Over the past decade, we’ve honed the science of monitoring digital trade terms. Our discoveries indicate that without diligent oversight, compliance by retail partners often falls short. This lack of compliance doesn’t just affect operational efficiency; it directly impacts brand reputation and sales.
The impact of oversight
Strategic monitoring and intervention yield significant benefits, from sustained sales performance to the recovery of activation costs. Retail partners, knowing their compliance is under watch, are more likely to fulfil their commitments, enhancing the overall effectiveness of campaign activations.
Cultivating accountability
Our approach fosters a culture of accountability, setting new benchmarks in digital campaign execution. Achieving such meticulous oversight requires advanced tools for data extraction, in-depth analysis, and actionable reporting, navigating the intricacies of the digital retail environment.
Addressing trade dilution
A core aspect of our mission is combating “trade dilution” — the weakening of a brand’s influence due to retail partners not adhering to agreed standards and the challenging nature of retail. Through our comprehensive monitoring, we aim to reinforce brand integrity across digital platforms.
Digital Trade Terms: A closer look
Digital Trade Terms often encompass several key areas, such as:
- Pricing Compliance: Ensuring retail partners sell products at agreed prices to maintain market consistency.
- Promotional Alignment: Verification that promotional activities are executed as planned, including specific sale dates and marketing campaigns.
- Product Placement & Visibility: Regular checks that products are correctly categorised and featured in prominent positions on retailer websites.
- Brand Representation: Monitoring the use and presentation of brand assets to ensure consistency with the brand’s guidelines.
- Product Category Ranking: Continuous checks to ensure products are ranked high in key categories.
- Embargo Dates: Ensuring retail partners launch products on the agreed dates to maintain hype around new campaigns.
These examples only scratch the surface of what Digital Trade Terms can include.
Example of Digital Trade Terms in action
Imagine a scenario where a brand launches a new product line, with specific terms outlined for its launch dates, promotion, pricing, and online placement. Through our tools, the brand discovers that several partners have not updated the product listings according to the launch plan, resulting in missed promotional opportunities and inconsistent pricing, other retail partners have launched two days early, and many of the partners failed to utilise the creative assets that the brand spent big money on. Armed with this data, the brand is able to promptly address these issues with the retail partners, ensuring that corrective actions are taken to align with the original agreement, thus safeguarding the product launch’s success and maintaining brand integrity. Alternatively, the brand may choose not to intervene right away and instead use the intel to improve future campaign activations. For example, if a large number of retail partners failed to use creative assets, there is a high chance they were not suitable for them (not localised, wrong dimensions, etc).
Finishing up
Our initiatives in monitoring and compliance not only illuminate the path to mitigating trade dilution but also strengthen the foundational dynamics between brands and retail partners, ensuring a unified approach to digital commerce success.
Do you use Digital Trade Terms with your retailers?
We’re keen to find out, leave a comment below and join the discussion.
Learn more about Online Retail Intelligence, and get in touch to find out how we can help.
