Top retail tips
Mar 01 2007
Get your product on the shelves:
Securing shelf space for your products in the fast moving consumer goods world is tough. A handful of big names control the majority of the market and margins can be slim.
SmallBusiness.co.uk and Simon Dunn, managing director of brand development company Product Chain, offer these tips for getting your product listed. Next time you walk into your local supermarket branch, it could be your product sitting on the shelf:
Move quickly
The supermarket sector is a fast-moving industry that changes on a whim, reacts instantly to media stories or celebrity preferences and, above all, waits for nobody. The rule is simple: those who won’t - or can’t - move quickly enough to seize the opportunities will be left behind.
Luckily, small business owners have the luxury of making decisions quickly and putting them into practice faster than large firms, without having to trawl through a long and complicated chain of approval. Entrepreneurs need to have their finger on the pulse of the continually changing market place: its needs and its immediate desires.
Respond to customer wants and needs
Read the editorial in style magazines. They tend to be full of great inspiration and can offer many useful ideas, yet the skill lies in turning it into something marketable. If a brand gets it right, innovation will drive market share.
By following market these consumer trends entrepreneurs can gain an insight into what will sell and what won’t. Look at movements within the industry - from the emerging popularity of farmers’ markets facing up to the supremacy of supermarkets and seasonal foods, to the effect of celebrity chefs on the success of certain ingredients.
Understand your target market
Consumers are getting ever more demanding; they want choice and will react and pay for relevant innovation. Think about who your product will appeal to, but then make sure you are not pigeon-holing yourself into a narrow niche. This will help you develop you marketing and business plans more effectively.
Think about your unique selling point
Sometimes it helps to ask a friend or acquaintance who has no connection to your business questions like, Would you buy this product? Do you think it has health benefits? Does it create a negative impact on the environment?
If that person can match the right answers to these types of questions, then you know your brand matches your product. You can also ask, Can this product stand up against competitors?
Strengthen your business plan
New product development needs to be backed with a strong business plan, focusing on market penetration and rapid distribution. After all, if the consumer can't buy a product, it doesn't matter how much they want it. This is vital no matter how small an outfit you are operating.
Develop a marketing plan
The best penetration in terms of getting your message across and often the most cost effective - a top priority for small businesses - is third-party endorsement or PR. You need to stimulate interest, and people will take more notice of what’s being said by an independent media source than by a paid for piece of advertising.
Get your packaging and branding right
Shelf presence is all about catching the customer’s eye - for the right reasons. The strongest brands are developed by a highly skilled team of sales personnel, technology experts and administrators, but if you don’t have those resources try to keep packaging practical and the design clean and simple.
Promote communication
This is about planning for every eventuality. Ensure that your relationship with the retailer once shelf space is secured runs as smoothly as possible. Don’t let unnecessary glitches ruin your product before it has even been given a chance.
Secure adequate stock
Make sure that you have enough stock to cope with orders. It’s all very well securing shelf space and orders, but if you don’t have the products to fulfil them, your retailer is going to become frustrated very quickly.
Find out how to write a marketing plan.