Trade promotion management is defined as the process of planning, budgeting, presenting and executing incentive programs that occur between the manufacturer and the retailer to enhance sales of specific products. For example, a manufacturer paying a retailer to feature their product in the retailer’s weekly newspaper advertising or paying a retailer to build a special promotional display in their store are both considered trade promotions.
How do you evaluate trade/In-store promotion to help retailers?1. Can you easily identify profitable promotions, and do you have a clear understanding of their true economic and strategic contributions?
2. How well do you understand the underlying strategic considerations that are influencing your customers to help better define and implement promotions, including retailers’ brand-label promotions?
3. Do you understand what you need to do to help increase the overall performance of your trade
promotion programs?
4. Do you know how your performance compares to that of your competitors?
5. How do your accounts perceive your responsiveness and understanding of their needs related to promotion?
6. Do you have a clear picture of all the various ways in which your organization interacts with your customers during a promotion?
7. Have you aligned your measurement and reward systems with how well your trade funds are allocated?
8. How do your accounts perceive the value of the relationship that they have with you?
9. Have you established mechanisms for jointly establishing trade programs with your customers, and do you regularly measure performance relative to these targets?
10. Have you taken advantage of best-in-class programs developed outside your geography or region?
Failure to have the right product on the shelf at the right time can result in missed opportunities. In many cases, this is due to a lack of consumer insights. An understanding of seasonality and cannibalization can help you plan for optimal timing and sequencing of promotions.Asset utilization:
Many companies feel that they get little to no incremental value from trade promotio
ns. What you need is more predictive forecasting of volumes and trade promotion spend. Linking this information to key performance indicators (KPIs) can help you plan the right promotions to realize a better return on space
Manual data analysis processes:
As data complexity increases, using manual processes can cause you to waste time and miss opportunities. Reducing administrative time can, in turn, reduce your operational costs and also allow for a more nimble organization. You can understand and modify plans and promotions to help improve results.