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Is shopper marketing relevant to B2B?
Shopper marketing is not a brand new concept. However, it certainly is causing a revolution in the way we think – moving away from traditional tactical marketing such as sales promotion, seasonal POS and in-store offers to a more strategic approach.
One of the first rules of shopper marketing is that we should not only think about the consumer of a product and brand, but also the shopper; consumers use but shoppers buy. It’s not rocket science!
The perfect example would be mum shopping for cereal that the kids eat, or a woman buying her boyfriend’s razor blades during the weekly shop. That’s why 77% of CPG companies and brands have a dedicated shopper marketing function.
The question is, in the B2B retail world, how relevant is shopper marketing?
So far it sounds like a B2C strategy.
I really think there’s a place for shopper marketing within B2B businesses that provide services to a retail environment. Simply understanding how the shopper is evolving alongside retailers could help to secure more custom.
Having a comprehensive understanding of who the shopper is and the journey/barriers they face is fundamental to help aid an end sale for a retailer (whether on or offline). The experience shoppers have will lead to them coming back time and time again.
Improving this experience could mean something as simple as changing the signage in-store; it could mean investing in new technology such as iBeacons delivering targeted messages, digital screens, mobile coupons or implementing a smoother, faster secure payment system. Every interaction counts towards a shopping experience and all these examples are provided by B2B companies to retailers.
Just think about click and collect: even though it’s still in its infancy, it is has been taken very seriously by all the major players looking to adapt to fulfilling their shoppers needs and retaining customers. There is a huge amount of logistics and software that needs to be integrated to make this service work, all of which is supplied by B2B technology vendors.
The biggest challenge retail technology providers have is selling in new services and solutions that are not always seen as a ‘must have’ by retailers.
By showing you understand their need to evolve the shopper journey, and can demonstrate how your offering meets this requirement, you can position your business differently from competitors and nurture stronger leads.
Give retailers a reason to buy – at the end of the day, they are also a shopper!
