Joining hands for better sales

With extensive expansions of various companies (Dabur, Hindustan Uniliver, Procter & Gamble, Emami, etc), both national and international, in various product portfolios, every company is putting its brain to tap unexplored areas related to the business ecosystem they are in. Retailers like kirana stores, hypermarkets, supermarkets and others also have a big role to play to know the insight of the shoppers and look into the future, since to live up to the expectations of the shoppers has become a challenge, both for retailers and the manufacturers.

Agreeing with the idea, Mr Aditya V Agarwal, Director, Emami Group, elaborates, “Yes, we agree with the fact that the success of a product solely depends on the team work between the manufacturer and the retailer. But in our case it also depends a lot on the strong distribution channel. For an easy access to the desired retailer, it’s important to have a good linkage through an organised distribution network. As the product gets manufactured, it is pivotal to have its presence felt to the consumers and that is only possible through the retailers.”

Consumer is the ‘King’

Today’s shoppers need to know about the variety of products through different mediums and also ready to experiment with the new products. This is the opportunity for both parties to win the game.

Mr Ravinderpal Kohli, Director & CEO, Jivo Wellness comments, “Today’s customers are health conscious. They need products that prevent them from spending on medical bills. Retailers should also bridge the gap to spend more time with us to know the product and increase sales in their stores.” Today, canola oil is spurring in the market zones of Delhi, NCR. Initially targeted for the premium buyers, the product has shown overwhelming response even in the middle segment of the customer. 

Convert war room into win room

Citing out differences:  The retailer aims at reaching out to customers for all sorts of brands through promotional display. On the other hand the manufacturer wants more promotional support at a point-of-sale. The retailer wants to gauge the performance of his store; the manufacturer wants to highlight product success.

Due to the difference in target interests, there are always gaps between the manufacturers and their retail partners. The gap should be filled with better solutions and strategic intersection to form the foundation of common vision, making their respective niche in the market and boost sales.

Plan on consumer schemes, brand visibility: “Plans should be on consumer schemes, brand visibility in the store. Besides, there are sales target being fixed with the retailers to promote the brand product,” says Mr Agarwal

Dilute intimate information: While large retailers are tasked with managing up to ‘n’ number of products, manufacturers have a much more intimate level of knowledge and understanding about their products that can be shared with their retail channel partners.

The manufacturers and retailers should discuss the USP of their products to know the insight of the consumer behaviour. Co-ordination is needed to share data between them to know about the product and its response minutely. “We supply the MIS report to the manufacturer for his analyses. We believe in sharing data to enable us to sell the maximum,” says Mr Snehal Shah, Vice President, Operations, V Mart. “Apart from the market survey, mystery shopping, sales and inventory analyses from various angles are the normally followed techniques”, he adds.

Encourage retailers: “Yes there are targeted schemes promoted. To encourage our retailers we offer them incentives and commissions so that we get the best results out of them,” suggests, Mitesh Gajera, MD, Cygnus Jewellery.

Timely schemes and promotion: There are a lot of schemes being used to lure customers, such as Power Pricing (buy 1 at 10%, Buy 2 at 20% discount), Gift Vouchers, Flat Discount, Buy 1 get 1 Free, Combo Schemes (Get a combo prepared at attractive rates) and Lower Price Points.

Such tie ups are planned as a part of the various schemes generated for the consumers. These promotions are largely based on market requirements and the reaction of the competition towards the product category. If the scheme is lucrative, the retailers are also interested as it helps them selling the products.

Win-win situation

By sharing data information, the benefits are showered on both, retailers and manufacturers, helping in planning better pricing points, timely delivery, unleashing consumer insights, better planning, more effective promotions and greater success when introducing new products.

A manufacturer should leverage retailers’ knowledge of local demands for brand development. The demand in the market is best received by the retailers. On the other hand, the manufacturers’ product knowledge should be leveraged by the retailers to sell the products. The difference between HUL’s Knorr and Kissan should be conveyed from a manufacturer to retailers to the end users, that is, consumers. This sharing of data is well translated in high sales of Emami’s “Fair And Handsome” cream, a new product category of male grooming.

Suggestion for future

Mr Shah of V Mart explains, “We do keep in regular touch with manufacturers to remain updated on the latest fashions in vogue. Also we do regular sampling to keep ourselves updated about what trends are currently in demand and discuss on the latest trends running in the market. We do forward planning to gauge emerging trends in future by collecting data from various sources and share with them the feedbacks received by us from our stores who give us the accurate information of customers requirements, choices and preferences.”

Applying post-promotion learning to the future performance would also enhance their working models and long-term relationship. In the end one can conclude that retailers and manufacturers should fill in the gaps which still exists to stand apart in this fiercely competitive business’s ecosytem to make their existence for longer times.