August Competitive Edge Builds Shopper Value Equation

On a monthly basis, the Willard Bishop Consulting Competitive Edge newsletter provides key insight and thought leadership to brand marketers and retailers looking to gain a sustainable advantage on the competition. The August issue is no exception as author Jon Hauptman discusses, “Building a Winning Shopper Value Equation.” The Shopper Value equation is defined as a go-to-market-strategy that fills important shopper needs in a unique and appealing way.

Retailers are pulling back on some recent initiatives that were designed to enhance efficiency, but in the end pushed shoppers away. Hauptman uses Walmart as an example, citing temporary price reductions, Project Impact assortment reduction and reducing aisle displays as failed experiments that the retailer is now reversing. This recent Walmart experience is an example of a company reverting to a clear, appealing shopper value equation. In other words, they are getting back to the things that made them successful in the first place.

Why does this happen? Hauptman says many retailers try to be all things to all people rather than identifying what they are going to stand for and taking a leadership position. Another factor is not being able to keep up with the latest shopper needs. Success is some areas and categories have lulled some retailers to sleep as their own success made them blind to the fact that competitors had caught up and surpassed them. Still another factor is not being able to see new competition such as Dollar and Drug chains offering food items.

Competitive Edge says that building a successful shopper equation requires a retailer to define key elements of its value proposition and then establish and implement strategy that makes them the clear and undisputed market leader in at least two of the elements.

Of course, this is all easier said than done. Headquarter strategy often falls short at the point of at-retail execution. That is precisely where partnering with NARMS members can help retailers and suppliers balance the Shopper Value Equation. Again, we thank Willard Bishop Consulting for sharing their thought leadership and encourage our members to download and digest the August issue by clicking here.

Times & Trends Report Looks at Channel Migration

Over the history of this column, we have occasionally previewed the findings of SymphonyIRI Group, Inc. and their monthly Times & Trends Reports. Their August 2010 edition examines the shopper channel strategy in terms of how many different channels consumers are shopping, how many trips they are making and what they are spending per trip and by department. It is important to keep our fingers on the pulse of these trends as the at-retail initiatives of CPG brand marketers and retailers are surely affected by them.

We know that consumers are continuing to seek money saving strategies in their shopping practices. According to SymphonyIRI, shopping in multiple channels to find the best deals on everyday CPG needs has been embraced by many, especially after fuel prices dropped. Three quarters of consumers shop at five or more channels for their CPG needs. However, a significant segment is starting to cut down on channels as 24% shop at five or less channels, a two percent increase from 2008.

Supercenters seem to be the big winner when it comes to shopper penetration. SymphonyIRI reports that nearly 70% of shoppers make CPG purchases in supercenters, an increase of 1.9 points over the past year. Supercenter shoppers seem to be migrating most heavily from the club, grocery and drug channels. Dollar stores are also gaining shoppers, mostly at the cost of club and mass merchandisers.

SymphonyIRI also reports on the drastic shift in consumer shopping trip behavior. Early in 2008, gas prices spiked and the number of consumer shopping trips dropped while basket sizes grew. Trip frequency recovered as gas prices eased and basket sizes went down in 2009 as consumers made more frequent and less productive shopping trips. Now it appears the frequency of trips is on a slow decline while basket sizes are still continuing to fall.

This is just a summary of the major themes covered in the SymphonyIRI August 2010 Times & Trends Report. To fully absorb and embrace the information, you should download and read the report in its entirety. It is a quick read and offers extensive data and insight as to what consumers are doing and where they are doing it.

Father of Category Management to Lead Webinar - Retail Marketing: The Next Wave

We know that, as the result of the economy, shopper perspective and behavior has gone though some dramatic changes. Even though it appears we are on the road to a slow recovery, those changes in consumer behavior are expected to remain, creating a new normal. To be successful in this new environment, retailers must make a major transition from merchants to marketers. Join Dr. Brian Harris for the NARMS Webinar on Thursday, Aug 26 at 1:00 PM CDT as he presents, “Retail Marketing: The Next Wave.” The hour-long event, another in a series of member educational offerings by NARMS-U, is sponsored by Natural Insight and brought to you through the technology of ReadyTalk.

The retailing industry is undergoing many significant changes as it attempts to manage the new consumer. This is the next wave of retailing and it is firmly centered on a deeper understanding of the shopper and shopping behavior. The webinar will focus on how the shopper perspective has become the core component of two important industry business methods - Category Management and Shopper Marketing. These new shopper-driven tools are essential to successfully navigate the waters.

Dr. Harris is internationally recognized as a pioneer and innovative thought leader in the field of retailing and consumer products marketing. He pioneered and led the global adoption of two significant modern methods in the retailing and consumer products marketing industry — Computerized Shelf Space Management which he introduced in 1983 and Category Management in 1989.

