an online retailer advertising a “try it before you buy it” technique. With this technique, you can send potential customers free samples of the product with the chance to either purchase it or return it after a trial period.
Social Media
As with any form of marketing, social media is a great tactic to improve your shopper marketing experience. Things such as influencer campaigns or promoted advertisements on social media can make a huge difference in your shopper marketing strategy if you are trying to encourage online purchases.
However, social media is not just effective for online purchases–it is also a great tactic to drive in-store sales. Employing a content localization strategy with geo-targeting ads means your potential customers will see relevant brands appear on their social media timelines. Therefore, individuals who live in close proximity to your store will be encouraged to take a visit.
Coupon Programs
Providing your customers with a way of collecting stamps or coupons is yet another smart tactic to drive engagement with your brand. When you offer coupon programs, customers will be more likely to purchase from you, whether to collect more coupons or to get a great deal on their favorite products.
Providing specialized coupons for those enrolled in customer loyalty programs is another way of making sure that they stick with your brand in the long run.
Enjoyable Ambiance
Music, scents, and visuals all contribute to shopper marketing and how enjoyable your customer’s experience with your brand is. Sensory experiences are a huge part of convincing customers to return to your store after they have made their first purchase.
In fact, 84 percent of American shoppers claim that having a good ambiance is one of the most significant deciding factors when choosing to make a purchase in-store and online.
Final Words
In short, the importance of shopper marketing in creating an enjoyable customer experience cannot be emphasized enough. Shopper marketing can have a considerable impact on the success of your brand and can provide you with loyal customers who are sure to come back in the future.
Just getting started with your digital shopper marketing? You don’t have to ideate and execute your campaigns alone. Contact our team at Markerly to start making stronger connections with your customers today.
