Ready to create your category plans? Start with the essential category management foundations … Effectively defining Retailer strategy is the MOST important foundation to achieve success for any Retailer. Retailer strategy should include consideration of the following: Development of overall strategies associated with your store format(s), your target Shopper, your competition and your Private Label / store brands. Proper category definitions (and associated segments based on the consumer decision tree) based on your target Shopper and how you view and shop the category. Assignment of category roles to provide a structure to managing the categories across your store (once again based on your target Shopper). Once a Retailer’s strategies are defined, they need to be communicated.

Here’s why you shouldn’t treat all your categories the same… Imagine a retailer who sells hundreds of categories and treats each of them exactly the same – including decisions on assortment, shelving, promotions and pricing. Remember – equal treatment would require the same number of resources and time spent against every category. Sound like a good idea? Absolutely not! Retailers need to assign roles across categories to get a broad look at their category mix, determine the category’s relative importance, and apply similar tactical strategies across categories with the same role. This is an important foundation of their overall Retailer strategy. Here are some great resources from CMKG for you to get started on your learning journey: Category Roles: Category management training course preview (video) Complimentary download that reviews the roles of the category Certified course details Before you determine roles for your categories, consider these 3 factors.

Who owns Category Definition in the store anyways? Determining the best definition for categories (including their segments) is one of the core foundations in category management. In its simplest form, defining categories is about what items belong in a category based on Shopper expectations — and this responsibility belongs to the Retailer. It sounds like an easy task, but in practice, it is not because there are many considerations in this strategic component of category management. Here are some great resources from CMKG for you to get started: Category Definition & Segmentation course preview (video) Category Definition complimentary download Category Definition & Segmentation certified course details Before you define your categories, read these 3 considerations.

Who really owns Category Management? When working with clients and students, I often ask them, “who owns the category management process?” About 50% respond “both Retailer and Vendor”, 30% respond “the Vendor” and 20% think it’s the Retailer. It is actually the Retailer who owns the process – Vendors play a role in the process to provide data and resources as category experts but they don’t own the process. Retailers each have their own unique approach to category management based on their internal strategies, guidelines and processes and Vendors work with them to develop strategic category plans and improve the Shopper experience. Here are some great resources from CMKG for you to get started: “Retailer Strategy” course preview (video) Category Management Continuum complimentary download "Retailer Strategy" certified course details

Category Management is evolving. Are you? Category Management has been around for a long time. It was introduced in the early 1990s as part of Efficient Consumer Response to address the industry problems associated with the entire demand and supply operating continuum. It has evolved – and continues to evolve – as the Shopper changes, data and technology become more sophisticated, digital continues to play a bigger role and organizations are striving to achieve collaboration with their retail and vendor partners. Despite all of these industry changes, many organizations fail to make the necessary changes internally to meet the changing needs. Here are some great resources from CMKG for you to get started: “Category Management Overview” course preview (video) Category Management Continuum complimentary download "Category Management Overview" certified course details

Collaboration + Shopper Marketing How can you be successful in both? This is what the Category Management Association (CMA) has to say, “Building a marketing plan ‘through the eyes of the Shopper’ to create value for both the Retailer and Vendor requires collaboration using the best practice methodologies, insights, data and tools available. Category Management can serve as the umbrella under which the collaborative process is facilitated” (Strategic Collaboration for Shopper Satisfaction, 2015). Here are some great resources from CMKG for you to get started: "Strategic Collaboration: Are you Really Prepared?" blog posting Understanding Shopper Trip Missions complimentary download

Fact-based skills are a requirement in today's world The combination of an increasingly complex world, the vast proliferation of data and the need to stay one step ahead of the competition has sharpened focus on using analytics within organizations. Here are some great downloads from Category Management Knowledge Group for you to get started on fact based sales: Turning Data Into Insights complimentary download 5 Requirements for Compeling, Fact-Based Presentations infographic complimentary download

How do you use category management analytics when you have limited data? To complete analytics, you obviously need data. In fact, it’s one of the key requirements in category management and to strategically understand and measure your business. Despite all of the new data sources available in today’s world, many of us still find ourselves in “low data” scenarios – whether it’s in an entire industry, a region or a category. Are you in a limited data environment but want to learn how to be more strategic in your approach? Here are some great resources to help you do category management on limited data: Category Management Continuum: A complimentary download that walks you through the different levels of category management you can practice in a limited data environment Free Resource on “How to Address Data Gaps in a Limited Data Environment"