gatekeeper
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Getting past retail’s gatekeepers

Through a special arrangement, presented here for discussion is a summary of a current article from the Spieckerman Retail blog.

Thanks to advances in technology and data analytics, retailers no longer need layers of decision-making, and most are determined to speed up the process anyway. That means easier access to top decision-makers for those who work with retailers.

While cutting layers, retailers are also creating new positions right and left as organizational silos are broken down, content capabilities honed, and functional areas synergized. That means more people can influence or pull the trigger on what brand marketers and solution providers offer, and from multiple perspectives (content, data, marketing, products, solutions and more).

Further, the record number of hires retailers are making from outside traditional retail in order to accelerate the acquisition and integration of new technologies is bringing a fresh perspective and openness to innovation.

Despite these positive shifts, many brand marketers and retail solution providers are still lapsing into old-school communication habits. When they do, one of three communication breakdowns often follows.

  • Lost in Translation: As retail’s organizational sands shift, hoping that your tried-and-true retailer contacts will sell your concepts to actual decision-makers is a recipe for message dilution, misinterpretation and a muted, “meh” version of your value. Hold out for a face-to-face with real decision-makers.
  • Left Behind: I’m shocked by the number of companies that still automatically leave behind printouts of PowerPoints after meetings with retailers, even without request (gasp!). If you want to leave something behind, by all means take the time to create a differentiated, value-added piece that is intended for that purpose – one that supplements rather than repeats your presentation.
  • Caught in the Revolving Door: Retail’s revolving door started spinning at lower levels a few years ago; now it’s hitting the executive suite. As a result, many companies are finding themselves several degrees of separation away from their original advocates. When was the last time you presented your full value story (not just product or solution updates) to your make-or-break contacts? Do they know who you are and why they are even doing business with you? It’s time for a refresh.
  • Bottom line: The gatekeepers of retail past no longer stand in your way (or won’t for long). Step up. Go direct. Make it count.

 

BrainTrust

"Spend just a bit more time on being memorable in your next face-to-face meeting. What would YOU find valuable as a retailer?"

Ralph Jacobson

Global Retail & CPG Sales Strategist, IBM


"Yes, the days of one-size-fits-all presentations are pretty much over. "

Lee Kent

Principal, Your Retail Authority, LLC


"It’s imperative that vendors learn to be very, very crisp. People just have short attention spans."

Paula Rosenblum

Co-founder, RSR Research


Discussion Questions

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: Do you feel it’s become easier or harder for brand marketers and solution providers to articulate their value to retail decision-makers? What do you think about some of the changes and challenges brought up in the article?

Poll

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Ralph Jacobson
Member
7 years ago

Great points to bring up, Carol! You can never be too certain of your true relationship strengths with the retailer. Regular communication on your differentiated value versus the wave of competitors is critical. You need to picture yourself from the retail executive’s perspective, regardless of their position in their organization. Imagine how many pitches they get on a regular basis. Can they even remember whose solutions do what? There are blips of highlights that they remember, and you hope at least one of those blips is from your pitch.

Spend just a bit more time on being memorable in your next face-to-face meeting. What would YOU find valuable as a retailer? Forget just for a moment of what you’re trying to sell. Just think about what that particular executive is wrestling with right now. Then come up with a compelling “what if” conversation (maybe even WITHOUT any .ppt!) and address that pain point directly without mentioning your solution … and see where that conversation goes.

Dave Wendland
Active Member
7 years ago

I agree with Carol that too many brand marketers have not evolved to meet the demands of the new retail frontier. I’m not sure that many marketers would agree that the pathway to the retail decision makers has become easier. Ensuring that the brand message resonates with the direction the retailer is headed is critical (especially at a time when retailers are adjusting, tweaking and experimenting like no other).

The playbook hasn’t changed significantly. The brand marketer has four primary goals when meeting with the retailer: 1. share real differences and category opportunities with the brand; 2. demonstrate the incrementality and profit potential; 3. align the value proposition and positioning with the retailer’s objectives; and 4. show the retailer how demand for the brand will be created.

Paula Rosenblum
Noble Member
7 years ago

I wouldn’t use Powerpoints being left behind as an indicator of anything. People like me hate paper. It goes on a shelf never to be looked at again, so now I don’t even take it with me.

The real message here is that if you can’t articulate your value in five slides and 15 minutes, and get the business user interested in a deeper dive, then you probably either 1. haven’t articulated the problem you’re solving; 2. didn’t create a quick and compelling case for why you can solve it and/or; 3. did a poor job presenting overall.

I always caution going around IT. Making them a partner can actually help. But it’s imperative that vendors learn to be very, very crisp. People just have short attention spans.

