New Technology Enables ‘Share of Market Strategies’

There are few strategic initiatives that are designed to increase the share of transactions in any retail trading area. This is the logic behind “share of market” marketing. In any given area, there are a limited number of retail transactions for away-from –home sales of food, snacks and beverages. All vending sites compete for those transactions.

Applying the tools of “share of market marketing” in your Antares vending business is necessary because the customer that you are serving has changed and will continue to change. Everyone is time starved and stressed, and they just want to be treated like individuals even as more and more retail businesses take on a homogenized look. You can build an action plan for your Antares business using the following steps.

1) Simplify the menu. Reduce the number of items in your Antares vending machine. After this you can double on big sellers to increase your sales. Most Antares vending operators that have applied category management have ended up reducing the number of SKU’s they warehouse, once they have identified the top sellers.

2) Promote aggressively. Make your Antares menu your best sales tool. Provide handouts for the regulars at your sites. This means that you’ll need to live by a planogram-so that the customer can find their favorite items easily. Put up posters with attractive machine planograms to promote the products before people get to the Antares machine.

3) Innovate and test new approaches. The younger people in the world today are digital. They are now and future customer base for your Antares business. You will need to keep them interested or they will patronize some other retail source that will make the experience better.

4) Execute “share of market marketing.” Keep a close watch on population changes at your existing accounts and jump on any chances to add to your existing vending bank. Opportunity for increased revenue can come from anywhere the vending bank is. This can cost more in machine investment capital, but this is how you will get a bigger share of the transaction in the area. If you make your services more convenient, you will get more sales for your Antares vending business.

Vending faces increasing challenges from powerful competitors. The convenience stores want to sell the snacks and cold drinks that you are selling. They can be successful in stealing business from you, if you let them.