A Customer-Centric Approach

Building a strong brand requires that you adopt a customer perspective. But what if you want to build an “irresistible” brand? The secret to an irresistible brand lies in understanding your customers on a more intimate level. Really understanding their worlds. What makes them tick? What are their needs and desires?

By closely monitoring brand health, retailers can gain valuable insights into their target audience and future audiences. This knowledge enables them to create tailored messages and offerings that resonate with customers and drive loyalty and broad-based messaging to attract new customers into your expanding customer base.

Why Brand Strength Matters for Retailers

Brand value isn’t just a feel-good metric; it’s a potent driver of long-term growth and resilience. Consider these statistics:

• 30% of company revenue is generated by the strength of the brand alone
• Power brands experience a staggering 2.6x higher sales volume and a 58% market share surge
• A whopping 74% of retail CMOs allocate at least 60% of their marketing budget to long-term brand building

However, there’s a crucial missing piece in the puzzle–measuring the effectiveness of brand-building efforts. How can you be sure your brand-building initiatives are delivering the desired results? This is where the challenge lies for CMOs. 

What Influences Customers to Choose You as a Retailer to Buy From?

Discovering what compels customers to choose you as a retailer over the competition is paramount. Research indicates several key drivers that influence brand choice in retail, most notably:

• Relevance — aligning with a shopper’s specific needs and preferences
• Ease of Access — offering seamless and hassle-free access to the brand portfolio
• Shopper Experience — delighting shoppers at every touchpoint

It’s crucial to recognize that these drivers can vary significantly across retail sectors. For instance, insights show that the combination of factors driving retail consumers to choose one FMCG brand, while shopping for groceries, over another is different compared to what drives them when choosing between two comparable technology brands.

Need more help understanding these drivers? NIQ’s solutions and service teams equip you with sector-specific brand tracking insights, empowering you to tailor your retail brand strategy to click with your target audience and stand out within your competitive landscape.

Understand Consumer Perceptions to Drive Growth 

Let’s delve into a real-world example: analyzing the success factors of FMCG retailers in Germany. This study revealed a fascinating trend – “Experience” emerged as a critical growth lever for some retailers. These retailers prioritized creating a positive and engaging in-store experience, recognizing that it’s not just about the products, but the overall customer journey.

In our evaluation of retailer brands, consumer loyalty remains strong at the top with the same retailers dominating both awareness and share of wallet.

On the other hand, discounters achieved success primarily based on price perception. While price is an undeniable driver of consumer choice, it shouldn’t be the sole focus.  

Discount grocers lack of brand differentiation and weak customer experience could hurt them when the economy recovers. The solution? Focus on improving customer experience and offering unique products to build trust and loyalty – key ingredients for long-term success in any economic climate.

For a deeper look into our FMCG retailer evaluation for Germany, or to explore similar findings in other markets, read more in our latest FMCG shopper trends report.

Turn Insights into Action

Imagine having a direct line to your customers’ minds. With NIQ’s retail brand intelligence, you don’t have to wonder what your customers are thinking.

Here’s how these insights empower retailers:

• Identify retail target audience: Gain insights into their demographics, needs, and shopping habits, allowing you to tailor your message and offerings for maximum impact.
• Understand customer purchase drivers: Are they price-conscious? Do they prioritize quality or convenience? By understanding these drivers, you can craft marketing campaigns that drive conversions.
• Track Your Retail Brand Perception Over Time: Are you building trust and loyalty? Are your marketing efforts effectively communicating your brand values? Brand health tracking lets you constantly monitor brand perception and adjust your strategy as needed.

These insights are critical to unlocking success. They empower retailers to develop short-term marketing wins, long-term brand building strategies, and overall growth.

With NIQ’s retail brand health tracking solutions, you have access to the data and insights you need to quantify the impact of your brand-building efforts. By tracking key retail brand health metrics over time, you can see what’s working, what’s not, and make data-driven decisions to optimize your brand strategy for long-term success.