Preventing inefficiency in your in-store marketing is vital. Identifying ways to measure your process can help you eliminate issues before they spread and become fragmentitis. Here are 5 key performance indicators that you should consistently evaluate in any in-store marketing process.
- Deadlines are fundamental to ensuring in-store marketing success. If deadlines are missed, there is a chain effect that usually results in substantial cost implications (often times it ends up in rush shipping). Every aspect of the marketing supply chain must be aligned with deadlines in order to ensure money is not wasted. Develop a calendar that outlines specific deadlines and the responsible party – accountability is key. When deadlines are missed, keep track of the chain effect and the associated cost. If you see a pattern of missed deadlines, you need to investigate the root cause and identify a way to help ensure they are met in the future.
- Creative revisions can quickly cause added expense and delays. Up front planning and clear communication are vital to ensure everyone is on the same page regarding the creative approach that will be taken for in-store marketing. Establish a baseline for the number of creative revisions that are appropriate for at-store promotions. Track the variation from the baseline you’ve developed. If your KPI falls outside of your baseline (high or low), document the reason why. Over time, you will be able to identify trends and modify activities to ensure efficiency in creative design and production.
- Store profile maintenance is vital in order to ensure each location is representing the brand appropriately with minimal waste. Each location in your retail network has unique characteristics and opportunities to display point-of-purchase advertising. The database you maintain outlining these unique characteristics must be updated on a regular basis. Some retailers prefer to hold the field accountable for store profile maintenance, while others rely on vendor-partners for maintenance. In either scenario, it is important to measure the frequency and type of store profile maintenance that is required to keep each location’s data is up to date. At minimum, each store should review and update (if required) their profiles annually.
- Field level support requires the focused attention of a call center that can answer questions, fix problems, and identify trends that may help marketing improve future promotions. Some of the basic measures to evaluate the effectiveness of your field level support include abandoned calls, returned calls, dropped calls, average length of calls, average speed of answer, and call reason. Additionally, you should implement qualitative measures that require the call center to identify trends within the marketplace that can help marketing improve the effectiveness and logistics of future promotions.
- Innovation comes in many forms from innovative hardware solutions to comprehensive technology solutions. Ultimately, innovation should increase sales or reduce expenses. Hold your internal teams and vendor-partners accountable for delivering and measuring innovation and the profit or cost reduction it has delivered on an annual basis.
Are there any KPIs you would add to the list? How do you measure the efficiency of your processes?