How can you improve the presence and visibility of your products in-store?

In supermarkets, consumers' buying decisions are influenced from the moment they enter the outlet.

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Pour qu'une marque s'impose, ses produits doivent être visibles et stratégiquement positionnés en rayon.

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C’est pourquoi, elle doit collaborer étroitement avec les enseignes de distribution pour garantir non seulement la présence de ses produits en rayon, mais aussi un positionnement préférentiel et visible pour chaque référence. C'est cette place de choix qui permettra de capter l'attention des clients et d'être sélectionnés en priorité.

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L'objectif est doncdouble : accroître la visibilité des produits et stimuler les ventes, en créant un environnement de vente attractif et en optimisant la disposition des produits pour encourager les achats impulsifs.

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Dans cet article, découvrez pourquoi il est important de travailler votre présence en magasin, quelles stratégies mettre en place pour y arriver et les kpis à suivre pour l’optimiser.

Why monitor and work on your in-store presence?

In-store presence is an essential lever for the commercial success of brands. However, neglecting this aspect can lead to a cascade of negative consequences, both economically and organizationally. Let's take a look at the risks of insufficient visibility and presence in supermarkets, and the critical questions to ask when assessing your current situation.

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Assess economic and organizational impacts

It's vital to measure the impact of a neglected in-store presence, as this can lead to a significant drop in your results. Here are the key points to consider:

1. Lost sales: If consumers can't see your products, they can't buy them. Have you quantified the amount you are or may be losing?
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2. Dereferencing: Poor shelf presence can lead to your products being removed from distributors' lists. Have you quantified the risk and economic impact this represents?
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3. Lack of data for commercial negotiations: How can you ensure successful negotiations without accurate information on the situation of your products in store?
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4. Ineffective sales strategy: How can you develop a viable sales strategy without in-depth knowledge of the current state of your products' presence?
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5. Reliability of sales data: How much effort do you put into checking and correcting your sales data?
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6. Sales team frustration: Salespeople without reliable data can feel powerless, which can affect their performance and job satisfaction. How widespread is this problem in your team?
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7. Impact on leadership: As a sales manager, how does this situation affect your ability to make decisions and lead your team to success?

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Facing the daily challenges of the sales force

In-store presence is one of the challenges most faced by brands: how can you maximize sales at your points of sale by ensuring optimum presence and representation of your products?

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One of the solutions is to adopt technologies that respond to the challenges we all face every day:

• Sales staff struggle to get a clear picture of the impact of their actions and the evolution of their in-store presence. They don't always know which points of sale need their priority attention, and they can miss sales opportunities for lack of an overall view.
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• The lack of tangible data makes it difficult for sales managers to identify growth areas and negotiate effectively. This lack of visibility also hampers the implementation of an enlightened sales strategy, and weighs on the ability to guide sales teams.

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Can you relate to these issues? There are many things you can do! The first is to equip yourself with the CRM that meets your needs.

Strategies for optimal in-store product visibility

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Negotiating strategic locations for greater visibility

The art of positioning your products to maximize sales.

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The position of your products in the store is a decisive factor for their visibility and, consequently, for their sale. Understanding your share of shelf space and the different strategic locations is essential for negotiating the best positions.

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Consider the following aspects for effective implementation:

• Universe: In hypermarkets and department stores, the universe groups together various departments under a single theme or shopping experience. Your products will generally be located in a specific universe, but animations or promotions may allow you to temporarily place them outside, creating additional visibility opportunities.
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• Departments: Each department is dedicated to a specific product category, designed to facilitate and enhance the shopping experience in that category. As a brand, you can position yourself in several departments, following the example of certain PDO cheeses, present in the fresh department, and in cheese shops.
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• Aisles: Aisles, the circulation spaces between departments, play a key role in the shopping experience. Their design influences consumers' purchasing decisions. A strategic position in an aisle, especially in high-visibility areas, can significantly increase the chances of your products selling.
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• Shelf space: Shelf space, the total length of shelves on which products are displayed, is crucial to presentation and visibility. A well-organized shelf space, with careful shelving and clear signage, can enhance the visibility of your products. Good shelf positioning, especially with an optimum number of facing, increases visibility.
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To ensure the optimum presence of your products, negotiating strategic locations is essential. Work closely with department managers to obtain preferred positions, such as shelves at eye level, near checkouts, or next to complementary products. These locations increase visibility and the likelihood of being chosen by customers.

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Using merchandising to transform the customer experience

Creating a stimulating sales environment

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Merchandising goes far beyond simple product placement. It's a strategic approach to reshaping the in-store customer experience. Effective merchandising ensures that products are not only visible, but also presented in a way that stimulates interest and encourages purchase, especially impulse buying.

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When you apply visual merchandising techniques and organize your products in a logical and attractive way, you create a sales environment that appeals to customers and positively influences their purchasing decisions. Here are a few keys to successful merchandising:

• Aisle strategies: Place promotional products or new arrivals at the head of gondolas, at the ends of aisle-lined shelves, to capture customers' attention as soon as they enter. In addition, aisles can accommodate temporary displays or stands to highlight certain offers or special products.
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• Animations and dramatization: certain areas of the store are dedicated to commercial animations and the dramatization of the point of sale. These areas offer a unique and dynamic shopping experience, attracting consumers and making their in-store visit more memorable.
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• Linear optimization: Concepts such as planograms, merchandising and assortment management are essential. They determine how products are arranged and interact with customers. Careful, well-thought-out shelf organization makes it easier for customers to discover products and increases the likelihood of purchase.

