How To Build A Team Packed With Shopper Marketing Talent

Shopper marketing is having a bit of a renaissance. Perhaps the buzz/goldrush (delete as appropriate) into retail media is part of it. Perhaps (finally) enough people have got the message that you can't win at consumer goods without marketing to both consumers and shoppers. Whatever the reason, we are working with clients all around the globe as they try and step up their shopper marketing efforts and ensure that their business as a whole becomes more shopper-centric. Yet, if the number of calls I get from head-hunters or clients looking for talent is anything to go by, there appears to be a chronic shortage of shopper marketing talent. How then should business leaders, Marketing Directors, or Heads of Shopper Marketing approach what is arguably the biggest barrier to shopper marketing excellence – how to create a fabulous team brimming with shopper marketing talent?

Winning with shoppers is about more than just the Shopper Marketing Team

And when I say 'shopper marketing talent' - I really mean shopper-centric managers. Because winning with shoppers isn't just about what happens in the Shopper Marketing Team. Depending on your structure and nomenclature, shopper-centric management is required right across commercial teams. Category teams. Trade Marketing Teams. Insight teams. Even sales teams and sales leaders. All of them need to become more shopper-centric if companies are to truly realize the full potential of their brands.

The bigger problem for consumer goods talent

Talent shortage is a perennial global problem, and not one limited to shopper marketing. But Consumer goods companies in general are facing an even bigger squeeze: In 1998 over 20% of Fortune Magazines “Best companies to work for” were consumer goods companies; but by 2011 it was only 5%. Any guesses as to how many CPG companies made the list in 2023?

None.

Not one.

Not P&G. Not Unilever, Not Nestle. No Kellogg's, Mondelez, Kimberley Clark, Coca-Cola or PepsiCo. It appears that consumer goods isn’t seen to be the ‘go to’ career choice that it used to be.

Shopper Marketing Faces a Tougher Talent Squeeze

And within this shopper marketing faces unique challenges driven by its rapid growth and by its relative newness. I know that it feels that shopper marketing has been around for a long time. But that simply isn't true on a global scale. And even in markets such as the US where shopper marketing has been around a while, its still a relatively baby compared to consumer marketing and sales.

So if the global talent market is going to get tougher, and shopper marketing faces arguably a bigger squeeze than most, it appears that the ability to attract, develop and retain shopper marketing talent will be key to the success of any manager’s shopper marketing endeavour. So, beyond the usual, what specifically should CEOs, Marketing Directors, and Shopper Marketing Heads do to win the talent battle?

Winning the battle for shopper marketing talent

Coaching and training your team

Whilst it is obvious that developing existing teams is critical, it is worthy of mention as it underpins everything else. It is also harder in the shopper marketing arena. There are typically less processes to follow, less experienced peers to mentor or coach, and fewer high quality training companies. There are also fewer resources for coaches to reference. At engage we work hard with our clients to ensure that managers have ‘coaching kits’ to enable on the job coaching; and to support managers who may not have access to the resources that, say a consumer marketing head, or a sales director, may have at their disposal. Providing adequate support resources, plus guidance and support through the coaching process, has in our experience had significantly better results in terms of competence development as well as retention.

Take a more strategic approach to shopper marketing

You're not going to attract the brightest minds in the business or the industry to a team which isn't seen as strategically important. So ask yourself: how strategic is our approach to shoppers? Do we have a shopper strategy, that is part of an integrated strategy across marketing and sales? If not, then there is a grave danger that your team will be seen as 'second tier'. And more importantly - you won't be getting most of the benefits of shopper-centricity without that powerful integrated shopper strategy. Want to see how that works? Get in touch and I'll happily share case studies to show you exactly how it works.

Sell internally

Recruiting internally is often the best way to build a team; and this is also true for shopper marketing. Unfortunately shopper marketing often has a tough selling job on its hands. Amongst consumer marketers, a really good source of potential shopper marketers, it is often seen as a lesser discipline, too close to sales to be truly ‘marketing’. This is changing slowly, but if you’d like a queue of talented brand managers knocking at your door asking for a job, then you need to get your PR right. Your shopper marketing needs to emphasize that it is marketing in everything it does, and the importance and role of shopper marketing in the total marketing of brands needs to be understood throughout the organization.

Sell upwards

What gets said by the CEO gets listened to. And what gets said frequently by the CEO gets absorbed. If the CEO isn’t talking about the strategic importance of shopper marketing, and making decisions about the business which mirror this, then the internal selling will have limited impact. The same goes for the CMO. If these key influencers aren’t on board, then internal recruitment will be an up-hill battle

Let your best talent go

OK – perhaps not all of them, but recognize that people will want to move on in their careers. This is great news. If they had a fabulous experience with you, they will become your biggest advocates. And, after time in other companies or functions, they’ll come back as even better shopper marketers.

Recruit raw talent and attitude

Not exclusively perhaps, but remember that the number of experienced shopper marketers is far smaller than that which the market demands. Recruit those with some of the core skills from other functions (the ability to create insights, for example) rather than the number of years they have spent in a shopper marketing role previously. Recruit someone who has what it takes to be a great shopper marketer, rather than someone who already is.

Shopper marketing is a growing industry and as more money gets funnelled into retail media (be it online or in-stores): retailers, manufacturers and agencies will falling over themselves to find the best talent. There simply isn’t enough to go round. Searching for top quality, experienced shopper marketers is rapidly becoming like searching for a needle in the proverbial haystack. Rather than searching fruitlessly, the smarter solution when searching for a needle in a haystack is either to make the needle want to come to you, or make your own needles! For more information about how engage can support the development of your shopper growth strategy; the training, coaching and development of your shopper marketing teams; or if you would be interested in being coached personally by me, check out some of our training programs here or send me a message.