900 words, a 5-6 minute read

​Why Insight?
Thriving as a business means growing your brand … and doing this faster & better than the competition requires Insight. 
 
Not just data or facts, Insight explains the ‘Why?’ behind the trends we see.  
 
By understanding the ‘Why?’, brands can better know the Consumer, and as a result create better products, or develop more targeted activation plans.  However, to do this Insight first needs to be demanded & embraced by the organisation.
 
Panasonic knew this.  As a very successful electronics company, Panasonic prides itself on high quality products and therefore culturally has a very strong technical focus.  However, as a global player, the company recognised that to grow even faster it is critical to understand how categories & customers differ in each market in which it plays, and to place these insights at the centre of what they do.

​In 2021 Panasonic asked Optima Retail to build on the work we were already doing together to help them build a more consumer & data led culture in the business, and further develop team capabilities to execute a new growth strategy.  

​What resulted was an 11 module “Insight Driven Value” training programme, released online in English and Japanese over a period of 12 months.  Each of the 11 modules was focused on a different topic, from building a base understanding of what an Insight is and where it comes from, to introducing the different stages of the Customer journey and then exploring more advanced topics like Insight led Product/Packaging and how to develop a Category growth story.
 
Key principles were explained in bite-sized chunks, and each module was brought to life with case studies, quizzes and hands-on exercises so participants could learn by doing, as well as a community forum where questions could be asked and best practice shared.

Optima Retail work with a range of brands to help them better understand their customers and the market opportunity for their brand.  We then work with them to develop growth strategies which deliver these opportunities often including building brand & category stories which are presented to their retail customers.  To find out more about how we may be able to help you, please get in touch via our contact page.
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After years of predictable and quite slowly evolving shopping patterns, current demand means we rapidly need to develop a new understanding of how to best serve shoppers over the coming months, with huge potential implications for Suppliers.
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Whether its panic buying or pantry stocking demand is through the roof.  UK consumers continue to stockpile goods, decimating the supply chain and fuelling a vicious circle of increased concern and increased demand.

Whilst in the short term this means shorter trading hours, redeployment of cafe & counters staff , and limits to the number of any one item Shoppers can buy, the focus is moving to range and space.  

1. Range Rationalisation
New demand patterns mean every SKU will be questioned.  Volume may be concentrated into a smaller number of SKUs, creating a longer tail which could be culled by Retailers to protect on-shelf availability.  However, real choice & unique Shopper needs must be protected and smaller brands will be under even more pressure to use consumer, shopper & category insights to really prove the true value they bring to the category. 

2. Reduced Promotions
Promotions cause spikes in demand Supply Chain could well currently do without, especially those which only run on shelf with no increased capacity.  Added to this, the total amount of secondary feature space may also be reduced causing a double whammy as retailers redeploy some plinth ends to  increase shelf capacity for core SKUs, and also look to re-engineer the promotional programme to better reflect current Shopper needs.  For example they may feature less packed lunch items and more in home meal solutions, and with reduced opportunity to promote, some brands may want to re-consider their overall pricing strategy. 

3. Innovation
Major changes always create new opportunities.  Some concepts in the NPD pipeline may need to be shelved as no longer appropriate, but new ideas should be explored to take advantage of new shopping & consumption patterns.  Which products will increase and which will decline?  Clearly some on the go products may suffer mid-term declines, but fresh foods, ready meals & treats may all increase as Shoppers spend more time at home and less in restaurants & food service outlets.  

4. Online & Convenience
Increased demand was enough to force Ocado to close their website temporarily this week, and the other Grocers will be feeling the same pressure.  Whilst capacity for online deliveries is limited, retailers will do what they can to ramp this up over coming months, driving up channel growth.  Increased demand is also sending more shoppers into convenience Stores, and may be sustained as Shoppers working from home do more top up shopping at neighbourhood stores which may be within walking distance.  Brands need an effective strategy for both channels to ensure they have the right presence and visibility with the right products to maximise conversion at point of purchase.

5. Relationships
Lean in - Buyers are fighting fires day by day at the moment, without time to consider anything strategic or longer term.  They will make tough decisions in the interests of their shoppers and their business, potentially also without discussion with Suppliers.  Be proactive, and be understanding.  Think 1, 2, 3 months down the line to help them.  What does your future demand curve look like?  What can you share about new shopping patterns and consumer needs in your category which will  help retailers adjust their offer?  

Conclusion
The market is evolving quickly, and we are operating in a very different world to just 4 weeks ago.  Timely insights & rapid learning about how the coronavirus outbreak has changed consumer & shopper needs in your category, and what this means for future category and brand strategies are crucial to driving growth over the next few months.  Suppliers who can help Supermarkets develop this new understanding will be the ones to win.


Thank you for reading this article.  If you need any help understanding how recent changes in shopper behaviour are impacting your brand, and what you need to do about it to thrive and grow then please get in touch for a free initial chat.

Optima Retail is an agile, independent insights & category management consultancy working with scaling and established businesses to accelerate category and brand growth.  

