Posts Tagged “Retail”
There was an article earlier this week titled, “Why Amazon Needs Stores“. In summary, the article states that Amazon needs a distribution channel for brand experiences as opposed to simply products. I would agree with the statement for many products. The best example I can think of are outdoor retailers, which have made their stores destinations packed with activities that allow consumers to test out products. REI and Cabelas are great examples.
 Inside of REI Denver with the climbing wall So, what’s Amazon’s brand experience at retail? Most likely its Kindle product, which the article states and I agree. Apple has done a great job with its stores in creating a great brand experience and I think Amazon is moving in the same direction.
But what about other products, like food and consumables, which is where I do most of my work? How can a manufacturer or brand create a brand experience for these products at retail to help motivate sales? Its stretching it to say that food brands can create a retail experience on a level equal to outdoor or electronics products. However, here’s a few ways to think about how to maximize brand experience at retail:
1. Packaging: stand out and differentiate to grab the customer’s eye, either with colors, size or packaging format (i.e.: glass jar vs. carton vs. plastic);
2. Messaging and Call to Action (CTA): have compelling messaging on packaging to interest consumers; include CTA’s that drive them to use their phones right there in the aisle to visit the brand’s mobile enabled webpage to learn more about the product or receive valuable offers;
2. In-store signage: take advantage of any cost-effective opportunity to grab attention via shelf tags, posters, etc;
3. Multiple in-store locations: where can the product be sold? In the aisle, on an end-cap or stand-alone display?
4. Store-prepared foods: sell the product to the retailer who can use it in its own store-prepared foods or when it teaches cooking classes;
5. Sampling: I rarely recommend sampling because it is very expensive, but it can be very effective;
6. Advertise in store circulars: try ads in store circulars or other store-sponsored advertising mechanisms.
So, depending on the product, there could be many ways to really maximize a consumer’s experience with it in stores.
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Posted by Ed in Business, Health, Weather, tags: avalanche, Carbohydrates, category, Costco, CPG, dog sledding, Endorse, Food, Retail, Snow, supermarket, Trader Joe's
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Retail/CPG (Consumer Packaged Goods)
Training (run, ride, hike, alpine-telemark-XC ski, shooting, weightlifting, rock climb)/Outdoors/Health/Food/Weather/GPS
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I met with a small CPG food start-up recently and the discussion focused on the company’s growth strategy. Only 6 months old, the start-up is generating online sales and is looking to retail distribution, which is the primary reason why I was there. It is entering a crowded and competitive category for its product (what food category isn’t crowded with competitors these days?), and needs help in figuring out how to hit retail with a line or two of products that provide compelling features and benefits and which afford the company some competitive advantages.
 A great place to hike/ride: South Valley Park. Lon/Lat: 39.55732,-105.14467 While nothing was decided in the meeting, I think I may have convinced the company to not go the consumer route, which also means they won’t be hiring me, since my focus is more in consumer products and brands. Here’s why:
1. What’s important to the company owners? The founders/owners place a high priority in sourcing their raw materials from farmers that have sustainable environmental and labor practices. This is so important that one of the founders spends 6 month a year traveling overseas to develop sourcing relationships with farmers and their communities.
2. What value is the company creating? The company has spent generous time and resources cultivating its supply chain. Most small consumer companies focus more on the consumer brand by carefully developing the features, benefits and competitive advantages of the products. They go to suppliers who have the systems, processes and expertise to source the raw materials from farms. The raw materials purchased by this company include unique crop varieties not found anywhere else, which they can further blend to create distinct flavors.
3. Where can this value be most profitable to the company? To answer this question, its critical to understand where the industry is going. In this case, the industry that this company operates may be moving in the direction that coffee and tea have already been. In the last few decades, these industries have seen a proliferation of demand for blends and flavors that are further differentiated by where they are geographically sourced. As a result, the industries have fragmented with many competitors, large and small, fighting for the consumer’s mindshare.
In the final analysis, the company may be better off becoming a raw materials suppliers to other brands, wholesales and institutional buyers and take a pass on directly developing a consumer brand and products. It appears that they may have developed some competitive advantages with their ability to source raw materials that have unique flavor characteristics not found anywhere else in the world. With this advantage, why not sell to other brands and let them duke it out in the marketplace for a share of the consumer’s wallet. For a small CPG start-up, it is difficult enough just focusing on developing the consumer brand and retail products. Trying to also develop and own the supply chain and manufacturing spreads management too thin and requires far more investment that may not yield the ROI.
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Two links came across my Twitter stream earlier in the week that are worth posting about:
The first link shows the most important data sources for help in purchasing decisions. A swtich occurred from 2010 to 2011, with customer reviews on retailer sites and online professional reviews moving up, while all other sources moved down. The lesson here, which I’ve been advocating for awhile, is that CPG companies need to have positive product reviews of their products at online retail websites, especially Amazon.
The second link summarizes a study that shows consumers’ usage of brand websites positively affects their purchase of the CPG brand’s product in retail stores. The study says that the website features most important to influencing in-store spend are persuasive reasons to buy the brand, fresh content and content that engages people to participate. So, its not just a website, but one that effectively communicates the features and benefits of a company and its products and stays top of mind with the consumer, either with new content or with different ways to engage the customer.
The problem I see from some small CPG companies that I come across is that they don’t effectively engage online like they should. They stick up a website and then don’t do much of anything else with it and also don’t do much online at other sites (i.e;: social networks, Amazon reviews, etc).
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Posted by Ed in Business, Training, tags: aAmazon, avalanche, Branding, candy, coupons, crowdsource, electronic cigarette, Pacific Natural Foods, QR codes, Retail, Square
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- Nice little case study here on how someone started an online subscription service shipping Japanese candy: ow.ly/8vIQl
- Great way for @garyvee to use subscriber base to crowdsource suggestions for start-up. A few good ideas/feedback. ow.ly/8vJ4r
Retail/CPG (Consumer Packaged Goods)
Training (run, ride, hike, alpine-telemark-XC ski, shooting, weightlifting, rock climb)/Outdoors/Health/Food/Weather/GPS
- High avalanche danger in all Colorado mtns but South San Juans:ow.ly/8C3o9 In backcountry? Be careful! (Inbounds ski resorts OK)
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