Remember Cheers, the 1980s sitcom about Sam Malone, his friends, and the neighborhood bar “where everybody knows your name”?
Although you probably don’t have a Cheers in your neighborhood, there is a place you can go where everybody does seem to know everything about you—your neighborhood store.
Take, for example, a typical experience at a well-known mass retailer: the familiar face of a greeter welcomes you at the door, and a kiosk notifies you of the best bargains to be found that day. In the produce section, a display of recipes beckons you to try a fruit you may never have seen before. A charismatic demonstrator offers you a sample of a frozen entrée your family is sure to love. In the canned foods aisle, a handy coupon dispenser helps you choose which brand of beans to buy, and an engaging display in the main aisle solves all your party hosting needs in one spot—drinks, chips, paper goods, and more—all within arm’s reach.
And that’s not all. In the cleaning supplies section, a multimedia presentation demonstrates the miraculous performance of an incredible dusting tool you really must have. Then, on the way to pay for your purchases, your cell phone buzzes with a reminder to pick up puppy treats—which, by the way, are on sale. Finally, as you check out, the cashier hands you a stash of coupons for your favorite products. Wow! The extent to which this store knows you and caters to your needs is simply miraculous—or is it?
OK, so maybe you haven’t had this “personalized shopping experience,” at least not yet, but you soon will, thanks in part to the Shopper Marketing Forum, a collaborative initiative developed by the College of Business Administration that involves such global partners as PepsiCo/Frito-Lay, CROSSMARK, Anderson Merchandisers, Pilot Travel Centers, Mars Advertising, and Wal-Mart. Along with members of the college’s faculty, key executives of these companies—spanning the areas of consumer goods, retailing, and marketing communications—are collaborating on issues that bear on shopper marketing initiatives and behavior, such as return on investment, evaluative metrics, shopper insights, and supply-chain management.
“Shopper marketing is basically an approach to understanding how consumers think, feel, and behave when they are inclined to spend money,” says Dan Flint, Proffitt’s Associate Professor in Marketing and director of the new Shopper Marketing Forum. “Marketers use those insights to improve the shopping experience and persuade shoppers to purchase specific brands from specific retailers.”
PARTNERSHIPS
The Shopper Marketing Forum is a mutually beneficial association that also hosts an annual executive summit, an annual managers’ conference, a number of professional workshops, and special events for students. And forum members work with UT Knoxville faculty members to help revise curricula and publish scholarly research, articles in industry publications, and books—all designed to ensure that UT Knoxville is on the leading edge, collaborating with business to drive change, apply research to solve business problems, and prepare students for today’s business challenges.
