Grocer Pod is back at the VMC Show this month. First, Stan McClintock from FMS shares the results of their Independent Grocer Survey (1:55). Next, Chess Ag’s Dr. Shaye Lewis talked CBD (12:22). Then we had our second doctor, Dr. Aruna Weerasooriya from Texas AM Prairie View who shared his research on Food as Medicine (26:03). We learned about Scan Based Trading with Karen Sickle from Park City Group. If you want to learn more contact David Dunn. Finally, we were joined by Kelsey Bright from SPINS. Kelsey shared how members can monetize all the data they collect.
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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…
Episode 16
On this month’s show we are talking Shelf Stable Juice with Brian Adams (2:53). Followed by Melissa Davis discussing the new look Learning and Development department (8:36). Finally, Jessica Magnussen drops in to talk about the new price changes in DSG, and things members can do to bring down costs and grow sales at the same time (16:10)
Episode 15
This month is all about the Compete magazine. The latest issue dives into digital marketing. Sean sits down with three authors. First up is Lisa Nelson to talk about websites (4:43). Then Morgane Freeman gives a snap shot of Instagram (11:43). Finally, Kurt Kloeblen talks about the issue as a whole and gives five things retailers can do in the digital space (19:59).
Trending Now: April
Trends in April were dominated by holidays. Some are official, and some aren’t. Major League Baseball’s opening day may not officially be a holiday, but plenty of people treat it as such. Baseball’s grueling six month season can cause all by the most passionate fans to tune out, but everyone loves the romance of opening day. It is no surprise that ballpark and tailgate fare are popular at the start of April. Hot dogs, burgers, chips, Cracker Jack I don’t care if I ever get back, are all obvious things to push in early April, especially if your store is near a baseball stadium. Easter and Passover also fall in April. Expect shoppers to be stocking up for large family meals. Easter traditions vary. Some families opt for a brunch, while others go for the full meal. This means you need to promote a wide range of items. The one thing that most everyone will be looking for is eggs. Dying Easter eggs is obviously very popular year after year. Customers look to by larger quantities than usual. With that…
Episode 14
We are at the Innovation Showcase this month. The show was great. There was no way to talk to all the amazing vendors. We did talk to Melanie Greben from Conagra Brands about snacking (:54), Pat Hughes from eGrowcery on how to optimize your labor force for online shopping (5:34), Steve Mehmert from T4 Solutions about e-commerce delivery solutions. Finally, we talked to one of the main speakers at the show, Jason Dorsey (26:38). Jason studies generational differences, and how retailers can harness those differences both in terms of sales and workforce management. Apologies for the sound issue on the conversation with Jason, but the information was too good to leave out.
2019 Innovation Showcase Preview
The Innovation Showcase is March 25-27 at the Overland Park Convention Center in Overland Park, KS. Sean sits down with Kurt Kloeblen to preview the show. Visit awgshowcase.com for more information and to download the app.
Art & Soul KC – SMCKC Recap
It might not be obvious how an art museum’s quest to raise more money applies to grocery world, I can assure you that I attended SMCKC’s February breakfast for more than just bacon. Angela Pritchett, digital marketer at The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, how they increased their membership by changing what they promoted. Instead of focusing on member perks, Prichett began emphasizing why people are members and highlighting the shared community. They saw a spike in membership when they stopped talking about free parking and started detailing how many school children would get to visit the museum because of each donation. Each member knew the impact their money was making. One of my goals for the year is to increase contact numbers for email clients. I plan on taking a strategy from Pritchett and her team. They used a “manifesto” to tell potential members what the goals of the museum were, and how they would be helping as members. Now obviously signing up for emails is much lower stakes than giving money to a museum. However, I think some of…
Grocer Pod – Episode 13
Grocer Pod is back at the VMC show. This episode was recorded on the show floor so there is some background noise. It makes you feel like you were there. First up is David Krueger National Sales Manager for Design Greetings (1:03). David talked about what members can do to improve center store sales. Jan Sokal, from GOT Systems, tells how they can help members with their ordering processes (6:34). Then Natural Native’s Ron Cunningham discusses the hot new trend, CBD (15:51). Finally, Jason Forrester gives another update on StoreFront and how members can use it more effectively (23:54).
KCDMA Symposium 2019 Recap
In January, KCDMA held their annual symposium. It was was a day packed with presenters from disparate industries, but with similar messages. Connecting with your audience through storytelling was a common thread through all the presentations. “People are too smart for ads,” Dennis Yu, from Blitz Metrics, said, “so it is time for marketers to try something else.” Yu also showed examples how things that stand out have a higher authority. AWG members should think about topics which they have authority. Is there an in-house butcher? Some stores specialize in flowers or catering. Focus marketing on the things that sets a store apart from competitors. Maybe a store is involved in the community –- highlight that. Building on this idea, Yu suggests targeting other authorities instead of fans. Yu described a tech client who targeted Facebook ads to employees of tech publications instead of their customers. Doing so caused the ad to be shared much more widely. This means if the floral department is the main attraction, try and interact with big name florists. Customers will take seriously recommendations of…