Territory Census

From a scientific point of view, territory census is a specific method of conducting marketing research.

It includes a set of measures involving the study of a specific territory for the subsequent development of sales on it. Depending on the type of market, the characteristics of the territory, and the specifics of the company that needs to conduct the census, this method, due to its flexibility and differentiation, can be aimed at achieving a wide range of business objectives.

In the most general terms, a census is designed to form an information base on product sales and the work of sales channels in the territory.

Goals of Conducting a Census

The census is "aimed" at the following most significant results:

1. Formation of a full-fledged database of points of sale.

2. Prioritization of visits by sales representatives to retail points.

3. Building the most effective distribution network.

4. Establishing a correct plan for spending the territory development budget.

Within the framework of a detailed territory census, the capacity of market points within the selected area is studied, retail points are distributed by categories, the necessary number of people, called field staff (their job is to cover the entire territory), is determined, and trading routes are laid out for them.

In any case, a quality census involves a complete enumeration of all retail points.

A census can be conducted either independently or with the involvement of third-party organizations with competencies in this area. Each option has the right to exist and is actively used by companies working with retail. Nevertheless, more and more often, even large companies resort to services "on the side" for the following main reasons.

Reasons for Outsourcing the Census

1) Lack of competent people in the company's staff with free time to solve tasks in the field of census.

Conducting territory research requires specific skills and a significant amount of time. If there are such specialists on the company's staff, then, as a rule, they are busy solving more important business tasks – their time is expensive.

2) The desire to learn how to conduct a census competently within the framework of solving a practical task of one's own business.

The professionalism and methodological preparedness of representatives of organizations specializing in territory marketing are, on average, significantly higher than that of employees within the company. Involved individuals have rich practice in conducting a census and also know its methodology. Their approach is more justified, as the accumulated experience allows them to foresee all the difficulties on the path to an effective census in specific conditions and quickly develop ways to eliminate obstacles in its conduct. The adopted practice will allow for a deeper understanding of the essence of the census, thoroughly familiarize themselves with it, and learn to conduct it independently, and at the level of specialists in their field.

3) Understanding the importance and economic effect of exchanging experience and skills when working in the market.

The most effective census is obtained, perhaps, in the case when both parties of the process are equally actively involved in it and there is no pronounced leading role of either of them. This situation arises when working with two organizations advanced in territory marketing, the employees of each of which have developed competencies in the field of sales. Combining the skills of two organizations and applying joint efforts make the results of such events extremely effective, which will certainly result in further success in the course of trade.

4) The need to organize effective work on the census project.

Professionals in the field of census have pronounced communication skills; otherwise, it is impossible to collect information from a wide range of people. Such a skill is very useful when organizing work in a group to conduct a census, as it allows achieving good coordination of actions and quickly solving the tasks. Not always in an organization that needs to conduct a census is there such a strong organizer and communicator.

5) The need to get a vision of the situation "from the outside" from an uninterested party.

Quite often, the initiative to conduct a census comes from the company's management. In this case, in addition to a professional approach to conducting the event, it is required to assess the current sales activities of the company and identify its weak points, determine growth points for the future. Competent specialists will not only draw a conclusion about the correctness of the hypotheses for conducting the census and its basic tasks but will also adjust the work plan for territory analysis, and subsequently propose measures to improve the efficiency of the sales department in the region.

6) Training employees in the field of marketing and sales to work in the territory.

Cooperation with representatives and employees of involved organizations is a kind of master class in the field of marketing and sales. One should not be shy to ask and get the maximum amount of information not only about the census as such but also about working in the market in general, then both the management and the personnel of the customer will learn a lot. After all, a census is such a method that applying it inevitably reveals other sales techniques, and such information is extremely valuable and not always available without additional effort.

7) Cross-marketing and partner promotion.

PR and advertising in our lives are an element of any activity, even not necessarily business. Any entrepreneur and company owner knows the importance of promoting the brand of the product or service produced. In this sense, working with a third-party organization is always an additional channel of promotion. Your partner, pursuing their commercial interests, will "promote" the customer at every opportunity, especially if the project was interesting and productive. Such personal advertising from people "in the loop" works well to increase the brand's popularity in the territory and, as a result, to increase sales volumes.

Concluding the conversation about the reasons for the effectiveness of the partner format of work on the census, one can also note its actual lack of alternatives if the company enters a new geographical market with a high level of competition. In this case, the census is the first step in building a strategy for entering a new geographical segment.

Store Check and Retail Audit

Separately, it is worth noting such marketing techniques as store checks and retail audits.

Speaking of a store check, we mean an examination of retail points regarding assortment and price levels; essentially, we "cut" the competitive situation "on the ground." With the help of a store check, you can evaluate the effectiveness of the entire company, adjust the activities of your sales representatives and merchandisers. As for a retail audit, it is extremely important for monitoring the following basic parameters of the sales policy:

- information on product distribution,

- analysis of data on market shares,

- assessment of market capacity,

- consideration of the potential for market segmentation.

Directly, the territory census begins with the competent work of a sales agent. They are sent along given routes to study retail points according to the census program.

They are engaged in assessing the clientele and must find a common language with the employees of the visited points of sale to determine the degree of need for a particular product. In parallel, they evaluate the sales area, count the number of cash registers, ask about the main competitors, and also record advertising programs in their notebook. A slightly more difficult duty for the sales agent is to determine, during communication, the person responsible for making the decision to purchase the product in this retail point. In addition, the agent finds out who is responsible for payment for supplies, about companies and organizations that are employees or partners.

Perhaps the primary principle in the work of a sales agent should be the completeness of the examination of the retail point. Their task is to record information about each employee, every millimeter of the premises, and fix the maximum possible number of details.

The next stage of the census is the work of analysts who will process the provided information, compile an accurate picture of the regional market from it, confirmed by numbers and quantitatively defined patterns. After their work, the territory will be transparent for the one who conducted the census, which will allow them to make profitable and promising decisions in terms of sales development.

An effective and efficient consultant at this stage is the supervisor. Transferring the prepared information to them with maximum accuracy will allow for quick adjustment of planned actions, taking into account existing organizational capabilities, so that all ideas are successfully implemented. In the future, the supervisor will be engaged in monitoring the implementation of the plan and the work of the entire sales staff, and your business will proceed both quietly and stormily, as force majeure will be avoided, and sales growth will be noticeable.

Territory census is an investment with a very high return. Conduct it competently and thoughtfully, and sales growth will not be long in coming.