How many channels are you currently utilizing to market your stores? Digital marketing changes and grows quicker than your front lawn that one time you decided not to mow before it rained. How does a person keep themselves relevant with all of the frenzied evolution in the market they occupy? Omnichannel marketing. That’s right. Omnichannel. This isn’t a supervillain with a bone to pick with Spiderman, nor is it the newest rival to that TV shopping network everyone’s grandmother loves. Omnichannel marketing is simple in that it refers to creating marketing touchpoints that work together on every available channel. You don’t necessarily have to be on the leading edge of the digital marketing spear, but making sure everything you do is being done well and meshes nicely is crucial to getting a foothold in your niche. Here are some examples of the different channels we offer that blend together better than a DQ Blizzard: Podcasts and Live Video Facebook and Instagram SMS and Email Fried Chicken and Mashed Potatoes (Just wanted to make sure you’re still paying attention) Social media…
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Evergreen Content is Key
There’s a lot going on in a grocery store. There are thousands of products to advertise, both new and old, specialty and every-day. There are service offerings like fresh butchers, floral arrangers, and gift cards. There are programs like online shopping or email newsletters. All of these components compete for both consumer and retailer attention. As a retailer, it sometimes gets old to talk about the same things over and over again. But, while all of these features of stores are standard for those working in the store, it’s important to remind consumers of the products, services, and programs that help define the value the store provides to them. Define Value If you ask independent grocery retailers what value they provide to consumers, the answers align around the same core features: product variety, customer service, and right price. Others that play a factor are convenience and community involvement. No one wants to slack on any of those. Yet, if everyone in the market is using all of them as their value proposition to consumers, its good to help define what…
A podcast for your store? A podcast for your store.
In the US 90 million people spend 6 hours and 37 minutes each week listening to podcasts. Almost 40 percent of people between 25 and 54 listen to one podcast a month. That’s a lot of people. In a Word Camp KC 2019 presentation, Brent Bowen of Sparkade gave a presentation about how a podcast can fit into a brand’s marketing plan. Podcasting is easy and cost effective. More importantly, podcasts are another way to to build brand personality and engage with customers. It’s no secret that people buy from people they trust and like. The intimate nature of listening combined with the ease of consumption make podcasts an ideal part of a brand’s marketing mix. Blogs and videos can only be viewed in a few settings. Customers can listen to podcasts any time. This is what is driving their growth in popularity. Audiences develop a closeness with podcasts that they don’t with other mediums. Hearing the host talk directly to them builds trust. That trust is what leads 65 percent of listeners to buy a product they hear about…
Targeted Marketing with Clubs, Groups and Loyalty Programs
I recently told a few of my colleagues that our members can’t always create a digital marketing message that will be “everything to everyone.” It’s true that sometimes you will have general digital marketing content with the goal of reaching a large number of people. But you should also consider incorporating targeted marketing into your overall strategy. What is targeted marketing? Targeted marketing is a message or campaign that specifically appeals to individual demographics or preferences in an audience. The goal is to target a message to people who you have determined will be interested in that message and, ideally, will buy the product or service offered in it. Why should I use targeted marketing? You are more likely to see conversion rates increase when you use targeted marketing strategies. If you direct your messages about a specific product or service that appeals to a certain demographic and marketing it only to that audience, they are more likely to buy that product or service. This is as opposed to directing a general message to a general audience. You can still…
WordCamp recap – Voice Your Values
At WordCamp this year there was a lot of talk about ADA and SEO. I’ll talk about ADA in another recap soon. As for SEO, we have written articles recently, such as Content Marketing & SEO and How SEO Can Strengthen Your Digital Store Brand Identity. While you do need good SEO to drive traffic to your website, values are important too. Actually, in today’s world, it is kind of unique. Having core values to define your brand can make you stand out from your competition. In the WordCamp session, Voice Your Values, Andrea Garcia, Chief Mind Officer at mind+matter, says to let others know who you are and who you are not. Define your brand. Voice your values and you will connect with customers who are looking for the same values. That makes sense, right? When you hang out with friends, don’t you have the best time when you are with those who share the same values and the same interests? We at AWG manage social media pages for many of our members. One thing we must keep in…
What Should (and Shouldn’t) be on a landing page.