Dr. Stephen Needel
Active Member
7 years ago

I’d agree with everything Carol said, except can we point to anyone who’s actually doing it really well (true omnichannel, really useful mobile app, empowering local teams, logistics are fine-tuned)? Maybe it’s a vendor/solution provider problem rather than a layers of gatekeepers issue?

Lee Kent
Lee Kent
Member
7 years ago

Yes, the days of one-size-fits-all presentations are pretty much over. With all the mash-ups and merges within retail in an effort to undo silos, it is more important than ever to know what the new structure looks like and their backgrounds.

Service providers on the technology side are finding themselves more and more talking with marketing folk. Very different language requirements there. As I work with these companies on collateral and thought leadership, my directive is, speak to the retailers top-of-mind issues and not to the specific technology. We want them to ask the question, “I wonder if we’re doing that or know about that?”, etc.’

Keep in mind that not everyone in a tech company is going to be able to do this and that is OK, but it is important that the company have a point of view that is imprinted throughout the organization. The times they are a changin’.

For my 2 cents.

Mark Heckman
7 years ago

Having the great pleasure of being on both sides of the retailer/supplier conversation, I do think that some of the decision making on the retailer side of things has been de-centralized to some extent. But much of the decision making ability still very much depends on budget limitations and the extent that the solution involves multiple departments or silos at the retailer. For example, if a solution presented to a category manager requires access to household-level results and reports that originate in the marketing department, a quick decision can be elusive. If the solution requires any involvement or blessing from the retailer’s IT department, weeks, if not months may be added to the decision-making process.

Despite new positions, players and process at the retailer, the key to getting quick decisions still remains in understanding what keeps the retailer up at night and the criteria by which the retailer makes decisions. Obtaining a list of the retailer’s priorities and their financial hurdle rates, etc., and referencing your solution or program to that list increases the chances of getting a yes enormously.

Vahe Katros
Vahe Katros
7 years ago

Since you mention “retail solution providers” here’s a few basics:

  1. Know the budgeting timeline;
  2. Align your efforts around the “natural” deal flow;
  3. The best way to start is to have already started – if you are trying to get customer #1, it’s an entirely different process (and you may be customer #1 if you have no proof of concept inside their subvertical);
  4. If you have a proof point, then let that be how you sell. Scheduling a meeting where you tell the prospect that you are going to go over “real” examples and numbers is the way to go — but be sensitive to crossing the line in sharing information;
  5. Sell the pilot don’t sell the solution and make sure you have a clear way for people to try something without too much heavy lifting;
  6. Just because you know tech, don’t think you have an intellectual advantage — you will be selling to people who live by the basics, by first principles. Learn from the retailer.
  7. Know your coexistence strategy with the tech incumbents and sell the synergies.
  8. Write the RFP — save them the trouble of paying too much for consultants. In fact, give the RFP to consultants and reach out to that part of the ecosystem.

It’s been years since I’ve done this, but I believe all of this still applies — the gatekeeper is not your enemy, they are just retailers who are trying to spare the organization the disruptions related to clunky first dates. And I’ll have a large coffee with 3 sugars when you drop by.

David Slavick
Member
7 years ago

Where there is demand, there is interest. Where demand does not exist, one needs to generate it through research on the client, networking with those who are at the client or former employees who can share and finding out what the key initiatives are under consideration for current and next fiscal. By doing your homework, customizing your presentation to demonstrate understanding and create trust, you then have a higher probability of achieving progressive success within today’s retail client environment.

There are less layers of decision-makers. Clients are more likely to listen, learn and find a way to partner with you if value is demonstrated. A sales approach vs. a partnering approach is critical. Understanding who the decision makers are, who the anti-sponsors are and who you need to partner with to gain approval including procurement and legal is essential.

The steps to a retail sale haven’t changed. Qualifying the retail opportunity through sound practices has not changed. Being able to make a cold call using a telephone? That has changed. You can spend time at a retailer and not hear a phone ring for hours. Cold call emails — forget about it. Letters with materials to open the door? Perhaps. No substitute for personal introduction and networking to gain permission to dialogue. Happy hunting!

Mark Price
Member
7 years ago

I would be thrilled by Carol’s vision of the new retail organization if I had run into any retail organizations that resembled it.

Rather, retailers I speak to are often still locked in a battle between merchants, who are trying to optimize product margin and marketers who are trying to optimize customer value. In the middle between the two are the e-commerce team and store operations, who are pulled back and forth like they are sitting on a teeter totter.

It is clearly harder for solution providers to articulate their value to retail decision-makers because the number of potential solutions and overlapping (often conflicting) claims made in the marketplace. No matter what you say, someone can find a piece of software that claims to do exactly what you do. The environment is crowded, noisy and conflicting, and this environment, combined with intense retail pressures present challenges for all solution providers.