BrainTrust Query: Marketing Must Build Both Halves of the Sales Equation
Through a special arrangement, presented here for discussion is an excerpt of an article from the Joel Rubinson on Marketing Research blog.
It has been shown that fans on Facebook were already eight times more likely to be visiting a brand website before "liking the brand." If social media mostly reinforces loyalty of those who already buy your brand a high percent of the time, how do you build a marketing plan to grow the other half of your sales as well — the half that comes from buyers who are not really loyal to your brand?
As a shopper decides what to put into the shopping cart, you are competing for that purchase with other brands that have meaning for that shopper, right at the point of purchase, with your brand sometimes being the preferred brand, and sometimes not.
So what touchpoints map to influencing the less loyal buyer segments?
Basically, it is push advertising (e.g., TV, digital display) and shopper marketing. The latter includes the pre-shopping activity of digital search and, of course, packaging. In fact, BASES' research shows that in-store exposure is now the leading source of awareness for new products. These forms of brand communication lead to brand knowledge that can convert into purchases as shoppers weigh their options. If a behavioral economist were a shopper marketing expert, they would note that brand knowledge feeds the decision heuristics that shoppers use to actively decide on purchases as they shop.
For some consumers, what they know about your brand will take on meaning to the exclusion of other brands. In a brand equity tracker, "exclusive brand meaning" is reflected in a pattern of customers checking off that only your brand stands for an important attribute (i.e., they do not check off that any other brand stands for that attribute) and only that pattern is associated with super-high levels of loyalty. Brand meaning equals consideration; exclusive brand meaning equals loyalty.
The marketing approach that calls for building brand engagement isn't wrong, but it's incomplete. Marketers need to build both halves of the sales equation. Use advertising and shopper marketing to build brand meaning that will lift sales among less loyal consumers. Use social and owned media to build exclusive meaning, leading to advocacy and engagement.