In his recent blog post, Mike Anthony touches upon the difficulty and the challenges of perfecting in-store execution. It is sometimes hard to believe how coordinated and well-planned promotions, displays, and other in-store activity do not deliver up to the set standards.
The statistics only prove the point even more – POPAI suggests that lack of compliance of in-store execution is as high as 50% for the UK. The effect of this is enormous – shoppers do not get to see the promotions they are supposed to see and manufacturers and retailers are losing out on valuable sales opportunities.
What can be done to improve this? What are some measures manufacturers can take to strive for improved in-store execution? Below are five key areas Mike suggests.
Incentivize good compliance
Compliance is no doubt a result of the efforts of both brands and retailers. Brands should be looking for ways to incentivize retailers to execute in-store activities according to plans. One way would be to increase the percentage of fees paid to retailers to be based on a pay-for-performance basis. The more retailers comply in in-store execution, they more they are paid.
Make sure what you want is possible
Marketers must make sure that the in-store plans are realistic and actionable. While creativity is good, don’t forget to consider the reality of the retail environment.
Motivate all of the key people
Great in-store execution is dependent among many people of various roles on the retail side, such as staff in logistics, operations, and marketing. Brands, in understanding the needs of these people and ensuring that their needs are met, would have a higher chance of succeeding in in-store execution.
Do fewer things
Like many things, sometimes less is more. Having staff focusing on fewer but high-quality projects could yield better outcomes than trying to do tens of different activities at the same time.
Measure and monitor
It is important to measure the both the compliance and the effectiveness of the in-store activities. Only then can marketers make changes to improve their future activities.
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