Information loss used to be an inevitable consequence of retail merchandising. With many field reps performing a number of tasks on each one of the stores in their individual territories, it is easy to see how the amount of data collected on the field grows exponentially and is, therefore, increasingly difficult to handle and more subject to information loss.
Mobile merchandising software is the ideal solution to information loss in retail merchandising. When businesses implement a mobile merchandising software solution, they prevent information loss in the following stages of data processing:
Data collection
It is easy to see how information can get lost in traditional pen-and-paper merchandising. With mobile merchandising software, field reps perform tasks such as filling out forms and taking pictures in their mobile devices, leading to less misunderstanding and mix-ups.
Data transcription
With mobile merchandising software, there is no data transcription. The information goes directly from the rep’s mobile device to data storage, meaning that there is no information loss due to time gaps between data gathering and transcription or due to issues such as miscommunication between rep and transcriber.
Data storage
A state-of-the-art mobile merchandising software uses Cloud storage. Cloud technologies such as Google Cloud are the safest choice when it comes to data storage, simply because of the safety layers that these systems provide in addition to the worldwide data access allowed by them. This means that there is no data loss because of hard-copy file misplacement or system failures.
VisitBasis is a complete mobile merchandising software solution that runs in the Cloud. It is made for both Android and iOS tablets and smartphones, is extremely easy to deploy, and you can try it completely free. Just register at www.visitbasis.com, download free VisitBasis App on Google Play or App Store and solve merchandising information loss once and for all.
As strategists can tell us, knowledge is the most important thing if one wants to beat the competition.
For consumer product goods (CPG) and fast-moving consumer goods (FMCC), the battle for the customer’s wallet happens at the point-of-sale level, and this is why store audits are so important.
A store audit app will not only help field reps to more efficiently collect competitor information, but also allows brand and category managers to get faster access to this information and act swiftly to take advantage of opportunities and/or to prevent losing market share.
Among other benefits, a store audit app will provide the following competition monitoring tools:
The ability to schedule and plan regular visits in order to get the right competitor information at the right time.
Full customization of task forms and surveys, so the field rep will collect the exact information needed.
The power to capture photos, so not only pricing, and shelf count and position can be analyzed, but also packaging and seasonal displays and promotions.
A state-of-the-art store audit app will also allow for instant notifications of specific tasks so, for instance, a category manager can be notified when a field rep performs a task called “competitor price drop”.
VisitBasis Store Audit app is a complete retail audit solution that offers all the elements needed to perform mobile POS audits and surveys in one package.
Stay on top of your competition! Learn more at www.visitbasis.com. VisitBasis Store Audit app is available at Google Play and App Store and can be downloaded for free for an unlimited number of users.
Companies around the world use merchandising to establish positive experience between brands and consumers. Merchandising is one of the basic aspects of retail management that allows analyzing product placement and display in order to stay competitive and to maximize sales.
Merchandising software is designed to streamline data collection activities and reduce data collection costs. Below you’ll find some ways to improve merchandising performance by virtue of a merchandising software solution.
Know your customers. Merchandising software allows conducting customer surveys to capture accurate, live data that can be analyzed in real time back at the home office. The more you know about your customers, the easier it is to increase sales. Whether you are processing customer or employee surveys, or market research surveys, sort your report data using sophisticated retail merchandising software filters to get the information you really need at a click of a button.
Organize store shelves to make them more appealing to consumers. Merchandising software gives merchandisers an opportunity to act faster improving shelf organization and be more efficient. Built-in photo reports, barcode product search, and automated data entry are the essential tools designed to control product’s location, the number of facings and price, and make sure that there are no gaps between products on the shelf.
Maintain proper stock levels to prevent negative impact on sales numbers and brand image. Implementing a merchandising software solution with ordering capabilities is the best way to reduce negative impact of out-of-stocks as well as damaged and overstock items to your business. A comprehensive merchandising software solution allows merchandisers to make product orders and returns from any store with just a couple of clicks on a tablet or a smartphone. Moreover, when using a mobile data collection system, merchandisers can view recommended order quantities and order history on their mobile devices to create reasonable orders.
