August 16, 2012
BrainTrust Query: The Fifth P – Planning
Through a special arrangement, presented here for discussion is a summary of a current article from Getting Personal About Business, the blog of Zahn Consulting, LLC
To succeed at breaking through the fog or haze of what is currently standard operating practice in the industry, a look at merchandising through a new pair of eyes is needed. There needs to be a migration from the current "4P’s" communication protocols — assortment, price, promotion, product availability — to one that provides communication that shoppers need to help plan their shopping better.
To accomplish that, there has to an awareness of the fifth P — Planning:
- Recognition that the shopping trip is planned using information on paper (not electronic) the overwhelming percentage of times;
- Understanding how people plan their shopping trips and that it occurs at home — because that is where the paper is stored, filed and accumulates;
- Appreciating that news on paper is an essential tool to aiding in the planning of shopping;
- Valuing the kinds of information that help shoppers to formulate plans in preparation for the shopping trip.
While the party line among many is that mail has lost relevance in this electronic age, that thinking just does not stand up to scrutiny and analysis. In fact, paper-based mail is preferred as a planning tool over electronic communications because it is easier to navigate, assemble, disassemble, connect information presented, etc.
In terms of how to do leverage paper-based resources effectively, the following will provide a good starting point:
- Differentiate the substrate (type of paper, size of paper, look and feel of the document) from other mailed pieces to help the recipient of the mail pieces (the shopper) to identify it as the "shopper’s assistant" mailed piece from local retailers.
- Create a template for this mail piece that helps the shopper improve their planning for shopping trips. In so doing, accomplish the following:
- Building trust to work with the information
- Answering shopper questions
- Communicating value for the money — preliminary comparison-shopping to aid in planning
- Imagining outcomes, effect or results (will it be worth it; could it work out for me?)
- Providing testimonials from neighbors or others who have achieved results.
The payoff is contained within Table below.
The retailer is able to enter into and sustain a dialogue with the shopper, the manufacturer is able to better position products to meet shopper needs, and the shopper is able to feel in better control of her destiny.
BrainTrust
Recent Discussions
Discussion Questions
Discussion Questions: Are retailers underestimating the planning stage of the shopping experience? How can retailers enhance the at-home planning chore for consumers?
Poll
Do shoppers plan many of their visits to grocery stores and other retailers? Absolutely (although not universally). But the premise that direct mail can help this process is a leap, in a time where more and more consumers are putting their shopping lists on their smartphones’ “notes” apps. Shoppers are abandoning traditional sources of information in droves, from direct mail to newspapers, so tying the concept of planning to costly “snail mail” seems counter-intuitive.
Do we even know how important planning is? There is very little data on just how much shoppers plan and how detailed their planning is. We know a lot of decisions are made at the shelf, but that doesn’t tell us about planning. So hard to say retailers are underestimating the planning stage when we don’t know how many shoppers care, want help, need help, or would use help if available, etc.
I like the online shopping list approach, although hard to declare an advantage when any chain can buy this software — the time allowed for being first in would be very short. We like the way Publix lays out their weekly circular (by department).
While Paula covers some terrific points in preliminary planning to speak to the customer, using paper and snail mail as the primary medium is, IMHO, very questionable. There’s a reason that social media and interaction between retailer and customer is growing so rapidly. There’s also a reason that the US Post Office is hemorrhaging money. Customers prefer the timeliness and control that they can exert in the digital world.
Are there still customers who prefer newspaper ads and flyers? Yes there are. Given the demographics, however, this is a shrinking group.
Whenever questions are placed before experts herein about retailers underestimating some aspect of retailing the answer is always pointed toward receiving a “yes.”
How can retailers enhance the at-home planning chore for consumers? When plans and schemes are laid out in advance by retailers for consumers, it is surprising how frequently the circumstances fit in with them.
The Planning stage is the most important of all because it’s what drives the other “P’s.” However, if we’re going to add more “P’s” let’s also not forget profits.
