- March 1, 2022
- , 7:16 pm
The "RESET" Series
Where did we land...
“Can SOMEONE PLEEEASE tell me how we did on this year’s planogram?”
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve asked this “simple” question. Seeing National Account Managers sweat trying to explain the results of their sales efforts from the latest line review. The goal was clear… gain SPACE, get ALL 5 flavors cut in, at EYE level, in EVERY store. We have the best brand, best innovation, and smartest sales and category team. What else do you need? Sales Executives everywhere from Brands large or small ask this very SIMPLY asked question that is becoming HARDER to answer. I feel like our internal QBR (Quarterly Business Review) turns out to be like this guy in the picture. (Always Sunny in Philidelphia for reference)
I feel like this is becoming a conspiracy theory...
If you are a buyer reading this blog, the decisions you make across your stores in terms of assortment, placement and share of shelf assigned to brands often create conspiracy theory explanations across your suppliers. “They over paid for their space; the buyer’s cousin works for our competitor; THEY took them to the Super Bowl”. Conspiracies from every angle. Why can’t they just trust that it’s your job to choose the best items for your shoppers? Do they NOT understand that buyers have sales targets to hit too?
If you are a Sales Executive, you simply want answers from your sales team. Did we win, lose, draw? Where are our new items? How are they positioned? Did we get into every POG? Where did we land on pricing? What did our competition launch? So many questions…. few answers.
Where did we land...?
The Truth… it’s not that easy. Today’s assortment strategy is becoming very complex… for all of the right reasons. The shopper wants more today. More variety, more sizes, more reasons to buy. The ability for a brand to garner awareness through social media and ecommerce breaks down traditional barriers to entry created by bricks and mortar. And Retailers need to make sure they remain relevant with their shoppers by offering more variety than before, where their shoppers want it. This leads to more items, more store formats and more POGs. The predominant POG is a relic of the past. Store Specific, “Store of the Community”, Micro-markets are where we are now.
Retailers simply don’t have the time, energy or intention to help brands determine where they stand. It’s too much work. I make the POG, I post them to my portal, just deliver me on time, in full. Retailers want to know the results of their decisions, and where suppliers can help.
What’s more important than the POG?
Nothing. The POG is the most important element of a brand’s success in retail. Where a brand is positioned, how many facings, brand adjacencies and retail price can make or break a brand. New items, whether brand extensions or new brands can live or die by where they end up being merchandised within the POG. We don’t need conspiracy theories; we need the truth.
AI-Image Recognition can debunk the conspiracy.
I’m excited to introduce the next blog series I’m creating focused on “The Reset” and how AI-Image Recognition can provide the unbiased, unvarnished truth of how Retailers are merchandising your brand. The “Reset” is arguably the most important event of the year for brands. Where you land will determine your promotional strategy, pricing strategy, merchandising investments, marketing priorities and more. The “Reset” will impact volume lift, forecasts, supply chain needs. In some industries, contracts are impacted. I will try to address many of these areas over the next month. Check out the following future titles, “The Contract Talk…”, “Just the Facts…”, “What’s the impact…”, and “Who’s Winning”.
For more information on AI- Image Recognition, visit maxerience.com or contact Jason DeRienzo at jderienzo@maxerience.com..