Marketing at-Retail - a.k.a POS or POP - Really Works

What It Does and the Benefits It Provides

You probably spend at least some of your time trying to devise methods to improve your sales numbers.

A simple approach would be to consider two things: Reach and Richness

• Reach refers to the size of your market or the number of customers you choose to pursue.

• Richness relates to the amount of information that you offer customers about your products.

Many experts believe there is an inverse relationship between these two approaches.  That is, you can either place an advertisement on TV, which offers tremendous reach but generally not a very rich message; or you can make an in-person visit to a customer to discuss your products which offers potentially unlimited richness, but very small reach.

As a supplier or wholesale distributor to retailers, your goals and the retailer’s are usually 100% in-sync. You want the end consumer to receive a rich, compelling message, and you want that message to be seen by as many shoppers as possible. One of the best ways to achieve that goal is with at-retail marketing initiatives. An example could be point-of-sale marketing (POS), or a point-of-purchase promotion (POP), such as a sign, display or menu.

Studies have shown that almost 75% of retail purchase decisions are made at the point-of-sale. As a result, it is highly likely that you have an excellent chance of influencing the consumer’s buying decision at the point-of-sale far more than any radio, TV or print media advertisement.

More than a defensive tactic or just part of the cost-of-doing-business, Marketing at-Retail initiatives positively impact the sales of your products. These programs can affect what shoppers actually buy, when they buy, and sometimes how much they buy. But, like traditional marketing measures including advertising, at-Retail initiatives have short, yet effective life spans. This simply suggests that Marketing at-Retail efforts must be on-going and refreshed frequently.

Because Marketing at-Retail Works, It is Growing in Importance

But Why Does It Work?

• Consumers have come to expect POP promotions as part of their retail decision making criteria. POP provides shoppers with a compelling reason to choose by increasing the perceived value of a particular product.

• There is a lot of pressure on manufacturers, distributors and retailers to focus almost exclusively on short-term results; and Marketing at-Retail can and does provide an immediate lift in sales.

• The recent emergence of POS tracking software allows supplies and distributors to measure, control and manage outcomes of Marketing at-Retail initiatives. 

With POS tracking software, suppliers and retailers are now able to get rapid feedback on the results of their POS campaigns and tailor them accordingly. Manufacturers, distributors and retailers alike now can access information to guide them in creating and placing the most effective POS campaigns. On top of the improved effectiveness, POS management software also provides greatly increased efficiency and error reduction both lowering production costs and compressing the time from ordering to placement at-Retail. In fact, the increased efficiency these POS tracking software applications provide often completely pays for the software essentially providing the primary and most valuable decision support benefits at no or low cost.

The message? Marketing at-Retail is, technically, a cost-of-doing-business — but more accurately, Marketing at-Retail is an essential demand creation tool, a core business process for most suppliers, wholesalers and retailers.