In the connected retail environment developing in the UK the trend for social, location based and mobile forms of exchange are on the increase. Fuelled by growth in smartphones and data networks the integration of the digital world with the in store shopping experience is on the rise. Two thirds of smartphone users in the US say they use them while in store, with 9% using them for coupon redemption. The latter point highlights that it’s not only technological shifts driving the behaviour; economic conditions are also leading shoppers to make smarter decisions using whatever platform they have at their disposal.

I’ve seen recently that shopper marketing departments are growing and the focus of many is to understand how digital integration can support and enhance the shopper experience. It’s a noble quest and one I’m sure will pay dividends in the future. If shopper marketing planning fails to recognise that a great deal of shoppers research and planning is affected digitally and via social media, even for in-store purchases, then they could be missing out.

Key to understanding the role of integrated media for brands in the shopping environment is as follows:

• Forget AIDA – what does the journey now look like and where can/does digital play a role?

• Get SoLoMo – Bring shoppers the right content, media or offers at the right time using their smartphones as the intermediary.

• There is no single answer – research how the role of digital integration can function most effectively in your category and for your shoppers.

At the Value Engineers our Digital Strategy Team can help with all three.

To find out how your brand can be lucky in love this year, take a look at our Valentine’s Quiz and make your way through the relationships maze. When you get to the bottom, you’ll discover our secrets to building a happier, more fulfilling relationship with your consumer…

I travelled to Paris this week and stayed overnight.

The hotel sent me a feedback survey the very next day which I duly completed with a comment about the check-in process.

It was only a little niggle in what was otherwise an ok stay but they asked, so I told them.

Within 24 hours I had received a personalised email in response with appropriate apology and an offer of an upgrade next time I stay.

Closing the loop done well.

Yes, I’m more likely to choose that brand of hotel again and yes I’m telling people about the experience.

One person taking responsibility and taking action swiftly has turned a potential detractor into a promoter.

By contrast, we’ve booked a week’s skiing next month (having first checked out the hotel on Tripadvisor) and have been more than a little concerned to read a lengthening series of terrible reviews from customers who have stayed there very recently.

Dreadful food, cold showers, staff who don’t have a clue and don’t take responsibility.

At least there is snow !

We contacted the company and told them we had read the reviews and were worried. They responded with something about ‘teething problems’ and promised that they were sorting it all out.

The poor reviews keep coming. ‘Don’t book’, ‘Avoid’ etc. are not words calculated to make us look forward to a care-free holiday.

Promises are one thing – and these came from the brand manager.

Keeping promises is something very different indeed.

This company know very well that if they continue to provide such a poor customer experience they will be in deep trouble and yet they haven’t yet taken the action needed to fix the problems they clearly have in running an effective operation.

I’ve just called the brand manager to ask him what he proposes to do to ensure we get the holiday his brand has promised and we have paid for.

Will he take responsibility and give me the guarantees I’m looking for ?

Will he take refuge in blaming others or simply spouting platitudes about how ‘customer feedback is important to us’ ?

I wonder…

Come on, put your money where your brand promise is ?

Show me the customer (and especially this customer) really does matter.

Watch this space…

PS If you want me to name names, please drop me a line timkaner@thevalueengineers.com

This is the next in a series of posts which discuss the tools every good marketer should have in their toolbox. Last time Fishbones, today the BCG matrix or, to give credit where credit is due, the Boston Consulting Group growth-share matrix.

In essence it is a planning tool to guide the management of a portfolio of businesses or brands based on the basic idea that strong share, growing market = good but a weak share in a static or declining market = bad. Its’ perspective is the ability of the portfolio to generate or absorb cash.

So far, so straightforward.

Each business or brand is assessed against two factors – market share relative to market leader and the growth rate of the market it which it competes. The size of the bubble on the chart represents the sales value of the business or brand. Its position indicates its role in the portfolio and the consequent investment policy.

Then comes the bit everyone remembers – cash cows, dogs, problem children and stars (which sounds like a synopsis for a script of the Archers)

The BCG matrix can provide a very helpful initial assessment of a portfolio but beware of two underlying and questionable assumptions:-

-          Having a balanced portfolio is necessarily a good thing

-          The cycle of problem child to star (or dog) to cash cow to dog is somehow inevitable

Important watch-outs are to make sure you avoid market myopia and define your market from a customer perspective (what market/s are you really in?), and also to ensure your market growth prediction is realistic and not just wishful thinking.

When using the matrix these tips might come in useful

-          Dogs can be your best friend if you want to bite the competition on the ankles

-          Problem children take a lot of patient loving before they fulfil their true potential

-          Stars use up a lot of energy and can be very high maintenance (taking attention from the rest of your team if you’ll allow a mixed metaphor)

-          Cash cows must be fed as well as milked if they are to continue to provide good yields (back to the Archers again)

As the saying goes, ‘turnover is vanity, profit is sanity, cash is cash’

With the mid-term elections rapidly approaching, America is abuzz with political chatter. As the 24-hour news channels continue their never ending search for content, I thought I’d share the most recent item to have made a media splash: The Tea Party Coloring Book for Kids….

Taking America’s newest conservative political force as its focus, the book “teaches children (and parents) about the origins of the Tea Party” according to the producer’s website. It promises ”hours of coloring fun with games, puzzles, mazes and connect the dots”, not to mention having a writing surface perfect for “crayons, colored pencils, magic markers and even water colors on!”

The one question in everybody’s mind: is this for real?! Is this a genuine attempt by the Tea Party to do what almost every brand in the country aspires to, and catch its target when they’re young? Some of the book’s statements – “when taxes are too high, the high tax takes away jobs and freedom” – would certainly seem to be set on creating a set of mini-Tea Party brand advocates. Then again, the producer insists there is no party backing, citing the ‘President Obama Activity and Work Book‘ also on sale as evidence of their political impartiality.

While the book’s origins remain mysterious, there’s little doubt as to its commercial success. By all accounts they’re selling like absolute hot cakes. So hurry soon, while stocks last! And if the above hasn’t convinced you to order one in, here’s the killer sell: the book is travel size, perfect for colouring (or coloring) “on a plane, train or in an automobile”.