Engaging Hispanic Shoppers

When it comes to reaching out to customers in your area, it can be easy to forget they don’t all fit the same mold. Some shoppers think different then others, expect different shopping experiences, and even speak a different language. U.S. Hispanic shoppers, for instance, are a group that is shopping at a much higher rate than other shoppers, and they enjoy very different shopping and dining experiences as well. It’s important to consider the needs of these shoppers in both your in-store marketing, as well as your digital strategies. Here’s how their experience differs, and how your engagement efforts can be even more inclusive!   In-Store U.S. Hispanic shoppers differ greatly in comparison to total shoppers in the country. They spend 30 dollars more on average, are 18 percent more likely to sit down and eat a meal with their family, and nearly always shop with another person. There are a variety of ways to make their shopping experience more enjoyable through in-store strategies. The numbers above show family mealtime is a priority to these customers, given their propensity…

InCody

Taking your Loyalty on the Go

Loyalty programs are one of the best, most reliable and efficient ways to keep customers coming back. But ironically, the key to a making your loyalty program work even better might be to avoid being too loyal to it’s original format. Trends suggest the days of filling out a form and scanning a loyalty card may be over. As is the case with almost everything these days, people want it on their phones.   Customers have grown tired of keeping track of multiple loyalty cards and receiving rewards through a multitude of platforms. The best solution to that problem is to simply keep them all in one place: on your phone. By simply signing customers up through their phone number or having an app for them to download, the efficiency of their shopping trip and check out will greatly improve. Apps can allow customers to keep track of their loyalty bonuses as well as receive special notifications when they are in the store, via the iBeacon.   Mobile marketing usage is finally making the evolution from an often talked about…

The Local Trend

Food trends come and go, but one seems to be in it for the long haul: local products. A survey from the National Restaurant Association last year found that local food trends are dominating the market, with three of the top five trends related to local products. This isn’t a new development; however, the trend has been steadily growing for quite some time and 75 percent of Americans say eating local foods is the norm. The sustainability of the trend is evident through the number of farmer’s markets popping up in the last twenty years: from 1992 to 2014, the number has risen 350 percent, from 1.755 to 8.144. Clearly the demand for local products is growing, but is it worth carrying these products in your store? Recent research says, “YES,” and there are a multitude of reasons to carry and emphasize more locally resourced products in your stores. If you carry it, they will buy it. Consumers will buy local products if you put them on the shelves. From 1992 to 2008, direct-to-consumer food sales increased from $404 million…

What You Need to Know About SEO

When it comes to digital marketing, arguably the most important aspect is your search engine optimization (SEO). In a nutshell, SEO is how easily can customers find your website on a search engine like Google? Think about it in real world terms. If your store did not have an address, was not listed in the Yellow Book and had no signage, would you get any sort of attention?  A recent study found that SEO is the best source of traffic for food brands, with 56 percent of website traffic being generated by search engines. If that’s not eye-catching enough, other sources like direct traffic, referral and social media combined to account for only 43 percent. Optimizing your website for search engines is a simple way to get your brand out in the open for anyone to see and a great source for online traffic, and applying some simple fixes can be a gamer-changer. How it works The mechanics of a search engine may seem daunting at first, but they are actually fairly simple. In essence, a search engine like Google…

More on Millennials

As Bryan covered in his most recent blog post, millennials are vital when it comes to advertising your products, and it’s smart for your marketing strategy to reflect that. Their spending power is consistently growing and they continue to outpace the baby-boomers in terms of population. But not only are millennials a large group of big-spending consumers, they are a prophet of sorts. Their shopping tendencies seem to turn into trends for consumers on a broader scale. To ignore their influence and inclinations is to bury your head in the sand, so here are a couple millennial trends to keep in mind as you try to appeal to this ever-demanding generation.   Millennials eat healthy If you’re trying to see if your store is “millennial friendly,” look straight to the nutrition label. According to Nielsen, 70 percent of millennials are turning to retailers that specialize in healthy, natural foods. Some retailers are hesitant to carry these products in their store based on price. Why carry expensive products if no one is going to buy it? But millennial spending habits don’t…

