CPG Channel Strategy

Optimum Channel strategy and customer plans

It may seem like a nice problem to have - but - one of the challenges many category managers or account teams face when developing channel or customer strategies can often be the vast number of opportunities available. It's easy to fall into the trap of trying to do too much and pursue too many different avenues, thereby diluting efforts and resources and not making much progress in any direction.

To paraphrase Michael Porter - strategy is about saying no to some things and focusing on a select few.  

So what makes an effective Channel Strategy?

Similar to our holistic approach to category strategies, we always start with the consumer and propensity to consume, we recommend mapping:

• Consumer Needs - why do/would your target audience want to consume?
• Consumption Occasion - when would they be most likely to consume?
• Consumption Location - where would they be most likely to consume

Channel Identification - logically this leads you to the channels that would be most relevant for your target consumers and shoppers, enabling you to quantify the size of opportunity, apply strategic weighting and therefore map a commercially compelling channel strategy.

And what makes an effective Customer Plan?

No surprise but customer strategies and account plans work best when the customer (the buyer) has a vested interest in seeing the account plan delivered so you're working together in collaboration rather than constantly battling to push through or negotiate each initiative. 

Many of our clients have found it useful to have a 3rd party (Dynamic Reasoning) facilitate planning workshops with their clients to provide a framework to brainstorm and identify opportunities for mutual growth away from the commercial discussions and negotiations (which can come afterwards). 

Selection of our previous channel and customer projects:

 

Like to know more about Channel Strategies?

Please email or arrange a call if you'd like to us to facilitate productive customer planning sessions or to learn more about our decision-making frameworks and bespoke modelling to optimise channel strategy and account plans.