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Brands and retailers know the value of slick marketing at point of purchase. Great levels of customer service coupled with targeted POS and promotional offers can make the difference between sales in-store, online or not at all. However with the UK gifting market worth over £110bn a year there are several opportunities that brands could be missing out on due to poorly optimised in-store campaigns. iD In-store have therefore developed this five point guide to help ensure you get the most out of your in-store team at tactical gifting occasions such as Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day and Easter, as well as non-seasonal events like Bar Mitzvahs, weddings and birthdays.

Selling to a gift buyer can be very different to selling to the end user – your target audience. It doesn’t matter how much you know about your target audience if you don’t win over their parent or partner you could miss the opportunity to gain a new loyal customer. You are essentially selling to two different people. It’s worth remembering a consumer will rarely purchase a product or brand that they don’t like themselves – regardless of whether they are going to be the one using it. Think about the profile of a consumer who is likely to purchase for the occasion and ensure your entire strategy is just as relevant to them as it is to the end user. For example a wife purchasing aftershave for her husband on Valentine’s Day. You may need to adjust the design of your stand or tweak your promotional offer to be more in-tune with a female even though she will not be using the product herself.

Every campaign needs a demonstrator to deliver an experience which engages the consumer they are selling to. However, knowing from the outset that there are two consumers to please, means brand ambassadors have double the challenge on their hands and will undoubtedly need to tailor their approach. For example at strategic points throughout the year, your staff should be on the look-out not only for the target audience but also actively approaching shoppers who look like they might be buying for a son, daughter or husband. Ensure your network of brand demonstrators are not just product experts but are also effectively trained on how to ‘get to know’ the end consumer in order to advise on the right product. By becoming a helpful source of information they are more likely to, connect and relate to the buyer who holds the purse strings.

Everyone loves an easy life. So in a time where armchair online purchases are seen as the time-saving, easier option, you need to give every consumer a reason to buy at the shelf - and this doesn’t have to mean money off coupons. In fact with some more premium products promotional offers can actually reduce the buyer’s perceived value of your product. Instead, enhance your consumers’ brand experience by offering a free gift wrapping service or for larger gifts, implement a home-delivery service which eliminates the need for the customer to carry their heavy purchases home. This way the consumer really does receive added value without diminishing the intrinsic value of your brand.

With retailers such as Selfridges and Harrods launching their Christmas departments as early as August each year, when exactly is the right time to start your seasonal demonstration programmes? Identifying key trends in gender shopping behaviour will give you a steer as to how the different sexes plan for seasonal occasions. This will be of particular importance around Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. Combine this approach with a thorough store selection process (something iD has considerable experience in supporting our clients with). Understand the benefits of increased demonstration activity in different regions as well as the days of the week and times of day that provide most footfall; this will help maximise your in-store budget and ensure your campaigns are hitting key purchase timings down to the very hour.

With the continued rise of mobile technology (particularly in the adoption by the over 50’s) it is important to understand how you can harness this power effectively in-store. Technology can not only act as an attractor to your demonstration area, but also serve as an additional layer of customer service. When selling to an end consumer, demonstrators can encourage them to like the brands Facebook page or download an in-store app – this won’t work with those buying gifts as the extended conversation is irrelevant to them. Instead brand ambassadors could direct gift purchasing consumers to online product reviews via a tablet, thus positioning themselves as a trusted and impartial source of information. This will allow the consumer to feel like they’ve made an informed decision giving them peace-of-mind when making their final purchasing decision.

These are just some of the techniques iD In-store use to harness effective product demonstration programmes for brands across the UK and Ireland every year.

If you would like to find out more about how you can make the most of your in-store marketing please call iD In-store on 0207 428 1482 or visit www.iDinstore.com