American Presidential Elections 2016: Lessons to learn for Shopsumer Marketing

American Presidential Elections 2016: Lessons to learn for Shopsumer Marketing

By Martin vom Stein, Managing Director The Shopsumer Institute and author of "WhatsApp Retail"

Plenty of people around the world had taken Hillary Clinton for the new president of the United States of America ... until yesterday! She was the obvious, reasonable, convenient choice in front of a candidate that caused major uproar wherever he opened his mouth and had lost all morality before he would even start his election campaign ... or at least that is what it all seemed! The fact that the "obvious" did NOT happen is a great opportunity to clarify a few things we should have known about the Shopsumer by now, but haven't understood apparently: 

1. Free means free - the Shopsumer no longer sticks to simple segmentation criteria:

Representative samples based on even the most sophisticated socio-demographic criteria are almost COMPLETELY IRRELEVANT to predict the outcome of a public poll. The same has happened with the last UK elections, the Brexit referendum and in several other EU state elections. Why? For two major reasons: 

1. Because in a day and age where 15-year old bloggers may easily have hundreds of thousands of followers, opinions and attitudes are no longer formed only by the people you hang out with physically, but are increasingly governed by the people or institutions we trust in as individuals and frequently consult digitally. This is no longer a nation watching BBC or CNN News! Each and every one of us has a different "user profile" of information sources and it is literally impossible that you and I are sharing the exact same sources, as there are billions out there. Trump used all sorts of black-or-white statements to make it onto the front page of each and every medium and therefore reach everyone. 
2. Because in states or groups of states that lived in peace for more than 3 generations by now, there is no real danger of not obeying certain social conventions. A different opinion is fully protected by the constitution and social pressure is decreasing. On the contrary: controversy is what we all love! People shouting and insulting each other in all sorts of TV shows, the divorce of Brangelina, etc. Take whatever example you like and you will see that harmony and consensus suddenly start generating the after-taste of boredom and lack of decision. And don't they always tell us that to be successful, you need to differentiate yourself? Well, that is what is happening with the new Shopsumer: he feels free, he decides freely! Trump says things out loud others may only vaguely think about, but that is what his supporters would like to do every day as well. 

2. Decisions are powered by spontaneous emotions until the very last moment:

The Shopsumer Journey is not a linear process, where he gradually discards alternatives and eventually ends up with one single choice after a rational process of weighing pros and cons. Every touch point along the Shopsumer Journey can make him change his mind, even a declared "loyal" Shopsumer. There is no such thing as a decision tree! Because the Shopsumer feels absolutely free to decide what he wants, he also is more volatile in choosing the right criteria for his decision-making. On top of that, Shopsumers are so flooded by information, that they just read a few lines to make up their mind as quickly as possible. They consume information faster, but they also forget information faster. Trump talked in headlines, Clinton still thought the intellectuals she knew were all over the place and would read her political programme from A to Z. They don't, they trust hazardously...

3. Like is not love - it is worth nothing:
In today's digital media age, Likes seem to be the hard currency everybody needs to invest in, especially institutions, brands and famous people. But Shopsumers like the experience of Lufthansa, yet they fly with Ryanair because of the price, despite liking it a lot less. It is one of the principal fallacies of many Marketing campaigns today: to believe that the more people like it, the better it will be. Clinton did not polarise, while Trump made sure that his supporters loved him for one single thing and therefore felt the call-to-action was easy to fulfill. It is the call-to-action your Shopsumers must like, not your brand, not your shiny TV images etc.

As a conclusion, the one thing companies need to do more and more is to be as close as possible to their Shopsumers, to sense the motivations and attitudes they are developing. This cannot be done by using third-party research institutes or to check your Likes on Facebook. It requires a constant and consistent retrieval of impressions by your own staff, and to interpret these impressions in the right way to get to insights you can act upon.

Let's see whether the opposition in the next presidential elections have learnt these lessons... 

WhatsApp Retail - the new book by Martin vom Stein

New book WhatsApp Retail out now!!!