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Effective merchandising will turn your product presentation into a sales opportunity by actively encouraging purchasing decisions.

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The role of promotions

Increase visibility and stimulate impulse sales

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Promotions are essential levers for boosting product visibility and stimulating purchases. In addition to drawing attention to your products, implementing attractive promotions helps create a sense of urgency and exclusivity, factors that can significantly boost sales.

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Before launching a promotion, you need to clearly define your objectives. Are you looking to increase sales in the medium term, or to improve the in-store visibility of your products and brand?

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Then select the type of promotion best suited to your sales objectives. There are several approaches to promoting your products in-store, including :

• Price reductions: Ideal for building customer loyalty and stimulating purchases.
• Special Offers: Effective for increasing sales over a short period.
• Contests and games: Perfect for raising awareness of your brand or a specific product.
• Sampling: Very useful for raising awareness of a new product.

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Once you've defined your promotional strategy, the next step is to negotiate its placement in the store. This requires regular field visits from your area managers and sales people, to ensure that your promotions are well implemented and effective. These in-store interactions are crucial to the success of your promotional efforts, and that's what we'll be looking at in the second part of this article.

📌 To help you meet your in-store visibility challenges, I invite you to read our complete guide to merchandising in supermarkets.

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Which CRM is right for my presence needs?

To identify the CRM best suited to your presence needs, let's take a look at your business timeline.

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You may be struggling to ensure data reliability, data collection, or toeffectively support your sales people in the field to make relevant decisions. You may even be facing all three challenges simultaneously. So the first essential need is a tool that enables your sales reps to find information quickly and easily.

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However, information alone is not enough. The aim is to make it actionable. To do this, you need to equip yourself with a solution that facilitates your analyses.

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Data analysis is fundamental, but requires effective data collection. To do this, check that your CRM meets certain criteria. Please select :

• A solution compatible with mobile devices and tablets, and available from Android/IOS, promoting greater mobility for your teams;
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• A CRM that works both online and offline, as a reliable network connection is not always available in-store;
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• A solution that simplifies information gathering with customizable, intelligent, condition-based forms tailored to your industry;
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• A CRM that lets you track your orders;
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• A solution that makes life easier for your sales force, with features such as voice note-taking, photo integration...

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These solutions will help you transform data collection and analysis into a smooth, efficient process, boosting the presence and visibility of your products in-store.

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Maximizing in-store product presence

Optimize store visits

Be there for your customers

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Effective in-store visits are an essential pillar in guaranteeing optimal product presence. These visits must be strategically planned. The Area Manager plays a key role, taking on a wide range of tasks, from assessing store conditions to monitoring the competition and checking stock levels.

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To support these missions effectively, training is crucial for two main reasons:

1. Develop the expertise of area managers: Often young and inexperienced, area managers need training to become more effective. A well-trained area manager will be able to maintain an impeccable product presence and adopt a sales approach aligned with your brand's objectives.
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2. CRM expertise: We want you to be equipped with a solution that evolves rapidly, offering you new features in the field to help you become more efficient. Training may be required to ensure that the whole team masters the tool perfectly.

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Once they've been trained in your brand's message, your sales reps need to be rigorous about the frequency of visits. That's why it's important to prioritize which stores to visit. We recommend targeting active stores where product holdings are low or have recently fallen.

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During these visits, your area managers will collect the information they need to analyze your presence. It's a good idea to provide them with simple reporting forms, focused on clear objectives. These will help sales reps to identify which products are present or absent.

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Suivre ses (parts de) linéaires

Optimiser la visibilité de ses produits en grande distribution

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Pour booster la visibilité de votre marque en rayon, suivre ses linéaires est essentiel. Cela permet d’optimiser le facing, d’assurer la disponibilité des produits et de vérifier l’application des promotions et mises en avant.

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Pour cela, vous devez réaliser des relevés de linéaires réguliers en magasin. Ils aident à repérer rapidement les ruptures de stock, à contrôler le respect des accords commerciaux (assortiment, nombre de facings, promotions) et à ajuster la stratégie en conséquence. Un bon suivi aide aussi à analyser la performance des assortiments : comparer la rotation des produits et ajuster le mix en fonction des ventes permet d’améliorer les résultats.

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Le relevé de linéaire permet aussi de calculer la part de linéaire, un indicateur clé pour évaluer la présence de votre marque en rayon. Plus elle est grande, plus vos produits sont visibles… et plus ils ont de chances d’être achetés !

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En résumé, suivre ses linéaires aide à garantir la visibilité et la performance de vos produits en grande distribution.

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Analyze results for a stronger presence

Identify corrective actions

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Analyzing the data collected during in-store visits is crucial to effectively assessing the presence of your products. By observing the presence or absence of your products at each point of sale, you can calculate key indicators such as :

• Digital Distribution Rate (DN): This rate indicates how many stores your products are available in a given sector.
• Value Distribution Rate (DV): Reflects the market share of outlets where your products are distributed.
• Détention Numérique (DN) : Cette mesure indique le nombre de vos produits présents en magasin par rapport à l'assortiment prévu.

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En évaluant l'évolution de la détention numérique et distribution numérique, vous pouvez identifier les besoins d'action pour améliorer la visibilité et la présence de vos produits en magasin. Une augmentation du taux de détention et/ou du taux de distribution indique généralement une croissance du chiffre d'affaires et une meilleure fiabilité des données relatives à la présence et au merchandising.