Tag: category plan

100 learnings based on 250 category vision projects (in random order)

  1. Start with the consumer
  2. Start with the retailer
  3. Start with the shopper
  4. Start with the trends
  5. So start with trends and insights based on consumer, shopper and retailer: at the same time!
  6. Clarify what the real insights are
  7. Insights can be about consumption and/or purchase
  8. Combine data from different sources
  9. Google is your best friend for additional information
  10. Follow your target group on social media, you are not the consumer/shopper
  11. Combine consumer and shopper research results into one
  12. Purchase frequency does not equal consumption frequency (and you can learn a lot from that)
  13. The cook is not always the consumer
  14. The shopper is not always the consumer
  15. Your category is not the only one bought during a shopping trip
  16. Needs, motivations and occasions are often very big drivers
  17. If you have an insight that no one wants to believe, you are often in the right place
  18. Sometimes you need more time and different ways of convincing your stakeholders of that specific insight
  19. Calculate what your vision will bring in turnover/profit
  20. Find out about the needs of your contact person at the retailer’s
  21. Immerse yourself in the formula (regulations) of your customer
  22. Think category, not brand
  23. Find a good balance between solo work and co-creating in a group
  24. Determine in time what you don’t know and research it as soon as possible
  25. Make it concrete
  26. Take your time
  27. Growth drivers are always about penetration x frequency x volume x value
  28. Growth drivers are always about inspiration, activation, education and optimization
  29. So go a step deeper to formulate really appealing, clear and applicable growth drivers
  30. Preferably focus on penetration ór frequency ór volume (and not all at once), with less focus, you get less results
  31. Make sure the growth drivers are aligned with your category (and would not apply to others)
  32. You don’t necessarily have to formulate growth drivers to determine good growth strategies
  33. Growth strategies can be based on target groups
  34. Growth strategies can be based on occasions
  35. Growth strategies can be based on adjacent categories
  36. Growth strategies can always be quantified (as impossible as it may seem)
  37. You don’t always need a consumer/shopper decision tree
  38. It’s not just about the shelf
  39. Please stop using cliches, like those in 28 and 29
  40. You don’t always need a category vision
  41. Don’t forget your category definition
  42. Consider the role of the category for the retailer
  43. Make sure your category vision can land with your retailer
  44. Come up with a communication plan for your category vision
  45. Create a short version of your category vision
  46. It is perfectly fine to use market research from 10 years ago
  47. Make sure you validate outdated facts in a smart survey
  48. Set KPIs to monitor the progress of your category vision
  49. Let outsiders look at your category vision
  50. Let someone with experience think along
  51. Most trade marketers make a category plan less than ten times in their career
  52. Be inspired by completely different categories
  53. Evaluate and adjust, both internally and with the retailer
  54. Identify the core issue in your category
  55. A core issue arises from consumer behaviour
  56. Steady decline in usage is an example of a core issue
  57. Unfamiliarity with the category is an example of a core issue
  58. A major shift to other occasions is an example of a core issue
  59. Needing the category very infrequently is an example of a core issue
  60. An incorrect price house is not a core issue (it’s a result of one)
  61. Low-profit promotions are not a core issue (they are a result of one)
  62. Make sure your tactics align with your growth strategies
  63. This could imply that your entire promotional strategy needs to be changed
  64. Be fair about your own position in the category
  65. Don’t be afraid to withdraw an NPD if it really doesn’t fit the vision
  66. A consumer decision tree is quite different from a shopper decision tree
  67. Not every market research agency knows that, some do
  68. Make sure you know which research method is needed to determine the tree
  69. A decision tree often has very little to do with deciding
  70. Involve your marketing and sales colleagues
  71. There is no optimal shelf layout for the category
  72. The optimal shelf layout depends on what you want to achieve
  73. Two competitor manufacturers can therefore make a very different shelf proposal to the retailer
  74. What matters most to the retailer is what your vision will deliver to them
  75. You are not the consumer and you are not the shopper either
  76. Think in advance what you want to achieve when you create a category vision
  77. Practice your presentation before doing it at the retailer (several times)
  78. Take the development of the population into account (see Bureaus of Statistics)
  79. Respect your competitor’s position
  80. Take care of the retailer
  81. Let the retailer think along, but don’t ask for too much time
  82. Grab at least your fair share of broadcasting time
  83. Create a promotion plan for the entire category, including your competitors
  84. Be realistic in what time frame you can achieve things
  85. Test out highly innovative retail concepts first
  86. Visualize your ideas
  87. Take into account the retailer’s boundary conditions
  88. Make sure it’s easy to understand
  89. Put the core message and core supporter on your slide
  90. Provide all additional information “under water” in PPT or a separate FAQ document
  91. Take into account your role in the category (challenger or market leader)
  92. Tactics: assortment, shelf and promotions deliver 80% of the result.
  93. All tactics should be perfectly aligned
  94. Many NPDs ask for a different promotional strategy
  95. Make sure each growth strategy has one clear KPI
  96. Speak in simple language: people buy about once a month instead of 11,3 times a year.
  97. If you have good hypotheses in advance, you will get sharper insights
  98. Visit stores often (and don’t limit the visits to your own shelf)
  99. If necessary look way beyond your own category vision/segment
  100. Develop your category vision with me, it’s a lot of fun, and it will deliver growth!

Do you really need a category vision? (and what you dó need instead)

  • A category vision shows the destination of the category in a few years’s time, and how manufacturers can achieve this together with retailers. But what do you do if your brand is in a declining category with not so much perspective for the future? Of a brand that has a very specific (e.g. vegan) proposition in many different categories?
  • Developing a strong (realistic) category vision comes from deep insights into consumers, shoppers and trends for the coming years. To gain these insights, you need a lot of market and desk research. What if you don’t have the budget?
  • To grow a category substantially, a behaviour change within consumers is needed. This requires investment in innovation, activation, education and promotion. What if your company doesn’t have the budgets to invest? What if the only marketing P’s you can work with are product, packaging and shelf?
  • It takes a lot of time (hence meetings/time in meetings) to explain your category vision to retailers. What if you are one of many manufacturers with little “air time” at a retailer?

  • A category vision is not always the “holy grail”. But what can you do (better) instead?
  • If your brands are in a category in decline, help your retailer increase market share or make a plan for (your and their) profit optimization. Retailers don’t spend much time on categories in decline, so don’t make a vision, but a concrete, easily implementable plan.
  • A brand with a specific proposition in many different categories can profit from a consistent plan (both visually and content wise). This will help you inside your own company, but also with category managers. The airtime will be limited, so make sure your plan is easily implementable.
  • If you have little to no budget for market and/or desk research: google is your best friend. There’s a lot of trend data to be found, e.g. on the website of the statistical agency of your country (CBS in NL). Many agencies offer general trend reports, as well as banks.

Category vision or a different way of working? It’s up to you! If you need help, you know where to find me…