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3 competitive marketing strategies that are proven to boost brand visibility

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3 competitive marketing strategies that are proven to boost brand visibility

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Competitive marketing strategies allow brands to improve their market share while maximizing their ROI. Michael Porter’s generic competitive strategies establish broad categories in which brands can take a competitive advantage, which marketers still reference today. While marketing has changed since Porter published his landmark paper in the Harvard Business Review in 1979, these three categories remain the primary focus in competitive marketing strategies.

Cost leadership, differentiation, and focus are all a means of targeting consumers with the right offers based on their individual preferences. With today’s marketers seeing a rise in demand for personalization, the ability to appropriately reach consumers with targeted messages is paramount. There are three marketing strategies which brands can leverage to reach consumers regardless of which category influences their buying behavior.  

The Basics of Michael Porter’s Generic Competitive Strategies

Michael Porter’s model was so groundbreaking in 1979 because it crossed industries. Porter believed that regardless of the type of product or service sold, the competitive strategies which provided the best ROI focused on one of three aspects:

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Price leadership:

Such strategies involve the overall cost for the quality received. Plans work around discounts and rewards. They can also focus on quantity, like in the case of consumers buying in bulk to obtain volume-based discounts.

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Differentiation:

Differentiation is everything that makes a product appealing aside from price. This marketing strategy can involve quality, brand reputation and expertise, consumer loyalty, and product novelty, among other factors.

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Focus:

Focus is the hybrid category which determines how companies select their demographic. As such, most companies leverage either price-focused or differentiation-focused models in their advertising.

These categories are still relevant today and can help guide brands to make better marketing decisions in the digital space. Advances in technology like mobile app marketing, enhanced programmatic advertising, and expanding social platforms allow brands to leverage Porter’s guide to increase brand visibility.  

3 Competitive Marketing Strategies

1. Using Mobile Rewards Programs for Cost Leadership

While price is often considered the primary driver of consumer purchases in the CPG industry, less than 2% of consumers compare CPG product prices online. As this is the case, price focus is less critical in e-commerce than it is in the shopping aisle. In stores, consumers see hundreds of products, with prices prominently listed. Generic and white label brands have an apparent price advantage in the shopping aisle. In resolving this, brands should consider a mobile marketing strategy centered on rewards.

Shopkick uses incentives to guide consumers to products in the aisle. Using the app, consumers can pull up a list of products whose UPC can be scanned in exchange for rewards points, also known as “kicks.” These kicks drive consumers to seek out a particular product and physically handle it, which increases brand awareness and primes them for purchase. It also eliminates the distraction of other lower cost products, as the consumer seeks out the item which provides the incentive specifically.
This strategy works for price-focused consumers without the need for an immediate discount or coupon. Often, these individuals perceive the incentive they receive as having a higher value than its face amount due to the emotional return. Product discounts don’t typically offer the same connection or engagement.

2. Standing Out With Mobile Marketing

Brands that choose not to compete on price point must instead find a way to make their products stand out. Mobile marketing allows brands to gain consumer attention, but only if they’re able to create messages which resonate with their target markets. There are several differentiation drivers brands can use in these efforts.  

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Loyalty:

Loyalty is a big sales driver for CPG brands, but these relationships must be cultivated and rewarded regularly. Kellogg’s offers a prime example of how a CPG brand can leverage loyalty through their Kellogg’s Reward program which awards points for purchasing items in the company’s extensive family of products. Consumers can scan receipts and enter product codes to receive rewards, and the company has made many efforts to increase mobile access. Ensuring rewards programs are mobile is critical for CPG brands, as they can travel with the consumer while they’re in the store.

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Expertise:

Some brands can leverage their specific expertise with a product or the knowledge of influencers to establish strong sales in a category. CoverGirl did this through their influencer relationship with brand ambassador James Charles, the brand’s first male spokesmodel. Charles is a recognized makeup artist with millions of page views and followers for his tutorials on Instagram and YouTube. By partnering with Charles, CoverGirl extended his expertise to their brand. The partnership created awareness through his followers while also establishing branded trust and credibility.

