The market is constantly reinventing itself so it can understand and meet the needs of today’s consumers. And that’s one of the main reasons sales and marketing professionals have been sharpening their knowledge and developing new techniques to keep up with these changes.

With that in mind, trade marketing management is one of the most important sets of methodologies and tools out there today, especially if you want your brand to be competitive enough to go head-to-head with the other players in your industry.

That’s why we’ve put together a wide range of information and tips on trade marketing management in this ultimate guide. Want to learn more about it? Then keep reading!

What is trade marketing?

It’s the study of the relationship between manufacturers and their sales channels or even between franchisors and franchisees. In practice, the concept covers a wide variety of issues related to the brand, consumers, and points of sale (POS).

With competition on the rise, it’s essential for a franchise to know more about its consumers in order to understand what they really want or need, because that information is what makes it possible to determine things like product mix, promotions, and, of course, pricing.

In this context, trade marketing provides resources to make points of sale more appealing. In other words, it uses visual and strategic elements to attract consumers.

If we consider that, according to a survey conducted by SPS, around 52% of Brazilians make impulse purchases, displaying products properly at the POS is an essential practice for encouraging consumers to buy something they’ve seen in other media, such as a new product online or on TV.

What are its benefits?

Trade marketing brings together several important strategic concepts that allow the franchisor to gain the support of its franchisees, bringing the brand and consumers closer together and strengthening the relationship between the franchisee and the franchise network.

So, among the benefits that good trade marketing management has to offer, we can highlight:

It brings consumers closer to the brand

With a well-established trade marketing plan, a franchise can promote its offerings much more efficiently and become more accessible to its customers, since managers will have mapped out their consumers’ most evident needs.

It’s also worth noting that they’ll be able to count on more accurate data when building their pricing structure and formalizing promotions.

It strengthens the relationship between franchisor and franchisee

Based on the exchange of information between franchisee and franchisor, it’s possible to make strategic decisions that bring much more profitability to both sides and increase the number of customers—not to mention boosting inventory turnover and foot traffic at points of sale.

It prevents sales concentration

One of the goals of trade marketing is market share, and to increase their share of the market, manufacturers need to win over their resellers, just as they won over end customers.

That’s the only way to prevent sales at the POS from being centered on a single player in the segment. For example, establishments that sell only Pepsi and don’t carry Coca-cola.

After all, the focus of trade marketing is to meet the needs of the many different players involved in the sales chain.

Why is it important to create a value proposition?

Simply put, the value proposition is a branch of marketing that aims to determine whether the brand truly has value to offer its customers. It’s also one of the key stages of the Business Model Canvas, also known as Canvas, an important strategic planning tool for developing new business models.

The value proposition should be built by identifying the brand’s pillars and showing how the market should perceive it. It’s like a promise of the value to be delivered, and therefore it’s the main reason why a customer should buy your product instead of a competitor’s.

What is a value proposition for in trade marketing?

Simply put, a value proposition in trade marketing is meant to:

• explain how your product or service can solve the customer’s problems, adding relevance to the brand;
• provide unique differentiation, showing your ideal customer why they should buy from your business and not from a competitor;
• clearly and immediately state the product’s benefits (quantified value).

Finally, besides being the first thing consumers see at the point of sale, it’s important for them to notice the values conveyed in the proposition in every communication element in the physical store. The goal isn’t just aesthetic—it’s mainly to maximize its value throughout the customer lifecycle.

What makes a good value proposition?

People need to understand it right away. It should speak the same “language” as your target audience. So you need to know the kind of language your customers use to describe your company or product and how they can benefit from it.

To do that, pay attention to how you refer to your services, because it may be very different from how consumers describe them. So look for answers outside the company, such as on social media, using polls and interactive posts.

How do you develop a trade marketing strategy?

Now that you have a broader perspective on what trade marketing is and why it’s so important for your business, we’ll share some best practices for developing it.

Get to know your target audience

Get closer to your current customers to understand your target audience and what motivates them to buy. This research will help shape the kind of language you can use in your communication and identify improvements that can be made to your products or services.

The goal is to understand your customers’ needs and pain points, as well as aspects of their consumer profile, such as:

• age range;
• gender;
• occupation;
• education level;
• what kind of content they consume.

Along with other characteristics that reveal behavioral traits and buying trends.

