5 Tips for Being Social from Windsor Foods
A continual reexamination of consumer packaged goods (CPG) marketing processes is a healthy practice. For Windsor Foods (www.windsorfoods.com), this includes finding new ways to leverage consumer data to drive brand objectives and strategies, and measure the impact of marketing on sales.“Our measurements have expanded beyond purchase dynamics, brand health, redemption rates and sales to include consumer engagement, brand sentiment, purchase intent and coupon downloads,” says Linda Pollack, vice president of Marketing, Windsor Foods. “We can assess brand performance in ways that we only dreamed of in the past, including measuring the impact on different consumer segments.”
Based on its work with Trepoint (www.trepoint.com), a provider of strategic marketing services and consulting for challenger brands, Windsor Foods shares the five most important best practices it has learned for marketing brands in the so-called digital age.
#1 Don’t Rely on Conventional Wisdom
CPG marketers need to be focused on finding new and innovative ways to drive purchase behavior, especially given the radically changing nature of the digitally savvy consumer’s lifestyle. Instead of relying on conventional wisdom, a “test and learn” strategy is far more likely to produce insights that will allow you to outflank your competitors as they follow the old school approach to driving sales.
#2 Measure the Right Things
Oftentimes, CPG brands are using proxy measurements to determine outcomes. “What’s the value of a Facebook fan?” Pollack asks. “Is that really as important as measuring how often your Facebook fans post positive comments about your brand and ultimately make a purchase? While coupons are the most common way to track purchase behavior, you can also measure purchase intent via keyword search terms and social listening.” With digital and mobile platforms, it is now possible to measure the View-Through Rate (VTR). This not only reveals who watched your ad online and via their mobile device, but how long they watched. This further helps determine where you lose your audience and what can be done to improve your advertising messaging.
#3 Create an Emotional Connection
Creating true engagement with your customers by connecting with them at an emotional level is pure gold these days in terms of a positive marketing outcome. And the more engaged you are with them, the more they’ll be incented to buy your products, and the more likely to recommend them to their friends, family and associates.
#4 Leverage the Power of UPCs & Variable Codes
UPCs give CPG companies the ability to track purchase behavior down to the store level. This is changing the game because it empowers brands to engage more directly with customers. For instance, you can have a promotion in which the first 10 or 100 or 1,000 people to enter a code on a Facebook page get a cash reward, driving a tremendous amount of traffic. Without the variable code, there’s no way to validate the individual purchase, which is what makes this type of promotion possible. The higher cost of variable codes is what is keeping more brands from using them. But the investment comes back and then some when they’re used effectively in a retention marketing program.
#5 Treat the Social Channel like a… Social Channel
The brands that succeed in achieving an ROI in social channels are the ones that aren’t using it as a place to just dump ads and marketing messages; in other words, treating it like any other medium (TV, radio, display, etc.). It turns off consumers, and gives your competitors an opportunity to make hay by being more socially savvy. Consumers come and like the Tai Pei brand Facebook page for the coupons, but they stay for the fun and the conversation.
FAST FACTS
Company at a Glance
Windsor Foods is a family-owned specialty food company marketing to consumers under the Tai Pei, Ling Ling Asian Kitchen and Jos Ol brands.
It’s Okay to Be Emotional
For its Tai Pei brand, Windsor Foods worked diligently with Trepoint to engage its audience. It avoids alienating fans by refraining from blasting them with advertising messages, but rather engages with them on an emotional level.
New Ways to UPC
Traditionally, marketers use UPC codes to identify how much product has been moved. Windsor Foods changed tradition by asking consumers to use the UPC and a QR code in new ways to interact with its brands online and receive promotions.
Exact Measurements
Windsor Foods measures fan and follower engagement to determine positive and negative sentiment. When combined with the number of coupons downloaded, it can track from intent to actual purchase. Tapping store-level data lets Windsor Foods model its campaign and redirect resources for greater effectiveness.