Ensure promotional compliance.Merchandising software is the best tool to ensure your promotions are being followed in compliance with your marketing strategy and your POS materials are properly used at retail locations. Merchandising software allows easily creating planogram check task forms using MSL (Must Stock List) and product counts and supplementing data collection forms with text notes, images, PDFs, videos, and other files, useful for compliance-checking activities.
To get more information on how to improve your merchandising performance, visit www.visitbasis.com.
Merchandising software is a retail data collection tool, which companies use to capture, aggregate, analyze and share retail data using personal computers and mobile devices.
How Merchandising Software Works?
Field team manager develops task templates, assigns territories and tasks to merchandisers, and creates the schedule visits to retail locations.
Merchandisers perform data collection tasks on their tablets and smartphones.
Managers or supervisors monitor merchandisers live on the map, being able to see what activities are being performed and where.
Managers or supervisors create reports to analyze the data collected in the field.
Merchandising software allows companies to manage merchandising activities using all-in-one easy-to-operate system without spreading data and being exposed to low-level details. In today’s changing business environment merchandising software is the essential tool for managers to make sure the proper level of stock is available and avoid out-of-stocks. If you are looking for the ways to streamline retail data collection and automate merchandising activities, merchandising software should deliver the following benefits:
Increased productivity due to reduced data-collection time and no time spent on reporting, built-in instant photo reports, and route optimization.
Eliminated paperwork – field data is fully synced between field teams and the office.
Fraud prevention – time-tracking and geo-tagging features to target merchandising activities in the field.
How to Choose the Right Merchandising Software Solution for Your Company?
To maximize the value of paperless retail data collection, look for comprehensive and easy-to-use merchandising applications that allow you to manage all the processes in one system. When choosing a merchandising software solution for your company, pay attention to the following technologies:
SaaS (software-as-a-service) to avoid server and IT staff expenses
BYOD (bring-your-own-device) to reduce hardware and staff training costs
Offline capabilities to minimize data transfer costs
Cloud service to reduce data storage costs to zero
VisitBasis Merchandising Software
VisitBasis provides the most complete set of tools to automate your merchandising activities in one great package. Through the implementation of a structured approach for retail data collection, VisitBasis allows streamlining data collection and analysis providing the following advantages:
Visits and tasks can be scheduled by the office or on the mobile app.
Field reps or office managers can optimize customer routes.
Field reps have access to all data offline and can execute tasks without an Internet connection.
Unlimited photos can be collected and uploaded to the office.
Field reps can switch from one mobile device to another during the workday without losing any data.
The number of mobile devices per user is unlimited.
Sign up today at www.visitbasis.com to get your free trial, or schedule a free live demo to see how VisitBasis merchandising software works.
Mobile applications for retail data collection can help companies optimize merchandising performance and control inventory. VisitBasis merchandising software is a complete retail data collection solution to manage your merchandising activities with ease. VisitBasis merchandising software solution helps businesses reduce costs and increase productivity of merchandising operations.
Our customers use VisitBasis merchandising software to streamline data workflow, get real-time picture of retail conditions and enhance interaction between office managers and field representatives. Below you can find information on how VisitBasis merchandising software helps companies save time and reduce expenses.
Reduce Operating Expenses
When using a merchandising software solution the managers and supervisors get an ability to manage both inventory and sales data for each retail location. Sales and marketing departments can use merchandising software simultaneously, which saves money and strengthens cooperation between the managers. Merchandising software allows manage all data collection operations from one easy-to-use system, so you can save on scheduling, analytic software, GPS-tracking systems for field staff, order processing applications and more. Cloud merchandising software vendors offer free Cloud data storage as part of their service, so you can also save on data storage costs.
Cut Your Inventory Costs
Merchandising software provides merchandisers and their managers with access to the history of retail visits. Always having at hand the information on merchandising audits, amounts of previous order quantities and product returns, the managers are able to better evaluate the needs of stores and anticipate the volume of goods that must be delivered to each retail location. In this way merchandising software allows your company to get higher inventory turns, decrease inventory levels and reduce operating expenses due to lower inventory control.
Save Time to Improve Productivity
When merchandisers are able to use their own mobile devices to perform tasks at retail locations, they collect retail data faster and concentrate on customers, not paperwork.