Check it out on Amazon for Kindle:

ENGLISH: Messing with the Shopsumer is not a solution

Just as one of my professors at IESE Business School said: "When things go badly, you mormally have bad ideas." In this moment, Shopsumers across Europe are faced with economic problems on both sides of their personal economy, income as well as expenditure. The main problems are:
1) Reduction in income due to (potential) unemployment, salary reduction, higher retentions (taxes, social security etc.), lower return in the future (e.g. increase of retirement age to 67 years in Spain) and substantial decline of the value of the assets they possess
2) Increase in expenditure due to (potential) raise in interest rates, growth in indirect taxes (e.g. VAT from 16% to 18% in Spain), increased prices of raw material and (potential) scenarios of "co-financing" the growing public debt.
Looking at all this, I would like to comment on the multi-million fine that the Spanish National Commission for Competition (Comisión Nacional de la Competencia) has imposed upon a number of manufacturers of shower gel brands. Yes, not to compete under some market rules has to be considered a delinquency, but with 8 bottles of shower gel that each Spanish household buys per year at an approximate price of 2.40 Euros, a joint raise of approximately 15 % of the shower gels made by the corresponding manufacturers has an impact of 1.80 Euros per annum in the pocket of each household, because 3 out of every 8 shower gels sold belong to the so-called Private Label brands who have not been fined at all. The fines mean a cost that is superior to the annual EBIT of the affected brands for the majority of the companies that own them, which affects the shareholders of these companies (amongst them a large number of Shopsumers), which in turn de-motivates these companies to continue their investments in these products, with the subsequent sacking of their employees in the factories and in administration. By all means, it is important to underline that not all manufacturers participated in this initiative and therefore the Shopsumer always had the free choice to exclude the involved brands for having diminished the content of their bottles without a proportional reduction of their price. But we, the Shopsumers, continued to buy these brands, not because we're stupid and did not notice the change, but because we like them and they inspire trust for us. The price difference between a branded shower gel and the private label is a lot bigger than the 15 % mentioned before, and even so "only" 40 % of all Shopsumers' shower gel shopping is spent on private label, purely because of trust, not price. Now, if the state does not trust in the companies' ability to generate employment and therefore investigates and fines them, and if Shopsumers lose trust both in the companies' as well as in the state's ability to generate employment and therefore do not spend money on their products or do not vote their representatives, then we DO stand no chance to compete with the enormous productivity of China, India and other countries in the world.
By the way, dear Shopsumer, don't allow for illusions! The 8.2 Mn Euros fine will not be reimbursed in your next tax declaration. Possibly it will finance good salaries for new inspectors at the National Commission for Competition to increase the state's income. And don't worry! Once all manufacturers of branded shower gels have closed their factories, the manufacturers of private label brands will employ you immediately with the same salary conditions, at least! Because that's how they could always afford to be so much cheaper: buying the same quality ingredients and paying higher salaries.
I only listen to great laughter in China when they see how we mess around with each other despite being struck by an important crisis...