Recognized globally as the “Father of Category Management”, Dr. Harris co-authored the U.S., European, and Brazilian ECR Category Management Best Practices Reports. He founded The Partnering Group in 1990 to develop and implement his business methods, including Category Management; later implementing his business methods in leading retailers, wholesalers, and consumer goods product manufacturers in over 25 countries on six continents. He continues to lead the development of industry next wave including the Retail Commission on Shopper Marketing efforts on Best Practices for Collaborative Shopper Marketing.

The session is complimentary to NARMS members as a membership service but is also made available to other interested persons at a non-member rate of $99.95. We encourage you to share this invitation with other co-workers and anyone else who might gain value from this information-sharing opportunity. You can register by clicking here.

NARMScertifyU Course Trains Eyes and Ears Too

Certainly the members of NARMS provide arms and legs to help retailers and brand marketers with professional at-retail marketing and merchandising support. But equally important is their mission to gather data and intelligence about the shopper experience at store level. Mystery Shops are a great way for trading partners to walk a mile in their customers’ shoes. NARMScertifyU, the official on-line learning center of NARMS, offers a Mystery Shopping Course that teaches the standards necessary to become a productive and successful at-retail intelligence agent.

Mystery shopping services provide valuable intelligence to executives and frontline managers who need to better understand the quality of interactions happening between their associates and their customers. The fundamentals of a mystery shop are very simple: Conduct and report the results of mock shopping experiences in order to assess and improve customer service, sales and merchandising performance.

While these fundamentals are simple to understand, actually executing them can be very challenging. It requires a deep understanding of certain fundamentals and specific skills to complete the duties successfully. Upon successful completion of this course, your field rep will develop a clear understanding of mystery shopping excellence, how to prepare for and execute an effective store visit and how to properly submit their report.

NARMScertifyU is available directly to individual field personnel at $15 per course, or in a bulk pricing package now available to allow for member companies to purchase on-line courses for their field reps at a great savings. Questions about pricing and purchasing should be directed to Scot Maurath at NARMScertifyU. His phone number is 949-472-6700 ext 1107.

There are eight courses currently offered at NARMScertifyU: Train the Trainer, Retail Visit Excellence, Merchandising Standards, Demonstrations, Event Marketing, Fixture Installation, Mystery Shopping and Team Lead Skills. The user simply selects and completes the course to earn a certificate of completion. Their NARMS Recruiter profile is automatically updated with the increased level of knowledge making them a more valuable, accessible, marketable and hirable resource.

NARMScertifyU represents a quick, easy and inexpensive option for enhanced at-retail service knowledge for both service company and individual field personnel. To learn more, visit the site here and then help spread the word of this tremendous industry building resource.

Sample NARMS JobBank

As experts in the field of at-retail marketing and merchandising services, we all know the value of a good sampling program. So in the spirit of practicing what we preach, NARMS will be offering a sample of our NARMS JobBank service. And although it is not free, it is offered at a greatly reduced rate. On August 16th from 12:00AM to 11:59PM CDT, we are offering one JobBank ad per member company for the reduced price of $10.00! What a great time for you to try JobBank for the first time, reconnect with this terrific resource or save a little money on your job advertising plans.

You don’t have to do anything special, just go to Post a Job in the JobBank from the dropdown list under Jobs/Careers on www.narms.com on August 16th to place your job posting. If you have multiple listings, the price will be adjusted manually for the first ad per company and additional ads will be billed at the normal rate. Those companies who are taking advantage of the JobBank Showcase program will be able to post a fifth ad on that date for $10.00. The FiveUp! option will be billed an additional $80.00 for a total of $90.00, not the usual $160.00 for a savings of $70.00! Contact Cindy Liebl at cliebl@narms.com with any questions.

The JobBank is a powerful resource to help fill your field resource needs. It is searched 575,000 times each month and provides greater coverage through RSS feeds of your listings to top job sites and social networking applications. Why post jobs on multiple sites when all of your job posting needs can be met by using this one handy resource that is viewed regularly by trained and experienced field merchandisers? The regular charge for a 30 day job posting is $80 for NARMS members and $150 for nonmembers.

NARMS also offers unlimited postings in the JobBank for 30 days for $1,000 for members and $1,250 for non-members. The fee must be pre-paid via credit card (Visa, MasterCard, or American Express) and the posting is in effect for 30 days from the date of payment.

NARMS JobBank has been serving the industry well since the beginning of our trade association. If you have never used it, or want to experience the benefits of its constantly evolving reach, there has never been a better time.

Next Webinar Beyond WOW!