I’m flipping through my notes from WordCamp last week, looking for a session that could directly benefit our AWG retail members. This guy, Mat Casner, really drew a big crowd considering his session was next to last at 3:00 on a Saturday afternoon. Mat first caught my attention by asking the audience, “How many of you work for someone who would like more customers?” I raised my hand. After that I was pretty much glued to his every word, which I put in italics below. Customer Acquisition is a Constant Cycle Get Attention: They must be aware of your existence Convert Attention: They must like something of value you are offering Keep Attention: They must be willing to trust you enough to risk a financial investment in exchange for value The key to any business relationship is trust. It is our responsibility to reduce as many barriers as possible that are keeping your customers from trusting you. Here, I’d like to insert further focus on “barriers”. Your customers today rely on multiple mediums to get information. Gone are the days…
Trending Now: June
The heat of summer has finally arrived as the season of the sun is in full swing. People are finding refuge in the air conditioning and with cold treats and drinks. With the kids home for the summer, families are looking for activities for the kids, which can include fun in the kitchen. However, bringing multiple kids to the grocery store can be a daunting challenge and some families are looking for ecommerce as an easy solution. Here’s a look at what we saw trending in June: Special one-day or two-day deals on bottled water and other refreshing drinks were and still are a good way to get customers in the door. A retailer recently sent a text offer for Best Choice Bottled Water 24-packs and the redemption rates were around 20%. When a customer redeemed the water offer, their basket sizes increased by 50% at one store and 62% at the other. With the kids home for the summer, it’s also a perfect time to have some fun in the kitchen while teaching them cooking basics. On your social…
SMCKC Recap: The Art & Science of Storytelling
At this month’s SMCKC breakfast, Ben Putano from WeContent and Editor/Founder of Kansas City Spirit spoke about The Art & Science of Storytelling. His presentation captured the heart of making your customer the hero from a marketing perspective. Let’s recap the key points of the presentation. The Hero’s Journey Excellent storytelling combines art and science with a focus on the customer. Much like every Disney movie, the main character meets someone. Then issues occur preventing the main character from succeeding. But somehow the character makes it out of the situation. The main character returns home as a new person with a new outlook. This type of storytelling can be applied to your marketing story. According to Putano, the customer is always going to be the hero of your marketing story, not the brand. Understanding that key component allows you to draw attention towards the customer. For a practical example, highlight your customer’s favorite product as a spotlight in stores and on social media. This will push your customer to the forefront. Use your brand as a guide. Let your brand…
All in the Experience
You can’t be in retail these days without hearing about how consumers are migrating to experiences instead of things. As evidenced on a panel at the Retail Innovations Conference, a good place to start when thinking about this topic is to align expectations about what “experience” means. While Kasey Lobaugh of Deloitte showed data that consumers aren’t necessarily shifting spending from retail to travel and entertainment, panelist Doug Zarkin of Pearle Vision challenged that the shift might not be as apparent as money moving to different categories. Instead, Zarkin argued, customers are migrating toward brands that integrate experience into retail. The good news for grocery retailers is that grocery stores already have quite a bit of experience built in and generally, going to the grocery store is already an experience. Experience isn’t necessarily something considered with intention though, at least according to Tom Demetriou of Dimensional Innovations during his AMAKC presentation in April. He outlined six ideas that marketers can take into account while thinking through how to reach consumers looking for experiences. I took those ideas and translated them…
Stores Still Need In-Store Signage
In-store signage has been shown to sell more product and increase profits. Advertised items are sold at full-retail and result in an average lift of 30.8%. This proves that shelf-signage still has real stopping power with customers. Shoppers are looking for in store experiences and products that utilize shelf signage are engaging with the shoppers at the most crucial time. Surprisingly some studies have shown that anywhere from 50.8 to 67.7% of purchases are impulse. So, one of the best ways to trigger these purchases is to catch the consumers eye with shelf signage. In the complex store environment, brands must navigate shoppers down the aisle, into the category and to the shelf where they can close the sale. At 10 feet you need to attract the shopper, 5 feet engages and at 2 feet you need to sell the product. This is the sometimes referred to as the 10 – 5 – 2 rule. This strategies success can be attributed to 76% of all purchasing decisions being made in-store at the shelf. It’s not that shoppers don’t know what…