Do You Have Staunch Brand Advocates?

Brand advocates are consumers who will take the time to support your brand(s) using in-person and online conversations to share their opinions, recommendations and thoughts about your company’s products and services. Having powerful and active brand advocates is a critical part of a successful social media marketing mix.

Kimberly Maul, eMarketer writer/analyst and author of the new report, “Brand Advocates: Scaling Social Media Word-of-Mouth.” writes "As social media gives average consumers a longer reach, brand advocates of all types and levels have emerged, including:

• Social media influencers
• Industry experts
• Brand employees
• Consumers who use recommendations, blog posts and “likes” to gain discounts, deals and, in some cases, payments.  

Maul notes, “Industry experts and big-time social media influencers may seem attractive to marketers. But often, the regular Joe is the most powerful type of advocate out there and can have the greatest effect on his friends and family,” Maul's research shows among the top reasons Internet users recommend a brand include:

• Good experience with the brand or product 50%
• Want to help others (make smarter decisions) 37%
• Recommend brands or products only when asked 8%
• Want to "show off" to others 3%
• Get incentives 1%

 Zuberance, which works with companies to determine who their brand advocates are, and how to engage with them and track results polled brand advocates and found that, in the US:

• 38% made a recommendation about once a month
• 12% several times a week.
• 70% recommended at least five products or services a year
• 16% recommended at least 15 products or services during that span.

Maul notes ”Because the average consumer inherently trusts his or her friends and family, a person who is a brand advocate can be highly influential. And advocates are stepping up to that opportunity. Companies can make the most of this by finding out their own brand advocates’ expectations for interaction on social media sites—then meeting and exceeding them.”

So, what are the characteristics of consumers who actively make recommendations for your service or product on social media? How and why do these consumers use social media to talk about brands? How can you leverage and hold on to these advocates? Share your thoughts here.

The State of the "New" Grocery Consumer

As the economy changes up and down, consumers adapt and make changes, specifically when it comes to budgeting and cutting costs. Research by BigInsight reports on the current state of the consumer and how the changing economy has affected consumer grocery shopping behavior. BigInsight's research shows:

• Almost 3 in 4 respondents indicate that their grocery shopping habits have changed over the past year. Changing habits include- Focusing on necessities, making fewer impulse purchases, and researching prices online.
• They are heading online to conduct shopper research and redeem coupons for groceries
• Not only are consumers more likely to be shopping Walmart most often for groceries than they were five years ago, they are also more likely to be shopping Discount Stores in general.
• Over 40% of respondents including moms and those 25-54 – indicate that in the past year they have started shopping multiple grocery stores to get the best prices and deals.
• Loyalty has not vanished, as three in ten still shop at the same store but use more coupons and buy brands on sale.
• Just under one quarter of respondents shop at the same store but buy more generic/store brand items than they did a year ago. Moms, specifically, are more likely to shop at the same store but use more coupons and buy more generic/store brands on sale.
• Overall, nearly three quarters of cost conscious consumers have made some sort of change in their grocery shopping habits in the last year.
• While the majority of those who purchase organic products have not changed their organic purchasing habits in the last year, cost conscious consumers are cutting back in several areas. Sweets such as bakery items, candy, and desserts including mixes and pre-made frozen desserts are the most likely items consumers have cut back on during their grocery trips, followed by magazines/books/DVDs and prime cuts or types of meat and seafood.
• The frequency that consumers shop for groceries has also increased which could be contributed to many reasons. By shopping more frequently, shoppers’ per bill cost would be lower; shoppers have the opportunity to take advantage of more sales and the opportunity to go to several retailers.
• Over 30% of Moms use digital methods to find coupons.
• Over 40% of respondents indicate that in the past year they have started shopping multiple grocery stores to get the best prices and deals.
• More than half regularly make a list before shopping for groceries.
• More than half of consumers who make general lists decide which brand they will purchase at the store based on price, coupons, special promotions, quantity, versus having a specific brand in mind while they are creating the list.
• Influenced by special sales, online coupons, shelf coupons, and in-store displays,40% of Moms regularly purchase items that are not on their shopping lists.
• The majority of consumers also prepare for trips in some way, whether it’s by using the Internet or checking out newspapers/circulars.
• More than 90% of adults 18+,adults 25–54 and Moms regularly research products online before purchasing them in-store.