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Quality:

Quality can speak to the specific ingredients in a product, how it is made, or the customer experience in branded interaction. Campbell’s Kitchen app, available via smart speaker, is an example of higher quality interaction. The company offers consumers recipes and other information and then uses data from those interactions to provide better recommendations and instructions. The use of both smart speaker-enabled technology and artificial intelligence in predicting consumer behavior heightens the customer experience and, as a result, elevates brand quality perception. This strategy can also act as a critical driver for e-commerce grocery sales by allowing the company to direct consumers to their product in the digital store.

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Novelty:

The uniqueness of a product can be its primary selling point, but this is often difficult in the overcrowded CPG industry. Unless a brand can reimagine the product, it’s challenging to use novelty as a selling point in CPG sales. Brands sometimes reinvent an established product to create a competitive advantage. This was the case in the strategy for Tummy Zen, a heartburn product developed by Yale’s Medical School. When introducing the new product, the company focused on sharing information about its breakthrough use of specific zinc properties via video testimonials on YouTube. The brand story becomes the primary selling point, as this is a breakthrough solution to heartburn created by some of the nation’s leading medical minds.

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Reputation:

Unilever has maintained its strong reputation by focusing on sustainability. The company made several green initiatives recently, including a goal to use all recyclable packaging for its products by 2025. As today’s consumers are concerned about their carbon footprint, such a move appeals to them. It is the hope that consumers can trust Unilever to follow through on its initiative due to the company’s reputation. This alignment of goals engages consumers and encourages them to choose the company’s products.

All these differentiators tie back to consumer trust. Consumers seek out products in the shopping aisle specifically for the aspects which engage them with the brand. As such, they’re less likely to seek out the competition as they shop.  

3. Targeting the Right Consumers With Programmatic Advertising

The final aspect of Porter’s model is “focus.” This idea is less about advertising, but instead how the brand chooses to select an audience. This category overlaps into the other two, as in most cases, price and differentiation will play roles in the audience the brand selects. It’s about breaking down the audience within an audience to target niches. Consider the instance above where CoverGirl differentiated its product by establishing a relationship with male spokesmodel James Charles.

In this case, CoverGirl also leverages a focused competitive strategy. The entire cosmetics category is aimed at a broad demographic of female users. However, CoverGirl recognized a growing niche of male users of cosmetics. By bringing on a male spokesmodel, they spoke to that smaller segment of emerging users. They also created a way of targeting programmatic advertisements which could significantly boost their return on investment. Programmatic advertising options allow brands to specifically focus messages to users based on a wide range of criteria, including:

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Personal information:

Age, gender, family status, and education all lay a foundation for brands wishing to target consumers during specific stages of life.

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Income:

Income can be gleaned from education and employment information and tells brands which consumers have the most disposable income, as well as those who may be more thrifty.

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Interests:

Insight on the celebrities consumers follow, activities they like, and their hobbies can help brands improve their messages and target influencers to grow brand awareness.

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Locations:

Geo-targeting allows brands to grow their market share in specific areas as well as create ads for local events. It can also help brands discover niche followings tied to particular locations.

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Favorite brands:

Consumers may follow specific brands to which they are loyal, allowing other brands to check out their competitors and see how they can attract these consumers to their products in the shopping aisle.

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Follower count:

Partnering with micro-influencers will enable brands to expand consumer awareness with minimal investment. Brands could target individuals with friend lists in the thousands, as an example, to increase their visibility. Micro-influencers are typically those who have under 10,000 followers and often work in exchange for discounts, coupons, and other deals on products.

These are just a few of the categories brands can leverage to focus their marketing efforts on the right groups.
Competitive marketing strategies that work around Michael Porter’s original model can make an even stronger impact today thanks to resources available. Brands can compete on cost by using mobile reward programs or differentiate their products via digital marketing. They can even highly focus their messages based on a specific demographic to increase their programmatic ROI. By using innovations in marketing technology, brands can compete based on traditional sales drivers and improve their market share.
Shopkick helps our partners gain a competitive advantage by connecting them with active shoppers who use our app. For more information on boosting in-store sales by becoming a partner, contact us.

How to Travel for Spring Break on a Budget

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Spring break has always offered the first hint of the warmer weather to come, which is why I have a longstanding love for spring break travel. From elementary school through college, my family typically opted to go on a getaway even if we only actually spent a few nights away from home. Our goal was always simple: travel to a destination that did not have snow in the forecast. Even now with many years separating me from the time I spent as a student, March is spring break season in the same way that September signals back to school.

