You’re Spending More on POS Marketing Than Ever — Now What?

The State of Today’s Retail Marketing Technology - Or What OnTrak Software Can Do For You.

Every Beverage Supplier and Wholesale Distributor is interested in capturing more market share and increasing sales. By now, we all know: One of the best tools available to attain these goals is an effective and efficient at-retail marketing campaign - aka point-of-sale (POS) Marketing.

POS Marketing and the Beverage Industry

About six years ago, our research regarding at-retail marketing uncovered US annual retail marketing spending of over $19 billion. Similar research undertaken today identifies that current spending on at-retail marketing has grown to more than $25 billion — an increase of over 30%!  Now, your beverage alcohol company may not be spending 30% more on POS marketing today than it did in 2009, but it should not come as a surprise that you are very likely spending considerably more now than you spent then.

Based on several expert, retail marketing organizations’ research, it is also very likely you will be spending more in the upcoming years than you are spending now. This increase in spending is driven by the simple fact that POS marketing works to drive additional sales, often in the form of what POPAI calls unplanned purchases. This is especially critical for items where several substitutes are available to the shopper. Some of the best Consumer Packaged Goods to point to are beverages, since they make up nearly two-thirds of all CPG spending.

Assuming you agree that you spend “a lot” on POS marketing, what can you do to make certain you’re getting the best return on your retail marketing investment?

As we’ve said here before in our blog entries, you can’t manage what you don’t measure. Yet, measuring the impact of POS will be no less difficult than measuring almost any other data-driven function in your company — without the proper tools, that is.

The Impact of Technology

Retail Marketing Technology is the key to measuring the impact of your POS initiatives across brands, customer groups and of course across the various types and placement of POS materials. This means, for example, that your sales reps and marketing and merchandizing people can meet with your customers armed with accurate POS marketing data. Current and accurate data can then be leveraged to assist you in planning increasingly successful upcoming promotions.

As suppliers and distributors working with your retail customers, you may, over time, prove that your POS strongly correlates to an increase in retailers’ sales. This may then open the door for your reps to lobby for increased store inventory levels, decreasing the likelihood of outages of your brand.

With measured POS, suppliers and distributors both win — as do your retail customers and their customers.

Building the ‘Rep’ of Your Reps

A common perception in the world of beverage alcohol distribution is that a distributor’s sales reps can be perceived as spending more time ‘taking orders’ rather than ‘adding value’ to your customers by offering and selling your brands..

Adopting retail marketing technology is one clear way to build a sales representative’s credibility with your retail customers as more than an order taker or inventory control administrator.

The data your reps can provide will be, over time, seen by your customers as actionable, thereby helping prevent out-of-stock issues for the retailer. To restate: As the value of this POS marketing data is recognized, your retail customers will start seeing your reps less as order takers and more as providers of innovative marketing approaches. Your reps will become Sales Representatives in the most positive sense of that description.

The Right Answers for Your Customers, At the Right Time

As a supplier or distributor who invests in retail marketing technology, both you and your retail customers will realize greater sales productivity and capture increased market share. As a result, you will improve your capacity and capability to perform in the role of a consultative seller because you have measured the performance of your POS marketing campaigns and materials. The bottom line is that through the deployment of technology, including data-driven analytics, you and your sales reps can deliver the right POS marketing at the right time.

For more information on how you can find retail marketing technology solutions to help you help your retail customers convert their shoppers into click the following button: