A BTS Group Case Study; Lessons for the Future of Sales from Fast Moving Consumer Goods Companies

This is a case study from the BTS Group team behind some groundbreaking insights and deliveries in the Sales Transformation Practice. The reports includes a dive into challenges that Hershey’s and P&G were facing.

Looking Beyond the Immediate Customer

Summertime is a slow time for candy sales. That’s bad for Hershey’s and bad for its retailer customers. Looking for a way to pump up purchasing during this period, Hershey’s studied how consumers use chocolate during the warm summer months. Their work led them to the popularity of s’mores, that delicious combination of toasted marshmallows, slightly melted chocolate, and graham crackers. Hershey’s makes chocolate, of course; it doesn’t make graham crackers or marshmallows. So it teamed up with Kraft, which makes both (or did—until the Kraft/Mondelēz split). Together Hershey’s and Kraft created summertime in-store displays that grouped the three products together. The result was sales that increased by 10 to 15 percent for the summer season, and now that time of year is bigger than Valentine’s Day for Hershey’s. What is striking about the s’mores promotion, and what lessons does it hold for general B2B selling?

Cleanup on Aisle Three

Procter & Gamble had a problem. Sales growth had stalled for its Swiffer product line at Walmart, one of its largest customers. P&G knew that advertising was driving increased shopper interest in the Swiffer products, but that wasn’t translating to store purchases. It also knew that part of the problem was the economy and shoppers who were making more frugal buying decisions. But it looked further. What P&G discovered was that shoppers were overwhelmed and confused by the array of starter kits and refill pads on the shelves.