»  Shopping Experience

You can't always believe what you read...no bg is not going bi-coastal, but I (Tabbetha Powers) however am. I'm re-locating to the West Coast, San Francisco to be exact, so I thought before I say "sayonara" to Charlotte and the team I would write one last blog post.

birdsong gregory, a boutique shopper marketing agency in Charlotte has become a place of true inspiration for me. The team here at this powerhouse shop has grown over the last 10 years from a partnership of Leslie (Birdsong) and Jim (Gregory) to a dynamic group with a plethora of talents, experience and knowledge. From the account team with shopper insights and a roll-up-your-sleeves mentality to the creative group of passionate, "burn the box" results-driven people, bg delivers it all. Over the past year and a half I have learned from the best of the best and am armed and ready to take on SF with a wealth of knowledge and experience. From working on the launches of eco-friendly paper and riding lawnmowers to creating in-store signage, mailers and grassroots campaigns for a niche grocery store to promoting family-friendly communities and Greek yogurt, I have really expanded my vision and experience.

It's going to be tough to leave the bg team, my clients, and the amazing city of Charlotte, but I know it's going to be a cherished chapter in my life. Thanks birdsong gregory for everything!

From the bg team:
Thank you Tabbetha, for your awesome dedication and talents. We will miss you and butt rubbing Miller. When can we come vist you in San Fran?? Jealous!

This infographic from Lemon, a mobile expense tracking app, highlights some interesting insights about what data shoppers are willing to share. Based on an IBM survey of more than 28,000 respondents, the findings indicate that shoppers are quite willing to share certain levels of personal data in exchange for offers that are unique to them. Ultimately what shoppers crave most is a genuinely personalized shopping experience and often times a release of personal information is required to deliver that experience. Find out more about engaging with your shoppers by visiting birdsong gregory, the leading independent shopper marketing agency in the southeast.

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?

In all the efforts to create stronger, better, bigger Shopper Marketing campaigns, let's not forget the brand building blocks that start at the shelf.

Heaven forbid, if a shopper knows nothing about your product when they arrive at the shelf, what are the cues they will use to determine what kind of product it is? Without any exposure to your brand position, your campaign idea or your marketing executions, what are they left with?

Before you layer on any other shopper engagement tactics, make sure your two P's are building your brand.

The first P is Packaging. 

As retailers continue their efforts to own and control their own space, this is one of the few billboards manufacturers have left in the store. If a shoppers is shopping your category, they will more than likely see your package. So what does your packaging say about your product? How premium is it? What does it do? How is it different than the other packaging staring at them? Why should they spend their money on your product? Are you delivering the information they are looking for?

While we don't believe packaging should or can answer all of these, it can start to inform shoppers about your brand. And since shoppers who read your package at the shelf have the ability to purchase, this is critical.

The second P is Pricing.

Pricing is more than a negotiating tactic with retailers. It is a very visible cue at the shelf as to what your product does and how important your product is. Pricing informs shoppers of how they should view your product in comparison to other products at the shelf. And while packaging can pay off that differentiation, pricing starts it. 

Retailers want to deliver the best price to their shoppers. In fact, most retailers build their brand with shoppers based on price. A fundamental aspect of marketing is what is happening at the point of sale and pricing is a huge part of this. What is your pricing really telling shoppers about your product?

We at bg love being part of improving the shopping experience across a wide variety of retailer outlets. We love leveraging new digital shopper marketing tactics to enhance engagement and connection with shoppers. And yet, at the end of the day, a great shopper marketing campaign cannot overcome what these two P's are telling shoppers at the shelf. While basic, they are critical brand building blocks.

