5 key in-store metrics and how to track them better

One of the main keys to management, beyond improving efficiency and centralizing processes, is information: getting the information you need at exactly the right moment. Information guides decisions, connects field staff with their supervisors and improves what merchandisers can do at the points of sale they visit. 

When that information is properly consolidated around the relevant indicators, it gives us full control over how processes are executed at the point of sale and also shows how shoppers see our products (and the competition's). What are those indicators, and how do digital tools let us capture them in real time and centralize the data for easy evaluation? That is what we cover below.

Availability

The first step to avoiding lost sales is to monitor and guarantee that our products are available at the POS. Digitization makes it possible to control that important variable in real time, so action can be taken immediately. That information also gives us clues about consumption patterns and about which POS we need to reinforce to avoid products showing up "out of stock" in future. 

Share at the POS

To own the category and make our brand stand out, we need a strong presence on the shelf, or share of shelf (or at the very least, to check that the presence we actually got is the one we planned and negotiated). That percentage lets us understand where we stand against the competition at the point of sale and take steps to increase our share. With digital tools, this can be measured through photographic records to make sure the assigned space and planogram are being respected.

Displays and POP materials

More than 70% of decisions are made at the POS itself and rest on properly tracking the commercial actions we have planned. That constant evaluation lets us redirect or reinforce an action. In the case of displays and promotional materials, digitization makes it possible to guide or record the merchandiser's work, check display visibility (through photographic records) and so audit the commercial agreements negotiated and keep an inventory of POP material that guarantees it is used correctly. 

Prices

Stores and distribution chains often deviate from the pricing strategy a brand sets, so capturing and controlling that variable at each POS matters if we want to know how our offer is actually reaching shoppers. It also makes it possible to raise alerts when agreed prices are not respected, and to gather information about the competition. 

Sales force monitoring

Finally, the other variable to consider, and the one not related to the product itself, is whether the merchandiser is doing the job. Absences or idle time create missed opportunities in our trade work. Thanks to digitization, that monitoring is transparent, precise and real-time. Knowing how much time is spent at each POS also lets us weigh that time against the results obtained or expected and gives us clues about how important each store is within our distribution network. 

At GoDoWorks, we equip companies with dynamic, intelligent management tools that embrace field mobility and work to centralize information. GDW Trade is the tool we designed to improve efficiency and productivity in trade marketing execution, so that management is always a solution and never a challenge.