As much as I have always enjoyed the trips I have taken in March, I have always completely understood two of the most common problems that prevent others from taking a trip themselves: where to travel and how to keep the trip budget-friendly. Both aspects can easily become quite daunting; however, I have discovered two wonderful workarounds: Shopkick’s travel wheel and Booking.com and Hotels.com!

Spin the Travel Wheel:

Whenever I used to feel indecisive, I would sometimes find my Magic 8 Ball. I knew it didn’t have any true powers, but I knew how to best solve a problem if I found myself hoping it would say a particular answer as I shook it. Spinning Shopkick’s travel wheel offers the same type of feeling, but I think we can all agree solving where to travel on your next vacation is a fun “problem” to have!

The wheel has plenty of great destinations throughout the United States for trips of all kinds. From areas you can easily drive to throughout the South, like Charleston, Walt Disney World, and New Orleans, to places that are only a flight away, like San Diego, Yosemite, and even Mexico, there are plenty of locations (and ideas about what you can experience) right here. Where will the wheel tell you to travel to?

Book Your Trip with Booking.com or Hotels.com:

Once you decide on your spring break destination, make sure to hop over to Booking.com and Hotels.com from your Shopkick app! You will want to make sure to book through the app because you can earn 10 kicks/$1 spent between now and Sunday, March 10, for all of the spring break travel you book. It’s like earning 4% back in kicks! Both websites have incredible budget friendly options for all of the destinations we’ve mentioned. And, the great news is you can redeem your kicks for a gift card to use during your vacation. What could be better?

Now that we’ve solved two of the most common spring break problems together – where to travel and how to save money – tell us: Where will you travel during your spring break? Where is your favorite spring break destination from past trips? Let us know on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter! Make sure to join our social media fun too because you will discover a whole community of passionate Shopkickers just like you.

How to increase sales in retail: 5 effective strategies

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How to increase sales in retail: 5 effective strategies

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Understanding how to increase sales in retail centers on one critical component of the brand-customer relationship; trust. If consumers don’t trust a brand, they won’t allow that brand to help guide their purchase decisions. Brands can build this trust through transparency and personalization, but they must find effective ways to communicate their messages. As CPG brand decisions are often made in the moment by consumers, these brands must be able to create a connection that causes customers to remember their products as they make a purchase.

Loyalty is a vital driver of sales as it allows brands to stay top-of-mind during the consumer’s purchase journey. When the consumer is in the shopping aisle, they see thousands of brands and an equal amount of advertising. Most times, the CPG brand’s product is sitting on the shelf right next to its largest—and sometimes less costly—competitors. Brands must establish relationships with consumers before they even enter the store to stand out in such a crowded marketing space. They must also find ways to connect with consumers as they travel in efforts to reach them in the critical moments before purchase. Through such strategies, it’s much easier to increase sales in retail and gain a greater share of the market.

Increase Focus on Brand Safety

A major concern which does not get enough attention in the CPG industry is brand safety. Brand safety doesn’t relate to the safety of the products themselves. Instead, it centers on the safety of the platforms and marketing methods they use. When a brand directs consumers to an unsafe platform, they could suffer serious damage to their reputation. In 2018, 60% of marketing professionals reported that brand safety was a significant concern, and this is a problem which only grows more prevalent as new platforms roll out. There are a few issues that those thinking of brand safety need to consider:

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Information reliability:

Sites which post false information and made up news stories are a serious problem as they mislead the public and spread misinformation. Brands should avoid such sites if they want to retain consumer trust.

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Data collection practices:

All sites should have transparent and open data collection policies to ensure consumer privacy protection. Brands should only work with sites that follow proper protocols for collecting and storing visitor information.

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Technical safety:

Sites that run malicious scripts that cause problems with consumer’s devices are an obvious problem, but so are sites which are vulnerable to hacking due to insecure security practices.

