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Social. Local. Mobile. Each continue to change how we connect with shoppers. 

Below is a great overview on the opportunities SoLoMo provides for shopper engagement. While I have blogged at length about the social and mobile opportunities, here we see a clear picture of how local can also be leveraged to drive traffic and sales.

There is more and more emphasis these days on storytelling, encouraging brands to connect in deeper ways with consumers. I couldn't agree more with this, and just picked up a book on that very subject. 

Great inputs are required for a great story. While anyone can tell a story, few can tell it well and in a way that builds a brand. And those that do, tend to have history to leverage. This series from Jack Daniels demonstrate this.

Are the stories about Jack Daniels? They are about the art of craft of creating things with your hands. About doing things how they have always been done. But they also connect these attributes back to the brand. And in this subtle way, Jack Daniels has leveraged stories that feel authentic and shape the way people experience the brand.  

Jack Daniel's meets The Signpainter from Travis Robertson on Vimeo.

Jack Daniel's meets Helms Workshop from Travis Robertson on Vimeo.

Jack Daniel's meets Jon Contino from Travis Robertson on Vimeo.

Retail has always been a tough category. But thanks to technology and choice, it's getting even tougher. The barriers to entry are at an all time high, while the ability to differentiate is at an all time low. Think about it – when is the last time you didn't hear a grocery retailer talk about fresh or price?!

It has been interesting watching Walmart shift away and back to their EDLP focus. Today's news demonstrates how they are pushing  EDLP even further. For example, shoppers in select cities can take a photo of their grocery receipt, upload it, and get an email back showing the money WM would have saved them. This is a great marriage of digital and physical that has the potential to shift trip behavior.

Shoppers expect price competitiveness from grocery stores. Tests like WM's continue to train shoppers that researching pricing helps them get the lowest price. Amazon's price check app is another example of empowering shoppers to find the right price. All of this eliminates price as a competitive advantage for 99.999% of all retailers. In today's price sensitive market, price and value are tablestakes for traffic.

A retailer's biggest challenge is to narrow their focus instead of trying to be everything to everyone. This is especially true when it comes to positioning and targeting shoppers. So where should retailers focus their brand? While each retailer needs to consider their competitive and shopper realities, here are some quick thoughts based on our work in retail activation:   

1. Redefine convenience beyond the physical: While proximity matters when determining where to shop, it is not the determining factor. Understanding your shopper behavior and defining convenience to attract that shopper is a critical step in relevance.    

2. Focus on the experience: Shopper engagement, when done right, should result in shopper empathy. And vice versa. Understanding how your shopper experiences your brand across all channels and tactics is essential to understanding what your brand means to them. 

3. Make service work: Every retail outlet has employees. Yet very few retailer make service work for them. Employees and their service are a tangible way your brand comes to life. Make it work for you.

4. Make location matter:  It is amazing how many retailers don't integrate their real estate and marketing divisions. Ultimately, location of your store says as much about your store as what you sell inside.  

It takes courage to define your brand by differentiating yourself. Yet in today's market, you must differentiate or die. 

The path to purchase has gone digital.
It is about digital shopper marketing and understanding shopper behavior online.
Brick and mortar stores are doomed.
Evolve or Die.

If you work anywhere near retail marketing, these statements are quite familiar. What will be left now that the physical and digital collide? There is no doubt the world has gone digital, and some question whether the future will even include traditional retail outlets. 

Technology has fundamentally altered how we access information. It has empowered shoppers, changing the way we shop. A timely example is the Consumer Electronics giant Best Buy. Once the innovative leader in the category, they are being forced to shift and adapt their go to market strategy to stay relevant in the new digital reality. 

Where is all of this headed? Will further digital adoption leave a trail of traditional retail carnage in its wake?

I believe we can already see signs pointing to the future of retail. It is a digital world, yes, but it is also a physical one. This collision of digital and physical has the potential to not just alter, but drastically improve retail.

It should produce better environments.
It should force better service.
It should create better experience. 

The future will belong to those retailers able to seamlessly blend both realities for their shoppers.    

What's your opinion? Is retail digitally doomed? 

As a follower of retail and all things automotive, it is fun to watch the auto industry innovate. While most new developments are product focused (smaller cars, more efficient engines, etc), there's also new thinking on the customer experience side. 

Car dealerships, in their current form, haven't evolved too far from where they originated: large concrete lots full of cars and a business hub for sales, service and finance. And yet technology is starting to change this physical environment. 

Auto makers are begining to engage their shoppers earlier in their path to purchase. Brands like Audi and Tesla are on the forefront of this trend. This video highlights Audi's approach which starts to utilize smaller, urban centers that provide an immersive digital experience and 1:1 interaction. 

Regardless of whether you call it digital shopper marketing or evolved shopper behavior, technology has already changed your customer's path. The critical question then is how are you utilizing technology to evolve your customer's experience?    

A lot has been written about our client, Chobani Yogurt. They have seen lightning growth in the last seven years, and while they have already reached $1 billion in annual revenue, they are just getting started. Building shopper engagement is always easier when you work with a brand people love. While the product is amazing (granola + plain + honey = heaven), the story behind the product is also amazing. Watch the above quick video of the longer story.

What I find most inspiring about Hamdi's story is his courage. With all the focus on strategy and planning these days, it can get in the way of movement and action. Notice that he didn't start with a business plan and then search for the opportunity. He found the opportunity, seized it, and built a plan around it. And while this is no guarantee for success, it should be a reminder that courage is an essential ingredient. It is impossible to mitigate all risks in opportunities. 

