Whether you sell food products or pet supplies, cosmetics or vitamins, today more then ever before, getting your wares into retail storefronts will mark a significant step in the growth of your company and brand.
For consumer product suppliers “the good news is that buyers are looking for you as much as you want to work with them,” retail consultant Karen Waksman told Entrepreneur Magazine.
Larger chains often look to mix up their assortment, but product companies must do the work to get noticed. So what’s the most important thing to remember – be persistent!
Below are some tried-and-true efforts to get your products into national retailers.
1. Grow your online efforts
So you’re selling products in a number of local stores and perhaps in one or more regional stores as well. When determining how the amount of time you want to spend online, the best bang for your buck is to grow your social media following. Then keep track of your online growth and let retailers know you’re in touch with your biggest fans. When you get consumer feedback, share the great news with the press, in online groups, and with the retail community. Growing your online footprint is essential for CPG companies today. It’s also a great way to check out your competition by reviewing their packaging and their presence online.
2. Wholesale distributors and brokers
Are there wholesalers and/or brokers for your products? Most likely, the answer is yes. Often, the best way to reach them is to exhibit at your industry trade show. Wholesalers and brokers have the relationships you’re hoping to build and they also have a sales force that you most likely don’t have. Selling your products through wholesalers and brokers doesn’t necessarily preclude you from developing your own retailer relationships so just make sure you ‘know the rules’ in advance.
3. Off-shelf POP display merchandising
Develop a POP display strategy by including temporary displays, filled with your products, in your trade show booth and as part of your presentation when you get in front of retail buyers. This will enable the buyer to envision your products in their stores to see if they make a good fit. Getting onto the shelf can be more costly as well as more competitive so do the numbers first to see if this is the way to go for your products.
4. Make it easy
From ordering to distribution to sales and so on – make sure you and the retailer are set up for success. The easiest and most cost-effective path for the retailer to do business with your company can make the difference between carrying your products over your competitor’s products. It’s not just about profit margins, which can erode quickly if stores don’t receive products on time or ordering is a challenge. Make sure you can service the retailer and produce the quantity demanded while maintaining the high quality promised. Don’t give your retailers a reason to drop you or you might not get a second chance.
5. Remove the risk
The more you can lower or even eliminate the risk of having left over inventory, the better. Include a buy-back or credit program with every POP display. The buyer can more easily justify bringing in your products when you have provided a low or no-cost option if product sales are low
6. Be retail ready
If your pitch is successful, be ready to have your product on dozens – if not hundreds of stores around the country.
“Your job is to have your product retail-ready,” Waksman said, meaning that you have “thought through how you’re going to manufacture it on a mass scale, how you’re going to price and package it.”
Entrepreneur also points out that vendors need to be ready to hit new heights in production while still maintaining the quality that got the stores’ attention.
The magazine tells the story of Michael Marrin, whose company makes disposable cups. He needed 18 months to be ready to produce at the level required by retail chain customers, only to find that there were problems with the cups’ bags and labels.
“That killed us, and it was almost to the point where I gave up,” Marrin said.
He survived, however, by working with a company that was able to handle manufacturing, storage, and shipping of his products.
Again, it’s crucial to make sure your product gets noticed in a crowded field, which makes packaging and presentation vital to your efforts. Using a full-color display mockup in your presentation to the retail buyer can give you an advantage over the competition. This prototype allows the buyer to experience the display as a consumer. If needed, changes can be made to meet any additional retail requirements.
ProCorr Display & Packaging can help your company stand out in a busy retail environment, creating displays that range from dump bins to quarter, half and full-pallet displays and pallet skirts. We can also pack out your retail displays and ship them to your warehouse, distribution centers or directly to the retailer.
We are adept at navigating the often-stringent regulations that come with designing displays in club stores such as Sam’s and Costco.
Contact us today to learn more about how ProCorr can make your retail point-of-purchase displays get the attention of shoppers.