Build an ideal persona

After gathering information about your audience’s profile, it’s time to analyze the qualitative data and look for patterns. Is there a problem or need that customers mentioned several times? Are there shared interests? If they bought a product, was there a benefit or difficulty that several people pointed out?

Defining your persona will help you better understand potential consumers, revealing their shared pain points, desires, values, and aspirations—useful information for improving your trade marketing management.

Research the competition

Knowing your ideal customers’ profile is a valuable practice for a trade marketing strategy. However, it’s not enough to have information about consumers if you don’t know your competition.

So try to find out what drives consumers to seek out the solutions offered by your direct competitors, what they value in those products, and what their competitive advantages are. That information will give you what you need to improve your value proposition.

Define your product’s benefits

After gaining a better understanding of how your persona behaves and, of course, how your competitors operate, it’s time to determine your product’s competitive differentiators. In other words, the benefits that only it has to offer.

Keep in mind that even though your market may often seem saturated, there are many ways to capture consumers’ attention. What we mean is that, beyond the quality of the products or services your business offers, good trade marketing management goes much further than that.

Sometimes, details that may seem simple are the very aspects that will strengthen your brand positioning, such as:

• quality of service: provide fast, professional service that meets your customers’ needs and answers their questions;
• free shipping: even though it’s a basic discount, the mere feeling of saving money already adds positive value to the shopping experience from the consumer’s point of view;
• loyalty programs: offering exclusive discounts and benefits to special customers is one of retail’s trump cards and a great trade marketing strategy;
• hassle-free exchange and return policies: there’s no need to spell out how much red tape can hurt a company’s credibility, especially nowadays, when the public is more demanding of the brands it buys from;
• shipment tracking and order status visibility;
• a variety of shipping options and fast delivery: this truly is a competitive differentiator;
• flexible payment options: remember that customers have different financial situations, and it’s important to make payment accessible to everyone;
• packaging that keeps merchandise safe: this shows the company’s care and concern for its customers;
• product availability in stock: always keep your inventory up to date so you don’t leave your buyers empty-handed and end up damaging the company’s image.

Train your team

The retail sales team acts as a true front line when it comes to offering the best products or services to the end consumer. That’s why it’s essential to put their key insights about the point of sale to work for the brand’s long-term growth.

So, invest in courses and training programs that present the features and differentiators of the solutions being sold to everyone involved, with transparency and objectivity. This will help increase commitment to hitting the manufacturer’s targets, as a kind of collaboration between retail and industry.

In addition, hold meetings and joint initiatives between the marketing team and those responsible for sales. The better defined and aligned your planning is, the better customers will perceive the value of building a relationship of trust with your company.

Some of the ways to apply trade marketing management in this area are:

• using sales promoters;
• training salespeople;
• merchandising;
• promotional marketing campaigns.

Create a strategic plan

To make sure distributors are drawn to your brand, it’s very important to have a strategic plan for the marketing tactics you use to promote your products or services.

What we mean is that it’s important to invest in initiatives across the various communication channels and media where both end customers and manufacturers are present, such as social media, for example.

It’s also necessary to include multimedia presentations to encourage interaction among consumers. Whenever possible, take part in trade shows and events related to your market niche in order to promote your brand. Free samples are also a great way for customers and distributors to experience the quality of your product.

Based on these actions, you’ll be able to do the work of a great trade marketing analyst, ensuring efficient, high-quality service and, of course, excellent conversion rates.

Take care of people management and create a comfortable environment

Creating an environment where people enjoy working is one of the best people management practices, since it encourages employees to truly embrace the company and strive for the best results.

It’s also worth mentioning that when the POS is a comfortable environment where customers feel at ease, there’s a natural tendency for them to spend more time inside the store, which is when most impulse purchases usually happen.

That’s why the store design should combine features that make it functional, attractive, and welcoming at the same time. Think about everything from the point of sale’s visual identity, through lighting, décor, and ambiance, to details such as the colors of the storefront and the background music.

The fact is that a brand’s merchandising isn’t built overnight. A trade management plan must pay attention to the smallest details, ranging from the layout of the space and product displays to the flow of end consumers through the POS.

Use the best tools

Just as marketing keeps up with every behavioral and consumer trend, it’s important to note that trade also evolves, especially when it comes to practical applications of trade in the digital environment.

