As we wrap up our series on Intelligent Profiling, I invite you to watch as Doug explains the methodology behind our profiling approach. He describes the depth of information we gather, and outlines how we utilize profiling to manage and control work flows. He concludes by emphasizing that the goal of the cataloging process is not to achieve perfection, but to continuously improve.
Posts Tagged ‘profiling’
Intelligent Profiling: Integrating Data with Production and Fulfillment
As we continue our series on Intelligent Profiling, I invite you to listen to Glenn Haertel, EVP of Sales and Marketing, explain what makes Synq Solutions’ Intelligent Profiling unique. He articulates how profiling data is integrated into every step of the work flow, resulting in substantial cost savings for clients– typically between 10% and 20%.
Synergy of Services in Action
The execution of large scale POP marketing programs has been a challenge for decades. Most retailers respond to these hurdles by developing extensive processes and procedures that are considered today to be the “proven” approach. While these entrenched methods may be perceived as safe, most oftentimes they are far from ideal as they have not evolved with changes in the retail environment. Are your proven approaches really the lowest risk if they harbor waste and inefficiency?
The execution of POP campaigns can be divided into several overlapping phases:
- Marketing Strategy – The practice of determining which products are of interest to consumers and how they will be sold, communicated and packaged.
- Creative Development – The process that translates the marketing strategy into graphic messages that can be published for printing or online use.
- Profiling – The process of matching specific marketing messages and POP elements to each store.
- Production – The translation of the creative work into actual POP elements.
- Fulfillment – The assembly of a group of specific POP elements that match the exact needs of a retail location into a POP “kit.”
- Shipping – The transportation of each POP kit to each retail location.
- Receipt and Installation – The receipt of the kit followed by the installation of POP elements prior to the start of the promotional campaign.
In practice, these steps tend to be chaotic and very dynamic; it is not unusual for retailers or QSRs to have hundreds of changes throughout the course of a single campaign. Meanwhile, the traditional buying practices of these companies tend to fragment these processes further as they seek to buy at the lowest price. The individual components may be at the lowest cost, but the net result is an inefficient and wasteful workflow.
Consider these opportunities:
- Speed – Based on my experience, more than half of the time consumed to execute a POP campaign is spent waiting for one party or another. What is speed-to-market worth to you?
- Cost – So much focus is placed on the per-piece cost of POP materials, and so little is placed on the total quantity ordered. Does every location require exactly the same items? What is the cost of the “extras” left over after a campaign because you are afraid to run out?
- Time and Focus – How much time does your organization spend trying to coordinate the overall process? Would that time be more valuable spent on your customers?
- Effectiveness – Do your marketing messages speak to local preferences? Are you keeping your campaigns simple just so they are easier to execute?
Consolidating the execution of multiple phases into a single qualified supplier provides the focus that is necessary to attack the inefficiencies inherent in this chaotic process. The cost and time savings that are derived can be sizeable; I have seen some companies save over 20% of the cost of their POP program by rethinking the entire process.
The consequences of something going wrong in a POP campaign can be very ugly, so it’s natural to want to hold on to your tried and true approach. However, the retail environment is changing and the opportunities for cost savings and improved speed, flexibility and effectiveness can make it worthwhile to leverage the synergy of services.
Menu Labeling Compliance: Qdoba Case Study
In this post, I’ll expand on the topic of menu labeling with a particularly relevant case study of one of our clients, Qdoba. Qdoba called on Synq Solutions to handle the printing, kitting, and fulfillment for the January 2010 promotion of their new ‘Craft 2′ and enhanced Kids Menu rollouts. The new Craft 2 menu displays a variety of smaller portion entrees for customers to choose from, with a number of combinations that are 600 calories or less. Qdoba also caters to health-conscious customers by offering a nutritional calculator on their website.
Qdoba’s requirements to present caloric information as well as the varying menu options and price points presented a complex production and fulfillment challenge. To prepare for the Craft 2 and Kids Menu rollout, Synq navigated through the variable data for the pricing and caloric requirements specific to the new menu offerings. In order to accurately account for menu variations within approximately 500 Qdoba locations, our system created over 3,000 unique print-ready files. Our intelligent profiling incorporated every variation imaginable, from price points, caloric information, nutritional verbiage and beverage options. Another challenge was the unique menu board and merchandising hardware per location (33 different sizes needed to be produced to accommodate the various hardware).
Synq’s unique Intelligent Profiling solution captured all of the individual store attributes and allowed Qdoba to rollout the Craft 2 and Kids Menu promotion successfully and within compliance to the various regulations specific to each locale, state, and city.
Local Marketing – Profiling
Store profiling is a critical part of local marketing. As you may know, store profiling is the process of collecting information about a retail location with the purpose of creating more targeted and relevant messaging.
There are an endless number of attributes that can be profiled for this purpose, such as:
- Physical Attributes – Store type (free-standing, mall, in-line), drive-thru capabilities, store size, layout type, etc.
- Merchandising Attributes – The types of signs, fixtures and sizes
- Product Offering – Details regarding specific product lines or menu offerings
- Price Points – Specific product prices by store
- Consumer Demographics
- interests
- age groups
- ethnic groups
- language
- Regional – Weather, landscape, seasonal
- Local Signage Ordinances – Laws on exterior banners, posters, yard signs and other marketing materials
- Location – Proximity to high school, hospital, office buildings, highway
Collecting this information is a gradual process. I have found that most clients have some of this information; however, the data often is scattered or incomplete. It is amazing how much information is available if you collect all the data held in spreadsheets and departmental databases throughout your organization. This data can be gathered and loaded into a location profiling database (Synq Solutions calls this process Intelligent Profiling) that can be leveraged immediately for marketing purposes. The idea that you can use the data that you already have, and then work to improve and expand the depth of your location profiling data is a key concept of successful local marketing.
Building your profile database is an evolutionary process. It is also one where you have to weigh the cost of collecting and maintaining data against the marketing benefits. For example, if you want to obtain a very accurate picture of the merchandising configuration of each of your stores, you could have a team of specialists visit each location and collect that data; however the cost of this approach could exceed $500 per location. Alternately, you could mail paper surveys or conduct telephone interviews to store managers at a much lower cost. While this approach wouldn’t be as accurate or complete, it may make the most business sense.
Demographic data on your customers can be obtained by analyzing population data from third-party sources or it can be collected through direct surveying of your customers. The trade-off between data quality and cost is the deciding factor.
I generally recommend that clients start by using the data they have or obtaining it at a low cost. Then, as you learn to use the information to build and execute effective marketing programs, the value of improving the data quality will be more than offset by the cost of collecting the information.
This evolutionary approach requires flexible tools, so make sure you have partners with capabilities that allow you to quickly adapt your profiling database to new approaches as your needs change.
I have explored the concept of Location Segmentation and the many ways that you can collect information for Profiling; however, doing any of this without a goal in mind is likely to end up with bad results. In my next post, I will talk about the goals of Local Marketing and how they can affect your approach to Segmentation and Profiling.
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