With an increasingly competitive retail landscape and the ability of consumers to social network their customer experience to thousands in seconds, there has never been a more important time to focus on a customer service culture. In the next NARMS Webinar, expert Myra Golden will present -Beyond WOW! The Service Leadership Approach to Exceptional Customer Service. The session will take place on Tuesday, August 10 at 1:00 PM CDT. The NARMS Webinar series is sponsored by Natural Insight and brought to you through the technology of ReadyTalk.

Based on her bestselling book, Beyond WOW! The Service Leadership Approach to Exceptional Customer Service, this hour long program is crucial for any organization that wants to create a customer service culture. Golden will give senior executives and customer service leaders the insights and benchmarks to deliver on the needs and expectations of customers. From creating warm customer experiences at the initial point of contact to handling complaints as if they were gifts, attendees will learn how to create customers for life at every service touch point.

Golden helps companies completely restore customer confidence in their brands after service failures. Considered one of the leading experts in customer recovery, she has helped hundreds of organizations rethink and redesign their complaint response processes so they are positioned to retain more customers, improve customer satisfaction, and increase profits. Myra has designed customer recovery programs for such companies as Verizon Business, McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, National Car Rental, Michelin Tires and Frito Lay. She is co-author of Beyond WOW! The Service Leadership Approach to Exceptional Customer Service.

The session is complimentary to NARMS members as a valuable membership service and is also made available to other interested persons at a non-member rate of $99.95. We encourage you to share this invitation with other co-workers and anyone else who might gain value from this information-sharing opportunity. If you have not already done so, click here and sign up for Beyond WOW! today.

Consumer Expert Kit Yarrow Signed as 2011 General Session Speaker

With the buzz still coming off the 2010 NARMS Spring Conference, NARMS International announced last week the signing of internationally recognized consumer and retail expert Kit Yarrow as the opening General Session speaker for its 2011 get together. The session is on Sunday, April 10. The 16th Annual NARMS Spring Conference will be held in Monterey, CA on April 9-12. You only have to do a Google search on Yarrow to realize that her participation can only build upon the positive momentum created by the NARMS-U educational platform introduced last year. Yarrow will discuss, “The Marketing Guide to Hooking-Up with Gen Y.”

Yarrow is an award-winning consumer research psychologist and a professor of both psychology and marketing at Golden Gate University in San Francisco. She chairs the Golden Gate University Psychology Department and is the 2009 Outstanding Scholar of the university. Yarrow has been a visiting scholar teaching consumer behavior at universities around the world, including the Helsinki School of Economics, UC Berkeley, Stanford and Cornell.

Her consulting clients have included General Electric, Del Monte, Landor, Nokia, and AAA. Her speeches on consumer trends, Generation Y and the psychology of consumers have been well received by both industry and academic audiences. She has delivered keynote speeches and presentations at Cisco, Lowes, Gap, GSK, AC Nielsen, IIR, Sanoma Magazines (Finland), Stanford, Cornell, Wharton Business School, Fashion Institute of Technology, The Commonwealth Club, The American Psychological Association and dozens of other industry and trade organizations. As a recognized consumer expert, Yarrow is often called upon by the media to explain and predict consumer behavior. She is a frequent guest on Good Morning America and Marketplace.

As you can see, The 16th Annual NARMS Spring Conference is off to a flying start. Make sure you check out the Conference Center often for news and developments. A preliminary agenda has also been posted. While you are at it, save the dates and make plans to attend this annual game changing event.

NARMScertifyU Courses Offer Bulk Pricing for Members

NARMScertifyU, the official NARMS online learning center, has announced that it is offering a bulk pricing model to allow for member companies to purchase online courses for their field reps at a great savings. Questions about pricing and purchasing should be directed to Scot Maurath at NARMScertifyU. His phone number is 949-472-6700 ext 1107.

This exciting development will allow companies to purchase and assign specific courses to individuals. By purchasing courses in bulk, companies can take advantage of price discounts and reporting capabilities. Member companies can cover the entire cost of the course cost or only a portion of the cost, leaving the rest to the individual to pay. Here is a breakdown of the bulk price model. You can also have the option of purchasing a custom amount of courses to fit your specific needs.

100 courses @ $12.75 per course = $1,275 (savings of $225)
500 courses @ $12.00 per course = $6,000 (savings of $1,500)
1,000 courses @ $11.25 per course = $11,250 (savings of $3,750)

Payment for NARMS certify courses will be a credit card transaction via telephone. The NARMScertifyU system will generate a unique coupon codes for each learner to aid the distribution process. NARMScertifyU will assign and notify learners individually of course assignment via email. Learners simply sign into the online learning tool, input their unique code and start the course assigned to them.

