How to Evaluate the Effectiveness of Promotional POS

Any seasoned shopper marketer or merchandiser has an opinion on what works best when it comes to displays, signage and other in-store shopper-directed messaging. But it's hard to deny that designing for peak effectiveness remains more art than science. How do you produce more consistently winning POS materials that will put more product into more carts week in and week out?

SellCheck is a new service company that approached this challenge systematically in an attempt to introduce more scientific objectivity and guidance into the creation of POS. The goals were to create an evaluation tool that was easy to use and understand by all stakeholders in the shopper marketing process. SellCheck also strived for a process rooted in shopper psychology and sound selling principles in a way that produced better ROI for the time and energy expended.  They combine art and science to provide actionable insights that can help to ensure dollars and time spent on POS is effective.

SellCheck employs MarketingLab's "the 4C's for Effective Shopper Communication" and, by all accounts, it's quite useful. When applying the 4C's discipline to improving in-store messaging, clients are noting a sales uplift in the neighborhood of 25 percent. The 4C's was considered successful enough by the In-Store Marketing Institute that the organization uses it as a judging tool in choosing winners of its Design of Times Competition (from 2010-2012). Here's a brief overview (details in the download available below), plus a sneak peak at the new SellCheck online evaluation service that incorporates the 4C's principles.

SellCheck found that the four positive attributes of "Command, Connect, Convey, Close" are always present in successful POS materials:

Command Attention: Hey, notice me!
Materials must signal a shopper from a distance and draw their attention — and should ideally be commanding enough to do so even when in their peripheral vision.

Connect with the Target Market: You remember me, right?
This is the brand connection component. Materials must include visual branding cues that the shopper recognizes and feels comfortable with.

Convey Information: I have great news!
Marketers should strive to tell a clear, compelling story, making use of a communication hierarchy that prioritizes the product benefits in a simple way.

Close the Sale: Lucky we crossed paths!
The #1 objective here is to overcome any purchase doubt in the target shopper. Tactical elements include reassuring the shopper about performance concerns and closing with a strong "Buy Now" message/incentive.

Of course, even armed with the 4C's formula, improving POS messaging is still intrinsically a subjective exercise when left up to one designer or even a complete marketing team — no matter how experienced. Recognizing this, SellCheck envisioned an easier, more objective third-party service that could quickly and affordably deliver expert evaluation combined with scientific methodology. The service — SellCheck — is being rolled out this spring. It includes a 4C evaluation by a panel of shopper marketers with 10+ years of experience creating, selling and activating POS materials. And to cross-check the panel's recommendations, SellCheck also makes use of eye-tracking analysis designed by neuro-marketing software experts, VAS.

SellCheck clients enroll online and, within minutes, can upload images of their POS display, answer a set of simple questions and submit the display for evaluation. Within 24 to 48 hours, a seven-page report is returned that systematically scores the POS material, validates its effectiveness, and makes recommendations for improvements, as needed.

LEARN MORE about the new SellCheck service. Take advantage of a SPECIAL RETAILWIRE INTRODUCTORY TRIAL OFFER...

Fill out the form below to get an instant download of SellCheck: The 4C's of Effective Promotional POS. Details will also be included on a special introductory offer on your first SellCheck POS evaluation.