Author: Olivia Anderson, Client Associate at Lobster
NPD rarely delivers a positive ROI when considering shopper investment however it is vital to effectively support any innovation to ensure its long-term success. Indeed, Nielsen predict the failure rate for new products launched in the Grocery sector to be circa. 85%. To ensure the most effective support plan for your NPD consider the following top tips.
The who: Communicate product education and inspiration
Understand wholly who you want to target, and how this product will fit into and benefit their lifestyle. Branded communication is essential to deliver education and inspiration to shoppers. It is not enough to use pack-shot led media and templated touchpoints in isolation.
The where: Favour out of aisle touchpoints
It is important to communicate with shoppers out of aisle to direct traffic to your product in-store and inspire purchase before a competitor is picked up as a result of auto-pilot shopping behavior.
NPD needs to be over supported
No matter how strong or revolutionary the product is, never assume it’ll sell itself. Don’t activate store targeting within your media implementation plan but instead promote the product in every store it is listed within.
Don’t launch and leave
Loyalty card data shows that the more often a shopper buys, the more likely they are to become a long-term buyer. Activate a phased support plan with multiple bursts of media in-store.
Accelerate trial
Ensure your product is trialled and shared by consumers and ‘Product Pioneers’. Ensure there’s a strategy in place that engages consumers to trial, after just one trial, there is already a 27% chance they will purchase
Summary
It’s important throughout an NPD launch to ensure the shopper is at the forefront of your mind, understanding wholly who your customer is, where best to reach them and ensuring a bold and on-going support plan is in place.