These are live-blogged notes and sketches from a Bazaarvoice Summit session delivered by Brianna Chamberlain, Associate Manager of Digital Innovation and Capabilities at Johnson & Johnson, on April 6th 2022. You can find the on-demand webinar version right here.

The digital age is reshaping how we, as marketers, are showing up for our consumers. The simple fact that we can browse, research and shop online, has us all trying to keep up.

But I’m a consumer too, and my personal shopping journeys can also shape the journeys we build at J&J. A few years ago, as a first time mom, I went to a brick-and-mortar store to create a baby registry. It was overwhelming. I had to make so many decisions I wasn’t prepared to make.

I walked through the store, scanner in hand, trying to chose between multiple models of the same thing: swings, bottles and more. As I walked around, I scanned everything, worried that I’d miss something. Great? Not really. My work had only just started. I had to go back home, grab my phone and laptop, and research every single product in the registry. Some flew off the list. I added new ones I hadn’t seen in the shop. Weeks later, I had something to share with my family and friends. 

This story shows how reliant we are during impulse and vulnerable purchase to research, to asking others their opinions, to see what they loved and didn’t. This is how persuasive we are as as community of digital shoppers. 

Listening to consumers

Putting consumers first has always been a fundamental part of how we bring new innovation to market, ensuring we meet the needs of our consumers, by improving the personal health of people everywhere. We’ve implemented ways of listening to their feedback, and through that, implementing optimizations across the consumer journey.

We make sure we allow customers to get the information they require most efficient and easily, where they are, crating unique, personalized journeys. 

So, of course, we have a framework for monitoring consumer sentiment with regards to user-generated content (UGC). This includes things like:

• Star rating
• Number of reviews per product
• Recency of reviews
• Coverage

These success metrics allow us to judge how we sit in the consumer landscape, and inform our strategic planning and optimization. Talking of which, if we don’t optimize based on the feedback we get — are we truly listening?

From insights to health

I’d like to think that consumer feedback is the sole reason we do what we do at J&J. In fact, buy combining consumer insights, expert science and digital-first thinking, we help 1.2 billion people live healthier lives. 

We draw insights like new product claims we never anticipated from the data, and apply these learnings to consumer touchpoints along the journey. This includes creative assets, display pages, and even product innovation.

We also use UGC to discover where people are shopping, and were we can start to meet them to provide personalized experiences. At the end of the day, if our goal is to drive conversion, we need to show up where they are: social media, video, streaming, website, e-retailers, and even brick-and-mortar stores. And the material we produce needs to authentically reflect how people use our products in their everyday lives. 

After we create our content, we aim to make every touchpoint along the consumer journey shoppable. We want to provide consumers a seamless experience, allowing them to convert when it’s most convenient for them. 

In summary

We put consumers first by:

• Putting them at the forefront of every decision
• Validating information by listening and optimizing in real-time
• Focusing on where people are spending their time

I hope you feel inspired to really take the time to hear what your consumers are saying about your products and your brands, and optimize your approach in putting consumers first. And remember: you’re one of those consumers, too.

The retail industry is as strong as ever. And consumers hold the power like never before. They decide how a brand is perceived, and the risk of boycott in today’s cancel culture is very real. The dramatic power shift to customers has led to heightened actions and vocalizing for authenticity, improved experiences, and above all, for consumers to feel heard. Catch up on Bazaarvoice Summit to see how to win hearts and minds of today’s consumers.