Shoring Up your Weekly Circulars

Weekly circulars are a staple of the grocery industry, but like every other aspect of marketing, if you fail to keep up with new trends you risk being left behind. New research shows consumers are much more likely to respond positively to localized and personalized deals they can access from multiple platforms. Shoring up these two aspects of your circulars is a must in order to create effective ads.   Digital circulars are one of the most important tools for both consumers and retailers, with 82 percent of shoppers checking out the ads before they go shopping. Circulars are the most important ad in terms of influence as well, with about 30 percent of consumers saying they are more likely to be convinced by one more than any other type of ad. Your ads clearly play a large role in shopping habits, and if your circular fails to meet shopper’s requirements they can easily move on to the next ad that does.   The most important portion of the circular is a simple one: content. A study by G/O Digital…

Three Ways to Improve Your Conversion Rate

Whether it’s signing up for emails, joining an e-club or even encouraging customers to contact you about a problem, your website is asking them to do something. One sure-fire way to measure the success of your call-to-action is with your conversion numbers, something I explained how to interpret your conversion rates on my previous post on the best three Google Analytics metrics to use.  An average conversion rate is typically between three and five percent, but if you are looking to go beyond that number here are a few small tips that could have big returns. Have the Right Headline Think of your headline as the appetizer of your restaurant. You want your customer to continue on for the full meal, you have to satisfy them with this small sample of what’s to come. In the same vein, to improve your conversion rate you need visitors to stay on your page for the prerequisite amount of time, and having a good, attention-grabbing headline at the top of your page is the way to do that. You don’t have much time…

iBeacon, You Beacon, We all Beacon.

As I covered in my most recent post, in-store apps can be beneficial to customers and stores alike, given the integration of mobile devices in shopping. More specifically, iBeacon technology is a new program from Apple that can really pay dividends. The new technology allows small transmitting devices in the store to locate iOS users, given they have your app and agreed to privacy terms, and alert them of deals specific to where they are. The range in which transmitters (which are about the size of a USB drive) notify customers can be customized up to about fifty meters as well, so notifications can be sent when users are in the vicinity of the store. Think of iBeacon like a GPS for your store, but instead of notifying you when to turn on what road, it tells you what bread is on sale. There have been many success stories to come out of iBeacon’s short existence. As noted in my previous blog, County Market implemented its myCountyMarket iBeacon app across 45 stores last month, with 3,000 customers downloading the app…

cell phone in someone's hand

Mobile Devices in Marketing

Pick any customer in your store at random. Chances are, if they have opposable thumbs and are breathing, they have a smartphone. In fact, 80 percent of all Internet users own a smartphone, and if you’re not making this trend beneficial to your store, you’re almost certainly hurting business. For instance, Ashu Garg, a partner at Foundation Capital, told VentureBeat.com an anecdote that underlines how mobile devices can negatively affect your store. According to Garg, chewing gum sales were down 20-25 percent, not because shoppers didn’t want gum, but because the time they would normally buy it (waiting in the checkout aisle) was now occupied by smartphone usage. Your store is probably not going to beat-out your customer’s phone for their affection, so the solution to this problem is simple: If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. Create an in-store app. In-Store Apps If we’re assuming your customers own a smartphone, we can conclude they are almost certainly spending a large chunk of their time using them. Consumers spend about 30 hours a month on their smartphones, and 80 percent…

The Importance of Internet Coupons

Coupons make people happy, and that’s an empirical fact. A study from a professor of neuroeconomics at Claremont Graduate University found that receiving a simple 10-dollar coupon raised customers’ oxytocin levels (a hormone directly related to happiness) 38 percent. That number isn’t typically raised that high, even by a kiss. It’s plain and simple: consumers want your coupons. But what’s the best way to give them access? In 2013, 66 million digital coupons were redeemed. The most popular searched coupons were groceries at a 53 percent share of the market, so when it comes to making your customers happy, improving your bottom-line and expanding your online presence, digital is clearly the way to go. Good for them. Good for you. We’ve established that coupons are good for the customer, but what about the business? In addition to bringing in new shoppers and creating brand loyalty, Internet coupons are simply cost effective. Compared to printing and distributing physical copies, a simple email or social media post could bring in even more customers at a fraction of the cost: 96 percent of…