After all, the internet is one of the factors driving changes in trade strategies, since it transforms the way people relate to one another and to the brands of the products and services they consume. This happens because, thanks to the widespread access to the internet and electronic devices — computers, tablets, and smartphones — new business opportunities are coming into play.

In this context, using inbound trade concepts, along with technology tools to support the process, ensures that consumers will be drawn to the business through the production of high-quality digital content that is relevant to your persona.

Unlike what usually happens with traditional media, such as radio, (print) newspapers, and TV, in digital media customers are spontaneously drawn to consume what your brand has to offer.

Therefore, we can say that inbound trade makes the consumer come to your company and not the other way around, creating identification and audience segmentation. In other words, it’s like screening and attracting only potential customers (those who have a real chance of making a purchase).

To do this, it’s very important to:

• build a strong online relationship through relevant content that establishes authority for the brand;
• understand the purchasing interests of distributors, resellers, and end customers;
• take advantage of the segmentation power the internet offers for your relationship strategies and, consequently, customer loyalty.

Keep an eye on trends

Based on all the other tips we’ve covered so far, keeping an eye on trends is simply a natural outcome. After all, by analyzing your brand’s competitors and audience behavior, you’re indirectly getting closer to consumer trends.

This is very important for a trade marketing strategy because, in addition to keeping the business up to date with customer preferences, it makes it possible to forecast economic scenarios and anticipate unexpected events that could put the organization in a tight spot.

Hone the qualities of a good manager

A good trade marketing manager must have in-depth knowledge of the solutions they’re selling to the public, leaving their customers without a single doubt.

Retail is one of the most competitive segments in the market, and it’s not enough to just give orders and expect them to be carried out. Knowing how to lead your team is essential.

A true marketing promoter brings a set of indispensable traits, such as organization and the ability to communicate with the public. On top of that, they’re a problem solver with a focus on innovation and growth.

Align the manufacturer’s needs with your business proposals

You need to bring together the needs of those who supply the products you sell in your retail store and the proposals of your business. In other words, you should maintain a close relationship with your distributors to learn more about their pain points, aspirations, and values.

That way, it’s easier to help them reach their goals while making sure your own are met as well.

Run targeted campaigns

Positioning for innovation in retail is a goal that requires a lot of logistics. The best way to attract attention is to enhance the POS with targeted campaigns. As you may have noticed by now, this task requires research and analysis of your potential buyers’ profiles.

All of your planning should take into account consumer habits and the goal of promoting the concept of product or service differentiation.

To keep your trade marketing strategy consistent, also invest in ads aimed at business owners in the industry, since the market is always looking for something new, and this sparks interest in certain business segments.

If possible, work on your networking by attending industry events to promote your solutions, handing out giveaways and free samples, and even exploring potential successful partnerships.

What benefits can good trade marketing management offer?

Before we wrap up, let’s highlight some of the most important benefits trade marketing management can bring to your business.

It brings consumers closer to the brand

Without a doubt, this ends up being a natural result of the whole process. As manufacturers and resellers work together to build good agreements, brands are in a better position to promote their offers and become more accessible to current and potential customers.

It strengthens the relationship between manufacturers and their distributors

As we’ve mentioned, this bond tends to grow tighter as the parties involved exchange strategic, more profitable information.

It’s also worth remembering that the higher the inventory turnover, the greater the customer traffic at points of sale.

It prevents sales concentration

Finally, market share is one of the goals of trade marketing management, precisely because it gives manufacturers greater participation in every stage of the sales process.

Just as manufacturers need to win over resellers, you, as a retailer (reseller), need to win over end customers. Only then is it possible to prevent POS locations from becoming the centralizing point of sales across the entire segment.

Take the example of restaurants that sell Pepsi but don’t carry Coca-Cola: the focus of good trade marketing management is to do exactly the opposite, meeting the needs of everyone involved in the sales chain.

As you’ve seen in this definitive guide to trade marketing management, this is a complex subject, but a necessary one if you want to keep up with changes in your target audience’s consumer behavior and prevent your brand from becoming obsolete.

We’ve also shown why developing a value proposition matters for a trade strategy, what traits a good marketing manager should have, and the biggest benefits this methodology can offer your business.

Now that you have a solid understanding of the importance of trade marketing management for retail, be sure to also check out our article on why you should invest in training your sales team!