One of the primary take aways from this research is that a great deal of "new" consumer behavior is mediated by online functionality. From finding coupons online to researching products to making lists are all made easier by online applications. In addition, many shoppers make multiple stops at several stores to get the best prices. Shopping from home and having their "researched" products delivered will save multiple stops, save time and cut down on gas costs.

The Internet is offering more and more of what the "new" consumer wants. Do you see the trend accelerating and meeting the new consumer where they live?

Customers love Cleanliness and Convenience- Sounds Like Home

A ClickIQ Survey found that for Walmart Shoppers "Everyday Low Prices" is extremely important, but they still cross-shop for better prices. What does this mean for online price comparisons and convenient home delivery of CPG?

Of the 888 survey respondents who had shopped Walmart for groceries and household goods in the past month:
* 54% stated that they would go to more than one store to get the best prices on grocery items
* 48% would check out multiple stores to get the best prices on household goods
* 61% had also shopped for groceries and household items at other grocery stores. When asked where they purchase groceries and household goods most often however, Walmart registered a plurality of  46%, with "other grocery stores" second at 26%.

The survey also asked respondents to rank on a five point importance scale various factors regarding retailers of groceries and household goods. Results showed:

* The number one factor rated "extremely important" was "Everyday Low Prices" at 64%.
* Second was a somewhat surprising result of "Cleanliness” at 48%,
* "Sales and Promotions" was just behind at 46%.
* A “Convenient Location" was fourth highest at 41%.

The net result seems to be that although getting the best price and the “everyday low prices” philosophy are extremely important to those who shop Walmart, the impact of a few pennies on a single item are likely beneath the awareness of most shoppers. The relatively high degree of cross-shopping would seem to be at least partially a product of clean, convenient, local grocery stores and other national retailers that offer large, frequent sales and special promotions.

The question arises, if shoppers can compare prices down to the penny from the convenience of their homes and be able to access sale and promotional items and home delivery will more and more shopping move online? What do you think?

Shopmuting Comes to Chicago

Following a successful Shopmuting pilot program in 15 commuter rail platforms in Philadelphia, Peapod is bringing Shopmuting to Chicago. The virtual grocery store is inside Chicago’s State and Lake Station Tunnel. The tunnel walls are wrapped with larger-than-life ads of grocery store shelves stocked with popular FMCP products such as Coca-Cola, Barilla and items from Procter & Gamble that can be scanned and ordered via a smartphone.

“Chicagoans spend, on average, more than an hour commuting to and from work each day.  That’s well over 200 hours a year in transit time alone,” said Elana Margolis, director of corporate communications at Peapod, Chicago. “Peapod’s virtual store program for commuter rail stations is a creative, convenient way for passengers to multi-task and knock out their grocery shopping on the go,” she said. “It helps turn commuting time into productive time. Peapod is a leading Internet grocer serving 24 markets in the United States, including Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, New Hampshire and New York.

In Peapod's Shopmuting program, users scan a QR code to download the free Peapod Mobile app, which is available for iPhone, iPad and Android devices. Once users have the app installed, they can scan the bar codes of many of the items that shoppers purchase every week, such as coffee, condiments and cleaning products. Orders can then be placed directly from the app while commuters ride the train to or from the office and schedule a delivery for the next day or days in advance. The goal of the strategy is to offer a creative and convenient way for commuters to multi-task and take care of their grocery shopping while commuting between home and the office.

According to Peapod, the 12-week virtual store program in Philadelphia saw commuters’ selections diversify and the size of their mobile orders grow. Additionally, the company reports that 90 percent of those who scanned an item in one of the virtual stores have returned to shop and order again from Peapod.

One important way that Chicago’s virtual store is different from the Philadelphia one is that more products are available to scan directly from the virtual shelves.“We added more items for the Chicago pilot,” Ms. Margolis said.  “Our vendors got really excited about it and several of them wanted to be involved.”