Food and drink manufacturers know that product sampling is a powerful way to convert potential customers. It’s a fantastic sales tool because it removes the biases of price, packaging, branding and and encourages good will (consumers love getting something for free) for relatively low investment.
Most of us have experienced free product samples in the supermarket that have driven us to purchase the next shop. It’s effective yes, however surprisingly, it’s only half of the picture.
According to 2000 Mums surveyed for the ‘Billion Dollar Mum – What Makes Mums Buy Your Products’ market research (commissioned by www.KidsBusiness.com.au, who help brands build profitable relationships with Mums) 50% of what influences a mum to buy stems from offline interaction i.e sampling, and 50% of what influences a mum to buy is driven by online touch points. Which means, if brands purely rely on offline advertising as part of their consumer marketing, they are losing sales.
More than ever before, today’s Mums are researching potentially hundreds of purchasing decisions online, and by using a couple of key strokes they can tap into the opinions of thousands of other Mums; their experiences – (good and bad), opinions (justified or not) and preferences.
How can Food and Drink companies merge and amplify the power of sampling with online integration for leveraged results?
One way is through working with Influencers. These ambassadors work on behalf of brands to influence and empower mums (literally thousands of Mums) – to make informed buying decision. Influencer mum-to-mum endorsements is the result of them sharing personal, relatable, honest brand experiences, which in turn provides credibility. It’s real and Mums know it.
We took the opportunity to chat with Marathon Foods and asked them to share their insights into what it’s been like working with influencers. This is what they had to say:
What are the benefits of working with influencers and what is the main benefits Marathon has received in working with influencers to date?
Marathon Foods: The benefits of working with influences is that (if done correctly) you can create real brand advocacy. When that happens the influencer communicates that message to consumers endorsing your product which means they actively look for your product in store and buy it. Is very powerful.
Another benefit of working with influencers is that you can really drill down and segment the market. We know so much about these influencers and that is also reflected in the people who follow them. We were able to target specific consumers which in turn created less wastage for us. For example, we can easily customise and carve messages with busy households, foodies, happy campers, simply by aligning with the right influencers.
Did you have any reservations about working with influencers and if so what were they?
Marathon Foods: Working with influencers was something we were initially hesitant to explore. The world of social media was very new to us as a company, it’s not something that was around at all ten years ago. We knew there was opportunity there but we were unsure how to approach it. We also didn’t know how influencers would communicate our brand attributes and values.
How did you overcome these reservations?
Marathon Foods: We overcame them by working with Kids Business to tailor the message of our brand/s that the Mums really engaged with. Through this process we learnt that no two influencers are alike, so it’s important to tailor a message that inspires and relates to them. If they are inspired and can relate to your brand, then they are more likely to become advocates for your product and share that advocacy with their audience.
Has Marathon seen brand perception change/improve as a result of working with influencers? Marathon Foods: We have definitely seen a shift in our brand perception. I think before people were buying a product because they had an event, party, or occasion and saw our foods as complimentary but weren’t looking for our brand specifically. Whereas now, partnering with influences we are getting more engagement with the actual brand. People are now more informed about Marathon, and have seen through the power of actual consumers, how our brand is made to be enjoyed. It’s more powerful when customers and real world advocates share messages about Marathon to others.
What inspired you to work with Kids Business initially and has your experience met or exceeded expectations? In what way?
Marathon Foods: We were really interested in working with Kids Business because they have been doing this for nearly ten years and have more experience in this area than we do. So far, they have surpassed our expectations by guiding us through every step of the way, helping us to align our message with the influencers to get the most exposure for our brand and educating us on the best ways to create advocacy and leverage our influencer marketing program. Plus, the market research Kids Business supported us with was insightful and helped us discover more about the buyer behaviour in this space. It’s been a smooth process, saved us time and we’re getting results from it.
Will you continue to work with influencers? Why?
Marathon Foods: We will continue to work with influencers because we know that the best way to leverage these relationship is to build long standing collaborations. We want to work with influences who can get just as engaged with our brand as we are; who can take our message and what we stand for, to make it their own.
Do you have any advice for other Food and Drink companies who want to explore using influencers to market their products?
Marathon Foods: Do your research, work with someone who is an expert at facilitating the results you want. I am so glad we did, we have been able to concentrate of what we do best; create great tasting products and let our partners spread the word.
For further information or to find out more information on Billion Dollar Mum – What Makes Mums Buy Your Products’ latest market research contact Kids Business 03 9598 9128