Automated scheduling, fast data entry, instant data transfer to corporate database, analytic capabilities, and route optimization are among those time savers that allow your merchandisers and their managers to drive greater efficiency and improve your company’s bottom line.
Save Money on Data Collection Devices
SaaS merchandising mobile solutions for Android & iOS tablets and smartphones allow BYOD strategy implementation, so your company saves money on hardware (no need to buy mobile devices, your merchandisers can use those they already have), IT costs (no need in servers and IT staff) and training (your merchandisers use the devices they already know how to operate).
VisitBasis merchandising software is a complete retail data collection system to manage your merchandising activities in the field. VisitBasis uses the latest Cloud technology, which means your retail data is accessible to you at any time, from anywhere. VisitBasis merchandising software is designed for Android and iOS tablets and smartphones, which allows implementing BYOD strategy to reduce hardware and staff training costs. Easy access to retail data for managers and merchandisers provides actionable insights for your business to manage it more effectively and improve the bottom line. Register account at www.visitbasis.com today to get your free access to merchandising software.
Today every CPG and FMCG company can significantly improve merchandising performance by implementing some type of software solution for paperless data collection. There is a lot of merchandising software solutions on the market that can provide your business with paperless data collection capabilities to improve the effectiveness of your merchandisers in the field and reduce operational costs.
Once you’ve decided to automate your merchandising activities in the field, the next step is to choose the right type of merchandising software. To maximize the benefits of going paperless and make the process of rolling out a merchandising software solution smooth, opt for up-to-date mobile merchandising applications that operate common software platforms like Android and iOS and are extremely easy to deploy.
Here at VisitBasis, we’ve designed a complete merchandising system that integrates with each operation in your business. VisitBasis merchandising software is designed to meet the market demand for simplified retail data collection and mobile workforce management. VisitBasis is all-in-one merchandising solution for tablets and smartphones that provides the most complete set of tools for merchandisers and their managers in one great package.
Accompanied by the latest Cloud and GPS-technology, VisitBasis merchandising software provides powerful web-based platform for supervising of field teams. Empowered with the VisitBasis Merchandising App, your merchandisers collect retail data using their mobile devices, while their managers and supervisors monitor all field activities on the map and see task results in real time.
If you are looking for a way to simplify and improve your organization’s merchandising processes, VisitBasis merchandising software solution should deliver the following benefits:
Visits and tasks can be scheduled by the office or on the mobile app
Merchandisers or office managers can optimize travel routes
Office managers visually assign stores to merchandisers, using a map
Merchandisers have access to all data offline and can execute tasks without an Internet connection
Unlimited photos can be collected and uploaded to the office
Merchandisers can switch from one mobile device to another during the workday without losing any data
Ready to take the advantages of merchandising software to streamline your retail data collection? Start today with registration at www.visitbasis.com or scheduling a free demo to see how it works.
Today your merchandisers can perform all the variety of merchandising activities using just their tablets or smartphones. Simply have your merchandisers upload a merchandising mobile app with a customizable data collection forms, and start receiving real-time, highly accurate retail data from points of sale.
The VisitBasis Merchandising App allows you to run your planogram checks, promotion and price compliance audits, product display photo audits, shelf spacing, and product face counting tasks. Create tasks and manage merchandising audits, track your team’s positioning and merchandising activities live on the map through GPS technology, see audit and survey results more quickly with activity dashboards, and get precise information you need at the moment through analytic reports.
From assigning territories to scheduling visits and GPS tracking your merchandisers, VisitBasis is a complete, real-time merchandising mobile solution. The VisitBasis Merchandising App gives merchandisers easy access to information required to perform merchandising activities and allows them to collect critical data for store performance analysis using mobile devices. Implementing the VisitBasis Merchandising App allows getting accurate data about your product distribution in real time.
The VisitBasis app for merchandisers works seamlessly across iPhones, iPads and Android smartphones and tablets and provides a clear real-time picture of the following retail conditions:
In-store location and shelf placement
Product price
Voids and out-of-stocks
POS materials availability
Planogram compliance
Promotions and sampling
Competitor information
Store compliance to company’s standards
Customers opinion
Staff competence and behavior
Storage conditions and retail space cleanliness
Advanced technologies make conducting your own merchandising audits easier and more affordable than ever. Get your free access to the VisitBasis Merchandising App today! Sign up at www.visitbasis.com and start automating your merchandising activities free of charge. To get more information about merchandising automation, book a free online presentation of VisitBasis Merchandising App.