Often, brands rely on a process of blacklisting and whitelisting platforms to ensure they’re safe routes for online advertising. Whitelists are sites which are approved for advertising as they have a strong reputation. Alternately, blacklists cover places where advertising is not served as the site has a poor reputation. Of course, it’s impossible to include all potential sources for advertising on lists. The obvious issue here is that brands may lose opportunities to connect with consumers on smaller, more niche sites which are untested.

Establish Trust and Transparency via Social Media

Social media is a powerful platform for connecting consumers and brands. Nearly 78% of consumers report they want brands to use social media as a way to communicate and connect with them. There are several ways that brands can drive these connections.

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Deliver customer service:

One of the earliest ways brands leveraged social media was to respond to consumer complaints and questions. By providing customer service on social media, brands show they are involved and actively work to resolve customer concerns.

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Solicit user-generated content:

Getting consumers to create their own branded content can be a great way to help them connect to other fans of the brand. Target managed this with its #TargetRun campaign. The retailer encouraged consumers to share details of their shopping trips under the hashtag and gained a lot of participation, as well as valuable feedback they could use to make shopping trips easier for consumers. This strategy was a smart way to reach consumers without directly advertising as it opened the lines of communication and got consumers to reach out to the retailer.

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Encourage social responsibility:

A popular rideshare company used voting as a way to drive a campaign and help consumers. The company noted that 15 million Americans reported their main barrier to voting was lack of transportation and responded with their #RidetoVote campaign. This program offered discounts for consumers traveling to the polls on election day. Through this campaign, the company gained significant buzz on social media and provided a solution to a concern for their target demographic.

Social media is not just an avenue for advertising. It offers a vital opportunity to connect with individuals and develop relationships which will pay dividends. Consumers will remember these positive interactions when they go to the store and may be driven to try products as a result.

Reconsider the Role of Influencers

Unilever made news when the company announced they were pulling away from many of their influencer marketing partnerships due to concerns over their efficacy. The company specifically noted concerns over both brands and individuals who buy followers, which was a widespread but rarely talked about problem.  

The company established a new system for vetting influencers to ensure they’d be able to forge long-term, value-driven relationships. In some markets, the company even chose to work directly with influencers not just for marketing, but in the development of products. By establishing these closer, more genuine relationships with influencers, Unilever enhanced the credibility of their marketing.
Today’s brands must do the same by taking a quality over quantity approach to influencer partnerships. By thoroughly vetting influencers and working with only those who have a strong brand connection, brands can build greater affinity and awareness which will, in turn, drive sales.

Drive Loyalty With Mobile Rewards Programs

Customer rewards programs can allow brands to increase sales in retail by highlighting their products. These programs leverage incentives which can be redeemed for gift cards, branded merchandise and other benefits. They also offer a great alternative to discounts, which may gain brands one-time sales but don’t typically drive loyalty, and can hurt margins in the long run. One of the critical factors in any rewards program is the ease of use. The simpler it is for the consumer to manage, the more likely it is they will continue to participate. As such, the best reward programs are mobile.  

Branded rewards programs can be challenging to maintain, as they typically require consumers to take a few more steps in gaining their rewards for purchase. Also, unless a brand has an extensive portfolio of products to offer, these rewards programs may not be worth it to consumers. As an alternative, brands may choose to participate in third-party rewards programs. When seeking out third-party mobile app developers with whom to partner, brands should consider several critical components, including:

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App retention rate:

While apps may gain many downloads in the beginning, that isn’t the most crucial earmark of success. Instead, brands must look at how long consumers keep the app installed on their devices. If they download it one day and then remove it a week later, it’s unlikely this will drive any sales. Brands must seek out apps with retention rates that show consumers aren’t just downloading the app, but that they find it useful.

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Active users:

Retention rates in an app can be high, but if the consumers download it and never use it, those retention rates don’t mean very much. Brands should seek out apps with high amounts of active users who regularly participate.

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Session length:

How long a consumer uses the app is also a critical component that speaks to its efficacy. If a consumer is only using an app for seconds at a time, it’s unlikely they’re retaining any branded information from it. Brands should seek out apps that users consistently access through their entire shopping trips to gain the most benefit.

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Lifetime value (LTV):

The LTV of an app speaks to how much it increases sales for mobile users compared to non-mobile users. The LTV of an app shows brands exactly how that app impacts sales lift for both new and existing customers. It also helps them determine their marketing ROI.

