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InsightsWe recently reported some preliminary results of a study fielded to 425 moms in February, 2010. A significant portion of that study was dedicated to respondents’ interaction with wholesale clubs. And, some surprising facts came to the fore.
Our interest in clubs was driven by two key factors. The first was the notable shift in mom’s shopping behavior as a result of the economy. The second was the unique communication challenges of a member-only environment.
As expected, clubs have benefitted from the economic downturn.
46% of the moms in our sample are members of a club, with one in nine club members belonging to two or more. Of those members, just over half (54%) visit the club one or more times a month. And, 52% of the members indicated that they had increased the volume of their purchases at clubs as a means of controlling their spending during the economic downturn.
For members, the rise in club purchases approached the most popular money-saving activities identified by moms at large. In the aggregate, the two most popular means of controlling spending were using more coupons (63%) and paying more attention to in-store offers (72%).
Club shoppers still favor “old school” communication.
When queried about their preferences regarding communication from their club(s) on a range of subject matter, moms adopted a very traditional stance. General, top 2 box interest in the media were:
Twitter – 11%
Club blogs – 14%
Facebook page – 21%
Email – 51%
Direct Mail – 56%
Somewhat surprisingly, among those interested in specific topics, the disparity between the preference for “old media” and “new media” actually grew—categorically. For example, as it related to notification of upcoming promotions, top two box interest in the communication vehicles was:
Twitter – 7%
Club blogs – 8%
Facebook page – 14%
Email – 58%
Direct Mail – 75%
Even in lower-interest categories such as “money saving tips for their home,” club shoppers displayed a preference for being communicated to via a traditional medium over the more contemporary options. Of note in this category was the interest shift between email and direct mail.
Twitter – 5%
Club blogs – 11%
Facebook page – 17%
Email – 68%
Direct Mail – 49%
This study establishes an important framework for understanding the value of various communication vehicles, specifically for the club channel but, with implications for other retail and product brands. It does not, however, account for all the marketplace dynamics.
All customers are not created equal.
Retailers have long known that some customers are of substantially greater value than others based on the volume of their purchases. In recent years great strides have been made in leveraging that knowledge. Supermarkets, airlines, hotels and many other industries have successfully (or less so) created loyalty programs to track and reward customer purchase behavior.
All brands, be they retail, product or service, have also gained an appreciation of the value of their customers as brand advocates. For example, in this study, moms were half again as likely to identify family and friends as important sources of information on children’s products than any other source. The difficulty lies in identifying who the advocates are and how to provide them the necessary information and motivation to become active disciples for the brand.
Clearly, the results of the study referenced above indicate that while “new media” has some value for wholesale clubs, traditional vehicles such as email and direct mail offer a substantially greater opportunity. What the study does not take into account, but a future study will, is the importance of the various media to those moms who are most likely to influence others.
Organizations like Trone® and Forrester have identified that a relatively small group of people (~ 25%) are the primary contributors in social media environments. These moms can have an exponential impact on a brand’s spending. However, before they can disseminate information, they must first accumulate it and it will be the brands (retail, product or service) that best understand how and where to reach them that will be most successful.
Remember when waiting by the mailbox for snail mail or running towards the ringing sound of your home phone were the only ways for someone to reach you?
In the past few years, I have become increasingly addicted to the fast connections of the latest technology. And while I’m usually not the first to embrace opening myself up to the possibility of having thousands of people being able to reach me, there is something thrilling about receiving communication in a variety of mediums at any given time.
Upon a recent trip home to visit my parents, I was made aware quickly that I needed to “unplug from the world,” as my mother stated. After receiving the ‘mom stare of death’ I plugged in the blackberry and vowed not to even look at the computer. The weekends conversations revolved around all the ways communication has changed over time. I mean, my dad can remember life without a home phone (and color televisions, but that’s another story.) Life pre-computer or ever, *gasp* pre-blackberry just isn’t something I like to fathom, nor do I have to.
After thinking about the many ways someone can someone reach me, (leaving out the obvious smoke signals, search light, sky writer and occasional flare) this became a fun challenge. I’m slightly embarrassed to share this list, but here it goes:
- One can dial me at work, on my cell phone or even the dinosaur landline at home.
- Remembering the office fax machine still works, one can send me a fax.
- Anyone can peck out an email to me at one of my three personal accounts or at work.
- If you’ve got the digits, anyone can text me or even BBM me.
- Professionals can network with me through an email via LinkedIn.
- If I’m online, one can IM me either through Gmail, AOL or Spark.
- Friends and acquaintances can write on my wall, IM me, message me, comment on a photo or include me in a note on Facebook.
- One can reply to a tweet via my Twitter account and even direct message me there.
- If found while visiting cyberspace, one can comment on my blog.
- And, finally, if you’re feeling old-fashioned and have a spare stamp, you can pen me a letter and send it to my home or work.
Twenty-four ways I can be contacted – almost all without someone leaving a seated position. So….why haven’t I heard from you?
Or so says Connie Reece. I agree with her.
That’s right, all you crackberry addicts and other smartphone users. You’re officially old, especially if you’re using it primarily for email. And you probably are using it primarily for email unless you’re an iPhone user who’s downloaded the Facebook app and the Twitter app. (And let’s be honest: anyone with a smartphone who believes they haven’t been conditioned like a Pavlovian dog into grabbing the phone every time the device twitters, buzzes, beeps or rings is lying to themselves.)
Here’s why you’re old (if you fall into the aforementioned group): 92% of adults (those older than 22) rely on email for communication; 16% of teenagers and undergraduates rely on email for communication. In fact, a peer of mine who works at the High Point University School of Communications recently told me that he apologized to his students for emailing them. “I just can’t text all of you,” he said.
While adults have embraced the communication that came of age while we were younger, younger generations will continue to do the same. Given that those younger constituents of our world are communicating through text, IM, Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, and a host of other social networks, it’s no wonder that there are often disconnects in communication between the generations. If you extrapolate that idea just a bit more, it’s also no wonder that those disconnects appear in marketing discussions between brands and consumers as well.
Knowing your audience–from understanding insight, not just instinct–will help you Unmass the Message, allowing you to communicate effectively and efficiently with your brand’s targets.
For me, that means learning about and participating in social media because, well, I’m old.