When it comes to the adoption of a merchandising software solution by field staff, a company may face a number of challenges, due to the need for employees to get used to the new order of things. There are different reasons why your merchandisers may not like the new business solution, including the fear of changes and the unwillingness to be constantly monitored and controlled, or negative attitude to the whole idea of automation. Nevertheless all the issues must be solved as soon as possible; otherwise the whole idea of merchandising automation is at risk.
The best way to overcome merchandisers’ resistance to merchandising software implementation is to explain the benefits and outline the prospects for improving their work that will become less manual, thus persuading them that automation is good for them also. Below you’ll find some arguments that you can use to explain your merchandisers why do they need a merchandising software solution to be installed on their tablets and smartphones.
Save time to be more efficient. Merchandising software allows performing daily merchandising routines very quickly, saving time for communication with customers. Having more time to negotiate with customers your merchandisers will be able to improve the quality of customer relations, ensure higher level of customer service, providing an increase in sales and the arrival of new customers.
Say Goodbye to Paperwork.Merchandising software saves a lot of time for merchandisers due to automated data entry and mobile data collection forms, allowing concentrating on clients, not paperwork. Using just a regular tablet or a smartphone your merchandisers can conduct merchandising audits and customer survey, manage shelves and inventory levels, and even make product orders and returns with just a few clicks. They can even bring their own tablets or smartphones to perform retail visits, to feel extremely confident with the features and the interface, as long as up-to-date merchandising software solutions allow BYOD implementation.
Have 24/7 mobile access to information.Merchandising software allows companies to built the unique retail data exchange system that provides merchandisers with the real-time access to all the necessary information from their mobile devices. Empowered with a mobile application for merchandising, your merchandisers are always able to get information on the products, price lists, history of previous visits, orders, returns, multimedia, files, presentations, schedule, customers, locations, contacts, and more. Having all the data in a mobile device means your merchandisers will not have to carry a mountain of paper to perform retail visits.
Get tasks and report back without spending a minute. After merchandising software is adopted, retail data is fully synced between field teams and the office. That means that all the information, collected by your merchandisers, including merchandising audits results, survey data, photos, electronic signatures, orders/returns and etc., is instantly available to the management. Accordingly, all tasks assigned and retail visits scheduled, multimedia attached and notes, made by the managers in the office, become instantly visible in merchandisers’ tablets and smartphones, so your merchandisers have absolutely no need to visit the office.
To learn more about merchandising automation or to get a comprehensive merchandising software solution free of charge, register at www.visitbasis.com
To automate a wide variety of merchandising activities companies implement merchandising software. Today there is great variety of merchandising software solutions that allow merchandisers to perform paperless retail data collection using portable mobile devices.
Today’s most technically advanced solutions for merchandising are Cloud-based, providing 24/7 access to information from anywhere and offline data-collection capabilities. Mobile applications for merchandisers can run on common Android and iOS tablets and smartphones allowing BYOD implementations and making everyday merchandising routine a breeze.
Certain types of merchandising software solutions are all-inclusive, allowing you to manage not just merchandising activities, but also customer relations, field sales, retail audits, marketing and promotions, and more than that in all-in-one easily accessible solution. Most sophisticated software vendors have gone even further, adding built-in analytic capabilities and integrating their merchandising solutions with analytic services like BigQuery.
Due to the great variety of vendors and types of software for merchandising it’s often hard to make the decision of what is the best merchandising solution for your company. Generally the merchandising apps for your field team are largely dependent on the needs of your company. Getting this right upfront will save you budget and time, so, before choosing a software solution for your merchandisers, check out the following tips.
Take into account the size of your company. Not all merchandising solutions are created equally. Some companies offer a massive bunch of software solutions with a wide range of products, which involve the need to train merchandisers on new tools and environment. These solutions suit for big companies, who can afford to invest heavily in technology and training. If your merchandising team is not really big, you probably don’t need this type of software. You’d better choose a smaller product size that will meet your specific needs and has certain scalability, so you can customize the solution, when your company grows.