ESPAÑOL: Fastidiar al Shopsumer no es la solución

Ya lo decía un profesor mío del IESE: "Cuando las cosas van mal, uno suele tener malas ideas." En este momento muchos Shopsumers en Europa se enfrentan a problemas económicos en ambos lados de su economía personal, tanto en los ingresos y en los gastos. Los principales problemas son:
1) Reducción de ingresos por (posible) paro, reducción de salario, mayores retenciones (impuestos, Seguridad Social etc.), menor devolución de retenciones en el futuro (p.e. aumento de edad de jubilación a 67 en España) y la sustancial bajada del valor de activos que poseen
2) Aumento de gastos por (posible) subida de tipos de interés, elevación de impuestos indirectos (p.e. IVA de 16% a 18% en España), subida de precios de materia prima y (posibles) escenarios de la "co-financiación" de la creciente deuda pública
Ante este panorama, me gustaría comentar sobre la multa millonaria que ha impuesto la CNC (Comisión Nacional de la Competencia) en España a varios fabricantes de marcas de gel de baño. Sí, no competir bajo unas reglas del mercado se debe considerar un delito, pero con 8 geles de baño que compra cada hogar en España al año a un PVP aproximado de 2,40 Euros, una subida concertada de aproximadamente del 15 % entre los geles de los fabricantes en cuestión supone un impacto 1,80 Euros anuales en el bolsillo de cada hogar, porque 3 de cada 8 geles vendidos son de las llamadas Marcas de Distribución que no han sido multadas en ningún caso. Las multas suponen para la mayoría de estas empresas un coste superior al EBIT anual de las marcas afectadas, lo cual afecta a las accionistas de dichas empresas (entre ellos un número considerable de Shopsumers) lo que a su vez desmotivará a las empresas a seguir invirtiendo en estos productos, con el sucesivo paro de los empleados en las fábricas y en administración. En cualquier caso, es importante resaltar que no todos los fabricantes participaron en esta iniciativa y el Shopsumer por tanto siempre había tenido la libre elección de descartar las marcas de las empresas involucradas por haber bajado el contenido de sus productos sin una proporcional bajada en precio. Pero nosotros, los Shopsumers, hemos seguido comprando estas marcas, no porque somos tontos y no nos hemos dado cuenta, si no porque nos gustan y nos inspiran confianza. El diferencial de precio entre un gel de marca y la marca de distribución es muy superior al 15 % antes mencionado, y aún así "solamente" el 40 % de las compras de los Shopsumers incluyen la marca de distribución, puramente por una cuestión de confianza, no el precio. Ahora, si el estado no tiene confianza en las empresas para poder generar empleo y por tanto los investiga y multa, si los Shopsumers perdemos la confianza tanto en las empresas como en el estado para generar empleo y por tanto no gastan en sus productos ni votan a sus representantes, entonces sí que no podremos competir con la enorme productividad de China, India y otros países en el mundo.
Por cierto, queridos Shopsumers, ¡no os hagáis ilusiones! Los 8,2 Mio. de Euros no les serán devueltos en la próxima declaración de renta. Posiblemente financiarán buenos sueldos de nuevos inspectores de la CNC para aumentar los ingresos del estado. ¡Y no os preocupéis! Cuando todos los fabricantes de marcas de geles hayan cerrado sus fábricas, los fabricantes de las marcas de distribución os emplearán en seguida con las mismas condiciones salariales, ¡como mínimo! Porque así es como siempre han podido ser mucho más barato: comprando los mismos ingredientes de calidad y pagando sueldos más altos.
Yo solamente oigo las carcajadas en China cuando ellos ven cómo nos estamos fastidiando entre nosotros aún estando sumergidos en una crisis importante...

ENGLISH: The end of mass marketing

The end of mass marketing – 5 key rules to investí in the “Shopsumer” as the new end customer

One of the main errors we continuously find in companies that are dedicated to the production or distribution of consumer products, is the fatal predominance of an obsolete Marketing paradigm: according to that paradigm, Marketing is used to attract large quantities of people, communicate the benefits of our products and services to an abundant audience to generate product trial by multitudes, hoping that a relevant quantity of people is sufficiently satisfied to continue buying it. It’s the shotgun principle, which the hunter employs with the relative certainty that at least some of the hundreds of little bullets he fires reach the targeted objective. But the current economic revolution will show that it is essential to concentrate on having truly satisfied clients. And I ask myself: Where are the photos of satisfied clients (= people) that we proudly stick to the wall of the Marketing Director’s office? How can we characterise our most loyal clients, enchanted with our products? Those photos don’t exist, because in reality, we do not seek 100 % satisfied clients, but essentially many clients that are not unsatisfied, who, because of comfort (= time) continue to be “faithful” to us. That is the way large volume is generated which then allows efficient production in our factories. And in the wake of the crisis? To diminish the risk of losing a lot of money with very expensive bullets (= advertising), we load up more bullets that contain a lot more tiny little balls (= promotion) to reduce the price level to whatever is necessary to maintain our not unsatisfied client. But if that policy already provoked a continuous increase of marketing spend without generating more sales, do we really believe that intensifying it will help us survive to eventually put the price “back to normal” (if something like that will still exist)? No, this new economic reform (= crisis) will turn those companies into winners that focus on their good clients, those that work hard down to the most little detail to satisfy these clients completely, because only if this client is a 100 % content can we count on his help to conquer new clients y convince them of the advantages we can offer.

