Commissioned by training and learning specialist Mohive, this study asks more than 100 retail marketing experts to highlight the promotional "weak spots" they're now most likely to address as traders seek to toughen-up promotional tactics and make ready for the difficult trading conditions ahead. Retail marketing and promotions experts questioned held managerial/director level roles in businesses employing over 1000 people.
Better internal communications, more product knowledge on the shop floor and smarter campaign production tactics are the top three priorities for retail marketers
With only 15 percent of retailers claiming that their Christmas and New Year promotions had come out of the January sales period unscathed, the serious business of review and reform has begun for marketing and promotional experts in UK retail. Charged with delivering recession-busting campaign strategy in 2009, these marketing experts are now looking internally to see where improvements and efficiencies in the campaign production process can be made.
Better internal communications, more product knowledge on the shop floor and smarter campaign production tactics are the top three priorities for retail marketers battling against the negative effects of Britain's beleaguered economy. While almost all retail marketers questioned agreed that the downturn was having a negative effect on their promotions activity, just over nine percent claimed to be experiencing no negative effects so far: the majority of them (two thirds) do not anticipate any negative effect in the future.
Marketing experts are now looking internally to see where improvements and efficiencies in the campaign production process can be made
Key weak spots now top of mind for marketing and promotional experts in retail are:
- Internal comms processes that fail to effectively communicate latest campaigns down to local sales people. Over 80 percent of respondents believe that internal
comms should be working harder to get latest information about new campaigns out to sales staff as soon as they go live.
- Slow campaign production processes. 82 percent of retail marketing experts say that it currently takes them too long to create promotional campaigns and now want to improve process to deliver more campaigns faster.
- Weak targeting, where broad-based campaigns work at mass market level but fail to resonate strongly with highest-value niche customers. Over 80 percent of retail marketers believe that countering the downturn means being able to complement classic campaign strategy, like seasonal promotions, with more high-definition campaigns that appeal to well targeted subsets in the customer base.
Comment from Mohive CEO Lars Unneberg:
"Having just suffered the stark reality check offered by the Winter and New Year promotions period, retail's marketing community is now getting down to the serious business of preparing for what is undoubtedly going to be the toughest year on our High Streets in living memory. While there is little that marketers in retail can do about the economy, this study clearly shows that promotions people on the High Street intend to fight back, not sit back."
"With no room for second chances, retail marketers today are more focused than ever, on making sure that the internal mechanisms available to them within the operation are finely tuned and best equipped to support the critical promotions they roll out in the weeks and months to come. The promotional tactics that evolve in 2009 will undoubtedly take a more collaborative approach as concepts like workflow and knowledge transfer start to close the gap between the promotional experts that create campaigns and the sales staff upon which their success largely depends."