At home they're subjected to all manner of solicitations and intrusions via radio, television and Internet. On their mobile phones, the marketed cries for attention only get louder. In the street in their cars or on foot, it continues with billboards and hoardings adorning every inch of sellable space. So how, with such an endless proliferation, can your prized piece of self-promotion put its hand up and say ‘Pick me,' with any authority?
In-store and in the zone
They're in your store, so you're off to a good start. Chances are they're there to buy something specific. They may just be browsing. Either way your POS has a job to do: to stimulate impulse buying.
Be comfortably confronting
Good point-of-sale is in-your-face in the nicest possible way. It needs to grab attention in ways that appeal to the right emotions. Remember, anyone walking past your display has probably already been exposed, either directly or subliminally, to hundreds, even thousands of advertising messages that day. They are desensitised to what you have to say. To be frank, they really don't want to hear it. The role of your POS is to be one of the very few messages that moves them; a tall order for a static display at the best of times.
Animate your POS
One of the best ways to ensure your products get noticed is to take your display out of the realms of pretty banners and moulded cardboard and into the digital age. Use TV monitors with short, looped video demonstrations or testimonial presentations; anything that flickers in their peripheral vision and gets attention. The key is then to make your presentation compelling enough to hold their attention and induce an outstretched arm. You want consumers curious enough to pick your product up, touch it, and maybe to try something or read something suggested in your presentation.
Make it attractive and interactive
Use eye-catching colours that compliment your products and show them in their best light. Use short, snappy banners, ideally calling for some kind of action. Add tear-off coupon offers that can be used immediately to induce an instant purchase decision. And make sure all video presentations and supporting merchandising work together as a team with an easy-on-the-eye, uncluttered appeal that tells the complete story.
Create POS that pays its way
Every piece of point-of-sale you put on your shop floor is taking up real estate space, either rented or owned. It has to not only be a cost-effective purchase; it has to pay its way in sales. Clearly a large, bold floor display will attract more attention than a single banner on a shelf. However cost has to match demand and return on investment. Choose your merchandised lines carefully and base every penny you devote to their in-store promotion on their likelihood to repay in kind.
