6 Vital Approaches to Point Of Purchase Advertising

Point of purchase advertising (POP) is a strategy as old as time. But most retailers still have trouble making fair use of it. This marketing material is what you need to capture your customers’ ever-fleeting attention and incite them to purchase from you.

But how can you go about it? What strategies work and which ones do not? Read on to find out more.

What is Point of purchase advertising (POP?)

POP refers to the marketing materials you can put next to your products to help clients make a buying decision. You can use it in your retail store to engage, inform and capture your customers. However, while it’s easy to confuse POP with other marketing campaigns, the two are entirely different.

For starters, POP works towards the goal of giving your clients a unique in-store experience by informing them of your special offers or of brands they should try. It takes advantage of at least 70 percent of consumers’ indecision on what they want to get from the store. Well, until they are already inside.

How does Point of Purchase Advertising work?

As a retailer, you most often do not have to create or design your material for POP. Manufacturers and suppliers are finding it best to provide that with their product. These you can use free of charge in your stores.

Additionally, POP displays draw consumers’ attention to the product and highlight it where other products compete for the same attention. It stimulates the desire to make impulse purchases. Plus, if you have to design your own, you will find the task simple and easy. You can create signage or a display carton.

You also do not have to place your Point Of Purchase marketing material on the cash register like in the old days. You can put up the displays anywhere in the store to capture your buyer’s attention and bring about a purchasing decision.

In general, your POP advertising should be able to fulfill any of its four functions. It can either:

• Help you to build more traffic by attracting more people to your displays.
• Let your customers know about your new products, services, or brand by creating awareness.
• Show clients that using your product will provide a desirable result by creating an impression and informing.

Or

• Support your clients’ impulsive nature and stimulate purchases to increase your sales

Additionally, you can choose among the various types of displays for the one that best suits your store. Whether it’s freestanding displays or interactive displays, or even cardboard displays, any of these can help you capture the attention of impulse buyers.

So why are some POPs more effective than others? The answer lies in the approach. It would be best if you found out what works and what doesn’t.

Here are six approaches that you can use to make your POP effective.

1. Go Small, Go Big – With the Right Design

Sometimes, going big isn’t always the solution. As a retailer, if you believe that the bigger the POP displays, the more effective it is, you are plain wrong. You can design catchy, small, and impressive designs that are just as effective.

What matters is how great your design is. The right design can send the message to the most preoccupied customers in less than a minute. Regardless of the size, you can still make an impression on your client with a catchy design.

2. Make It Unique

It’s always wise to go for something unusual. Whether it’s the shape of the displays in retail stores or the message you want to pass, only something unique can be able to register on the radar of your clients. If you find it challenging to develop a new and unique idea, you can put a new spin on an already existing one. That can make it more unique and exciting to your customers.

For instance, instead of stacking the boxes on the shelves evenly and traditionally, you can create a different pattern but one with a message. The design can read ‘buy me’ or some other call to action and theme.

Or, you can have a huge gift basket on the aisle with all the delights of Valentine’s Day, including chocolates, candy, notes, and other gift bundles. It cute and unique in its way and achieves the same desired goal a shelf talker would have.

3. Be Fun to Read

Engagement is usually the point of any displays, including those of Point of purchase advertising. When you add an interactive element to your presentations, you give your clients a chance to engage with them directly. That encourages people to want to learn more and ultimately buy your services and products.

But how do you make your POP ads fun to read? The first more obvious way may be using visual content. You can have floor graphics or infographics, and other imagery with clear writings on your freestanding display. That is very engaging.

It would help if you did not develop something that a knowledgeable shopper will find hard to understand for the texts. Make it as clear and straightforward as possible. The message should be specific, meaningful, and engaging.

If you have a headline, ensures it’s captivating enough to make your shoppers stop and check out the display. And for the last touch, a call to action can tell them what to do with the knowledge they got from the display.

Lastly, you can also use puns and other funny memes in the displays without going overboard with any jokes.

4. Target It!

Targeting it refers to numerous things. For starters, it may refer to giving your POP a specific purpose. If you want to stimulate more impulse buys, then depict the target clearly on your POP displays. If the target is to let a shopper know the benefits a new brand has while using, then set the message straight.

Additionally, it may refer to you being in line with the season since being left behind is not an option. Your POP ad can share the same fun, mood, and other holiday imagery. If it’s Christmas, your Point Of Purchase displays can have offers, promotions, and discounts that celebrate the holiday and its theme.

More importantly, your POP ad should target a specific audience or customer. Ensure that the message is something they can relate to and not a forced marketing ad. Target your customers for a more effective POP strategy.

5. Use Effective Branding

Branding is crucial if you need consumers to trust your product and services. Most consumers would buy from a brand again if they have a good experience the first time or if a friend recommends it. Additionally, consumers can purchase a new product from a brand they trust without a second thought.

That is why branding is essential. You can use your POP displays to show the benefits of using a product and its effectiveness in solving a client’s problems. You can also offer a discount for the first few shoppers to purchase it. That will help create awareness and promote the brand at the same time.

6. Be Consistent

Your message should be consistent In all your designs to avoid confusion. The last thing you want is your message giving the wrong impression or sending mixed signals. If it does, consumers can easily ignore it.

For instance, if your offers and discount displays usually use a specific design, theme, and color, a regular consumer doesn’t need to reread it to know the products on sale come at an offer. The display will catch the customer’s eye and stimulate their impulse to purchase faster than if the same message is on different designs and displays.

They may even ignore a different one thinking that it’s the same old message. However, if you are consistent in your designs, theming, and message, it’s easier to decide, just like having a permanent display.

Final thoughts

Although different from the Point of sale, the Point of purchase advertising can prove useful in increasing your sales and creating awareness for your products. Retail salespeople who have been using this strategy for long periods can all attest to its effectiveness. If you do not know how to make POP advertising work for you, the six tips we shared can guide you into using the best POP approach for your retail grocery store and make you ahead of your competitors.  Feel free to contact us for more information.