How to design a good shopper program

How to design a good shopper program

Executing an efficient and effective shopper marketing program requires three direct marketing tactics: relevance, reach and reward.

Understanding the unique preferences of each shopper is the only way to create and deliver truly relevant offers. Shopper preferences can be found in the purchase history of your better shoppers. These shoppers are also the most efficient to reach and influence.

As simple as it sounds, shoppers place higher value on products they enjoy. Purchase data will tell you which products each shopper enjoys, which they don't, and which new products you should bring to their attention. Matching your offers with your shoppers' preferences will increase both response and the perceived value of those communications.

Once you've matched shoppers with relevant offers, you need to reach them. A recent DMNews/Pitney Bowes survey found that most shoppers still prefer to receive coupons through direct mail. However, today's diverse, time-starved, mobile consumers also need to be reached in-store and online, by e-mail or via mobile devices. Multi-channel messaging expands your reach, and also makes it convenient for your shoppers to find and act on your offers.

The survey also highlighted the importance of the reward. Eighty-one percent of shoppers said that the most important factor in determining whether they redeem a coupon or not is the level of the discount.

However, not all shoppers need the same discount to respond to your offer. For example, a shopper who regularly purchases a product needs only a modest savings to make a purchase. A shopper who has never tried a product needs a deeper discount to make that initial purchase.

Selecting offers based on purchase data, delivering them through multiple channels and offering a discount that matches the shopper's prior spending will help you boost sales even in a down economy.

wyoung@conceptshopping.com