 

 

For all of you who don't know, AIGA Charlotte put together a fabulous event this week (particularly fabulous for me, being the letterpress geek I am), Letterpress Fest! We've welcomed some of the biggest names in letterpress to Charlotte, including Jim Sherraden of Hatch Show Print in Nashville, TN, Kyle Durrie of Movable Type, and two of the founders of Ladies of Letterpress. Impressive, right (no pun intended)? Jim Sherraden kick started the week with a wonderful lecture Monday night, while Tuesday we got to sit in on a panel discussion with all of these modern pioneers of the craft. Tonight we'll see the film, Proceed and Be Bold starring Amos Paul Kennedy, Jr., and tomorrow we'll wrap things up with a letterpress Pop-Up Gallery (all at the Chop Shop in NODA). I still haven't told you the coolest part; birdsong gregory was asked to participate by designing all of the event's promotional materials! Look for the official Letterpress Fest poster (printed by Crayton Heritage Letterpress) as well as a letterpressed collector cards for each night's event. We are so excited to be a part of this fantastic experience!

The goodness just keeps coming...I'll give you the inside scoop on the coveted letterpress workshops given by Kyle Durrie of Movable Type. Two of our birdsong gregory team members (our awesome studio manager, Rhonda, and myself) were able to score the coveted tickets. Kyle is on a journey across our great country spreading the letterpress love. She's been on the road for 8 months now, and landed in Charlotte specifically for Letterpress Fest. She gave a crash course in the basics of letterpress set up and type setting. Then we got to design and print our own little piece (see me up there with mine :)). Such a great experience. If you're interested, check out the video on how to lock up your hand set type for printing. It's pretty cool.

Stay tuned for more awesomeness that comes out of these walls, and I'll post photos of birdsong gregory's Letterpress Fest event materials soon! Until then, tell us what you think about this old world craft being reborn as part of modern design. We love your comments :)

In it's sixth year, the DC Metropolitan Cooking and Entertaining Show asked Bloom to be one their elite sponsors.  Having found this sponsorship as a unique opportunity to speak to their target demo in a market with a sea of competing messages from greater DC grocers, Bloom decided to continue this venture to get in front of their potential and already loyal customers. This year, however, Bloom decided to go bigger and bolder and for this they came to Birdsong Gregory to manage, execute and creatively develop every detail.  Having worked on all the in store decor and messaging for 2011, we were well versed in the Bloom strategy and shopper experience.

Our strategy for showcasing Bloom at the Metro Show was two-fold: bring the inside of the beautiful stores out- showcasing actual store fixtures and wallpaper while sampling some of the unique Bloom offerings (such as Gluten-Free and Private Brand products) and make this event engaging and memorable for DC Metro Cooking patrons.  We did this in two different spaces within the Convention Center, one that was set up as 3-round foodie competition that attendees of the show could compete in to win tickets or gift cards.  The other space was set up to mimic the inside of the Bloom stores (unapparent to patrons who have never shopped Bloom or only driven by) and sample their specialized & local products.  Additionally the sponsorship included TV coverage, print in TIME Magazine, social media plugs, and flyers that included store locations and coupons to drive sales back to the store, just to name a few.  

All in all, about 20,000 people attended the event, redemption of the flyers came in at a record high and Bloom's positive exposure in the DC market was endless.  To top off the successful event, Birdsong Gregory even won a Charlotte Addy Award!  Stay tuned to see if we win Bronze, Silver or GOLD on March 7th.

Take a peek at the 2011 DC Metro Cooking & Entertaining Show

Pew just released analysis of how shoppers shopped during the holidays. While it should come as no surprise to regular blog readers that technology continues to shift shopper behavior, this study in particular illuminates just how shopping experiences are changing.


The highlights:

• 50% of US adults used their phones while they were in the store
• 52% used their phone for one of these three reasons charted above
• 33% used their phone to look up product reviews or compare prices
• 20% decided to make their purchase at an online retailer vs. in-store

The implications are pretty far reaching. The path to purchase continues to be fluid - it is no longer about activities that happen in physical locations (ie research at home) but more about what information is accessed and how it influences the purchase. Shoppers continue to evolve their approaches to purchase, allowing information (reviews, pricing, etc) to influence their purchase decisions like never before.