5 key rules for Marketing in the future
In the following, we will expose 5 key rules that mark the strategy of companies who concentrate all their efforts solely and entirely on those clients they are capable of satisfying at a 100 % rate:
1 – The Shopsumer:
The satisfaction of our new end customer in the future is influenced mainly by those suppliers that offer them a good solution for their time AND money budget. With the example of the free newspapers that are distributed in the street, we have learnt once again that a 0 price is by no means the decisive variable to achieve exceptional volumes. Time, as it is not recoverable, will be the key to differentiate the offer towards the new client, the Shopsumer.
2 – The I-Marketing:
Marketing is no longer a form of commercialising which is reserved to professionals in companies, but rather the way of living of everyone. The Shopsumer does not look for products and services “at the best price” any more, but for those who have the best fit with his own positioning as a participant of Marketing, those that accomplish his attitudes, convictions and feelings. The iPod did not sell that well because it is a magnificent MP3 reader with a sexy design, but because a lot of people needed it in order not to create a mismatch with their environment and their philosophy of I-Marketing. They are willing to spend much more money on a product with its corresponding service, if its producer represents their values with authenticity. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Xing and many more “Communities” are the evident reflection of I-Marketing. Instead of presenting our CV only a few times throughout our lives, we deliberately show it every day, 24 hours, improving it with every person that contacts us in the same way. The Shopsumer does not want to be unperceived and that is why he “invests” in his own advertising.
3 - The Touchpoint Management
The satisfaction of the end customer fundamentally depends on the impression c company causes on him in 3 key touchpoints: the communication (advertising, website, customer service, packaging etc.), the transaction (the POS, payment terms, delivery service, help by personnel etc.) and the consumption (in different occasions and at different times). Although some of the aspects of Touchpoint Management refer more to the responsibility of the manufacturer and others to the retailer, any one of the two has to define a clear attitude towards the ideal positioning of his company in the 3 touchpoints. If a manufacturer wants to reach a “Premium” positioning, but allows that the delivery service of his product carried out by the retailer is identical to the one of the cheapest product, this undoubtedly compromises his ideal positioning. In the apparel and accessory sector, more and more manufacturers start to open their own stores for the simple reason that they need to transmit their exclusivity in a more direct way to their customers.
4 – Invest strategically, but measure each investment:
To concentrate all commercial efforts of the company on the utmost satisfaction of the Shopsumer, it is inevitable to take a strategic decision on the distribution of resources over the 3 different touchpoints before investing in singular activities like promotions, expositions, samplings etc. This decision substantially depends on the attitudes and habits of the target group concerning these touchpoints and how these influence in their satisfaction. Only after this general decision on the budget split can we define detailed tactical activities, but it is then essential to monitor each and every one of them in their impact on sales, their efficiency and their capacity to attract new customers or increase the spend of existing customers. If incremental sales do not overcompensate for additional costs (or the underlying reduction in contribution margin), the activities generate a negative return, converting themselves rapidly in the main reason for a continuous decline in EBIT. Too much obsession for volume has put many companies in severe difficulties these days, take Arcandor in Germany in the Retail sector and General Motors in the automotive sector, for example.
5 – The true supply chain ends in the Shopsumer’s home:
Reiterated manifestations of companies to be committed with sustainability and the environment as well as the continuous search for improved costs in transport through reductions of carbon footprint between factories, warehouses and stores are necessary for the “normal” progress of an economy, but the logistical movements between companies in this industry probably represent less than 10 % of those our final customers effect every day. If we really want to reduce CO2 emissions, curtail time products travel from their origin until their final destination of consumption and decongest roads, it is critical to analyse the only one supply chain that’s valid: the one from the source of raw materials to the final destination, the Shopsumer’s household. Great logistical concepts that have been put in practice for the past 10-15 years between companies have to be extended immediately until the end customer, taking advantage of new technologies to facilitate the information flow and at the same to improve the Shopsumer’s education in this field. If for each 100 neighbours of a village or a street we used one single means of transport to deliver all their standard purchases, we would generate an enormous saving for all users apart from huge advantages for the environment.