Third-party rewards programs delivered via mobile apps can be a great way to inspire loyalty in consumers, provided brands choose the right partners. These apps also offer an additional benefit of allowing brands to reach out to consumers in the shopping aisle.

How to Increase Sales in Retail Using In-Store Gamification

Gamification is a strategy brands can leverage via mobile apps to increase sales in retail. Essentially, this gamification turns a simple app into a fun experience that consumers can enjoy as they shop. Shopkick uses this type of strategy in conjunction with incentives to drive sales. Consumers can collect rewards points from the app in several ways.

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Points for entry:

When a consumer enters a participating location with the Shopkick app open, they automatically receive rewards points. This virtual greeting starts the consumer’s shopping trip off positively and encourages them to use the app even more.  

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Points for scanning products:

Consumers receive a list of participating products which they can scan with their phone’s camera to receive more points. This process gets them to handle the product, which primes them for sale. It also turns the process of gathering rewards points into a digital scavenger hunt which makes the shopping trip fun and engaging.

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Points for purchases:

Consumers can scan their receipts to receive more points for the products they purchase. This enhanced reward creates a memorable experience for the consumer which builds positive brand affinity.

Consumers often view rewards points as having a higher dollar value than their simple face amount as there is an emotional return for collecting them. By offering them opportunities to earn rewards during various stages throughout the purchase journey, consumers are likely to use the app more often which, in turn, helps them remember the participating brands.  

Brands must build consumer trust when working to increase sales in retail. By establishing a strong relationship with consumers before they reach the store, brands increase their visibility on the shelf. Rewards programs delivered via mobile apps also provide a way to connect with them right before they make a purchase decision. These strategies hinge on consumer trust, which is why brands must be very selective when they choose their marketing partners for reaching traveling consumers.

Shopkick partners engage consumers in the shopping aisle with our fun, intuitive app that provides rewards for interacting with brands. To see how our app can help you reach a wider audience, contact us.

Earn MONUMENTAL Kicks for Presidents’ Day Weekend

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Presidents’ Day weekend has officially arrived. These next few days have long received my vote as some of the best of the winter. I think that’s due in part to being able to enjoy a celebratory weekend off with friends and family. In between catching up and adventuring around town, our time together is also typically punctuated by shopping the holiday sales. This year they are even more worthwhile thanks to Shopkick! Let’s peruse the top five categories, shall we?

Athleisure:

I just heard this is the time of year when New Year’s resolutions are put by the wayside. Not this year! If working out and reaching your fitness goals is on your agenda for the year, let’s keep the momentum going.

Stop into Modell’s to get your fitness into gear with all of your sport’s must-haves as well as a new pair of sneakers. You can also shop and earn big kicks at Fabletics! Sometimes working out is all about confidence and wearing what you love will help.

Everyday:

Whether you’re prepping for spring cleaning or wanting to stock up on all of your family’s must haves from food to toiletries, Presidents’ Day weekend is a great time to check things off of your list! Walmart.com has everything at fantastic prices, and you can also shop in bulk through Sam’s Club! Both stores are offering big kicks online this weekend when you shop through your Shopkick app.

Fashion:

I have spring fashion on my mind thanks to upcoming trips {LINK TO TRAVEL BLOG} and the arrival of warmer temperatures, which means I’m already looking at spring fashion. Wedding season, spring break, and every day in between, pick up new pieces online from Forever 21 with Shopkick!

Home:

If you’re planning to relax this weekend and catch up on your must-watch list, consider purchasing a subscription to Hulu! Some of the best shows are streamed through them, and you can also rediscover old shows and movies you haven’t seen in ages. It sounds like my kind of weekend! While you’re watching, you can also browse online for new home décor with Amazon Home, Overstock, and Big Lots.

Kids’ Style:

How often do you spot styles meant for kids and think, “I wish they made that in my size?” It comes to mind all the time for me! While that might not happen, there is still so much enjoyment to experience while shopping for your favorite kids at Carter’s and OshGosh B’gosh! This weekend, both brands are offering double the kicks when you make purchases in store with Shopkick.

How are you spending your Presidents’ Day weekend? We hope you earn MONUMENTAL kicks!