How Web Traffic is Driving Brick and Mortar Expansion

People will always want to shop, and that’s not going to change, but the online experience has raised shoppers’ expectations and made them much more discerning, so it behooves all retailers to know their customer that much better.  The Web is providing a much broader, more accurate and real-time picture of exactly who they are and where they live, arming retailers with the information they need to make smarter decisions about physical expansion — the most capital-intensive of investments.

Read more of this insightful article on Forbes here. 

This hybrid retail opportunity creates opportunities not only for retailers but also for the  brands. Data & trends provided by online retailing is a reflection of the offline consumer behavior and is far more accurate and trust-worthy as against data based on surveys and focused groups. 

Related articles

• Brick-and-mortar's inherent advantage: In-store relevance.
• In-Store Insights Help Turn Browsers Into Buyers

Digital Influencers of Brand Selection.

Here is yet another research that supports the need of multi channel marketing initiatives – especially from a digital perspective in the CPG / FMCG space. The fact that consumers have adopted the digital media in their daily life is not lost on anybody; however, it is important to understand that they use it in different ways and with different intentions.

The key for brands, marketers and manufacturers looking to capitalize on digital in the CPG environment, is to identify how each consumer group embraces digital media.

Clearly the 18 - 34 year old consumers are comfortable with digital technology and their use of digital resources has an impact on purchase. What is even more dramatic is the extent to which this group is influenced by product and brand recommendations from bloggers and social networking platforms. In-store digital touch screens and phone applications are also seen to address this group effectively and present immediate, high-impact brand marketing opportunities.

Another plus for marketers is that these digital-savvy consumers are often trendsetters and influencers in their own circles. Word-of-mouth and informal, viral marketing can make a huge impact on those that are fully engaged in digital media.

Download the SymphonyIRI Group Point of View report: Digital Dimension: Consumers Embrace Digital Media with Diverse Approaches from here (PDF)

Related articles

• Social Media & Digital Marketing Engagement Gap
• Digital Media's Influence on CPG / FMCG Sales

Mobile and Social Steering Future for CPG.

"We see a merging between social and mobile as two really popular platforms coming together, not only for ecommerce, but also to drive multichannel behavior. It’s just incredibly dynamic, and we’ve really adopted an integrative planning framework that takes into account the consumer journey and how the consumer is using digital channels and platforms. That’s become the driver for how we plan our entire marketing strategy and budget."

It was good to read this interview of Jeff Jarrett, vice president for global digital marketing, as he spoke about the most effective ad formats for consumer packaged goods, and how online CPG sales have required the industry to establish a larger footprint in digital. Read the full interview here where-in he talks on strategies, RoI, impact of mobile & social media and the changing consumer behavior. 

A must read for all FMCG / CPG marketers on how the trends are shaping up.

Related articles

• Do CPGs need to up the ante and invest more in mobile?
• What does loyalty marketing mean for CPG marketers?
• CPG Brands: Winning Big with Social Media Marketing
• Are Your CPG Brands Maximizing the Return on Your Digital Investment?
• CPG Branded Websites Driving Offline Sales.
• CPG Brands are the Angel Investors in the Private Label Boom.
• CPG Trade Promotion, Co-op Ads shifting to digital.
• How CPG CMO's Can Tap Into Social Gaming?

Key Points About Integrating Traditional and New Mediums

Some brands have been forged in the digital fire while others have had to (or eventually will have to) jump into it. The biggest problem Michael sees here is we are trying to treat these two entities as one.

These are two very different situations and need to be treated as such. Those outside the bubble, who did not build their business in these channels are interested in what digital has to offer, but they don’t always need it just yet. It’s not that there isn’t a juicy opportunity, but balancing multiple channels (especially a mix of traditional and digital ones) is no easy feat.

Michael writes that we often try to show traditional brands the success digital brands have experienced. It is alluring, but it isn’t always relevant. Rather than enticing prospects with purely digital examples like Zappos or even those who have long had digital efforts like Levis, one needs to understand a few key points illustrated wonderfully here in a recent post by Michael Schechter.

