This article here expanded the notion of path to purchase to “Path to Purchase Satisfaction” (P2PS) because it isn’t just about winning the transaction in-store. It’s about the complete cycle that builds loyalty to your brand and drives repeat purchase. The P2PS is the lifeblood of any business. But isn’t it a little bit disturbing that most employees of your business aren’t even aware of arguably one of the most critical cycles in the entire business model?
Yes, it is disturbing mainly because companies that don’t train and align their organizations to the P2PS cycle are missing important opportunities. Namely, employees should not only be aware of the company’s P2PS, incentives should be aligned to it.
Take this example from a small pet care business. The path to purchase satisfaction was laid out in six macro stages. For each stage of the P2PS, customer satisfiers and dissatisfiers were identified. This then was used to help employees understand the company’s positioning of its value proposition (target customers, frame of reference, point of difference, reason to believe). Finally, every employee, whether in a customer facing job, marketing or behind the scenes maintenance, was linked to some aspect of the P2PS. In that way, sort of like a Disney Institute model, everyone was linked to driving a superior outcome for the customer.
It doesn’t take much extrapolation to apply the same model to any CPG firm. And there are significant advantages to sharing and aligning to the P2PS. Of course, just like any other internal effort, the level of detail and confidential disclosure need to be appropriate to the audience. But having everyone (or nearly everyone) focused on doing their part, whether it’s shopper marketing, customer service logistics, supply chain or even the maintenance guy, will drive better results. Ask the pet care company that was just voted “Best of” by their satisfied customers… again.
(Want to learn more about Path to Purchase and how it’s being used to drive results? Check out this year’s Private Brand MovementSeptember 19-21 in Chicago sponsored by IIR USA. Private Brands are winning with consumers throughout the Path to Purchase Satisfaction).
