When you think about growth opportunities today, you might look at different measurements in your business based on what your overall strategy is. For example: If you measure penetration, your strategy may be to broaden the appeal of your category by increasing penetration of your loyal shoppers. If you measure market share, your strategy may be to grow your share of the market by “stealing” share from competition. If you measure loyalty, your strategy may be to increase your “share of wallet” (or loyalty) through effective in-store marketing programs. Etc., etc.

Last week I had the pleasure of attending the Category Management Association’s annual conference in Las Vegas, where category management and shopper insights professionals gathered to learn, share and network. It was particularly exciting for us at CMKG, because the CMA announced our new partnership at the conference. This venture will allow us to get our training into even more brilliant minds around the world. I facilitated 9 live training sessions over the course of the 3-day conference, spanning topics like: Identifying Growth Opportunities in Your Business, Fact-Based Presentations and Storyboarding, Shopper Insights (co-developed and facilitated with Leslie Warsaw from SIMA), Category Management in On-Premise (2-part session), and many more!

As we kick off this new year, there may be obstacles in your category plans that can unknowingly limit your category results. These obstacles exist for many retailers because their category analytics and plan development haven’t kept pace with some of the biggest disruptors in the industry – including data, the changing shopper and the changing marketplace. If you don't change your strategies, processes and thinking to consider these changes, and don’t open up to new perspectives and ideas, your biggest growth opportunities can be completely overlooked. Below I’ve captured some examples of potential barriers that may be limiting your growth:

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