A well rounded strategy should cover all key areas impacting your brand. In a competitive retail environment, brands have to consider everything - from planning at Head Office, to selling in store and ultimately driving consumer engagement. Often there are common challenges that you need to overcome to deliver results.
With the retail industry facing external pressure from the impact of influences such as the cost of living crisis, HFSS and supply chain issues, now it’s more important than ever to make sure you’ve got the right strategy and shape of service to keep sales high for your brand. We know that brands need cost effective solutions that achieve results - let’s explore some of those and discover how different levels of support can help you achieve your goals…
Head office: Transform your strategy and equip your team to grow your business
When it comes to Head Office, some of the key challenges you may want to consider are how to reset your strategy or rebuild category vision. Perhaps your pricing and terms need an overhaul or your sales team needs training? It’s clear you’ll need a business structure that allows you to operate the most effectively, but where do you begin?
Getting it right at Head Office level will set you up for success as the decisions made here filter down through the rest of your business. Do you need support to set your strategy? Consider revenue management services which ensure your budget is being utilised for the right purpose, at the right time. Update your category vision, so you know your products are in prime position to sell and bolster your commercial capability with bespoke sales force training – equipping your team with the confidence and capabilities to grow your business.
In outlet: Get your products in the right place at the right time using EPOS data and a winning team structure
In outlet, common challenges may include making your brand more visible to consumers and understanding how your products are sold in store. You might be faced with launching a new product or entering a new channel and want to ensure you’re targeting the right outlets and taking the most valuable actions.
Overcoming these challenges starts with choosing the right type of team that can be tailored to your budget. Whether that’s a combination of permanent and non-permanent teams brought in specifically for you, or planned bursts of tactical activation and agile resource – make sure you choose the one that works for your particular sales objectives and activity.
Being in the right outlet at the right time is crucial to fix your availability or visibility issues in store, or to simply understand how your products are performing. If you don’t act faster than your competition, the opportunity can be lost. That’s where EPOS analytics data comes in to aid your decision making across both Grocery and Convenience sectors.
Engaging consumers: Drive awareness of your products with brand advocacy training and targeted sales or brand experience campaigns
It’s no secret that increasing your consumer engagement will lead to more sales but what are some of the challenges that brands may encounter in doing this? First, you may want to go back to basics on how to actually sell to or engage your consumers, you could struggle with driving awareness of your product or perhaps it’s about increasing brand advocacy for repeat purchases and social influencing?
By turning retail colleagues into advocates of your brand, you will ensure that these retail professionals not only have the training, knowledge and confidence to sell your product, but that they will actively promote it over your competitors to consumers when you’re not there. Retailer training and advocacy programmes can be carried out 1:1 or in groups in store and online via digital platforms, making it easier than ever to regularly educate store colleagues on your brand.
Direct to consumer sales or sign up teams can also give you the instant results you need, wherever your consumers are. Another option is a dedicated brand ambassador team to represent your brand in promotional campaigns, events and sampling activities. Creating theatre around your brand is a great way to maximise sales opportunities during product launches or seasonal peaks.
Pick a partner with the right expertise and knowledge of the market
If your brand is looking ahead and considering where to start, the first step is to secure a strong partnership that will help you sell more. The key to understanding what’s going on at all times and knowing which approach works best without having to spend valuable time and money before you experience success, is to partner with someone who already knows. Partnering with the right businesses leverages more possibilities for brands and means you’re best positioned to succeed from head office all the way through to selling to consumers.
Our Sales Consultancy colleagues have vast experience across the board and are well equipped to take the first step with you when setting or resetting your strategy. Our field marketing experts are on hand to discuss which resource type(s) match your needs – and our and Pinpoint products can be used to streamline the way your products are sold in store, so you can operate as efficiently as possible. And we’re experts in retailer training programmes, brand experience campaigns and deploying agile teams.
So, if you’re still searching for answers on how to succeed in the current retail environment and want to have a chat about how partnering with the right agency will give you the edge, talk to us. We’ll arrange a free call to discuss the areas your brand most needs support at head office, in outlet or when engaging consumers.
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