The new paradigm:
Marketing to manage satisfaction, not sales
Marketing has to transform swiftly into a tool that improves the constant dialogue between the Shopsumer (= end customer) and companies in the industry with the objective to freely circulate necessary data and information among all agents (manufacturers, retailers and Shopsumer). The growing concern of the Shopsumer on optimising his time AND money budget and the need of manufacturers and retailers to eliminate inefficient activities with huge volumes lead to a system in which a permanent relationship with the best clients is established to
a) take advantage of their willingness to share data on their behaviour and thus continue to innovate
b) concentrate all activities of the company on the satisfaction of those clients without compromises, based on the profitability they offer.
The company that still seeks many not unsatisfied customers has lost its right to exist!

ESPAÑOL: El fin del marketing de masas

El fin del Marketing de masas – 5 claves para invertir en el “Shopsumer” como el nuevo cliente final

Uno de los principales errores que encontramos continuamente en las empresas que se dedican a la fabricación o distribución de productos de consumo, es la fatal predominancia de un paradigma obsoleto del Marketing: según este paradigma, el Marketing sirve para atraer a grandes cantidades de personas, comunicar los beneficios de nuestros productos y servicios a una audiencia abundante y así generar la prueba del producto por multitudes con la esperanza de que una cantidad relevante de personas se quede lo suficientemente satisfecha para seguir comprándolo. Es el principio del cartucho de la escopeta que el cazador emplea con la relativa seguridad de que al menos algunas bolitas de las centenares del disparo alcancen su presa. Pero los tiempos actuales de revolución económica demostrarán que es esencial concentrarse en obtener clientes realmente satisfechos. Y yo me pregunto: ¿Dónde están las fotos de clientes (= personas) satisfechos con nuestro producto en la mano que orgullosamente pegamos en las mamparas del despacho del Director de Marketing? ¿Cómo podemos caracterizar nuestros clientes más fieles, encantados de la vida por tener nuestros productos? Estas fotos no están, porque en realidad, no buscamos el cliente 100 % satisfecho, sino esencialmente muchos clientes no insatisfechos, que por comodidad (= tiempo) siguen siendo “fieles” a nosotros. Así se genera volumen que es lo que permite una producción eficiente en nuestras fábricas. ¿Y ante la crisis? Para disminuir el riesgo de perder mucho dinero con cartuchos muy caros (= publicidad), cargamos con más cartuchos que contienen más bolitas más pequeñas (= promoción) para bajar el precio al nivel que haga falta y así mantener al cliente no insatisfecho. Pero si esto ya ha provocado en los años boyantes que los presupuestos de marketing se incrementaron sin conseguir más ventas, ¿de verdad creemos que intensificando esta política podremos salir beneficiados de la crisis para por fin poder subir el precio a su nivel “normal” (si es que todavía existe algo así)? No, la nueva reforma económica (= crisis) hará que ganen aquellas empresas que se fijen en su cliente bueno, las que se empeñen en el más mínimo detalle para satisfacerle por completo, porque solamente si este cliente está 100 % contento, podemos contar con su ayuda para conquistar a clientes nuevos y convencerles de las ventajas que podemos ofrecer.

