Entertaining shoppers, is that my job now?   Well, the shopping experience is becoming a little bit like show business.   In a visit to Kishman’s IGA in Minerva Ohio a couple of weeks ago, an end cap dedicated to the Wounded Warrior project at got my attention, then another end cap with the local high school colors, all tying together products that made me want to buy.   Was it singing and dancing?  No, but it engaged and entertained me in a unique way.   There was a ringmaster there, his name is Tom Kishman with a greeting, an offer to help and a suggestions for every shopper.

These things make shoppers advocates, not just customers.

In Kevin Coupe’s MNB article today, the comment that “not recognizing that drawing a spending crowd is as much about entertaining shoppers as it is about selling compelling merchandise” is what is giving large retailers heartburn as price and item is marginalized

“What’s causing the mass extermination of big-box retailers is that they’re big-box retailers, with all the drawbacks and vulnerabilities thereof.  These drawbacks and vulnerabilities include (1) poor in-store service, (2) not being price-competitive with the Web, and (3) not recognizing that drawing a spending crowd is as much about entertaining shoppers as it is about selling compelling merchandise … Oh, sure, it worked until a few years ago because to buy something, you essentially had to go to a retail locale.  That made retailers arrogant, thinking it was their special skill, quality of sales training, or knowledge of the customer that drew a crowd.

Weis Markets has unveiled a Gold Card for their best shoppers.  Although Weis has had their loyalty card in place for many years, this new level issues personalized offers to the top 20% of shoppers.  The effect should be for these shoppers to feel they are a “cut above” without treating other shoppers as second class since the offers are blind to the remaining 80%.

What works about this? These targeted offers will not be “cherry-picked” by patrons who only come into the store for specials.

Are all shoppers created equal?  Absolutely not!  The future of this industry depends on controlling markdowns and increasing profit.

That being said, every shopper should have offers targeted directly to them for better yield and a personalized shopping experience – not the same offer, but specific and valuable to that particular shopper.

You’ve thought about creating a Twitter account but decided one or more of the following:

• You’ve got no one to manage it
• Your shoppers aren’t the type of people to use it
• You just don’t know how to use it effectively

While you might be wrong about that, here’s an idea: have someone else who’s already established a Twitter presence tweet about you.

Look at local organizations like libraries and museums, then donate a percentage of purchases on a specific day or target an item. This is an effective way to use Twitter without having your own account, but you could also use offers like this to drive traffic to a new or existing Twitter account by having your Twitter account mentioned in the tweet about the offer.

Have you ever done an offer like this? Tell us your story in the comments. 

Creating wow with our shoppers builds relationships that go beyond buyer-seller.  It’s the opportunity to connect with much greater intimacy. Michael Sanslo wrote an article explaining how Zappos sent an email reminding his wife about a great pair of shoes that she purchased exactly one year earlier. Further, they said that she could get another pair of the exact same shoes in the same size.

What does that mean for grocery? Make Meals Memorable. Remind shoppers that they enjoyed your Black Angus Steaks last summer and send them an offer for another Memorable Meal.  You can use the MBR Shopper Insight Dashboard to Make Meals Memorable and enhance your customer relationships.

“I love this flyer I picked up at Palmers Market” touting the 3/50 project ad.  It is a simple message about supporting local business.  It’s not talk, but an Action Plan.  Palmers used this to promote their Noroton Heights Merchants Association.  It is a great way to present the message.

The message is simple: Pick 3 independently owned businesses that you would miss if they were gone. Spend $50 per month in independently owned businesses

The sign goes on to say “For every $100 spent in independently owned stores, $68 returns to the community….if you spend that at a national chain only $43…Spend it online and nothing comes home.”

Buy local with a new twist.  I love it!

It might be a cheesy analogy but like Annisa’s letter to the tooth fairy, sometimes we must experience loss in order to make a dollar. With food prices going up in an already low-margin sales environment, grocers compete for every one of those dollars. That’s why retailers play the game of giving stuff away or pinching out the profit on certain products, because we want those customers who will, like the tooth fairy, pay us a visit and leave behind a profit.

LaBonne’s summer savings program is a strategic attempt at tracking down their “Tooth Fairy Customers”. By identifying the big spending and high margin shoppers they have been able to create a strategic price reductions and give-aways, cutting out the cherry pickers for maximum ROI. (see images below)

Tracking down your tooth fairy customers is now more of a science than a childlike wish. Communicating with them is also not a problem with an effective loyalty program that offers a diversified mix of messaging channels. These elements work in synergy with each other with MBR’s loyalty platform and retailer-friendly support services.

This little square may surprise you! If you haven’t used a QR code yet, let us introduce you to the next “big thing” in retail marketing. Short for “Quick Response”, the QR code has ascended to a place of growing popularity in a relatively short period of time. Scanning of QR codes increased an incredible 1200% from July to December of 2010 according to figures from Mobio.

These codes created a buzz among marketing experts after being used in some high profile marketing promotions. It is essentially a two-dimensional (2D) matrix barcode that can hold a lot more information than a traditional barcode.

Users can scan a QR code using a camera-emabled smartphone and be linked directly to a web page or other content such as email, IM or SMS. That way, when customers see something advertized and want them to find out more, sign up, enter a contest, view a video, tell a friend, etc, a QR code can be used to make this happen more efficiently.

MBR is adding QR codes to our client’s shopper keytags. This allows us to help you engage shoppers with targeted offers using their mobile phone from inside your store. Call us to discuss how to use QR codes to build sales in your stores!

I always love looking at lists of then versus now.  Josh Linkner’s current post highlights some of the paradigm shifts we are seeing in our business culture. Check it out HERE.

The one that stuck out to me the most:  Then MBA, Now MFA.  For you business types, MFA stands for Masters in Fine Arts.  Yes, the creative ones, the artists, musicians, and performers are bringing skill sets that help you compete and make your business stand out!  For someone who can’t draw a stick figure, I am glad at least my mother insisted on music lessons.  We are blessed with many members of the MBR team who have “arts” skills.  How about your team?

Progressive Grocer posted this article outlining some preferences of “Millennials”(born between mid 1970s to early 2000s) . This generation is accustomed to affluence, inclined toward unique/exotic foods, enjoys cooking and appreciates retailers who can customize their experience based on their habits through loyalty programs and social media engagement.

Check it out here: http://www.pgstorebrands.com/top-story-mind_the_millennials-1059.html

The next generation of shoppers buys differently than their predecessors. They are looking for more relevant information from a wider variety of channels. There is a lot of potential to make money with Millennials but it will take strategy to marry your in-store efforts with the right shopper tools. MBR is poised to help your stores obtain the data necessary to implement Millennial-friendly marketing for increased sales.

How many times in a month do you get requests for donations of food or money from a local non-profit organization? These days it can be more than ever! The unfortunate fact is that many, although supporting valid charities, are often requested by people who shop your competition.

Retailers curb this practice by implementing a receipt turn-in program. It is often an administrative drain to manually count hundreds of receipt totals and deal with shopper and charity communications.

The MBR platform cuts out the donation request confusion by letting you know the value of the shopper making the request, signing up shoppers who want to participate, creating an online interface for charities to view their credit status with you on-demand, and easily integrating the rules and perimeters for your donation policy to ensure YOUR shoppers support your donations.

A well-run community donations program can introduce new shoppers to your store. By tying that to your loyalty program to your donations program you have the ability to MEASURE the increase and integrate those shoppers into your marketing strategy. Without data you are missing out on the opportunity to maximize your giving and connect with a shopper base that is yours for the taking.