Related articles

• 2012 Digital Marketing Predictions - What's In Store?
• Multichannel Campaigns Increase Reach, Branding Potential
• Digital Media's Influence on CPG / FMCG Sales
• The Path-to-Purchase: How is it Changing in 2012?

Digital Marketing Spending to Increase Across All Channels

While traditional digital channels such as search and email continue to dominate retailer marketing spending, social and mobile channels are growing in importance. Marketers are also seeking to improve data analytics capabilities to identify the most profitable channels and design the optimal marketing mix for driving engagement and sales. These are the top-level findings of a recent survey of 110 retailers conducted by Lauren Freedman and the e-tailing group, an e-commerce consultancy for merchants.

The report, “Surviving the Current Market Mania with a Solid 2012 Plan,” was sponsored by Bronto Software, the leading marketing platform for retailers and other commerce-focused companies. The free report is available for download at bronto.com.

Regarding revenue generation, merchants surveyed said that they expect top-performing channels will be SEO (31%), Mobile (mCommerce, iPads, mobile application – 30%) email (22%), paid search (22%) and social media (14%).

Related articles

• Retail World Still Unprepared for The Mobile Revolution.
• Analyzing The Mobile Consumer: Shifting Behaviors And Preferences Create Opportunities For Innovative Retailers
• How to Engage Customers Across Channels - Retail Online Integration Webinar
• 7 Steps To Keeping Customers Captivated With Mobile Apps

A Framework for Keeping CPG's Relevant Online

Came across this comprehensive and insightful essay by Jordan Julien. He has arrived at the insights based on examining internal documentation, and conducting ethnographic studies, from four different global CPG's and finding correlations. 

 

The synthesis of this work has culminated into "The Ecosystem of Understanding", a framework for keeping CPG's (and everyone else) relevant online.

Jordan been able to extract 5 insights common (as under) to every CPG he has worked with; even the most innovative.

1. We don't know who we're talking to, but we like to pretend like we do.
2. We don't know why we're talking to them, but we know we should be.
3. We suffer from Shiny Object Syndrome.
4. We're inconsistent, but we're learning.
5. We're old, scared, and angry; but its only a matter of time before we're phased out.

Read more here

Related articles

• CPG / FMCG buying behavior is different.
• Mobile shoppers and the new face of mobile couponing
• 2 + 1 things every CPG marketer can do to win on mobile.
• Do CPGs need to up the ante and invest more in mobile?
• Social Media & CPG / FMCG brands.
• CPG brands dive headfirst into digital sphere

The interactive freedom.

What really makes this site http://www.mvm.com/en/index.htm stand out is that it goes way beyond only creating / generating a buzz. The content is interactive in the real sense of the word and will draw visitors, ensure that they try out the product – virtually and then buy. It provides an alternate (and may I say better) shopping experience.

While early adaptors of interactive content, like the Subservient Chicken, generated not only buzz, but a good amount of traffic for Burger King – my believe that a lot of “interactive content” pushed in by various brands and agencies is more to do with “me too” buzz rather than looking at an ROI from a good interactive web presence.

My belief is that success has to be found on combination of buzz (to drive traffic) and utility (to ensure ROI). Only buzz to me sounds very much like the “eyeball” game prior to the dotcom meltdown. The buzz needs to be taken over by usefulness or stickiness of the product and MY VIRTUAL MODEL achieves the same in a simple yet exciting manner. Anyone (some of my pals included) who has used this app (if I can call it that), have taken a few seconds to understand and then have stayed online, trying different brands, styles and colors and all on models which are their clones (well almost) – do you want to guess the average time that an individual can spend on this site?

Now imagine the “the long tail” of product line which can be retailed using this model – it is never going to be possible for a traditional retailer to stock the options.

This is the start of the end of brochure-sites on the web.