5 claves para el Marketing del futuro
A continuación expondremos 5 claves que marcan la estrategia de las empresas que centran sus esfuerzos única y exclusivamente en clientes que son capaces de satisfacer al 100 %:
1 – El Shopsumer:
La satisfacción de nuestro cliente final del futuro es influenciada sobre todo por aquellos proveedores que le ofrecen una buena solución a su presupuesto de tiempo Y de dinero. Con el ejemplo de los periódicos gratuitos que se reparten en la calle hemos vuelto a aprender que el precio 0 no es la variable decisiva que permite alcanzar volúmenes excepcionales. El tiempo, al ser irrecuperable, será clave en la diferenciación de la oferta hacia el cliente final, el Shopsumer.
2 – El Yo-Marketing:
El Marketing ya no es una forma de comercialización reservada a los profesionales de las empresas, sino que es la forma de vivir de todo el mundo. El Shopsumer ya no busca productos y servicios “al mejor precio”, sino los que más encajen en su propio posicionamiento como participante del Marketing, los que cumplen con sus actitudes, convicciones y sentimientos. El iPod no se vende tan bien, porque es un buenísimo lector MP3 con un diseño sexy, sino porque mucha gente lo tiene que tener para no desentonar con su entorno y su filosofía del Yo-Marketing. Están dispuestos a gastarse mucho más dinero en un producto con su respectivo servicio, si su fabricante representa con autenticidad sus propios valores. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Xing y muchas “Communities” más son el evidente reflejo del Yo-Marketing, hacen que en lugar de presentar nuestro currículum unas pocas veces a lo largo de nuestra vida, lo enseñemos cada día, 24 horas, mejorándolo con cada persona que nos contacte en el mismo medio. El Shopsumer no quiere pasar desapercibido, y por ello “invierte” en su propia publicidad.
3 – El Touchpoint Management
La satisfacción del cliente final depende fundamentalmente de la impresión que causa la empresa en tres puntos de contacto claves: la comunicación (publicidad, página web, atención al cliente, packaging etc.), la transacción (el punto de venta, formas de pago, servicio de entrega, ayuda de personal etc.) y el consumo (en diferentes ocasiones y momentos). Aunque algunos de estos aspectos del Touchpoint Management caen más en la responsabilidad del fabricante y otros más en la del distribuidor, cualquiera de los dos tiene que definir una actitud clara acerca del posicionamiento ideal en los 3 puntos de contacto. Si un fabricante quiere alcanzar un posicionamiento “Premium”, pero permite que el servicio de entrega de su producto realizado por el distribuidor es idéntico al del producto más económico, su posicionamiento ideal se ve indudablemente perjudicado. En el sector de moda y de accesorios, son cada vez más los fabricantes que empiezan a abrir tiendas propias por el mero hecho de trasladar así de una forma más directa su exclusividad al cliente.
4 – Invertir estratégicamente, pero medir cada inversión:
Para centrar todos los esfuerzos comerciales de la empresa en la máxima satisfacción del Shopsumer, es indispensable tomar una decisión estratégica sobre el reparto de los recursos entre los 3 diferentes “Touchpoints” (puntos de contacto) antes de invertir en actividades concretas como promociones, exposiciones, samplings etc. Esa decisión depende sustancialmente de las actitudes y hábitos del público objetivo respecto a estos Touchpoints y cómo estos influyen en la satisfacción de ellos. Solamente tras este reparto, se pueden definir las actividades tácticas, pero es esencial monitorizar cada una de ellas en su impacto sobre las ventas, su eficiencia y su capacidad de atraer nuevos clientes o aumentar el consumo de los clientes ya existentes. Si las ventas incrementales no compensan el gasto adicional (o reducción del margen), las actividades generan un retorno negativo, convirtiéndose rápidamente en los principales causantes de una sucesiva reducción del EBIT. Demasiada obsesión por el volumen ha puesto muchas empresas en serias dificultades en los tiempos que corren, léase SOS en el sector Gran Consumo, o General Motors en el sector automovilístico.
5 – La verdadera cadena logística acaba en casa del Shopsumer:
Reiteradas manifestaciones de las empresas de estar comprometidas con la sostenibilidad y el Medio Ambiente así que la continua búsqueda de mejoras en los costes de transporte a través de reducciones de trayectos entre fábricas, almacenes y tiendas son necesarias para el progreso “normal” de la economía, pero los movimientos logísticos entre empresas del sector representan posiblemente menos del 10 % de los que realizan nuestros clientes finales. Si realmente queremos reducir emisiones de CO2, recortar el tiempo que los productos tardan de su origen hasta la ubicación de consumo y descongestionar las carreteras, es imprescindible que analicemos la única cadena logística válida: la del origen de la materia prima hasta el destino final, el hogar del Shopsumer. Los grandes conceptos logísticos que desde hace 10-15 años se han aplicado entre empresas se tienen que trasladar inmediatamente hasta el cliente final, aprovechando las nuevas tecnologías para facilitar el flujo de la información y a la vez mejorar la educación del Shopsumer. Si por cada 100 vecinos de un barrio o de una calle se utilizara un único medio de transporte para transportar todas sus compras habituales, se generaría un enorme ahorro para los usuarios aparte de las grandes ventajas para el Medio Ambiente.