At no additional cost, NARMScertifyU will track completion rates, individual progress, and other information. The system will run and send reports on weekly, monthly, quarterly, semi-annually, or annual bases. Reports are generated and formatted in Microsoft Excel and sent via email. You can also have the option of requesting custom reports.

There are eight courses currently offered at NARMScertifyU: Train the Trainer, Retail Visit Excellence, Merchandising Standards, Demonstrations, Event Marketing, Fixture Installation, Mystery Shopping and Team Lead Skills. The user simply selects and completes the course to earn a certificate of completion. Their NARMS Recruiter profile is automatically updated with the increased level of knowledge making them a more valuable, accessible, marketable and hirable resource.

NARMScertifyU represents a quick, easy and inexpensive option for enhanced at-retail service knowledge for both service company and individual field personnel. Please check out the NARMScertifyU bulk pricing program today and help spread the word of this tremendous industry building resource.

Streamlined (and lower cost) StratConn Event Around the Corner

You will want to be part of the NARMS members who are lining up to participate in the StratConn Retail Execution Resources event scheduled for July 28 at the Marriott O’Hare in Chicago. NARMS is partnering with the In-Store Marketing Institute to bring buyers and sellers together under one roof for a day of highly focused and efficient business meetings that will put you face-to-face with pre-qualified decision makers from top brand marketers. There is still time to register, but that time is running out. If you are interested, please call Gary Goff, Managing Director, Business Development at 847-675-7400 ext. 171 or write him at ggoff@instoremarketer.org by close of business tomorrow (Friday, July 16).

Due to hectic summer schedules and vacations, this event has been streamlined into a one day format. This adjustment has made the event more affordable than ever with registration now set at $8,000. The In-Store Marketing Institute has lined up key brand manufacturer executives with responsibility for retail operations and the execution of in-store merchandising who are ready and willing hear your pitch. We have a very eager group signed up which now includes Kimberly-Clark, Spin Master, McCormick, Novartis, Campbell Soup, Alberto-Culver, Chiquita, Crocs, Mead Johnson Nutrition, Bayer Healthcare, Ghirardelli, Hormel, Black & Decker and there will likely be another five or so to choose from.

The scheduling process allows you to choose up to 10 companies you would like to meet. These requests go through a review process and traditionally host companies get 99% of the meetings that they request. As a host company, you will be assigned your own private, dedicated meeting room that you can set up any way you want. Many host companies use this opportunity to set up displays, sales aides and computer equipment. The highly organized and efficient process sees a member of the staff bringing the guest company to you for a 30 minute session.

StratConn Business Meetings are designed to be as convenient as possible and represent a remarkably efficient use of your sales dollars. Where else can you get 10 high quality meetings with pre-qualified buyers in one day? The Marriott O’Hare is just minutes from the airport and allows you to get in and out of town quickly. You would normally spend way more time and money to court this kind of customer list.

If StratConn sounds like a good opportunity for you, you will want to act quickly. Registrations need to be finalized this week and, at this point, direct communication with Gary Goff is preferred. The meeting scheduling process starts next week.

Next Webinar to Introduce New PIC White Paper

Many things have changed on the retail landscape. A market that was defined by rapid expansion has receded. Retailers have changed their approach as acquisitions, bankruptcies and a shifting of customer traffic has created a new reality. From the outside looking in, that may seem like bad news for our Professional Installation PIC companies (PIC). But this savvy group has found a way to evolve and adapt to the changing needs of their customers. During the next NARMS Webinar, Chris Dammann, of the Christopher Group, will introduce the findings of a new white paper called, “PIC – Continuing to Build Out the Future of Retail.” The session will take place on Tuesday, July 13 at 1:00 PM CDT. The NARMS Webinar series is sponsored by Natural Insight and brought to you through the technology of ReadyTalk.

The companies that comprise the PIC Division of NARMS are a tremendous resource for retailers and manufacturers to realize their new store, remodel, relocation and conversion objectives. The hour-long session and report will shine the spot light on PIC member companies in order to take a fresh look at their value and importance to the estimated $12.08 Billion marketplace. Members can download the report by visiting the members’ area of www.narms.com.

Dammann is one of the original at-retail marketing services observers and commentators. Having spent six years with an original member of NARMS, he combines that industry knowledge with the objectivity of ten years as an independent market research writer and consultant. Dammann last conducted this project in 2006 and is a frequent contributor to the NARMS InfoShare library. He is also editor-in-chief of NARMS Newsfeed and the author of the weekly What’s In-Store blog on www.narms.com.

The session is complimentary to NARMS members as a valuable membership service but is also made available to other interested persons at a non-member rate of $99.95. We encourage you to share this invitation with other co-workers and anyone else who might gain value from this information-sharing opportunity. You can register by clicking here.