Consumer-Centric Category Management
How to Increase Profits by Managing Categories Based on Consumer Needs
1. Edition December 2005
368 Pages, Hardcover
Wiley & Sons Ltd
Short Description
In 1992, Category Management, Positioning Your Organization to Win, was written by ACNielsen (then Nielsen Marketing Research) and published by NTC Business Books. Much has changed since then. New technologies, new approaches, new perspectives have significantly altered the category management landscape, leading to the need for a new book on the topic.
Historically, category management has been a process in which product categories are managed as business units. For example, a supermarket's carbonated beverages department would be managed as a small business within the larger store. Somewhere along the way, however, category management practitioners became so focused on the numbers--price points, margins, turn rates, etc.--that the consumer got edged out of their equations. Today, category management is evolving into shopper management. This new book will reflect that much-needed change, focusing on using categories to target the "right" shopper segments to ensure the long-term health of a retailer's shopper base in support of its strategic plan.
New Strategies and Cutting-Edge Practices in Category Management
When category management first appeared, it turned marketing basics into an organized eight-step process that helped retailers and manufacturers sell products more efficiently and effectively. But over the years, many marketers--obsessed with the bottom line--have forgotten that the key to sales success lies in knowing the consumer. This book demonstrates how today's leading category management practitioners put the consumer first. The book also applies powerful new insights to category management basics.
From initial planning to pricing, promotion, and supply chain management, every aspect of category management is covered, including guidance on how to implement category plans effectively and keep them on track. Plus, the classic eight-step process that forms the foundation of successful category management is reviewed in detail, showing marketers the latest methods of implementation for today's consumer marketplace.
Introduction: Why Category Management is More Important than Ever .
PART ONE: IN THE BEGINNING: THE PURPOSE OF CATEGORY MANAGEMENT.
Introduction.
Chapter 1: The Evolution of Category Management and the new State of the Art.
Chapter 2: Category Management Starts With the Retailer's Strategy.
Chapter 3: Step One: Define the Category Based on the Needs of Your Target Market.
Chapter 4: Step Two: Assign a Role to the Category that Best Supports the Retailer's Strategy.
Chapter 5: Step Three: Assess the Category to Find Opportunities for Improvement.
Chapter 6: Step Four: Set Performance Targets with a Category Scorecard.
Chapter 7: Step Five: Create a Marketing Strategy for the Category.
Chapter 8: Step Six: Choose Tactics for Category Assortment, Pricing, Promotion, etc.
Chapter 9: Step Seven: Roll Out the Plan .
Chapter 10: Step Eight: Review the Category's Performance Regularly and Make Adjustments as Needed.
Chapter 11: Bringing the Consumer Into Category Management - The Ninth Step.
PART THREE: CATEGORY MANAGEMENT SUCCESS STORIES.
Introduction.
Chapter 12: General Mills - Going Beyond the Categories.
Chapter 13: Big Y - Focusing on Implementation.
Chapter 14: SUPERVALU - The Last Three Feet of Category Management.
Chapter 15: CROSSMARK - Just the Facts.
Chapter 16: Acosta - Multiplying the Impact of Category Management.
Chapter 17: Chiquita--Extending Category Management to Perishables.
Chapter 18: The Hershey Company - Linking Consumer Insights and Customer Strategy.
Chapter 19: Miller - Tapping Category Management for Competitive Advantage.
Chapter 20: Hewlett-Packard - Taking Category Management Beyond Traditional CPG.
PART FOUR: THE WAY FORWARD.
Introduction.
Chapter 21: Lessons Learned from the Real World.
Chapter 22: Proactive Category Management (By Shan Kumar).
Chapter 23: Linking Category Management and Loyalty Marketing (By Glenn Hausfater).
Chapter 24: The New Category Management Emerges (By Dirk Seifert).
Acknowledgements.
JOHN KAROLESKI is Editor of an e-magazine called CPGmatters.com. It covers in-store marketing and category management. He is the coauthor of two books, Target 2000: The Rising Tide of TechnoMarketing and All About Sampling. He was formerly senior editor of Supermarket News and editor in chief of Brand Marketing.
AL HELLER, President of Dis-tinct Communications, LLC, is the author of numerous consumer packaged goods industry studies and three books. He was formerly editor in chief of Nonfoods Merchandising and Supermarket HQ Quarterly, and executive editor of Drug Store News.