El nuevo paradigma:
Marketing para gestionar la satisfacción, no las ventas
El Marketing se tiene que transformar rápidamente en una herramienta que permite el diálogo constante entre el Shopsumer (= cliente final) y las empresas del sector con el fin de una libre circulación de datos e información entre todos los agentes (fabricantes, distribuidores y Shopsumer). La creciente focalización del Shopsumer en la optimización de su presupuesto de tiempo Y dinero, y la necesidad de fabricantes y distribuidores de eliminar acciones ineficientes con grandes volúmenes apuntan hacia un sistema en el que se establece una relación permanente con los mejores clientes para
a) aprovechar su voluntad de compartir datos sobre su comportamiento con ellos y así seguir innovando
b) centrar las actividades de la empresa en la satisfacción de estos clientes sin compromisos, basando la rentabilidad en ellos.
¡La empresa que hoy sigue buscando muchos clientes no insatisfechos ya ha perdido su razón de existir!

ENGLISH: The crisis closes a cycle - the new era of FMCG markets

Once upon a time there was a generation that was born in a deep crisis (the one of the 40s), they created a society with total freedom, they prospered and ... unfortunately did not have enough with their own prosperity and started to speculate. Now many of our parents have understood that their apparent fortunes were backed by the credit society of their sons, who, leveraged and mortgaged up to their ears, eventually collapsed under that burden. Probably this generation of children will also have to pay for the invoice of that disaster, when states and countries in 10 years begin to adopt measures in order to recover the debts generated by the thousands of aide plans that are currently put in practice.
And what does that have to do with the FMCG sector?
Well, it is the first to suffer the consequences of that new model for the economy that begins to evolve from the previous cycle: the one of luxury bought today but paid tomorrow is over! It is now back to auto-financing in the sense that you pay with what you have! Mercadona in Spain, Delhaize in Belgium and the many retailers that will start to reduce their assortments are simply responding to a new type of behaviour by their “boss”, the final customer (our “Shopsumer”) who wants to avoid variety in order to buy the basics, the honest stuff and the minimum that is necessary. We will see that the thousands of square meters of commercial surface that were constructed in recent years have also been one of those luxuries (once again: backed by real estate speculation by the previous generation), which we have to start eliminating. Whoever wants variety has the perfect means for it at hand: the online store, where, with an intelligent segmentation structure, one can place both the minimum assortment that’s necessary as well as the large width on a second level for the fanatic Shopsumer. Manufacturers as well as retailers have to start rationalising their portfolios, with few well-positioned products for the large majority of people and maybe large variety for very few. The ones who complain about this “brutal” rationality in this current preliminary phase, probably have to learn their lesson with more agony in the future.