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.”