I think it’s a pretty safe assumption to make that the primary language the majority readership of this post will be accustomed to reading, writing & conversing in will be English. This is of course entirely speculative based on my distinct lack of international fame and recognition to date. Max Clifford, are you reading this?
If I wrote this piece in Urdu, Swahili or Russian, and you had no existing knowledge of the language, would you understand the argument or proposition I was attempting to convey?
Chances are that you wouldn’t, because I would be communicating via a medium that is alien to you. It would mean nothing. You wouldn’t be able to relate to it, therefore it couldn’t influence your mindset.
Why is this relevant to how brands interact with their shoppers? Well, let’s draw a parallel.
If brands communicate with their shoppers in a foreign, complex language that they don’t understand, let alone relate to at a given point in time, they simply won’t get the desired message. Should this be the case, then ability to influence a shopper’s decision making process is lost immediately.
Put bluntly, the budget that has been invested in creating campaigns that shoppers don’t comprehend by definition can’t encourage them to take a particular course of action – in the context of this piece, that means choosing a certain product over a plethora of alternatives, placing it in the basket and proceeding to the checkout.
Landing a flashy, on-brand campaign is absolutely fantastic and will tick boxes. Fantastic, of course, until sales metrics take a nosedive because the communication doesn’t resonate with shoppers or motivate them to purchase. Alas, post campaign one is then left with the sticky task of demonstrating the ROI of it to the Directors. Ouch.
Shopper focused communication needs to be easily digestible, relatable & provide solutions. If it doesn’t satisfy all of the above criteria, it won’t inspire purchase. If just one of the above criterion is missing, the brand presenting the message risks being switched for a competitor alternative at the moment of truth.
This is exactly why a detailed, granular understanding of the varying need states of shoppers is so important if brands are to win at the fixture.
If a brand can interpret what its shoppers are thinking, and then deliver to these shoppers targeted, relevant & timely communication through the most appropriate channels that is rapidly understood, then that brand will catch the attention of more shoppers, more regularly than its competitors. Conversion is within touching distance.
However, if a brand can also deliver communication that is relatable given a shopper’s present need state and presents a viable solution for them based on that need, then it will be placed in the basket more times than a competitor offering. Mission accomplished.
Shoppers will begin to interact with the brand more frequently in various forms. The brand will creep in to their regular repertoire. Purchase will be repeated. Sounds great, doesn’t it?
I recently spent an insightful day down in London with one of our clients, who talked to us and our inter-agency colleagues at length about their category vision. A thorough grasp of how shoppers actually shop will be the key to translating this vision into best-in-class shopper communication across their portfolio of brands.
The task of developing shopper orientated campaigns that hold true resonance based on this category vision will be made a great deal easier because said client very much recognises the importance of keeping shopper need states at the front of mind throughout the planning & creative process – thus vastly increasing the odds of collaboratively building work that is exciting, engaging & commercial in equal measure.
Make your own mind up. It’s much easier to demonstrate the ROI of campaigns that return an incrementally improved sales performance and sustainably grow categories than those that don’t.
Ask the Directors.