Have you changed the way you approach retail activation? As shopper engagement continues to migrate into a customized blend of physical and digital, it is essential that marketers also blend their approaches. After all, with studies like these it is becoming impossible to ignore the fact that the phone is the shopper's best friend. It should also be a marketer's best friend.

Recently there has been a lot of buzz around location-based marketing initiatives, such as Foursquare. These consumer-popular applications allows users to "check-in" at venues or retailers and share their current location with their social networks. In return, these apps give retailers insight into who is visiting their location and when. Marketers also gain access to communicate directly to consumers at their point of purchase.

An article in the October edition of Shopper Marketing Magazine highlights this recent shopper technology trend and its evolution into a new service called geo-fencing. According to the article, "a geo-fence is a virtual perimeter around a real-world area. When people enter that area, their mobile device alerts an app or a service that triggers the delivery of a message" to those who have opted-in. 
 
The outdoor outfitter company, The North Face, has been one of the first companies to test out the budding technology. The North Face used geo-fencing to send tailored messages to consumers when they enter into targeted areas such as hiking trails, sporting events and local retailers. The North Face is using the technology to alert subscribers to local offers, closest retail locations and suggestions for useful gear when they are in the ideal shopper mindset.

Geo-fencing is still a developing technology with a great deal of potential for future customizations that can fit the needs of any brand. Geo-fencing seems to be a great new addition to the ever-growing list of ways marketers are able to influence the shopping experience by reaching their target audiences with the right message, at the right time and in the right place.

We are officially in the middle of shopping season. Terms like Black Friday and Cyber Monday are not only part of our vocabulary, but are increasingly how we search for deals. According to a recent MediaPost article, the search term "Cyber Monday" led all google.com search terms, jumping 120% from last year. "Black Friday" rose 60%. 

While it is not news that consumers shop more and spend more during this time of the year than any other, what is news is how we are shopping. This year, more than any other in history, consumers shopped differently.

Consider these statistics from this week:

• PayPal saw a 511% increase in mobile payment volume on Cyber Monday vs. last year.
• 17% used a mobile device to visit a retailer's site.
• 10% used a mobile device to make a purchase.
• 5% of mobile traffic came from the iPad. 

Year to date, online retail purchases are up 16%. All of this points to a healthy start to the holiday buying season and more, illuminates the continued adoption of mobile as a critical shopping tool. 

Shoppers are multi-channel creatures of purchase and smart phones are their multi-functional swiss army tool of choice. Shopper behavior has forced retailers to stretch their offerings across channels in order to enhance shopper engagement. Retailers have started to focus on creating a seamless and similar shopping experience regardless of which channel shoppers are engaged.   

What does all this mean?

• Shopper technology, that is, technology that enhances the shopping experience, has to be a focus for marketers. 
• Digital Shopper Marketing strategies and insights are increasingly critical for retailers and manufacturers.
• Organizational silos that separate online and in-store need to be unified under a renewed focus on shopper experience.
• Mobile executions need to consider context. Reapplying traditional or web programs is cutting your effectiveness short.

The brave new world of the integrated, informed consumers is here. How have you adjusted your engagement with them? 

The technology tipping point is here. More phones are sold than computers, becoming the preferred way to connect and compute in the twenty first century. Nielsen estimates that smartphone penetration will be over 50% by the end of 2011. With the increased adoption there is enhanced integration of technology into everyday life. And more strikingly, in shopper behavior.

55% of smartphone users believe the shopping experience is more enjoyable thanks to smartphones (Internet Retailer).

73% of shoppers would rather use their phone than talk to a sales associate (Internet Retailer).

41% of iPhone owners have made a purchase from their smartphone

These are not just shifts in behavior. They are step changes in beliefs. This is not just about digital shopper marketing. The conversation is no longer about adoption. It is about adapting marketing strategies and tactics to harness the power of this technology for your business.

