Unless you have been living under a rock, you have heard that AWG launched StoreFront recently. AWG members are wondering what this means for them. Stacey Bowen and Linda Cosgrove join the show to talk about StoreFront and how it will help members (1:37). September also marked the release of the new Compete magazine. Dave McKelvey and I discuss the Not For Resale program that is featured in the issue and how much money members can save by participating (12:21).
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emfluence And Then Some 2018 Recap
I attended the And Then Some conference hosted by emfluence on August 24. It was a day full of ways to improve your email marketing. After the conference they sent a list of “10 things to do post-conference.” Not only is this a great example of email marketing, but it makes my job recapping the conference easier, so I really appreciated it. #1 GDPR – The GDPR deadline came and went a couple months ago. The biggest thing that has come from it so far is that no one was truly prepared for the requirements. No more checking permission boxes automatically. Tell people exactly what information you will be collecting from them. Don’t collect more information than you need. If you can make these changes right away that will help a lot. These regulations are coming to the US, so it would be smart to get ahead of it. #2 Post-Sale Series – If you make a sale, add a new subscriber, or anything similar add that address to a workflow to send them a series of emails explaining…
Episode 9
We are back on the road at the VMC Show in Kansas City this month. If you weren’t there we did our best to recap some of what you missed. Linda Cosgrove breaks down StoreFront (1:26). Then Brian Stanley talks Cough & Cold and trends in US healthcare (10:46). Kevin Cleary tells us how to win with vitamins (19:40). Kimberly Dressler adds to the vitamin conversation (27:08). Ralph Koscheka brings another perspective on Cold & Flu (33:10). Mary McCaul discusses trends in oral care (39:13). Finally, Maurice Henry explains the Supermarket Lifecycle (45:32).
Episode 8
On this month’s Grocer Pod Sean talks with Jessica Magnussen (1:51) about all things design related. Then Reade Sievert (12:23) comes by to talk produce, and what retailers need to do to maximize the summer selling season. Finally, Anna Mancini and Jeni Ganzman (23:38) are here to preview the VMC show. They have everything you need to know before heading to Kansas City August 7-9. Download the shows app on iOS and Android.
Grocer Pod – Episode 7
After a short break we are back with a new name – Grocer Pod. The name may be new, but our mission is the same. This month we are talking email with David Cacioppo from emfluence (3:25). Then Marie Lewis stops by to talk food safety (14:16). Finally, Nicholas Segura and Ruby Montoya from Segura Marketing join me to discuss marketing to the Hispanic community (24:50).
Subject Lines, Like Headlines, Are The Only Thing You Read
I attended the Digital Summit – Kansas City on May 16-17. Over two days I was able to see presentation on everything from podcasts to SEO from a variety of industry experts. The highlight for me was a four hour workshop on email. Honestly, I could write 10 blog posts about what I learned from Michael Barber. Perhaps I will in the future. Today we focus on subject lines. I hate to break it to you, but most people aren’t opening your emails. That means the subject line is often the only part of your campaign that anyone reads. They can quite literally make or break an email marketing campaign. How much thought are you putting into subject lines? We all know that the audience is busy and needs a reason to open your email. Should you include prices? For a long time we thought prices were a one way ticket the spam folder. Not only is that not true anymore, but having a price in the subject line increases click-through-rates by 246 percent. “Worth” and “deal” increase 134 and…
Blog Post Ideas
I know some of my team members don’t love writing blog posts. Last week at our monthly meeting I suggested that there are other options besides writing. Later in the week I attended Word Camp KC 2018. I saw two slides that you may find useful. The first was posted by Nile Flores. It’s a list of post ideas. Later in the conference, I saw Angie Pedersen talking about editorial calendars. She did have a link to 100 blog post ideas by Chris Brogan. Here are some excerpts from that list: How What I Do Helps You Grow Your Business Get More From Your (Whatever Product/Service You Offer) How We Start an Engagement With You (onramping process) Build Your Own (Business or Project) With Our Help Meet Our Customer of the Week(Month) Learn How to ____ With ___ (customer you love) Stretch Your Budget By (something to do with your product) Industry Insights That Could Impact Your Business Need to Reach Us? Here are Many Great Ways to Connect Set Aside 20 Minutes Each Day to Do This What We…
Winning clients through empathy
I’m no salesman. To be honest, I’m not really sure why I chose Scott Schaper’s presentation at Word Camp KC 2018. I am very happy I chose that room. A lot of what Schaper said resonated with me. “The best clients,” Schaper said, “are not sensitive to price if you are empathetic to their needs.” Retailers all think our marketing services are too expensive. They don’t see why it costs so much for email or to set up a Facebook account. No list of feature will convince them. Instead, when a retailer says “That’s expensive” say “Yes. It is expensive. I know choosing how to spend limited resources is a big choice, but here is how I can help.” We need to frame everything in how we can help the retailers. We aren’t selling we are solving. We aren’t vendors we are partners. Vendors sell stuff. Partners solve problems. Vendors produce expenses. Partners produce value. In 2017 the average net profit for an independent grocery store was .09 percent. We know our retailers are working on razor thin margins causing…
Explainer Videos Explained
At Word Camp KC 2018 I attended a session by Shane Purnell on explainer videos. The name really says it all. Explainer videos can be used for training, marketing, or education. Sometimes they are animated. Sometimes they are just a recording of a computer screen. You can include narration or simply have text. A music bed sets the tone and provides interest. You don’t need to be an animation professional to create a quality product. There are many sites out there with templates that make the process fast and easy. I made the video above in about 15 minutes. I think with a little creativity we could use them to make some standout content for our social accounts. There is a downside. Since I used the free version the video includes a watermark. The plans are kind of expensive, the cheapest I found was $20/month and the price goes up quickly from there. I think we would be hard pressed to get value for that price. View all of Shane’s slides here and you can find lists of sites to…
Grocer Pod – Episode 6
I was able to to sit down with many great people Tuesday, March 26 at the AWG Innovation Showcase for the latest episode of AWP. We covered a wide range of topics. See below for contact info for each guest. Eric Qualman (0:37) – Digital Leadership Polly Schau, Wells Enterprises (8:05) – Ice Cream Doug Baker, FMI (11:37) – Smart Label Chad Fowles, Unilever (16:44) – Frozen Novelty and Personal Care Pat Hughes, eGrowcery (23:33) – Online Shopping Jim Lukens, MSC (31:15) – Digital marketing with Media Solutions Larry Elias, Retail Profit Solutions (43:37) – Labor Management Mike Kienzlen, WheresMyShrink.com (49:41) – Shrink