How may we improve the consumer purchase process? And go further than we do now? In this post, we study consumer promotions and engagement tips.
First, look at these past posts. Just from 2018:
- Shopper Online-Offline Psychology
- Customer Relationships in a High-Tech World
- Consumer Purchase Process Today
- Consumer Behavior in an Omnichannel World
- Do Not Lose the Human Touch
McKinsey’s Consumer Promotions and Engagement Tips
Recently, McKinsey studied consumer promotions and engagement (CPE). As a result, it offers many tips for applying CPE.
As McKinsey’s Biljana Cvetanovski, Stacey Haas, Max Magni, and Cathy Wu observe:
“Overlooked, CPE can be a major revenue source. In general, CPE includes in-store consumer activation and out-of-store engagement. Yet, despite advances, CPE remains a somewhat forgotten area of marketing. In fact, optimizing CPE may help firms realize up to 10 to 30 percent savings in marketing. And that can be reinvested to fund growth.”
To improve CPE performance, focus on the following:
1.” Put consumers first and use CPE to influence them — It’s rare to see CPE start with asking. ‘Does this CPE help give my consumers what they want, when they want it?’ Instead. most firms use ‘smash and grab’ questions. For example, ‘Which CPE helps hit a short-term sales target?’ Effective CPE involves a deep understanding of shopping. And then devising programs to influence decisions at critical junctures of their journey.”
2. “Stay lean. And keep it simple— Effective CPE means being clear about objectives. For example, in-store displays and fixtures can drive awareness and trial. But if used primarily to build brand equity, displays typically won’t deliver.”
3. “Stick to the facts — Insist on consistency. Devising a consistent metric across CPE categories can be challenging.”
4. “Use what you learn — Create one version of the truth. Every firm has internal myths about which CPE programs work well. But, there is often no documented, fact-based understanding.”
5. “Elevate CPE — Clarify accountabilities. Multiple departments often own small slices of the CPE budget. And that makes coordination difficult. For example, a leading food and beverage firm uncovered a fractured set of activities. One brand team signed a contract for a shopper promotion program. The sales team sold a feature and display. And the key account manager commissioned a different promotional program. All at the same time! To stop such a disjointed effort requires assigning clear responsibilities for every CPE spending line.”
Something that I like about some of my favorite stores is the incentives I get when I shop there. A lot of beauty stores such as Sephora and Ulta Beauty have rewards programs and when you reach a certain number of points, you can receive free samples of makeup or health products. It is more appealing, in my opinion, to shop somewhere where they give me something to look forward to while I shop. CPE is extremely important for a company to maintain because it keeps the customer coming back rather than finding a new place to shop.
A huge part of marketing is definitely CPE and I can see how that would increase sales. Rewarding the consumer to shop s prime example of how successful CPE can be.
Here are seven customer engagement strategies that can build a loyal customer following: Customer Experience Is Priority #1. Humanize your brand. Get Sassy on Social… …But Understand Where the Line Is. Personalize Customer Communications. Create Useful Content. Really Listen to What People Are Telling You.->https://www.itsolusenz.com/
One of the biggest roles in marketing is CPE. These tips are super helpful to anyone who needs them. This is a successful way to increase sales as well. The first rule is definitely the most important in regards to keeping customers happy and keeping your business alive.
Many businesses, especially fast food restaurants, have their own apps and loyalty programs for their customers. I am enrolled in many of these loyalty programs where I can order and pay from the app on my phone and earn points or rewards for doing so. Sometimes there are certain offers only available to members and/ or card holders and this can be a strategy of marketing pushing the consumer to spend a little more to get something “unique” in return. I think CPE plays a very big role in marketing and helps drive sales, while keeping customers engaged and satisfied.
Companies need to engage their markets and provide incentives for consumers to buy their products. They also need to be strategic about it, for they need to allow enough time for a promotion to work on the market. As mentioned, they need to keep it simple and not confuse consumers by having too many engagements going on at once. By adhering to the guidelines mentioned above, they have increased chances of satisfying their current and future consumers.