June 2018
Along the way, I also have the opportunity to learn (yay!) from some absolutely brilliant people and companies. My connection to these uniquely different customers provides a broadened perspective and helps me identify common themes, gaps, and opportunities, including:
Establish Clear Purpose for Category Management Work
What goals will category management work help you achieve?
Identify Expected Outputs from your Category Management Team
What results will your category management work produce?
Identify, Prioritize, and Improve Category Management Inputs
What data, tools, strategy, processes, and people are needed to produce results and where are the opportunities for improvements in each?
These 5 Inputs Connect YOU with your Shopper
Dive into our advanced curriculum that will turn CatMan 2.0™ concepts into actionable ideas, best-practices, and innovation in our industry.
From VideoMining: As we all know, the front-end of grocery and convenience stores is changing. From established innovations such as express lanes and self-checkouts to new technology like cashier-less checkout (Amazon Go), click and collect and self-scan, retailers are looking for new ways to improve the shopping experience by providing quicker or more convenient options for checkout.
Read more: Innovation and Opportunity at Checkout
From ADWEEK: A new survey suggests that Gen Z shoppers are more traditional and more patient than many had thought. For retailers who’ve been racking their brains in recent years over how to target millennials, here’s a bit of unsettling news: Gen Z is coming right on their heels. Not only that but, the prevailing wisdom goes, these newly minted consumers (now 23 and younger) want everything right away.
From Shopify.com: When retail changes as quickly as it does in today’s market, it’s more important than ever to constantly innovate and look for the next opportunity. One way to do that is through brand partnerships … Check out this list of seven innovative retail partnership examples to find inspiration for your next collaboration:
From ProgressiveGrocer.com: Private label isn’t what it used to be. Grocers are no longer filling the gaps in their shelves with generic products - they’re now making way for exclusive private label brands. Shoppers are going out of their way to pick up exclusive private label products that can only be found in specific stores.
From Fred Brown at Kalypso: Several weeks ago, my wife sent me to the grocery store for some food staples. In the interest of maintaining family peace, I agreed to the assignment. But there was an ulterior motive to my unusual helpfulness.
Like most men, I enjoy watching classic battles, whether on TV, at the Atlanta Falcon Stadium, or at the grocery store. “Wait,” you respond. “Battles at the grocery store—the home of humanity’s sustenance and friendly (most of the time) attendants?”
In fact, there is a continuous battle among retail suppliers for preferred shelf placement.
From Forbes.com: Preparing for a brand launch or reintroduction to the market is not for the faint of heart. For more than 25 years, I’ve moderated numerous collaborative strategy sessions with consumer packaged goods (CPG) manufacturers and have worked with other CPG manufacturers at various stages in their journey. Some have been better prepared than others to start or restart the product-life cycle journey.
Marketers looking to help their clients launch products can learn from those well positioned to introduce their item to the market as well as others who needed to take a step back to improve their chances for success.
From ProgressiveGrocer.com: A recent Revionics-commissioned study, "Indiscriminate Promotions Cost Retailers," has found that 52 percent of weekly or monthly promotions go to customers who would actually pay full price.
The study, conducted by Cambridge, Mass.-based Forrester Consulting, probed into the emotional psyche of U.S., U.K., French, German and Brazilian shoppers to learn what types of retail promotions are meaningful and impactful.
From ProgressiveGrocer.com: Supermarkets have long been bringing up the rear in the health, beauty and wellness (HBW) race. Experts say that in an increasingly splintered and competitive market, the grocery channel has an opportunity to leverage its convenience and food/wellness positioning to boost its profile in this category.
Laura Mahecha, industry manager for health care at Kline & Co., a Parsippany, NJ-based consulting group, notes that the supermarket channel’s share of total HBC has shrunk to around 19 percent.
From Sales Empowerment Group: Millennials in the Workforce
From LoyaltyOne: How to thrive in an omnichannel, digitally-enabled retailing landscape
Business acumen is the ability to assess an external market and make effective decisions. You need the skills and tools to think more like an owner of the business and to understand, set and execute business strategy while being able to measure the effectiveness of your business strategy through financial performance – skills that I think many of us can improve upon. Read more.
An opportunity is any project or investment that will create growth for your business. Read More
Previous 2018 webinars have been, “Improving Your Business Acumen in Category Management”, and “Ways to Identify Growth.” All 2018 and more than 15 additional webinar recordings are available in your online Training & Resource Center.
You can watch the latest recording by signing up for our Free-Level Membership, where you’ll also be able to check out other training resources.
As online sales continue to grow, there’s an opportunity to find ways to take category management into the eCommerce space. We hope you’ll join us …
At our upcoming webinar, Sue Nicholls from CMKG and Tom McDonald from the Category Management Association will explore ways to extend Category Management into your eCommerce business.
You have several options for Category Management Membership on a monthly, bi-annual, or annual subscription:
Did you know that CMKG can help you prepare for live workshops and training sessions on these and many more topics? Check out these articles while you prepare for this busy time:
We're a global training company in Canada, dedicated to retailers, suppliers and solution providers. Whether you're a category manager or part of a sales or marketing team, our personalized programs, for organizations, teams and individuals, are tailored to elevate your skills.
