Are you getting value for your trade marketing dollars?
Each year the Key Account and Product Marketing teams of consumer goods companies spend hours painstakingly reviewing the results of every program with every retail partner to determine whether they got value for their trade marketing dollars and how next year will be better.These meetings usually boil down to just 4 key questions:
1. We made a great plan. Did we execute that plan in store?
2. Given the plans were executed, were they effective?
3. What was the actual ROI for these programs?
4. What do we change for next year?
To answer these questions with confidence requires accurate field intelligence and visual proof.
Accurate Intelligence from the Field
Since budgets are set and retailers are paid based on the in-store execution, compliance and results of these programs, it’s essential to your bottom line to be able to back up your trade marketing spend approvals with accurate field intelligence that confirms retailer compliance and field team execution.
Visual Proof
Survey responses, shelf audits and POS scan data report the results but don’t, on their own, explain why the result occurred. In store photo capture and tagging lets the field team provide this missing data.
From confirmation of store compliance to highlighting the good (or bad) of the in store execution, competitor activities or opportunities, high quality filterable photos can be the difference between guessing and knowing what made one plan successful and others less so.
Respond vs. Report
While accurate field data and photos are essential for reporting the results, the real value of retail execution software with real-time field reporting comes from being able to impact the outcome of the current activities.
Managers that receive real-time field intelligence can stay abreast of store conditions, resolve execution issues and drive up store program compliance. By taking immediate corrective action rather than waiting until the end of the week, month or promotion period they ensure maximum return for their marketing dollars.
In the next meeting, be confident that you have the data to support the effectiveness, execution and ROI of your marketing programs and can show the steps you’ve taken to proactively improve the results and generate more dollars for the company and the retailer.
Want more information on tools to help maximize your retail marketing investment and be confident that you’ve gotten what you paid for? Check out our mobile retail execution solution or contact us to see a demo of how it works.
