Field merchandising can take on many forms, but predominantly merchandisers make sure stock is available and well placed on the shop floor for the consumer to see. Merchandisers can check stock levels by checking the store systems, make sure all products are placed out on the shop floor, or by going into the warehouse and unboxing products if necessary. Once the product is on the shop floor, a merchandiser will make sure that the product is placed in the best possible vantage point, make sure all POS is correctly placed and that the product is clean and tidy. So it will be the first product the customer will see when entering the store, and if the product looks good, customers are more likely to buy that product.

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Point of sale can have enormous benefits when designed correctly. If the design is poor and the thought process for designing it minimal it becomes confusing for the customer and can in fact, have the opposite effect.

Here are two examples of how it can differ. Both are designed to advise the customer on an electrical appliance but one is far superior and will inform the customer of the product more effectively.

First of all I want to raise the guidance given to staff by companies, quite rightly they ask them to talk to the customer about how a product will benefit. The benefit tells them what the feature will do for them; a feature may be limited in its ability to educate the customer by revealing its use. Despite this, some retail outlets persist in creating customer information in the form of point of sale which refers only to the feature, totally contradicting the sales training they give to staff.

Consider the picture below, POS for a camera. Unless they have previously completed their own research about the product or have a technical background, would the customer know why they should select a camera with 72 mega pixels as opposed to one with more or less?

Is ‘compatible with PRO Duo’ an important feature? Only the customers that know what ‘PRO Duo’ is would know the answer to that. What about 3x optifocal zoom and 6x digital zoom, will every prospective customer know if they need it? It leads me to ask the question ‘What’s the point’ of point of sale that doesn’t tell the customer anything. Perhaps the thought process is to encourage the customer to ask a member or staff. Easy for the confident customer to do if they can find a member of staff, but what about the unconfident customer who may feel foolish if they admit to having little knowledge about the product.

In my mind the presence of the feature indicates that the author is concluding that the reader should already know the benefit. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news – some don’t and any store displaying such POS could potentially alienate customers and lose sales.

If we compare the POS on the picture below a key feature with its benefits is displayed clearly and boldly. Straight away the customer is informed how the large 1.8” screen and easy to use interface on the MP3 video player will benefit them.
Following on key features are displayed as icons with a simple clear associated benefit.

Reading this information has given me a much greater knowledge of the product. As a customer I can make a more informed decision to buy or decide if the product is suitable or insufficient for my needs without the help of a sales person.

This is a great example of simple and effective point of sale with ‘a point’.

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Sean describes how to increase sales at point of purchase:

Here are the notes to go with the video:

5 tips on how to produce successful point of purchase solutions

1. The first thing you need to do is check the compliance issues of the stores that you’re citing your displays within, check the criteria because they vary form one outlet to the next. Secondly, undertand the target audience. Understand and research them thoroughly.
2. Secondly, understand the target audience. Understand and research them thoroughly.
3. Thirdly, make sure you that you portray a clear brand message with the display that you design. Make sure you put over the essence of the brand correctly and that it’s clear and to the point.
4. Forth, simplicity of design. Make sure the design of the unit or point of sale display is simple, they are by far the most successful units in store. Don’t make it too complicated because it won’t work. Keep the wording to the point. Make it simple and clear. Use pictures because people won’t always read it.
5. Finally, allow time for mishaps. Because when you’re developing something bespoke, even though you may have prototypes signed off, there’ will always be something that could crop up during manufacture.

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Christine gives some tips to help improve your confidence when selling:

Here are the notes to go with this video in case you are unable to watch it:

How can ensure a sales person is confident to sell your brand instore

1. The first thing you need to do, is make sure they fully understand your brand values - This might be
   • key selling points
   • target market
   • ethical values
2. Next, make sure they fully understand your product. In order to do that, demonstrate it to them, let them use it so they understand good demonstration techniques that they can pass on to the customer.
3. Next, make sure they fully understand your key selling points. Whatever these selling points are, you’ve got to link them to benefits. There’s no point in talking to a customer about a feature - they need to know what will it do for me.
4. Finally - show them how easy it is to sell. Demonstrate how you would sell it, and go through a sales process so they feel totally comfortable, and can sell the product with confidence.

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Does the channel or business model make any difference to the level of acceptable customer service?

Jeremy writes that online stores should not bother with an extensive customer support service and offer a simple return service only. I.e. if you don’t like it, send it back.