Exclusive listings are near the top of most Buyers' shopping lists when they are looking for new products as they help to differentiate their range, offer the chance to drive lasting growth in their market share, as well as some degree of profit protection.  But does it work both ways?  Are there similar benefits for new brands in return for shutting down other sales avenues, or is it a one way street?

In this article we answer that question by looking at it from both sides and the benefit of 20 years experience in the trade...

Introduction
So you’ve spent months perfecting you pitch, explaining how all the latest trends and consumer insights point to your product becoming the next big thing, and your Buyer is still sitting there with a poker face, showing no intent of actually listing your brand?  Then here’s 4 tips to seal the deal…

Compelling insight-driven stories about real consumers are the best way to inspire your Buyer and persuade them that your brand will grow their total category.   This article explains how...

As UK supermarkets continue to simplify their ranges & reduce sku count, its becoming ever harder to get the listing you need.  As a small or scaling business, getting the meeting you need can be a skill in itself, but once you are there, what is it that will set you apart from all the other products the Buyer sees?
 
Put yourself in the Buyer’s shoes and you will soon see that they are pretty agnostic about brands, and what any individual SKU will sell – its all about the category.  Will your brand drive INCREMENTAL sales, rather than stealing from the competition, and what proof do you have when you pitch?
 
Any Buyer listing a new brand is taking a leap of faith, and the thing that is going to set you apart from the many other hopefuls is not your brand, its not some whizz-bang technology and its not a load of charts and data.  Its your story.

Stories are more persuasive
Stories are consistently found to be more persuasive than more data-led approaches (e.g. Martin & Power 1982*) because they engage the listener in a different way.   
 
More memorable
Stories can be up to 7 times** more memorable than facts alone because they act as mnemonic devices for facts.  Mnemonics work by organizing abstract material into a meaningful structure – just think back to primary school and the rhymes you were taught to remember points on a compass or the colours of the rainbow for proof of this.
 
Engaging Our Emotions
When listening to straight information, the audience evaluates each individual message, actively analyzing each point they are hearing.  When our emotions are engaged, however, and we feel personally connected in some way to an authentic narrative, we often absorb it entirely, without pausing to challenge or deconstruct what we’re hearing.
 
Swept away by a compelling story, we are more likely to embrace the ideals and messages it is promoting.  Even though there may be no facts or data, we can still be deeply moved – and when we do have the facts, the story becomes even stronger.  In the end it comes down to the audience being able to relate to what you are saying:  

Structure
All stories need a start, a middle, and an end.   By setting the scene, showing you understand market conditions and consumer trends you are making your product relevant to the retailer and showing it addresses a shared opportunity.  Only then should you go into solution mode.
 
Hooks
Start with the most interesting bit of the story.  For a retailer this is normally the size of prize, as every Buyer wants to know ‘whats in it for me?’ so make sure you make this as clear and credible as you can.
 
As well as this, though, think about using additional hooks which grab the attention eg something contrarian (challenging the majority view) or counterintuitive – (going against our own gut instincts).  This is where the real insight you are sharing starts to become the competitive advantage the Buyer is really looking for. 
 
Themes
5 themes which consistently drive the most engagement in the audience are …

1. Aspirations and Vision. More than any other topic, aspirations and vision are helpful because they enable the audience to connect emotionally to something much bigger than any individual product and see into a company’s soul. Innocent Drinks are ‘here to make it easy for people to do themselves some good’, whilst Dyson are ‘all about invention and improvement’.  A story built around these aspirations is much more interesting than the nutritional value of fruit juice or the science behind a vacuum cleaner.  Guy Kawasaki explains more in this video
2. Values.  Related to aspirations, a value can communicate provenance, character and a way of doing things that sets you apart from the pack.  They position your brand in clear territory of your own choosing which can be very difficult for other brands to compete with.
3. David vs. Goliath.  We all like to root for the underdog and having a story about how a small business is taking on one of the big boys to better serve the consumer or disrupt the industry always appeals. 
4. The Dam is about to break.   A trickle is there and its getting bigger.  The wall is weakening and the flood is about to come.  You need to be ahead of the curve or you will lose.  For a smaller business this also helps to project scale – talk about the 6 million people with the problem your product fixes, not the 273 units you’ve sold to date.  
5. Love & Death.  Most drama is ultimately driven by at least one of these hugely powerful themes, so your story will be stronger with them than without.  Find a way to work them into your story in an authentic way if you can!

About Optima Retail
We work with scaling businesses and have a proven track record of driving commercial performance by speaking the Retailer's language - identifying new or unmet consumer & shopper needs and providing solutions which drive brand AND category performance.  For a free informal chat about how we may be able to grow your business please contact us here.

Sources
* Martin J. & Power M.E. (1982). “Organizational stories: More vivid and persuasive than quantitative data.”
** Bower, G. H. and M. C. Clark (1969). “Narrative stories as mediators for serial learning.”
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