All of this is another way of saying "live in beta". Embrace the fact that our work and our lives should be one of forward momentum, fueled by mistakes and successes. Have the courage to grow.

If you want to see what someone really values, watch how they spend their time and money.

While this is generally true in life, it is definitely true with shopper behavior. NPR's "Graphing America" series looked at how we are spending money on groceries, and what has changed over the past 30 years. 

Even as the costs of food has risen, overall grocery spending is down. Grocery spending as a percent of income is at 9% , down from 12%. The biggest single change is with processed foods and sweets, which has doubled as percent of grocery money.   

Based on technology's continued influence on retail and shopping, what do you predict this chart will look like in 5-10 years? How will the recent focus on local and organic produce shift spending? Will private brands continue their growth as percent of baskets? 

Regardless of current and future shifts, some things won't change:

For brands, there will always be a need to focus on shopper engagement at the point of sale (be it physical or digital).

For retailers, there will always be a need to focus on the shopping experience (be it physical or digital), as experience is the intangible differentiator that will keep shoppers coming back.

Learn more about our agency's perspective on shopper marketing at birdsonggregory.com

One of the most rewarding aspects of a career in marketing is seeing your efforts come to life. Our work for GUNK engine cleaners and degreasers is beginning to hit the market, starting with print ads in Motor Trend, Automobile and Car Craft publications.

By conducting research to understand shopper behavior, brand perception and category opportunities, we are laying the foundation for significant growth. In a category focused on beautiful images of shiny cars, we've taken a more distinct approach by paying homage to the people that have made GUNK such an iconic brand.

Maybe it was my recent trip to the public library seeking out the next literature adventure, but the concept of physical and digital collisions has recently been on my mind. Allow me to explain:

Without any specific book or author in mind, I spent a good 30 minutes scanning aisles upon aisles, rows upon rows, books upon books. In such an analog environment, there was nothing except vertical book bindings to aid my selection. In other words, I was left to figure it out myself.  

Except I wasn't.

As a sign of the times, amidst paperbacks and hardcovers, I stood motionless. Looking down. At my shining iPhone. To illuminate my decision, I used Amazon's algorithm to make recommendations based on past browsing and buying behavior. I used Esquire's list of recommended reads to curate my selection. In order to deselect from the thousands of options lined up in front of me, I used technology to enable my selection.

As a consumer, I am not alone in my use of technology as an aid and influencer of decision. If you really want to see how shopper behavior is evolving, watch people in a new environment where they have to make decisions - in a new store or new category where they have to deselect and then select. In order to create order from the chaos of modern choice, information is required. And increasingly, this information is sourced online.

The collision of physical and digital takes place at the point of choice.

Shopper technology is not the solution, it is the reality. If your shopper engagement strategy does not include or recognize this collision, you may be missing the complete picture. Technology delivers information. If you don't provide that information physically, shoppers will find it digitally and will make decisions based on the information they find.

Being a car guy, I found PSFK's article on how Rolls Royce uses customer experience to differentiate themselves interesting. Naturally, selling 3,600 cars a year allows an increased level of service that millions of shoppers a week doesn't. But, in this age of increased competition, a focus on shopping experience is critical.

Differentiation within product selection and in-store environment is a challenge for retailers across all channels. And yet, I am amazed at how many retailers ignore the first and last touchpoints with customers. These arrival and departure moments are key opportunities to set expectations and end on a positive note experience.

A Rolls Royce owner doesn't buy a Rolls for driving pleasure. It is a symbol of status and stature. As one RR executive explained in the article, "that feeling an owner has when they turn up somewhere...and also when they leave, is a critical differentiator of the brand."

How are you leveraging arrival and departure moments to enhance your shopper engagement? These are bookend opportunities to reinforce a return. And really, is there a better way to influence shopper behavior than providing a positive end to their shopping experience?

The process of finding, selecting and purchasing a product continues to evolve. For the one or two regular readers of this blog (thanks Dad!), this should not be a new idea. What is new are the different technologies that lead this purchase evolution.

Because we live in the age that birthed Facebook and Twitter, it is easy to be skeptical when people talk about the "next big thing". And while VC's spend their days trying to find and fund the next, technology ultimately has its future determined by consumers wielding the power to select which of the many new innovations available will become adopted. 

Pinterest is emerging as one such technology.

On the surface, it is a pretty simple concept - this technology lets consumers create online boards, allowing the curation and sharing of different "pinned" inspirations, passions and products across the interwebs. What makes Pinterest a relevant technology for marketers and shopper marketers specifically is its ability to connect pinned interests to a purchase. According to a recent article, 21% of Pinterest account holders have made a purchase after seeing a product pictured on the site.

That is a pretty staggering fact - 1 in 5 users have purchased a product based on seeing it pinned somewhere by someone. This is the kind of organic word of mouth and authentic influence that is starting to build bottom lines. Forget point of sale, Pinterest is monitizing the point of interest. 

What does all this mean? A couple quick thoughts:

1. All technology is becoming shopper technology. The power is found in its ability to connect, inform and influence -- and like Pinterest, ultimately lead to a purchase (or Pinterest purchase, a pinchase?!)

2. Shopper behavior continues to move upstream. The most pinned items on Pinterest? 70% cite recipes and cooking. The impact of this will be felt downstream at your local grocery store.

3. Be authentic in your engagement. Brands are still figuring out how best to use Pinterest. What Pinterest forces brands to do is find their voice and curate the world based on values, perspective, or a point of view. If you don't have any of these established for your brand, start with your brand essence before you add in technology. 

Whether path of purchase or pin to purchase, your consumer continues to evolve their approach to purchase. How are you evolving your approach to understand and connect? We can help.