As a brand, you understand the importance of running promotions to boost sales. However, before you can successfully promote your campaign at retail, you need to convince the retailer that your campaign will provide a return on investment (ROI) for all involved.
Luckily, the right pitch can make it hard for the retailer to say no. At Cliffedge Marketing, we’ve spent the last 20+ years working closely with retailers, and we understand what gets their attention and what loses their interest.
With that in mind, here are our insights on how to win over a retailer and get them on board with your in-store promotion.
5 Ways to Win Over a Retailer and Promote Your Product
1. Shopper Data
Retailers want to see that your campaign is backed up by shopper data. Make sure you have facts and statistics that support your product and/or promotion. Does your product increase basket spend? Is your customer high income? Is this peak buying season for your product or category? Do your campaign elements capture consumer attention? When you back up your claims with numbers, retailers pay attention.
2. Brand Power
What’s in it for them? Retailers want to know what audience and reach you bring to the table. How does your brand differentiate itself on the shelf? What makes your brand stand out from the competition? How does your brand make consumers feel? Make sure you have a clear understanding of your brand’s strengths and unique selling points.
3. Merchandising
Show the retailer what the displays will look like through helpful visuals and mockups. Help them understand what will be in their store and what kind of space and setup is needed. Make sure you have a clear idea of the visual aesthetic of your campaign and how it will fit in with the retailer’s existing displays.
Merchandising Bonus: Consider offering a “Dealer Loader” as a premium piece of merchandising. This is an incentive that the store manager gets to keep when the promotion is over. It can help sweeten the deal and encourage the retailer to get on board.
4. Traffic Drivers
Retailers want to know how you are going to bring consumers to their store. Will you be using digital, social, email or PR to promote your campaign? Make sure you have a clear plan in place for driving traffic to the retailer’s store and then walk them through how it works.
5. Sales Drivers
Retailers also want to know how you are incentivizing purchase at the store level. Will you be offering coupons, demos, events, recipes/content or other promotions to encourage sales? How can the retailer assist with the promotion? When you show how you can drive sales at the retailer’s store, it is easier to get their buy-in and participation.
Move Products Off the Shelf with a Shopper Marketing Agency
When presenting your shopper marketing strategy to the retailer, make sure you provide an overall “flavor” of the campaign, including all the supportive components. The general idea is to paint a clear picture of how the campaign is going to help the retailer by showing them that you have done your homework and understand their needs and their customers’ needs.
With the right pitch, you can win over a retailer and get them on board with your promotion. Need help with the pitch? Need experts to build a strategy for your campaign? A shopper marketing agency can add strength and strategy to any product launch, brand refresh, in-store marketing campaign, etc. Leverage our experience to deliver more ROI every time.
