Online-to-offline (O2O) marketing is designed to translate the growth of online product discovery into in-store sales by bridging two trends: first, consumers are now primarily searching for new products online, and second, the highest volume of retail sales remains at brick and mortar stores, especially for everyday grocery items.
The new way of launching successful products integrates the best practices of digital marketing with traditional retail marketing goals.
Online discovery
Implement the O2O cycle and you will reap rewards beyond your new product launch:
Get better ROI on marketing across sales channels
Build greater lifetime value (LTV)
Create direct consumer feedback loops
Win with consumers and retailers
Within the cycle are 9 steps to help you convert online browsers into brand evangelists.
We’ll start with the 4 steps in Online Discovery to help you prepare for launch. This first stage meets shoppers where they are, on digital devices seeking online discovery.
Launching without insights is a shot in the dark – you might hit the mark, but your chances are much better when data helps you aim.
Daniel Scharff
2. Collect data to build your audience
Work with the right online tools to collect data to support building personalized campaigns and relevant audiences that will be ripe for conversion at retail.
Build your target audience with:
Free forums & social listening tools
Keyword research
Evergreen content
Put yourself in the consumer’s phone. Start with the words of someone that doesn’t understand your product yet, but really needs your product
Kenny & Phil
3. Hyper-target online to support your retail launch
At this stage, you can start marketing your product.
Effective online awareness-building tactics:
- Digital and social ads
- Tag product pages by top-searched attributes
- Create content relevant to your audience
- Provide teasers and trials to existing customers
- Partner with like-minded brands or communities
Most food brands grow through finding their initial “tribes” and building from there. Digital-first retail marketing allows you to prioritize your “tribes” whether they be plant-based, health-conscious moms, consumers who also buy another category frequently, etc.
Jake Kneller
4. Build trust to create consideration with effective online content
Build advance purchase confidence through reviews and product ratings. Even if you have a few reviews, you can repurpose them on various channels to build trust with your audience.
Once you’ve gone through the first 4 steps, you’re now ready to convert that online demand into retail foot traffic and trial. Download our free guide to learn the remaining stages.
Get your free guide to O2O
To discover the remaining stages of the O2O cycle, you can download our free 50-page guide. It’s filled with advice and tips from 17 CPG experts!
