1. Avoid irritating the consumer – Though your in-store communication needs to be eye catching to cut through the clutter, going over the top by blasting the your message in an indiscriminate manner will just serve to irritate the consumer. Instead, take the time to understand the consumer journey, their path to purchase, and provide them with the appropriate messages at the appropriate points of contact to build a story that is engaging, interactive & relevant.
2. Remember that everything communicates – No matter how amazing your advertising looks on TV, when the consumer steps into a store and sees your product on the shelf, it’s the only moment of truth that truly matters. Is your product poorly displayed because the display rack is unwieldy? Has the label been chewed on by rats because the glue you use is a tasty treat? Have you pasted an offer sticker on your pack that looks grimy and is peeling off? Focus your budgets & energy on creating integrated communications plans that give the appropriate weightage and importance to the retail space. If you look at retail as a mainstream advertising medium, you will reap the benefits of leveraging the value it brings.
Marketers should not only consider the retail space a priority contact point, but they should also treat it with respect
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3. Do not let the retail space live in a silo – The retail space is a communication touch point that needs to live within the main brand, and not as a stand-alone unit. If the brand guardians are so mindful of how they are represented in advertising, why do they leave in-store communication i.e. POS development, in the hands of vendors? Why is in-store planning not an integral part of the centralized marketing plan? It would be naïve to suggest that retail is a part of sales. Bring retail planning into the mainstream communication plans and see what a world of a difference it will make to sales.
4. See the big picture – Does your retail plan dovetail seamlessly your overall communications plan? Is your TVC easily translated into a relevant message at retail? Does your sales team know the brand concept as intimately as the marketing team? Always look at your retail program from a larger brand perspective and ensure that that there is one overall message that goes out to the consumer. I know this sounds very basic , but it’s worth emphasising for obvious reasons.
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5. Do not chase shiny new retail gizmos – Evaluate all the latest retail fads in a sensible and logical manner before signing up for some cool new gizmo. Just because something is cool & new and interesting doesn’t mean that it’ll be the right fit for the brand. Does it match the brand personality? Will it appeal to the consumer you are focussed on attracting? Does the investment have a measurable ROI? Do what is right for the brand, the product, and the business, not what you think might be a cool idea for retail.
6. Ensure that the message is clear and single-minded – At retail you have 3 to 6-seconds to make a case for why the consumer must pick up your product. Don’t waste that time on irrelevant details. Focus your message on its relevance in improving the life of the consumer. Also ensure that if you have something to say, make the message big & bold. If there are specific words that might help further focus the consumers’ attention to your unique proposition, make those words bigger & bolder. And please, please, please force yourself to be single-minded in each piece of POS. You cannot have copy, visual and pack shot all fighting for equal space on every single piece of in-store communication. Place the relevant message at the relevant point of contact and create synergistic retail presence.
7. People are our partners – Do not see your consumers as ‘targets’ that must be ‘carpet bombed’ with a slew of irrelevant product messages aimed at ‘capturing’ their interest. The retail environment is not a battlefield and consumers are not prisoners. They are active brand partners that must be treated like company employees. Reward them, recognize them, incentivize them, and promote them, just like you would your company employees. In the retail space, use these principles to move them through the path to purchase; reward them with a positive pay-off in exchange for their engagement with your brand.
It’s all very simple. The retail space MUST be an integral part of your total communications planning strategy and you must ensure that the messaging at retail is appropriate for the medium, and customized accordingly. Winning at retail is a ‘must have’ KPI in any successful brand plan.
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