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There are several write ups about Amazon acquisition of Whole Food Markets with everyone attempting to clearly state their own opinion. This is seen from different sectors including pundit specification from industries which is channeled towards an unavoidable disruption of the grocery industry. This is with the primary aim of having an analysis of the Whole Foods price reductions. Joining the choir was my own way of offering my opinion and observation from an industry ecosystem participant perspective. Whole Foods StoresOver the years, there have been a scale up in the traffic seen with Whole Foods stores. This was noticed only after the acquisition as well as lower pricing of some selected items. However, vendors, distributors and brokers have sent no reports showing that they are dissatisfied with the internal operational changes. Complaints about the availability and quality of organic produce on the store shelves are becoming quite disturbing and these complaints are received mainly from the Whole Foods shoppers. Whole Foods Management There is currently no evidence to indicate a positive change from the perspectives of shoppers or the grocery ecosystem. There are only indications to show that a hands off approach to Whole Foods management was adopted by Amazon as they continue with the implementation of operational initiatives even before acquisition takes place. Grocery RetailersMajor grocery retailers are already announcing their significant investments into technology. This is with the aim of combating Amazon’s scour for food to their territory. The likes of Kroger have already started to court smaller, regional product brands threatened by Whole Foods abandonment. This may be a good development for nonindustrial food manufacturers, when and if it materializes.
Analysis you would find are only focused on the impact of the Whole Foods changes on publicly traded companies. There are only few write ups about how the food brokers, independent groceries, demo agencies, small batch product manufacturers and merchandisers are affected by the changes. In fact, there are only evidence to show that there is lower foot traffic as well brand promotional activities on the store floors of the aforementioned. However, many grocers we spoke to are in denial that a small grocery eco-system will be materially affected. And that is a mistake. Thanks to Jeff Bezos's relentless focus on the quality of customer experience, i.e. long term sustainability of Amazon business, everyone assumes that the acquisition will produce some magical result and force a major change in how we buy our food. So far this "earthquake" is yet to produce a tsunami of change. Amazon does not always succeed, but it succeeds most of the time. Change now. Before you have to. The small and independent grocers can obviously not compete with bigger technological investments, rather they can mobilize partners within their ecosystem to provide a better and more personal experience to their shoppers. This should be their prime focus because Whole Foods sidelines their trade partners who helped them to become successful, independent grocers could use this opportunity to forge closer alliances to provide more engaging shopping experience in their stores.
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In recent years, retail has evolved into a business where proficiency, versatility and creativity are all needed to become very successful. Brands no longer market products just to make profit alone. You might be wondering where I am going with this, but humor me a bit. Brands now strive to appeal to the customers emotions. They want them to feel attached to the brand or product or even the store. This spurs the people to get the product at any cost. There are various techniques through which brands make this happen and one of those strategies is a successful in store demo. The best way to get to your audience is by capturing their attention and what better way to go about that than giving the people a feel of your amazing product. In store demos are ways brands and retailers engage with the shoppers directly, fostering human connection that will help them in experiencing the product. You may wonder whether in store sampling are necessary for all stores - well, they are, especially if the area of specialization is very competitive like food products in grocery stores and supermarkets. These demonstrations are cheap investments in making sure you stand out among the rest. We can say to an extent that your performance as a grocery store lies in the success or failure of your marketing strategy. Thankfully, positivity is one of the tenets of retail and that's why we'll look at the essentials of having a memorable in store demo. PROMOTE PRODUCTS ON THE STORE FLOORThis is an essential tip for you to have a successful marketing strategy. However, this depends on the effectiveness of such promotion techniques - Let me explain. You are not just going to attack the customer or force him or her to try the product. NO! People like it when you approach them calmly and speak confidently about the product. Most likely, they might have heard of similar products but your job is to give them a feel of that they have never heard before. This will give them the impetus to want to try the product. Furthermore, successful in store demo programs are done with care and precision. They are well planned and coordinated because in the end it is your reputation and revenue that is at stake. You would not want to see one of your customers going to another store to get the product elsewhere. Brands promote products on the store floor because of the lower customer acquisition costs which is preferable to the conventional or digital advertising. THE BEST BRAND AMBASSADOR It is important to have an experienced brand ambassador in your corner as he or she is a major stakeholder when it comes to in store sampling. In addition to recruiting a certified influencer, you will need to find a profitable location where you know your products are going to thrive; a place where traffic is just right for you and your store. Let's look at these two extremes to get a clearer picture of why location is important to you and the brand ambassador. If your store is situated in a place with low traffic not even the best and most creative packaging will save the product demonstration there. On the other hand, if there is too much traffic, your brand ambassador might be swamped and end up giving out too many samples that do not turn into sales. Double bummer if you ask me. In essence, find your product niche and settle there. SUCCESSFUL IN STORE DEMO There are a lot of intricacies when planning for a successful in store demo. You have to be able to combine these steps to get positive results. First of all, you need to consider the shoppers demographics of the store. Make adequate research on the type of people that come into the store on a regular basis, know the age range, sex, religion, background of some of these people. In store sampling will be easier this way. You then have an idea of how to plan for subsequent demos with the information you already have. Plan a frequency with which you can schedule a series of demos in that store. You already have an edge with the information gathered from the research. What some smart brands do is to invest in a small number of stores instead of wasting money on many stores in a bid to cover the whole market. LATEST RESEARCH TO MEASURE DEMO PROGRAM EFFECTIVENESS All that has been said are all key elements in achieving a successful in store marketing strategy. However, without understanding how to measure the effectiveness of the program, you might get stuck. Let's look at some metrics that are apt in measuring in store demo effectiveness. Traffic management: This explains the percentage of shoppers who stop to taste the product in the store. Product engagement: It represents the amount of time the shopper spends at the demo table, which may include interacting during the product demonstration Conversion rate: This is more like a combination of the previous metrics. It is the percentage of shoppers who tasted the product and went on to make a purchase. NPS ( Net Promoter Score): It is a management tool used to gauge the loyalty of shoppers or customers relationships. Conclusively, There are a few other tips that were not examined but are also essential for a successful in store demo. You need to come early for the setup preferably at least 30 minutes to meet with the demo coordinator . Also, have every employee or majority of the employees in the store try your product. This will help in promoting the product even more. Another tip is to bring flavors the store doesn't have. It is very important to note that an in store demo program cannot happen without a quality product. Hence, before you think about all the elaborate marketing strategies to captivate the people, you need to make sure that you have the right product. Bearing that in mind, you need to understand that times have changed, customers have evolved and you need to join the wagon in improving your product and profit making strategies. FAQ HOW DO YOU CHOOSE A BRAND AMBASSADOR? Some brand activation managers find it hard to get a quality brand ambassador for their product as this is a very crucial aspect of their business. Firstly, recruit a professional. Someone that is experienced and reliable; who would invest time in learning about your product. Secondly, take out some time to train the ambassador, provide him or her with the primary source of information about the product. Another point is to select an ambassador with the relevant personality, someone who can stand by his or her word. Finally, maintain strong relationships with the person, get to know each other and take it up from there. HOW DO YOU PROMOTE A PRODUCT TO A CUSTOMER? You can ask the employees of the store to try out the product. Surely, they will get employee discount but understand that this will work in your favor. The employees of the store will have better rapport with the customers and no matter how much research you do, the employees will know them better. Also, during product demonstration, you have to give the customers facts, especially things they haven't heard about. It is a good way of promoting a product to the customers.
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