In my opinion, it depends on a number of factors…

• How competitive is the market?
• Is your business model cut price self service or luxury?
• Is the item a low value commodity or a high value purchase?
• What channel are you using for the sale?
• Are you hoping for an ongoing customer relationship?

In the case of an online store - the majority of the work involved in achieving the sale and completing the order is automated. The customer can browse the store without a member of staff checking whether they need help or if they are shoplifting. Detailed product information and even reviews or customer feedback is available to help the customer with the decision. The purchase processing is automated, confirmation emails and estimated delivery dates or tracking can be automated. And depending on the nature and set-up, much of the logistics can be automated.

So when customer has a query - I would be inclined to agree with Jeremy - it may be simpler to continue the theme. With an automatically generated returns slip and refund procedure.

On the other hand - a retail store would need to staff a store with a number of people to complete a sale, so whereas a customer services team would need to be specifically employed if you wanted to offer support for an online sale, the existing retail staff needed for the original sale could help with queries - as long as they were trained correctly.

The customer expects different service levels based on the positioning of your brand - in his podcast, Steve Humphrey describes the decision making process and different levels of service required depending on the nature of the purchase. He uses the comparison of buying at Primark compared to Prada.

Customers also expect different service levels if buying a high value product - for example a car. Even in the case of online ordering, you would expect a certain amount of aftersales service.

Marks and Spencer offered a no quibble exchange policy regardless of how long ago the purchase was made, this was promoted as a selling point in the past.

This has now changed to a 90 day return policy for unwanted goods - presumably to reduce exploitation and cut costs.

Jason from good customer services blog suggests that the level of service you provide in retail stores depends also on your behaviour. I would agree that sales staff are likely to be happier to go the extra mile for polite customers.

Let me know your experiences -

• Have you been surprised by exceptionally good or bad service?
• Do you think companies should be able to get away with low customer service if they offer a lower priced product?
• Would a return only policy please you or is it not enough?
  
• What customer service do you offer?
• Have you seen examples of customers exploiting good customer service?

Listen to Steve’s Marketing podcast using this link - I would recommend episode 13 The decision making process, and 7 The Marketing Mix and the scope of Marketing.

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Here Christine explains what is involved in Field Marketing and Merchandising:

As ever, here are the notes to go with this video in case you are unable to watch the video:

What Does Field Marketing And Merchandising Entail?

It’s all about increasing sales. A field training and merchandising team will do that by encouraging the store to increase the number of units sold, or raising the average selling price.

To do this effectively, you have to make sure that the stock is

• out on display
• positioned in an eyecatching location
• merchandised correctly with point of sale materials

This is so the customer can see any offers, see the price correctly, and gain information about the product.

If the product needs some involvement from a sales person - i.e. it’s not as simple as the customer selecting an item off the shelf - you would ensure that the sales person is up-to-speed on the product. Meaning they understand the product and have confidence to sell it.

To build this confidence, we would train the staff, show them how to use the product and introduce some key selling skills.

This leads to more sales for the retailer and in turn the manufacturer… so overall everybody wins!

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We’ve put together a video running through some tips on how to differentiate your brand in retail stores. Here’s Christine with her top tips:

To ensure this is accessible to all, we’ve also written up the show notes below.

If I had to sum it up in 5 tips, the important things to make sure your brand can be differentiated are as follows:

• Make sure your product is on the shop floor. You can’t sell an empty space. Ensure you have plenty of stock in the warehouse to put on the shelves when they’re empty.

• Make sure your product is positioned well. It’s possible to purchase good store space in a retail outlet, so have a word with the buyers to find out where the best spots are.

• Make sure the product is well merchandised when it’s in position. There’s nothing worse than a scruffy dirty point of sale (POS). So make sure the point of sale is clean, relevant, eye catching and up-to-date.

• Once your product is on display, make sure staff know about it. It’s not always the case that staff are trained on all products. It’s important that staff can speak to customers about your product with confidence - that will differentiate your product from a different brand.

• What a lot of companies will do to achieve this is employ a trainer merchandising team where people will go in to a store representing that brand making sure all the above are followed through.

We would love your feedback, any positive or negative comments, or anything you would like to add.

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Merchandising acts as a silent sales man.  So if there are no sales staff around, the merchandise explains about the features and benefits of the product.

Retail merchandising staff make sure that the products looks clean, it is in the right place and the correct sales tickets are on the correct products.

They may also put out promotional material such as leaflets, stands and shelf wobblers to draw attention.

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