Trade Marketing Merchandising Tips It may be a relief to have found the right retailer to sell your product, but trade marketing does not stop there. Rather, it is important for marketers to maintain a relationship with the retail outlet, in order to make sure that the product actually sells. When marketers and retailers team up to optimize sales, the results can be very rewarding. What follows are some tips for helping retailers promote your products.

1. Trade Marketing Merchandising Tips
It may be a relief to have found the right
retailer to sell your product, but trade
marketing does not stop there. Rather, it is
important for marketers to maintain a
relationship with the retail outlet, in order to
make sure that the product actually sells.
When marketers and retailers team up to
optimize sales, the results can be very
rewarding. What follows are some tips for
helping retailers promote your products.
Merchandising Strategies
One of the first steps in helping retailers promote your products is finding
the best merchandising strategy. Merchandising refers to the specific
technique or techniques used to sell products, and to increase consumer
demand for the product in the future. These strategies also provide a way
for marketers and retailers to maintain control over sales, and allow them to
experiment with variant selling strategies and displays to determine which
is most effective. Many of these strategies are also executed in conjunction
with trade marketing incentive programs implemented by the marketer, to
encourage employees to push specific merchandise.
Point of Sale Merchandise
One merchandising tactic, for example, is to place certain products at the
checkout line to encourage “point of sale” purchases, or impulse buys.
Products that are subject to this strategy are typically referred to as point of
sale materials, or POSMs. This tactic is used for brand new products, and
is usually accompanied by an additional value, such as a 2 for 1 deal.
Since shoppers may spend several minutes in the checkout area,
marketers can take this opportunity to advertise their new or modified
product to the retail customers. Point of sale merchandise is also a
possibility for online retailers: various add-ons or promotional deals can be
suggested at the virtual checkout, before customers finalize payment.
Floor Merchandise

2. Another trade marketing tip for helping retailers promote your products is to
carefully organize the shop floor so that your product is featured
prominently. This might involve placing it in a display case or in the middle
of a “power aisle” (the aisle most frequently visited by shoppers, usually
easily accessible from the store entrance). For this promotional tactic, trade
marketers should defer to the retailer’s knowledge of customer’s habits in
order to determine the best placement and organization of products. It is
also important to make the product easily accessible, and to avoid moving
it frequently, so customers always know where to find it in the future.
Social Media Marketing Campaigns
Starting an online marketing campaign can also be incredibly effective in
helping retailers promote your products. In fact, this is fast becoming one of
the most important steps in a successful trade marketing campaign. If a
retailer already has a Facebook or Twitter account, marketers should work
with the company’s Webmaster to advertise their products. With over 150
million Facebook users in the U.S. alone, for example, a marketer can
reach an unprecedented number of potential customers. If a retailer has yet
to start up a social media site, a marketer should initiate its start-up. This
will not only benefit the specific business-to-business relationship in
question, but the entire retail company.
Online Merchandising
The Forrester Company recently predicted that online sales in America will
increase by 12% in the coming year, even in light of the recent economic
downtown. Therefore, it is important to utilize online merchandising
strategies when helping retailers promote your products. Trade marketing
can prove even more profitable when customers are offered the option of
purchasing a product online AND in the store, so make sure retailers offer
your product online. If they do not have a website yet, help them create
one.
Overall, trade marketers should remember the importance of conducting
market research on consumers as well as retailers when promoting
products, since profitability arises from expertise in both areas. This is why
maintaining a close relationship with retailers is so important, since store
managers and owners know more about their customers than anyone else,

3. and can provide the information necessary for a successful promotion
strategy.
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