4Ps of Retail Marketing: Place

Understanding the role place plays in marketing:

Location, location, location; how retail product grouping, display and positioning can significantly impact sales.

Place in the 4Ps of marketing is primarily aimed at retailing and distribution networks, but we can also look to a very granular level and talk retail store positioning as well. Once you have products in your store, how do you maximize their positioning for optimum sales?

 

Group products by customer persona

Retailers often position products such as pendants, jewelry and small gift items together. But it may be better to group items in a different way, depending upon your customer persona.

 

Your customers may look at ‘gear and sundries’ in a way that combines disparate items – camera storage cards, lithium ion batteries and wool socks might seem a strange mix of products, but for your hiking or sightseeing customers, this is a logical grouping of items that makes sense.

 

Position made in the USA items together for higher sales

Many customers, particularly those that are visiting uniquely American sites such as national parks, memorials and historical regions, have their patriotic senses heightened.  Groups of made in USA products do well together, because they are typically sold at higher price points. Positioning made in USA gift products next to made in China gift products can unfairly weight the less expensive product in the customer’s eye. What’s the value of made in USA? Positioning the products together, even if they are not in the same category of product is a smart way to sell more of the made in USA product at the higher price point.

 

Consider retail displays that take advantage of limited space

Many retailers who sell small gift souvenirs group certain items together because of counter, wall and floor space, but don’t consider how, within those spaces, products may do better simply by positioning them in a way that helps each product group sell better.

 

On a wall location, for instance, moving products so that each group of them has a visual point of sale retail header (provided by your manufacturer or wholesaler) can really highlight the products and communicate additional information to the customer, such as how it’s made, where it’s made, how it might be used or worn in alternative ways.  Your manufacturers are a wealth of great information – they work with hundreds of retailers across the country that are like you – and they know what works and what doesn’t. Reach out to your manufacturers for retail displays for walls, small spaces and countertops so that you know the best way to position product for maximum sales.