Insights as a Vehicle for Influence: Embracing the Omnichannel Customer Journey

By: Amanda Ciccatelli,
Content Marketing & Social Media Strategist, Informa

Insights have become a vehicle for influencing marketing and
ultimately, the world. That's why next in our Insights as a Vehicle for
Influence series, we sat down with Claire Quinn, principal at Capre Group to discuss
the ever-changing retail space and how to embrace the omnichannel customer
experience.

Here's what Claire had to say:

How is digital
reinventing retail?

Quinn: For
Millennial 'digital natives' and those GenX and Boomers who are early adopters,
digital has reshaped the traditional 'role sort' of consumers and
shoppers. Instead, people are shifting between 'consuming' modes and
'shopping' modes seamlessly, regardless of their physical location.

Imagine this scenario to demonstrate these shifting
modes: a young woman views a TV ad showing how a new lipstick will last
all day (consuming mode)'she researches user reviews online with her phone (consuming
mode)'then uses her phone app to check whether her local drug store carries the
brand (shopping mode)'ultimately ordering it for pick-up at her neighborhood
store (shopping mode). She has moved along the full path to purchase -
shifting between consuming and shopping modes - all from the convenience of her
own living room.

It will be critical to understand the different decisions
people are making at each point along this new path, as well as the right
marketing touchpoints and content to share to drive conversion and reinforce
each purchase decision.

What can retailers do
better to embrace the omnichannel customer journey and experience?

Quinn: The new
omnichannel world presents a great opportunity for retailers to partner with
manufacturers to successfully meet and exceed consumer/shopper
expectations. Manufacturers are experts in their categories, and can
provide deeper category leadership insights and perspectives than most retailers
can create on their own. And retailers know their shoppers extremely well,
having built incredible capabilities to target and engage their shoppers.

Together, manufacturers and retailers are able to
collaborate in new ways, such as to engage shoppers pre-store, getting brands
on the list of relevant household segments or to reinvent the aisle or
check-out experience, to provide added value to shoppers while driving
incremental impulse purchases. Working together to exceed shopper expectations
provides a triple win for everyone ' shoppers, retailers and
manufacturers.

What are some shopper
insights lifecycle best practices you can share?

Quinn: One of the
most important things insights professionals need to keep in mind when planning
research is to 'begin with the end in mind.' Specifically, what is the
business problem you are trying to solve and how will the insights drive action
once the results are in?

At Capr Group, we work with clients to delve into root
cause analysis and create hypothesis-driven assertions to guide research design
as well as post-research analysis and application. This approach helps to
ensure one is thinking through the full insights lifecycle before the Knowledge
Brief is even drafted.

Want more on this
topic? Attend OmniShopper International this November in London, England. Learn
more here: http://bit.ly/2aSfoLS