A one size fits all strategy for your in-store POP Program activations doesn’t work. Here’s why:
Marketers are continuously trying to develop creative and impactful materials that attract shoppers’ attention. From beacons to beeping displays, shoppers are bombarded with a ton of visual and auditory messages in the aisles, on the shelf, and at the front-end of the store, all in an effort to drive impulse and incremental sales. Ironically, this assault works against them because a shopper’s brain cannot physiologically process the vast amount of stimulus found in today’s retail environment. Especially if it doesn’t resonate with them. Anything irrelevant is tuned out and forgotten no matter how loudly it shouts.
As a consequence, retailers and brands are tasked with ensuring that the visual communication and the messaging used in their POP materials and displays are relevant and targeted, and that the entire path-to-purchase process, which begins before the store, is part of the planning.
According to Google, half of searches on a mobile device are for the purposes of finding a product or service that is close to home, and 70% of purchases are made within five miles of where a shopper lives. Why is this so relevant? It demonstrates consumers’ intentions to shop near home, a trend which doubled from 2014 to 2015, and it underscores the need for personalized marketing at the local level, which can only be achieved through accurate and efficient store profiling.
Why Store Profiling is Critical
Store profiling not only provides an infrastructure for assuring POP compliance at the store level, but it also enables retailers and brands to provide marketing materials at the local level geared to targeted shopper groups. This is significant.
A survey conducted by Infosys reported that 78% of consumers are more likely to become a repeat customer if a retailer provides them with targeted, personalized offers. According to the NRF (National Retail Federation) CMOs have become heavily data-driven and want to focus on personalized, targeted campaigns to increase shopper conversions that lead to strong ROI. They have recognized that consumers’ expectations have shifted from not just wanting a personalized experience in store, but to expecting one.
Why Marketers Rely on Technology for Simplified Solutions
Most retailers have not yet achieved the level of customization and targeted local marketing that shoppers demand because they are not drawing on technology tools and processes that allow them to tailor their strategies and investments. The idea of developing campaigns based on a unique store profile is viewed as complex and expensive. POP suppliers must be able to offer store profiling technology in order to deliver customized solutions, all while guaranteeing speed to market to accommodate the swift ebb and flow of shopper demands.
INTELLITRAK™ is a technology platform that streamlines the POP ordering process with the tools to capture store profile intelligence, enabling marketers to customize their in-store messaging, promotions, and pricing to target shoppers based on what they want and need. Profiling shoppers by demographics, which may range from age and income, or by cultural and ethnic backgrounds, trip types, or foot traffic patterns, to name a few, enables brands and retailers to quickly and effectively develop targeted offerings rather than irrelevant deals that are of no interest to many of their shoppers.
By leveraging INTELLITRAK™ retailers can keep up with these critical demands and expectations. For instance, if based on trends, a QSR finds that nearby Millennials on their way home from work want to pair up a salad with a coke, and on the weekends a burger with a beer, the retailer can bundle these offers and easily develop POP materials to support these deals with INTELLITRAK print-on-demand capabilities. Upon a click of a button or two, each marketing event will have a POP kit and an in-store planogram so that the right materials, with the right message, will go to the right store, at the right time. Additionally, assuring that the POP materials will be placed in the right location once the kit arrives.
It’s that simple.