What is the perfect store?
From your point of view as a player in the FMCG market, this concept refers to the point of sale whether it’s the store, supermarket, hypermarket, etc. which reaches or exceeds your financial objectives.
From a consumer’s point of view, the answer to this question is pretty different. Consumers want an attractive store in which they can find they can find the desired products when they’re looking for them.
Can both perspectives be achieved?
In order to meet both needs, you have to evaluate the previous experience of your brand’s clients in a certain store and then plan accordingly. Even before delivering the products, by working with your partners from the logistics chain – retailers, logistics or merchandising service providers, etc., you can maximize ROI by taking informed decisions about stocks, assortments of products and their arrangement in the store.
These kind of informed decisions bring you closer to the perfect store, one similar to the one below:
How can you achieve the perfect store?
To win at the shelf, it’s not enough for your products to be present in the store, as they also must be properly arranged and accompanied by specific promotional messages.
Many manufacturers and distributers of consumer goods believe in the one size fits all when it comes to stores. However, this approach is not a productive one because the stores are not identical, with notable differences when it comes to region, target audience, channel type or retailer’s specificity.
Proper implementation of the concept involves defining strategies and objectives tailored to the particularities of each store. This translates into answering certain questions, such as:
1. What is the perfect range of products for this store?
2. What are the perfect promotional strategies and prices?
3. What is the perfect placement for your product?
4. What is the perfect display for your product?
5. How the perfect order looks like?
In order to understand what “perfect” means in each case, you have to use information not only from the point of sale but also from the entire logistics chain. This way you can define specific goals. Furthermore, by integrating demographics data and market research on consumer habits will help you get a complete picture of how the perfect store looks like.
Perfect store = when the consumer finds the right product at the right time and at the right price.
“The “perfect store” has to be one of the key strengths of your brand and a major part of your company’s strategy. Only then it can be translated into specific objectives and actions for each team involved – management, sales, marketing, logistics and supported by the right tools and technologies. The end result is worth it – you will win at the shelf everytime.