Another way to look at this is from the eyes of the consumer and I would call it “identfy.” How does a consumer identify which store to shop? It could be by price, or by selection or even a store that offers WiFi or best customer service. Every store must know their strengths so that the consumer identifies with them and selects there store. Then we get into the navigation, discrimination, validation, and finally the transaction of a sale. But first the store must be ready for their consumers.
This is a huge miss for me. I understand everything said about planning. But, direct mail over electronic because it is easier to navigate, assemble, disassemble, connect information presented, etc.???
Then I take the paper and convert it into my electronic life. Sounds like more work to me!
Retailers tend to be too focused on the brand experience the shopper has once they cross either the digital or ‘brick & mortar’ threshold. Different shopper segments have different planning rituals. Within the DIY vertical, a homeowner doing a home improvement project has a very different planning process than a small independent contractor building a house. Marketers need to understand not only this planning process for each of their target audience segments, but also how those different segments consume marketing and media communications and through which channel — print, internet, mobile, or broadcast — they accept that particular communication. This will not only vary by customer segmentation but will vary with geographic location- urban, rural, suburban.
Understanding how and why your shopper consumes media, what type of message, and through which channel they accept your brand communication will allow the retailer to design and implement, and tell a relevant and consistent brand story.
I say forget the 4 P’s…they distance us from the consumer. Turn them around and look at it from the consumer’s perspective. The outcome is a focus on: Planning, Shopping, Preparing, Enjoying/Sharing…Now THAT’S the true integration a retailer should strive for!
Using direct mail vs. electronic does seem questionable to me, too, sorry. Retailers can get to know the shopping habits (that include inside and outside the store) of customers better if they look at other industries. Although retail shoppers may not make the definite shopping plans that perhaps a hotel or train passenger, might by making reservations for a specific time and place, I believe retail shoppers do have more planning patterns than most retailers acknowledge. There are great tools to leverage to better understand these planning processes and respond at the retail level.
There is no true evidence that points to a “planning” stage of the shopping experience or marketing. Product, price, promotion and place are still the key elements of the marketing plan. Planning as the author points out, is not reflective of current purchasing behavior, nor does it require, need or become reinforced by a paper plan or even a paper reminder. One only needs to go to any major grocery store and see this evidence by the copies of the 4-color inserts at the front of the store for customers to use during their shopping experience. The majority of consumers don’t plan their lives, careers or their finances, let alone their trips to the grocery store. Yes, there may be a “honey do” list or shopping list sometimes, but this is a minor guide, instead of a targeted plan. Impulse items, extended purchases and incremental sales are the reason for POP promotions and in-store mark-downs that have years of proven effectiveness behind them, rather than the “planning” concept as described by the author.
The question here is less about the validity of paper vs. online marketing to help shoppers plan. The question is whether there is significant value to be gained from investing in new paper-based solutions vs. what is currently in play. I think the answer to that question is no (though I am not claiming expertise).
The current best practices in paper based retailer messaging are ‘good enough’. The real innovation is and will continue to be in digital marketing platforms.
The answer to the question is yes. I think more retailers need to better understand how to connect to their communities on a more local level. They need to pierce local culture and be more relevant.
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Do shoppers plan many of their visits to grocery stores and other retailers? Absolutely (although not universally). But the premise that direct mail can help this process is a leap, in a time where more and more consumers are putting their shopping lists on their smartphones’ “notes” apps. Shoppers are abandoning traditional sources of information in droves, from direct mail to newspapers, so tying the concept of planning to costly “snail mail” seems counter-intuitive.
Do we even know how important planning is? There is very little data on just how much shoppers plan and how detailed their planning is. We know a lot of decisions are made at the shelf, but that doesn’t tell us about planning. So hard to say retailers are underestimating the planning stage when we don’t know how many shoppers care, want help, need help, or would use help if available, etc.
I like the online shopping list approach, although hard to declare an advantage when any chain can buy this software — the time allowed for being first in would be very short. We like the way Publix lays out their weekly circular (by department).
