Search
All You Need To Know
During the 1990s, Brazil underwent an economic and technological transformation that improved the offer of products, as well as their quality. Consumers quickly noticed this change and became more demanding in relation to brands.
Then, trade marketing emerged, an area derived from the marketing sector, created from the manufacturer's need to stand out in supermarkets, stores, pharmacies and other commercial establishments.
Below, you can learn more about what trade marketing is and its importance, as well as the difference between marketing and trade marketing, the role of professionals in the area and how they can effectively perform their jobs.
Trade marketing is a strategic area that combines sales and marketing skills, with the main objective of attracting the shopper's attention at the POS (point of sale) and increasing sales. For this, it is necessary to consider not only the availability of the products, but also aspects such as price, discounts and even the position of the items on the shelves.
The trade marketing strategy is considered B2B (business-to-business). This is because the area is also responsible for the relationship between the manufacturer and distribution channels, including retailers and wholesalers. Therefore, the focus is on sales channels.
In a market that is becoming increasingly competitive, it is critical to find ways to stand out from competitors. For that, it is not enough to just launch new products that meet the wants and needs of consumers. After all, there's no point in sparking customer interest if the product doesn't reach them, right?
Thus, the attributions of trade marketing go from establishing a product mix to the choice of the best distribution points. The area also recommends prices and promotions as well as plans marketing strategies at the POS, known as merchandising.
Trade marketing is also responsible for developing the plan for seasonal practices. On holidays such as Easter and Christmas, for example, the demand for specific products is greater and the actions at the POS need to be even more distinguished.
In addition to similar names, we can say that the marketing and trade marketing areas have the same common goal: increase sales. The difference is in the way each area does this.
While marketing is responsible for creating consumer needs and wants, trade marketing is more concerned with products at the point of sale. Therefore, the functions performed by the areas are quite different.
To mention some examples, marketing is related to activities that add value to the brand, such as the creation of advertising campaigns, which sell the product's benefits and competitive advantages. It also launches new lines according to consumer preferences.
In the case of trade marketing, operations are more focused on distribution, which includes planning, identifying opportunities and monitoring the strategy in practice.
To deliver the best possible results, both marketing and trade marketing must be aware of the current market scenario, understanding consumer behavior and using data as basis for making good decisions.
And speaking of consumer behavior, one of its increasingly popular features is the use of the internet to help with purchases or even to make them. From researching and selecting products to purchasing them in an online store: everything can be done from wherever you are.
Hence, trade marketing includes both physical and online points of sale, since it is necessary to guarantee presence in all channels where the public is. It is also extremely important to invest in ads on social networks and think about actions that encourage e-commerce sales.
Moreover, another essential item is the correlation between online and offline, as it is also common for the customer to search for an item on the internet and make the purchase at the physical point of sale, or to choose the product at the store and complete the purchase online.
Like trade marketing, digital trade marketing also requires proper planning and measurement of data to be conducted effectively.
This is possible by relying on specific solutions, such as Neogrid's E-commerce Insights. It enables obtaining a 360ยบ view for brand monitoring and auditing, in addition to following KPIs that help to identify improvement areas for the strategy.
Considering that the area involves several tasks and goals, it depends on more than one trade marketing professional to perform them.
Find out below the key positions and the objectives of each one:
The coordinator or supervisor focuses on monitoring updated information to manage the campaigns in progress and define what will be the next surveys carried out with distributors.
They decide which promoter will work in a certain area, considering the most optimized route possible and ensuring that the operation is executed, avoiding fraud. This requires managing the field team, formed by sales promoters.
The manager's job is to prepare the trade marketing strategic plan, in addition to analyzing the performance of the strategy and other professionals, verifying the team's effectiveness.
For that, they must know the distribution coverage area very well and evaluate the frequency of promoters' visits to the POS, knowing their average length of stay. Their role also includes communicating to the team the results of what is being done.
The sales promoter is the professional who executes the routes and fills out the forms as defined by their supervisor. They visit the points of sale of the brand they represent to ensure that the shelves are stocked and to organize the product display.
If a product does not sell, they go to the field to investigate: is the item missing? Was it placed in a location that the shopper does not see or reach? Did competitors think of a better discount or merchandising action? This is all part of the promoter's job.
Considering that the area involves several tasks and goals, it depends on more than one trade marketing professional to perform them.
Find out below the key positions and the objectives of each one:
The coordinator or supervisor focuses on monitoring updated information to manage the campaigns in progress and define what will be the next surveys carried out with distributors.
They decide which promoter will work in a certain area, considering the most optimized route possible and ensuring that the operation is executed, avoiding fraud. This requires managing the field team, formed by sales promoters.
The manager's job is to prepare the trade marketing strategic plan, in addition to analyzing the performance of the strategy and other professionals, verifying the team's effectiveness.
For that, they must know the distribution coverage area very well and evaluate the frequency of promoters' visits to the POS, knowing their average length of stay. Their role also includes communicating to the team the results of what is being done.
The sales promoter is the professional who executes the routes and fills out the forms as defined by their supervisor. They visit the points of sale of the brand they represent to ensure that the shelves are stocked and to organize the product display.
If a product does not sell, they go to the field to investigate: is the item missing? Was it placed in a location that the shopper does not see or reach? Did competitors think of a better discount or merchandising action? This is all part of the promoter's job.
Successful trade marketing is based on the relationship with retailers and constant data analysis.
Therefore, it is necessary to identify the needs of business partners, which can be done through surveys, whether questionnaires or conversations with retailers. It is important to find out what they and their customers need, including the most popular or missing products.
With that in mind, it becomes much easier to align manufacturer's goals with the distributor, building a win-win relationship for both.
Finally, it is necessary to analyze the POS data. This step shows if the strategy is on track and what can be done to make it even better, considering the sales already made and customer demand.
Hello, how are you?