Taking Control of Your Customers’ Retail Execution

As a B2B wholesaler or distributor, what retail execution challenges are you facing? How do you monitor retail execution?

Poor retail execution because of low retailer compliance leads to lost sales. According to a report from the Promotion Optimization Institute, 90% of companies have issues with their in-store promotions not being executed based on the plan.

These figures highlight a huge disconnect between wholesalers and retailers, suggesting a lack of communication and collaboration between the two when it comes to merchandizing.

How can you address the challenges?

The introduction of retail execution and monitoring software can increase the efficiency of your retail operation and improve the productivity of your sales reps.

A simple interface can be used to collect data straight from sales reps and merchandisers mobile devices. All activities are synced directly to your ERP or CRM and Managers have real-time insight into what’s happening out in the field.

What should you expect from your retail execution software?

1. Data collection out in the field

There is no longer any need to rely on your customers feedback about their retail execution. In the previously mentioned report, 81% of manufacturers had issues with retailers not freely sharing information. Now you can monitor it yourself, through your sales reps. With retail execution software on their tablet or mobile device, they can capture all your customer data quickly and efficiently, including images of displays.

This valuable data can be synced immediately, allowing you to view in real-time details of your retail customers merchandising activities for your brands and adherence to your in-store promotions plan.

2. Visual feedback

One of the greatest challenges of retail execution is how to know exactly what your product looks like when displayed on the shelf. Retail execution and monitoring software deals with this task head-on.

Are your products facing the right direction, with the correct tags, and are they properly displayed? A robust retail execution tool must offer data input fields for all this and more.

Sales reps can take photos of storefronts, shelves, displays and promotional campaigns of both your customers, and your competitors’ displays. Each image can be geo-tagged, categorized, and organized for easier analysis.

With information regarding product display, pricing, planograms, and more, all captured visually, it’s much easier to keep track of retailers’ compliance with marketing strategies and any other contractual agreements.

3. Improved inventory level management

One of your items is a best seller, but it’s constantly out of stock in your customers’ stores. Prevent this situation, by providing your sales reps with retail execution software integrated with mobile sales software. This allows them to perform stock checks out in the field and process replenishment orders immediately, online through their mobile device.

4. Understand your customer

The key to loyal, long-term customers is building relationships. Ask questions and take time to understand their business needs. Gathered and recorded data will help you understand and improve your relationship with them.

The information you collect via your retail execution software can then be analyzed to enhance customer satisfaction and increase sales.

5. Up-sell and cross-sell

If your retail execution tool includes a mobile CRM, your sales reps will also have a 360° view of your customers. With the power to quickly access a customer’s sales order history, their shipments, invoices and top-selling items, they will have the opportunity to cross-sell, up-sell and more. Increasing sales and efficiency.

By providing sales and route staff with a mobile merchandizing app you are empowering them to take control of all field merchandising activity and have a permanent record of retailers’ performance.