So how should you adapt? Your customer should be your starting point, not technology. Watch how they are and are not using technology today. Look at trends that will continue to evolve their behavior tomorrow. Find opportunities to provide value beyond the realm of just your products. Just like shoppers have integrated technology into their experience, so should you look for ways to holistically integrate technology into your plans. Not just as the strategy, but as a way to better connect your strategy to your audience. Want to learn more? Visit www.birdsonggregory.com

This is a quick peek inside the refreshed Bloom Grocery store. This showcases just a part of the work that earned shopper marketing agency birdsong gregory a Gold Prize for excellence in the retail environment from Hub Magazine.We introduced new graphics and merchandising efforts in key departments to amplify the new product offering and improve the shopping experience. See more of this work at www.birdsonggregory.com

Retail associate are a personification of your brand. They are front line brand builders or brand breakers. They have a direct impact on your store's shopping experience. 

This is a reality that spans retail channels - how associates choose to interact with your customers will form an impression of your brand. Whether shoppers are looking for a product recommendation, need help navigating the store or seeking information, when your associate doesn't take the time or have the answer, you are missing a critical shopper engagement opportunity.

Sadly, we all have examples of bad retail associate experiences. It is an unfortunate retail reality these days. But think about your recent positive associate interactions. What was common about these experiences? I would argue good retail associates are like bartenders. A good bartender engages you and seeks to understand what you want. They are ready to make a product recommendation if you aren't sure what you are having - based on understanding inventory and market trends. They know their tip is directly related to the level of service they provide and as such, they put service before product. They have the background knowledge to make what you need and the empowerment to deviate from a specific menu item to make you happy. There is follow up to make sure you have what you need.   

For all the focus put on marketing, don't forget the most important contact point you have with your shoppers. How are you empowering them to build your brand with customers? Maybe it is time to start viewing your associates more like bartenders. 

We've often said that at birdsong gregory we're more interested in delivering results for our clients than winning awards, but every once in a while the two come together nicely. We were just informed that the collection of work we developed to relaunch the Bloom Grocery Brand has been awarded a Gold Prize from the annual Hub Magazine competition honoring excellence in the retail experience. Our peers in the Gold category include international brands like Disney, Coca-Cola and Proctor & Gamble. And their agencies partners are some of the biggest names in the Shopper Marketing space. It just goes to show you that you don't need a big shop for big ideas. The top Gold winners are competing for the best-of-the-best Hub Cup via on line voting through September 14th. Click here to vote for Bloom.

While f-commerce continues to lead the digital shopper marketing push for retailers and manufacturers, it is quickly becoming obvious there are critical differences between f-comm successes and duds. From a recent NY Times article, Doron Simovitch of SortPrice offers 7 f-comm tips:

• Engage users creatively (and consistently) with likeable wall posts to support your f-commerce offering
• Provide exclusivity with promotions, discounts and sales that are exclusive to your Facebook fans
• Attract new fans with added incentives with one-time promo codes, coupons or discounted shipping for those Liking your page
• Solicit input by asking your fans directly how you can improve the f-commerce experience
• Make Facebook a PR tool with wall posts that provide news beyond retail – such as charitable and community service initiatives
• Incorporate Facebook into Customer Service by enabling customer product reviews, a forum to share shopping experiences, and proactively, publicly and transparently addressing customer concerns
• Keep an eye out for new features and tools with new f-commerce tools such as flash sales, group-buy offers, and contests – designed to may the f-commerce experience more fun and social

While there is benefit for brands to have a f-comm presence, it is important to ensure your strategy reflects the unique opportunity the Facebook shopping experience provides. It is not just another commerce outlet - it is an opportunity to engage your audience, allow them to interact with your products through unique offers and provide compelling incentives to purchase and share.

