RETAIL SERVICES

The store — it’s the final opportunity to turn a shopper into a buyer. And with approximately 80% of the purchasing decisions being made in the store, retail is now the most critical element in the sales process. In fact, gaining market share is nearly impossible without the appropriate support at retail. That’s why CROSSMARK’s retail professionals are in the stores more than four million times a year — cutting-in new items, correcting out of stocks, filling distribution voids, selling and building displays, checking for promotional compliance, tracking competitive activities, and hanging point-of-sale materials — all to convert a shopper into a buyer at the point of purchase.

While effective retail service is essential, the type and frequency of retail support can vary according to brand, geography, season, retailer, category, and trade channel. That’s why CROSSMARK provides a variety of merchandising solutions and formats. CROSSMARK can even assemble a customized retail solution based on store-level performance metrics and/or by client-defined parameters. The following retail solutions are available in multiple trade channels, including supermarket, mass/club, drug, convenience, category specialty, and value discounters.

CROSSMARK Dedicated Teams have been created for clients needing more control over their retail resources. Dedicated Teams — or D-Teams — are like having your own dedicated retail field force without the infrastructure costs. D-Team personnel are dedicated, yet back office support is shared. This results in greater effectiveness at the store level, while reducing costs connected to human resources, training, fleet management, systems, and communications.

Continuity Coverage is an economical approach to effective retail support. In this model, the retail representatives work a predefined territory and service multiple manufacturers and brands on each call.

Project Assignments are task-based. CROSSMARK works with the client to determine the stores to be serviced, the timeframes, and the necessary in-store activities.

Store Sets and Remodels are provided by our Set/Surge Team. This approach provides the necessary resources to service the retailers’ and manufacturers’ merchandising needs without disrupting the coverage patterns of our dedicated and syndicated retail teams.

Reporting
Customized reporting is made easy by integrating data collected in SalesTrak, CROSSMARK’s field force automation tool. The result — clients quickly understand what retail activities took place, in which stores, and when. This type of information flow also helps us to uncover and capitalize on new opportunities — opportunities that frequently result in greater case sales and/or reduced costs. Reports may be generated according to new item activities, no scans, and store call execution, or by project status. Additionally, reports may be generated on a predetermined frequency, on-demand or even a daily basis. Reports may be distributed via email broadcasts or by a predefined external target list. Either way, clients gain insights into their brands’ activities at the point of purchase.