Fusion Marketing ‘Visualizes’ Enhanced Cat-Man Results
Understanding today’s consumer and influencing them to purchase an item has become as complex as analyzing the influx of data to make sound business decisions. Fusion Marketing, a Los Angeles-based “data to design” full-service marketing agency specializing in retail intelligence for perishable and packaged goods, has researched the essential variables in a category review leading to increased communication during a presentation, and greater action taken by the retailer.
Having carefully studied the effectiveness of its category management reports created over the past five years – including every aspect of the process used to measure the efficiency of the various changes implemented, such as the use of various font styles and size, color palette, down to the types of charts and graphs utilized – Fusion’s end goal seeks to leverage the crucial elements and key findings that lead to greater proactivity by the retailer, thus resulting in positive category results.
An interesting fact surfaced from the analysis: if a report visually reflected the brand and style of the product or item, there was greater receptivity by a retailer to take action on the suggested findings. “Unlike one-size-fits-all or canned reports, our reports are uniquely created and designed as an extension of our client’s brand,” explained Steven Muro, Fusion Marketing’s president and founder. “We found that the order in which we presented information and the amount of information offered during a presentation were key in creating a more successful outcome.”
Category management also depends on understanding the consumer, affirms Muro, noting that retailers and suppliers rely on scanned data and other data sets to analyze trends and information to determine what motivates a shopper into purchasing. Price, promotional strategy, point of sale displays, and merchandising are other marketing elements factored into a category management review to obtain a clear and concise picture of each business segment.
Category management is also essential to building a sound marketing plan based on facts and trends. “It becomes a vantage point to success,” says Muro, adding that if a retailer doesn’t fully understand the meaning behind the data, “the report is essentially useless. So, now we know, based on our research, what elements help motivate a retailer into action and what information is most important to them.”