How empathetic are you as a marketer? An easy way to answer that question is to consider how focused are you on improving your customer's shopping experience.

PSFK shares a great example of utilizing technology to improve the customer experience. BMW has started testing the use of iPads as a way to speed up the customer's application process, allowing customers to spend more of their time at a dealership doing what they are there to do - find and purchase a car.

The impact? BMW doubled customer's satisfaction surveys at the lease-end process. 

While improving your customer's experience may not produce as dramatic and timely results as BMW experienced, a focus on customer empathy will result in experiential and business gains. 

PSFK is back with this year's Future of Retail report. This is a great forward looking report, capturing some of the key trends happening across different channels of retail. While the report predictably focuses on shopper technology, the focus is on how these technologies enhance and enable improved shopping experience.

This video explains Facebook commerce (f-comm) in a pretty simple way. As shopper marketing expands beyond the walls of traditional retail to include digital shopper marketing, the fundamentals of understanding shopper behavior to create a positive shopper experience is still critical to retail success.

While brands and retailers are still trying to figure out how to use Facebook, this video proves there is a lot of opportunity for creating meaningful shopper engagement through social media.  



Looking for a partner to help you determine if you should enter f-comm or help you differentiate your f-comm from your m-comm? Reach out to bg - we believe not all comms should be treated equally. In this digital age, we are an equal comm opportunity shop that loves helping clients navigate the new world of retail activation.  

Are retail employees supposed to sell products or help shoppers? 

A retailer's lifeblood is sales and therefore every retail employee needs to sell products. Your retail marketing should be oriented to sell-through. But there is a difference in the answer to this question that results in a short term (sales) or long term (service) focus.

Apple's retail stores are as oriented towards service as they are sales. In fact, a quote from their training manual reinforces this: "Your job is to understand all of your customer's needs - some of which they may not even realize they have."

Said another way, your job is to help shoppers. And through that help, based on having relevant products, the solution could be a sale. But the employee's focus is not a sale, and as a result, Apple's stores provide a richer shopping experience.

Because we're social animals. That's why. And no matter how fast a network we have at home. Or however many QVC channels. Or how convenient it is to order a kayak while wearing pajamas, just because it's increasingly easy to shop online, doesn't mean we'll stop going to the mall.

Indeed, for most retail sectors, a physical store can serve a fundamentally different function, giving consumers the ability to see, taste and touch the products in a way that is impossible online. Think of prime retail spaces like an Apple Store. Or Nike Town. Or the Disney Store.

The shopper marketing challenge for retailers in the future will be to figure out a way to play up the strengths of a bricks-and-mortar store while incorporating new technology and consumer trends into the experience. From interactive video screens to a smaller, carefully cultivated selection, here's an interesting article from The Street about ways that retailers can remain relevent as online commerce continues to grow.

As another sign that retailers are looking for ways to adapt and adopt new technologies, Express has announced they will make their whole clothing catalog available on Facebook. As Jim Wright, SPV of CRM and e-commerce at Express explains, “If you look at what's happening today, top-down marketing and driving people to places to transact has changed. We need to be where customers are having their experiences and sharing information. We need to take down the barriers preventing a shopping experience.”

Did you catch that important shift? Retailers can no longer afford to wait for shoppers to come to them - they have to be where their shoppers are. Technology, in this instance Facebook, has brought about the means for retail marketing to evolve beyond the traditional four walls of the store. The result is a whole new world of retail. 

The article goes on to quote Patti Freeman Evans, VP and research director at Forrester Research as saying experimenting with social commerce is valuable for retailers even if it doesn't drive direct sales. Why? Because retailers “get insight into customers that are much more intimate. Retailers can pull those insights and turn them into analytics and use those analytics on their website to make recommendations to customers based on friends' purchases.”

The implications are far reaching. You have to be where your shoppers are to get the shopper insights you need to stay relevant. Even if that means being willing to experiment with new ways of being where your shoppers are.