While Paula covers some terrific points in preliminary planning to speak to the customer, using paper and snail mail as the primary medium is, IMHO, very questionable. There’s a reason that social media and interaction between retailer and customer is growing so rapidly. There’s also a reason that the US Post Office is hemorrhaging money. Customers prefer the timeliness and control that they can exert in the digital world.
Are there still customers who prefer newspaper ads and flyers? Yes there are. Given the demographics, however, this is a shrinking group.
Whenever questions are placed before experts herein about retailers underestimating some aspect of retailing the answer is always pointed toward receiving a “yes.”
How can retailers enhance the at-home planning chore for consumers? When plans and schemes are laid out in advance by retailers for consumers, it is surprising how frequently the circumstances fit in with them.
The Planning stage is the most important of all because it’s what drives the other “P’s.” However, if we’re going to add more “P’s” let’s also not forget profits.
Another way to look at this is from the eyes of the consumer and I would call it “identfy.” How does a consumer identify which store to shop? It could be by price, or by selection or even a store that offers WiFi or best customer service. Every store must know their strengths so that the consumer identifies with them and selects there store. Then we get into the navigation, discrimination, validation, and finally the transaction of a sale. But first the store must be ready for their consumers.
This is a huge miss for me. I understand everything said about planning. But, direct mail over electronic because it is easier to navigate, assemble, disassemble, connect information presented, etc.???
Then I take the paper and convert it into my electronic life. Sounds like more work to me!
Retailers tend to be too focused on the brand experience the shopper has once they cross either the digital or ‘brick & mortar’ threshold. Different shopper segments have different planning rituals. Within the DIY vertical, a homeowner doing a home improvement project has a very different planning process than a small independent contractor building a house. Marketers need to understand not only this planning process for each of their target audience segments, but also how those different segments consume marketing and media communications and through which channel — print, internet, mobile, or broadcast — they accept that particular communication. This will not only vary by customer segmentation but will vary with geographic location- urban, rural, suburban.
Understanding how and why your shopper consumes media, what type of message, and through which channel they accept your brand communication will allow the retailer to design and implement, and tell a relevant and consistent brand story.
I say forget the 4 P’s…they distance us from the consumer. Turn them around and look at it from the consumer’s perspective. The outcome is a focus on: Planning, Shopping, Preparing, Enjoying/Sharing…Now THAT’S the true integration a retailer should strive for!
Using direct mail vs. electronic does seem questionable to me, too, sorry. Retailers can get to know the shopping habits (that include inside and outside the store) of customers better if they look at other industries. Although retail shoppers may not make the definite shopping plans that perhaps a hotel or train passenger, might by making reservations for a specific time and place, I believe retail shoppers do have more planning patterns than most retailers acknowledge. There are great tools to leverage to better understand these planning processes and respond at the retail level.
There is no true evidence that points to a “planning” stage of the shopping experience or marketing. Product, price, promotion and place are still the key elements of the marketing plan. Planning as the author points out, is not reflective of current purchasing behavior, nor does it require, need or become reinforced by a paper plan or even a paper reminder. One only needs to go to any major grocery store and see this evidence by the copies of the 4-color inserts at the front of the store for customers to use during their shopping experience. The majority of consumers don’t plan their lives, careers or their finances, let alone their trips to the grocery store. Yes, there may be a “honey do” list or shopping list sometimes, but this is a minor guide, instead of a targeted plan. Impulse items, extended purchases and incremental sales are the reason for POP promotions and in-store mark-downs that have years of proven effectiveness behind them, rather than the “planning” concept as described by the author.
The question here is less about the validity of paper vs. online marketing to help shoppers plan. The question is whether there is significant value to be gained from investing in new paper-based solutions vs. what is currently in play. I think the answer to that question is no (though I am not claiming expertise).
The current best practices in paper based retailer messaging are ‘good enough’. The real innovation is and will continue to be in digital marketing platforms.
The answer to the question is yes. I think more retailers need to better understand how to connect to their communities on a more local level. They need to pierce local culture and be more relevant.