Five key pointers for marketing your retail product

Retail space on shelf is hard to come by, so when you eventually succeed in achieving a much sought-after retail listing, make sure there is a clear marketing plan in place that will drive awareness, and ultimately sales, of your product. 

Business consultant Suzi Wynne, a specialist in retail business, outlines her five key pointers to help get your product seen.

At Wynne Business we work with business owners to launch and grow food and drink products in retail. We know that launching a product is only the beginning – it is so important to recognise that it is the marketing plan that lets consumers know your product exists and then encourages them to try it!

We have a pragmatic approach to marketing – there are two things we always focus on first before creating a marketing plan:

• Understanding the brand: It might sound simple, but keeping the brand message concise is often more difficult that it looks. Creating a clear brand proposition is vital to keeping your marketing message consistent and on track.  
• Making it relevant: While it can be tempting to keep your target audience wide open in the hope you will reach more consumers, in reality it can have the opposite effect. Having a clear picture of your target consumer is the best foundation for your marketing activities.

Once you have these fundamentals in place you can kick on and start to plan the following key stages of the marketing principles that will support a new retail listing in a supermarket:

1. Brand Proposition – A clear understanding of your brand USP will help you to communicate it to your audience.  The more memorable your brand the more likely people will tell others about it.
2. Target Consumer – knowing exactly who your target consumers are means you can reach them effectively with your marketing plans.
3. Brand Planning – A well thought out brand plan will focus your team and help to enable your business to achieve its marketing objectives.
4. Marketing Tactics – choosing actionable brand tactics that will deliver your goals.
5. Budget Planning – keeping the brand plan on track with an activity calendar, budget tracker and measurable KPI’s will ensure success along the way.

If you need help with creating or implementing your marketing plan, Wynne Business can help.  Email Suzi at sw@wynnebusiness.co.uk to find out how!

About the author

Suzi Wynne is the founder of Wynne Business. Established in 2012, her team provides professional sales development and marketing support for SME’s looking to launch products into multiple retailers.

Suzi received Boost mentoring support in 2020 when she was looking to grow her business. In 2021 she delivered Lancashire County Council’s backed Two Zero Route to Retail – a commercial scaleup programme to help fast-growing Lancashire food and drink businesses sell to supermarkets and major retailers.

Wynne Business is a member of Boost & Co, which includes additional public and private sector organisations that can help businesses grow.

If you’re looking to grow, scale or start your business, use Boost; Lancashire’s Business Growth Hub. We offer a range of funded business support services. Call our Business Support Helpdesk on 0800 488 0057 to find out more or complete our enquiry form.