For attracting and holding customers, retailers are seeking for new marketing strategies. In the past, retailers appealed customers with alone products, better or effective services, but now retailer marketing decisions have gain much more importance as product need to present to maximum people in the market.
Recently national branded producers, in their thrust for volume, have placed their branded products all over. Thus, more similar classification is present in stores like national brands are not only present in mass merchandise and off-price discount stores but also in the department stores. Stores are looking more and more similar as a result.
Read More: Major Functions of Logistics
Service distinction among retailers has also reduced. Discounters have increased their services whereas many department stores have trimmed. Customers have become more prices sensitive and smarter.
For identical brands they see no reason to pay more, especially when the service differences are decreasing. Many retailers in recent years are rethinking their marketing strategies, for all these reasons.
Major Retailer Marketing Decisions
- Target Market & Positioning Decision
- Product Assortment and Services Decision
- Price Decision
- Promotion Decision
- Place Decision
- Site Selection for Retail Location
Let’s check here below these major retailer marketing decisions in detail one by one.
Target Market & Positioning Decision
The target markets are first must be defined by retailers and then they will make decision about how to position themselves in those markets.
Should the store concentrate on the downscale shopper, miscalled or upscale? Do variety is desired by target shoppers, convenience, depth of classification or low prices?
Until they profile and define their markets, retailers cannot make their consistent decisions about services, product classification, store décor, advertising or any of the other decisions that should assist their positions.
In defining target market and position clearly, too many retailers fail. They struggle to have “something for everyone “and wind up fulfilling no market well. On the other hand, successful retailers specify their target markets properly and position themselves effectively.
Product Assortment and Services Decision
There are three main product variables upon which the retailers must make decision. These three variables are services mix, product assortment and store atmosphere.
The classification of product of retailers should agree with the target shoppers’ expectations. A retailer can utilize any of the product differentiation strategies, in its quest to differentiate itself from competitors.
First one is that it should offer the products that no other competitor offers. In other words it offers national brands or its own private brands on which it maintains exclusives.
The services mix to offer for customers should also be decided by retailers. The old mom-and-pop grocery stores offered credit, home delivery and conversation services that are ignored by recent superstores.
For setting one store apart from another, the service mix is one of the basic tools for nonprime competition.
Another element in the product’s arsenal is the store’s atmosphere. Each store contains physical layout that creates moving around in it either easy or difficult.
Every tore has “feel” like one is charming, another is cluttered, third one is somber and fourth one is plush. The store should contain planned atmosphere that fits target market and stimulate the customers to purchase.
Stores are converted into theaters by the retailers that carry customers into strange, exciting shopping surroundings. It is confirmed by all this that stores are not simply the classification of products.
People shopping in them experience the environments. Retailers can differentiate their store on the basis of powerful tool of store atmospheres from their competitors.
Price Decision
The price policy of a retailer is very important positioning element and should be decided in relation to its product & service classification, its target market and its competition.
All the retailers want to charge high margins and at high volume of sales but the two occasionally go together. Many retailers either get low markups at high volume of sales or high markups at low volume of sales.
Promotion Decision
Normal promotion tools are used by retailers like personal selling, advertising, public relations, sales promotion and direct marketing to reach consumers.
They advertise in magazines, newspapers, television and radio. Advertising may be assisted by direct mail pieces and newspaper inserts. Personal selling needs proper training of salespeople in how to meet the requirements of customers, greet them and manage their complaints.
Sales promotion may contain visiting celebrities, contests, and displays and in-store demonstrations. Activities of public relations like store openings, press conferences & speeches, special events, magazines, newsletters, and public service activities are always accessible to retailers.
Web sites are also set up by many retailers offering customers information and other characteristics and in some cases sell the products directly.
Place Decision
Retailing success is based on three critical factors referred by retailers which are location, location and location. The ability to attract customers is a key of retailer’s location. The retailer’s profits are seriously influenced by costs of establishing or leasing facilities.
Thus, the most important decisions made by retailers are site-location decisions. The small retailers can afford or find limited locations and they have to make decision upon it.
On the other hand specialists are employed by large retailers in order to select locations by using advanced methods.
Site Selection for Retail Location
For retailer planning to open new stores, site selection is an important decision. They not only measure potential of the site in terms of likely profitability and sales but also decide that whether they should open standalone store or a mall.
Read More: Channel Design Decisions Steps
Recently, most stores bunch together to enhance the pulling power of their customers and to provide consumers the utility of one-stop shopping.
A group of retail businesses is a shopping center which is planned, owned, developed and managed as a unit. It generally includes a branch of department store, a supermarket, a variety store, professional offices, and specialty stores and sometimes a bank.
In most cases shopping centers are strip malls or neighborhood shopping centers that normally includes between 5 and 15 stores. For consumers, they are convenient and close.
They generally include a supermarket, perhaps a discount store and many service stores like self-service laundry, dry cleaner, drug store, barber or beauty shop, video-rental outlet, hardware store and other stores.
