Last month, Ben shared one of the biggest objections manufacturing brands have when it comes to co-marketing with their retailers: that retailers won’t use the marketing tools they are given. It’s time to put this objection aside and start believing in the power of the local retailer. If a marketing platform is effective and easy to use, local retailers are more than willing to implement it.
We have put our ideals to the test by surveying a group of local retailers on everything online marketing. With the results of this survey, we can gain some insight into the mind of the local retailer. As we continue to send surveys to retailers, we will continue to share with you what we’ve learned about what local retailers really want out of a marketing campaign.
Thoughts on Marketing Channels
According to the survey, local retailers prefer more traditional channels, such as email marketing and websites, to social media. Websites took the lead, with 90% of retailers labeling them as an effective or very effective marketing channel. The second and third most preferred channels were paid advertising and email marketing, which were ranked as effective by 69.9% and 68.7% of retailers respectively. Retailers were not as comfortable with social media sites, which were ranked as only somewhat effective or not effective by most retailers in the survey. Because social media is a relatively new marketing channel, local retailers are still trying to figure out how to best utilize these sites as a tool to increase brand awareness.
Thoughts on Co-Marketing
When asked if co-marketing campaigns were easy to implement, over 96% of local retailers said “yes.” The majority of retailers also said that they believed co-marketing campaigns were effective, and almost 99% said that they would be interested in participating in such campaigns in the future. These results debunk the commonly-held notion that local retailers won’t use co-marketing campaigns. In fact, the survey indicates that most retailers are itching to become involved in co-marketing efforts with their brands.
So what do we take away from all of this?
First, the belief that local retailers don’t want to be involved in co-marketing is simply incorrect. This misconception likely resulted from the hesitation of local retailers to join their brand’s ineffective or inconvenient co-marketing campaigns. However, if you pay attention to the preferences of your local retailers, you can create a campaign that they will happy to utilize.
For now, the focus needs to be on websites, paid advertising, and email marketing. Brands also need to work with local retailers to develop better strategies for social media channels. Stay tuned for more Brand-To-Retailer marketing insights coming soon.
