Point-of-Sale Marketing: Increasing Sales with at-Retail Marketing

Traditional Media Advertising vs. Point-of-Sale Advertising

As beverage marketers are aware, the steps required to turn shoppers into buyers are quite often varied and dissimilar.  

The first step in point-of-sale (POS) marketing involves the branding of the product itself, followed by what is currently called “traditional media advertising”, and ending with at-retail advertising.  Suppliers, wholesalers and retailers must be certain they attract and keep the consumer’s attention right up to the “moment of truth” — when a shopper becomes a buyer.  

Our view is that POS marketing is the most important step of all — after step one, that is. We believe, and the data supports, that shoppers in the aisle need to be motivated to buy often with nothing more than a little push. This push is most effectively given by in-store advertising, which directs the shopper to the features, benefits, “newness” and price of the product.

You probably already knew this — but a reminder can be helpful from time-to-time.

Marketers throughout the supply chain, whose goals include increasing sales, know that to be successful they must develop marketing plans which identify with the shopper’s wants and needs. POS materials placed alongside the advertised product are seen by one shopper at a time and are therefore the most personal form of advertising.

POS advertising can differentiate your beverage brand or product from the competition. Importantly, this form of advertising is the most cost-effective marketing there is; and, is certainly the easiest to track, measure and manage.

Think of this: Using readily available software tools, (like those from OnTrak), POS expenses can be directly correlated to sales; and the return-on-investment (ROI) of your at-retail campaigns can be quickly determined. This allows your POS merchandizers to be more agile.

For example, if one form of POS advertising proves to provide a larger and more consistent sales increase than another, then new POS materials can be quickly created and placed. Traditional media advertising, on the other hand, may offer a “CPM” — the cost per thousand viewers. But the correlation to sales and the measurement of ROI using CPM would be difficult if not impossible. The truth is that traditional media has never been known for its agility.

Regardless of the beverages that you distribute, POS Marketing has the ability to immediately increase sales. While traditional advertising can have a positive impact on the brand, the correlation to sales and ROI may be a challenge to determine.

OnTrak provides the tools to help track, measure and manage your at-retail marketing campaigns and drive growth and value for your business.

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