Dan Nordsieck has been a Director of Business Development for all channels of food retailing with top Fortune 25 companies. He can be reached at 630-308-2845.

Traditional sales and marketing professionals identify their target consumers and then build their business models and new product ideas to meet those consumers’ needs. That’s a smart start. Often, the target is a college-educated woman, age 25-54 with household incomes between $60,000 to $75,000, a house in the suburbs, 3.2 children, a dog and two cats. Start the engine!

Then, in the legacy of Henry Ford, we look for the most efficient means to place 12 bottles in a case; head for the grocers in our top 25 metro US markets, and put that car in gear. From this point on, we don’t know how bumpy a ride we may encounter. Fender benders, flat tires or worse are more common than smooth, fuel-efficient journeys to our original destinations. After paying for expensive repairs or sometimes even abandoning the vehicle altogether, we wonder how we got off track?

Perhaps it all did start with the consumer. But instead of looking solely at the traditional demographics, we need to also look at the lifestyle of our target audience. Plus, let’s look at all the consumers with shopping dollars to spend. Our customers are constantly amending their store formats, layouts and niche departments in an effort to reach those consumers. They expect that we, as marketers, are on the same search. If we are successful in understanding the consumer’s interests and can position our products to truly meet those needs, we can have an entirely different dialog with our customers.

Our target consumers are time starved. Between the children, the job, the pets, their own interests and the house, their palm pilots are packed and their calendars are crammed. We see this busy lifestyle in the way our consumers shop. Do they shop the same store, every week, on the same shopping day? Or is it more likely that they shop before work, on their lunch hour, between tasks, on their drive home from work and on the weekends? Do they always shop in the store or do they also shop 24/7 from the comfort of their own homes?

If we are observant and savvy enough, we can see their behavior through their shopping trips. Marketing and selling to the shopping trip is the key to driving on all cylinders. It’s ensuring that every grocery store, c store, drug store, value discounter, membership warehouse club, web site and super center the consumer enters has our product appropriately positioned for sale. A great example is the milk business. Gallons and half gallons used to be the market and that appealed to the “target” audience. Distribution was virtually 100% in most retailers and so; the business was mature, right? By observing time starved consumers who wanted a healthier “on the go” beverage, the milk marketers created the single serve “mini jug”. Instead of “targeting” soccer Moms who fit the traditional demographic, they aimed for the “on the go” shopping trip. This “target” captured teens, people between appointments, those seeking a healthier beverage alternative and, yes, soccer Moms! Add flavors to further expand that reach beyond just white and chocolate, and a whole new category emerged. That’s driving the business and the brands on all cylinders!

Just as the club pack is not appropriate in the c-store, those 12 bottles in a case or gallons and half gallons may not always be the right pack to capture the sales and grow the brand in every retailing environment. Each shopping trip has an objective. The consumer has an estimated time frame she is willing to invest to reach that objective. That’s one of the main factors in determining which retail store she enters. If we know our categories and how consumers shop them (one trip at a time) we will gain competitive advantage. By bringing that insight to each channel of customer, we can jointly build a better shopping trip strategy to develop our businesses.

Understanding how to build packs, strategies and insights to meet all of the consumer’s needs is the key to driving efficiently on all cylinders. To maximize our fuel efficiency, we need to understand “trip planning” and turn it into an advantage for our brands.

Comments and additional insights are always welcome!