The NAMs Role is Both Vital And Frustrating!
At Cosine we are well aware that as a National Account Manager, Shopper Marketing Manager, Customer Business Manager or in fact anyone tasked with delivery of retailer agreed promotional activity, you don’t have an easy time during Promotional Periods, New Product Development launches or Range Reviews. In your role, you’re tasked with ensuring compliance with the brands promotional guidelines, whilst at the same time liaising with retailers to ensure targets are met, Joint Business Plans adhered to, and both parties are happy.
Effectively, you’re responsible for tying together the theory and strategy of a campaign with real-world implementation in a retail environment, solving issues for retailers and working within the confines of the store layout.
As such, your role is absolutely pivotal to the success of a campaign.
Bridging The Gap Between Head Office Agreements & Real World Retail.
One of the most common issues we hear from NAMs and those that support retail implementation is that of solving problems associated with head office decisions about promotions – especially promotions that run across hundreds of individual stores. These issues tend to be much more commonplace in the FMCG sector, where retail stores may be short of space and have merchandisers from multiple competing brands vying for promotional space.
Finding the ‘sweet spot’ between what head office dictates and what’s actually possible in-store can be tricky:
- Regional variations on laws regarding promoting licensed products, such as alcohol & tobacco
- Floor & aisle space limitations due to the specific layout of individual stores and a lack of flexibility in head office plans
- A need to rapidly deploy promotional point of sale materials at very short notice from retailers, especially during seasonal peaks
How Cosine’s Team Can Solve Your Problems
There are some key ways that Cosine can help you in your role:
- We have tactical teams – By representing several non-competing brands in a single store, we keep your costs down yet deliver an incredible service.
- Rapid deployment – When a retailer asks you for a fast turnaround on promotional activity, we’re ready to spring into action! We can have expert field agents in-store, anywhere in the UK, within 24hrs from call file submission.
Cosine's Tactical Retail Force
Although speed is important, proper execution is also vital. Our ability to deploy within 24hrs doesn’t mean we’ll deliver a ‘rushed’ service. Cosine’s ability to be so fast-acting stems from the huge investment we’ve made in both process and technology.
One example of this is our Cosine Tactical Retail Force (Cosine TRF) deployment and reporting app.
Cosine TRF is a powerful, cutting edge technology Cosine has developed. Through which we can instantly match your specific needs to expert field agents best suited to the challenge, massively cutting down on staffing lead times.
Our software will analyse the needs of your campaign and match these with the perfect expert for the project, selecting them from our team of over 350 permanently employed merchandisers.
Cosine TRF also creates additional efficiencies by delivering briefing documents direct to our agents and capturing insights direct from the store.
The combination of our team of dedicated experts and our investment in efficient technology, such as Cosine TRF, allows Cosine to offer you a fantastic service that’s both swift and highly effective.
Let The Team at Cosine Help
Cosine are Investors in People Gold Accredited, we care about our staff and train to retain the brightest, most experienced minds in the industry. We have a strong history of working in the retail sector and have the skills, expertise and experience to deliver great results.
“In my experience of working with NAMs the solution we have built and the team of people we have really drive efficiency and effectiveness at the right cost for NAMs and suppliers” – Emma Gilbert, Cosine Account Director
We understand the frustrations that you feel in your position. The need to ensure compliance with the goals laid out in JBPs, liaise between brand & retailer, and to ultimately deliver results from day one of an NPD, range review or other in-store promotion, all turn up the pressure.
Cosine can support you in your role, relieving much of the pressure and making it easier to deliver on JBPs, achieve goals and deploy promotional material both rapidly & effectively.
At Cosine, our goal is to make you look great in your role … to both brand & retailer. We do this by combining our team’s expert knowledge with current edge technological solutions to deliver great results, on time and on budget.
We believe in honesty, truth and reliable results. Getting things right in retail for our client partners is our goal. Working to deliver availability and compliance is too often seen as simple and changing agency seen as too much hassle. If that is your belief, know that we always deliver these simple things with pride.