selling when you don't control the store
TRANSCRIPT
Managing sales when you don’t
control the Store
Wholesalers have a common
problem, whether they
are the manufacturer, or
distributor.
They don’t really see the
customer.
Wholesalers control the product, brand, and pricing, but…
Sales are in the hands of people they don’t manage (nor want to).
Road warriors are unleashed to educate the stores
BDM’sSales Reps
Product placement is negotiatedSales tools are crafted
But there are questions
Are the BDM’s doing their job?
Are the right promotions being displayed?
Which product is being recommended? The competitors?
Here are the DATA from 483 Mystery Shops
• What we found in 2,815 Grocery Store Mystery Shop audits was alarming.
• We were looking for empty spaces, where the item was missing.
For Grocery and General Merchandise there were 54.7 empty spaces per store on average.
For Dairy and Freezer there were 13.2 empty spaces per store on average.
Empty shelves = ZERO Sales
Big ticket items also had gaps
Is it one problem like logistics?Is it a bunch of factors?
Was the competition on show?
Even if the product is available, it has to be sold
It gets even more complicated when staff recommendations drive sales.
We surveyed 273 consumers to understand the importance of
recommendations.
Brand A which is recom-mended by the staff
member and they explain why it's best for you?
31%
Brand B which is recommended by a friend?
33%
Brand C which you've used before?
36%
IMAGINE YOU ARE BUYING A BBQ. YOU DON’T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT BBQ’S. WHICH BRAND WOULD YOU BUY?
Staff recommendations are as important as having previously used a product, or a friend recommendation.
Brand A which is recom-mended by the staff
member and they explain why it’s the best for you?
76%
Brand B which has the same price and features as Brand A but has the biggest and brightest store display?
7%
Brand C which is 10% cheaper than all the others?
16%
Brand D which is 10% dearer than all the others?
1%
More importantly, how does it affect the purchase decision?Which would you choose?
A product recommendation is:
More valuable than a 10% price cut, and More important than shiny new displays.
It trumps everything.
Here’s data from 483 Mystery Shops to see which Brand was first recommended, and recommended second in the home improvement category.
Brand Z
Brand Y
Brand X
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%
38%
29%
18%
13%
18%
62%
Which Brand was recommended by staff members?
1st Recommendation 2nd Recommendation
Brand X dominates in being recommended up front 62% of the time.
Brand Z is only considered an alternative, not the 1st recommendation.
Brand Z
Brand X
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%
Retailer 2; 27%
Retailer 2; 51%
Retailer 1; 10%
Brand X; Retailer 1
Which Brand was recommended by staff members?
Retailer 1 Retailer 2
Retailer 2 is not as enthusiastic about Brand Orange and the reason needs to be investigated.
Brand Z
Brand X
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%
Region 2; 27%
Region 2; 51%
Region 1; 10%
Region 1; 65%
Which Brand was recommended by staff members?
Region 1 Region 2
The gap between brands is narrower in Region 2 suggesting more effective BDM’s and region management.
Finding the truth requires
unfiltered observation.
And the truth has financial
benefit.
• If a Brand can increase incidence of retail staff 1st recommending them by 10% and 40% of people buy on the recommendation = 4% increase in sales.
• If they sell a $100 product in 200 stores that’s an additional $1,240,00/month in Sales.
The Math: 50 recommendations/day * 4% increase in sales = 2 additional products/day @$100 each = $200/day * 31 days = $6,200/month * 200 stores = $1,240,000 additional sales per month.
Awareness without action is futile.Action without awareness needs luckBut the truth hides in between.
Contacts
Finding the truth is as simple as a call or email