Opt for a comprehensive and scalable solution. This recommendation follows from the preceding. Good merchandising software covers all the operations in the field, providing real-time data exchange between field reps and the office. Great field team management software stands out from the rest of scalability, which means growing with your business when needed thus avoiding the extra costs.
Decide, which business processes you need to optimize. To choose the right type of software for your field reps without making them overwhelmed by it’s features and capabilities, you simply have to identify things that are is most important for your business and need to be optimized. This can be field reps tracking, sales forecasting, order management, performance evaluation and so on. Knowing what is critically important for your business determines the specific merchandising software features and significantly narrows the search allowing you to easily navigate in great variety of opportunities that merchandising software vendors offer to customers.
Look for simple, easy-to-use applications. All the opportunities provided by a merchandising solution can be whittled down if it is hard to use. Generally, people tend to resist innovations and merchandisers are not an exception. To make field reps love the new way of field team management, give them the right tools that are intuitive, easy-to-use, team ready and do not involve the need of training on new tools and environment. Opt for up-to-date merchandising solutions that run on common tablets and smartphones your merchandisers already use. Working on familiar device with familiar features and interface increases the chances of successful merchandising software adoption by merchandisers.
Consider the opportunities of integration. To easily incorporate a merchandising software solution into your workflow, you should think out how it will integrate with other programs and applications your business already uses. Even a comprehensive solution for merchandising needs to communicate with special purpose software, such as, for example, accounting programs. To provide smooth integration and maximize the value of merchandising software, look for vendors, who have experience with your specific kinds of integrations.
To learn more how to use a merchandising software solution, visit www.visitbasis.com, sign up today to get your free trial, or schedule a free demo to see how it works.
Marketing researchers argue that more than half of purchasing decisions are made exactly at the point of sales. POS-materials are intended to draw the customer’s attention to a product or a special event and promote the product via advertisement information. So what you can do to increase purchase decisions in favor of your product? Start by familiarizing yourself with tips for effective point-of-purchase marketing below.
Develop simple and clear POS materials. No matter how much information your POS-materials contain, it should be equally clear to each customer in the store. This principle involves understanding the information you want to put in your POS by a 14yo with an average level of intellect. Pay special attention to the price tags placement and price compliance. The price of the products should be clearly marked and visible to the buyer. The price tag should not cover the necessary information.
Make POS-materials helpful for the customers. POS materials are designed to introduce products and motivate customers to make a purchase. A customer, who receives additional information about the product, is more inclined to buy it, if he gets all the necessary information in place of the sales. Take into consideration that a customer is uncomfortable from both a lack of information, as well as from too much. Therefore, to make your POS-materials as efficiently as possible, conduct customer survey in the first instance to get valuable insights on what they want to know about certain types of your products.
Maintain the optimum amount and location of POS materials at each store. When choosing from your product line goods, which are going to be promoted using POS-materials, consider the type of POS and the type of demand for specific products. For example such types of POS as stickers, price tags and shelf edging is reasonable to use for the products already having the most advantageous location in the store, so the maximum number of customers can reach the information. To promote products that tend to trigger impulse buyers or your best-selling products, negotiate display stands placement in the most advantageous locations.
Keep all the displays pleasant to the eye. It’s highly important to eliminate the possibility of discomfort in the perception of your product. Poor colors and color combinations, inappropriate sound effects, indigested layout and incomplete representation may force the buyer to cancel the purchase. All the shelves should be clean and tidy, displays – safe and sound. All the assets must be appropriate for the products.
Intelligent distribution of your POS materials requires a system that knows your products, types of POS you use and possibilities for placing POS materials in every store you operate. To improve the efficiency of your POS marketing management, opt for the software tools that enable you to automatically track, manage and measure your point-of-sale marketing programs.
VisitBasis merchandising software allows companies to easily manage their POS materials, conducting more efficient marketing campaigns, differentiating them to specific store needs and always having the right material at the right time at the right store. VisitBasis merchandising software is available for free on www.visitbasis.com. Schedule a free demo today to learn how VisitBasis merchandising software can improve your POS marketing management.
VisitBasis 