I heard about a survey this week which caught my attention. It was conducted by the New American Food Pantry regarding grocery shopping. Its conclusion was that this economy has caused grocery shopping habits to change fundamentally.
Nine out of ten surveyed believe that the recession will last another year. The recession has caused them to spend less, but they don’t sacrifice. Instead, they are now smarter about what they need and want. They buy less on impulse. Interestingly, they state that they will not change back to their old habits when the economy improves.
Here are some additional findings:
86% are more precise in what they buy,
80% are more efficient in getting in and out of stores,
managing their time instead of money,
63% decide what brands to buy before they enter the store.
The top five must-have items upon which the respondents are unwilling to sacrifice include pet food, candy, condiments, household cleaners, and beer. They are most willing to sacrifice on frozen pizzas and meals, bottled water, paper towels, sauces, and salty snacks.
More men are doing the grocery shopping than in the past. According to this survey, ten years ago twenty percent of men did the grocery shopping. Today that figure has doubled to forty percent. That means twice as many men are in the grocery store today than ten years ago. At least one of men’s habits do not fit the rest of the survey. They are less health conscious, more brand conscious, and, unlike women, more willing to buy on impulse.
Coupons have generally lost favor with shoppers due to the time it takes to find, clip, and handle them. Today, shoppers prefer loyalty cards. They like to be rewarded for their continued patronage of a business.
Whether you sell food items or not, this survey is important to your business. It indicates that we are doing business in an economic climate in which people’s buying habits are shifting. That shift is affecting your business, too.
How is your business being affected?
The only way to find out is to ask your customers.
Friday, December 30, 2011
Friday, December 2, 2011
Be Transparent
The commercial opened with two beautiful draft horses pulling a wide, covered wagon through the snow. Santa was seated prominently in the front behind the driver, and wreaths were hung around the wagon, adding color and a festive look. With the snow swirling around, the entire scene was enticing. My interest was piqued. What was this about?
Watching further, I saw Santa and Mrs. Claus, fresh-cut Christmas trees, and kids decorating cookies. The announcer said, “This Christmas, start a new tradition by getting your fresh cut Christmas tree and enjoy horse-drawn sleigh rides, cookie decorating for the kids, and visits from Santa and Mrs. Claus at Vino in the Valley.”
“Nice commercial,” I thought. “It’s very well done. Where is Vino in the Valley?”
The commercial never told me. It’s only information was vinointhevalley.com at the end. “Where is that?” I wondered. “Did I miss the location?”
The next time that the commercial aired, I missed part of it and thought that I must have missed the location once again. The third time that I caught it, I made a point to run it back and watch it all the way through. The only information it contained was vinointhevalley.com.
That’s not enough.
I was reminded of a consumer who told me that she wanted to go to a store, but the store never gave a street address on its commercials. It only stated the two cities where the stores were located. The consumer refused to go the extra step to find the store’s location either online or from a phone book. “I’d like to shop there,” she said, “but if they won’t tell me where they are, I’m not taking the extra time to find out.”
Her reaction surprised me initially. After thinking about it, I realized that she had a point. Why should she have gone to extra effort to find the store? What was in it for her?
As I mulled the Vino in the Valley commercial over, I thought about an ad that I was given recently which completely lacked an address. There was no address, no phone number, and no Web site. I assume that was a mistake.
Was that ad any different from the Vino in the Valley commercial?
Out of curiosity, I finally went online and checked out vinointhevalley.com. I quickly realized why the commercial directed viewers to the Web site. The location was off the beaten path and required lengthy directions. These directions could not be given on a commercial. However, leaving the location off the commercial completely was a mistake. Expecting consumers to take the extra step to find a business likely won’t happen.
As the lady I referenced earlier indicated, people are too busy to investigate. Give them the information that they need to make a decision. Vino in the Valley would have been wise to indicate its general location. By not doing so, I felt that something was wrong. Either they had forgotten or were cloaking it for some reason. The latter made me suspicious. The lack of the location irritated me.
Perhaps the Vino in the Valley people thought that because they couldn’t give all the directions, they should avoid directions entirely. Or, perhaps they thought that telling the general location might be a turnoff for some consumers. If that was their thinking, they were probably correct. However, revealing that information after a consumer has taken extra time to go to a Web site will have the same result. If the consumer wouldn’t be interested by the general location, she won’t be interested by the specific one, either. Having interrupted her schedule to go online, her disinterest may be coupled with irritation.
In your marketing, be transparent. Good marketing piques interest but does not hide or neglect important information. Give consumers what they need to know to find your business.
Watching further, I saw Santa and Mrs. Claus, fresh-cut Christmas trees, and kids decorating cookies. The announcer said, “This Christmas, start a new tradition by getting your fresh cut Christmas tree and enjoy horse-drawn sleigh rides, cookie decorating for the kids, and visits from Santa and Mrs. Claus at Vino in the Valley.”
“Nice commercial,” I thought. “It’s very well done. Where is Vino in the Valley?”
The commercial never told me. It’s only information was vinointhevalley.com at the end. “Where is that?” I wondered. “Did I miss the location?”
The next time that the commercial aired, I missed part of it and thought that I must have missed the location once again. The third time that I caught it, I made a point to run it back and watch it all the way through. The only information it contained was vinointhevalley.com.
That’s not enough.
I was reminded of a consumer who told me that she wanted to go to a store, but the store never gave a street address on its commercials. It only stated the two cities where the stores were located. The consumer refused to go the extra step to find the store’s location either online or from a phone book. “I’d like to shop there,” she said, “but if they won’t tell me where they are, I’m not taking the extra time to find out.”
Her reaction surprised me initially. After thinking about it, I realized that she had a point. Why should she have gone to extra effort to find the store? What was in it for her?
As I mulled the Vino in the Valley commercial over, I thought about an ad that I was given recently which completely lacked an address. There was no address, no phone number, and no Web site. I assume that was a mistake.
Was that ad any different from the Vino in the Valley commercial?
Out of curiosity, I finally went online and checked out vinointhevalley.com. I quickly realized why the commercial directed viewers to the Web site. The location was off the beaten path and required lengthy directions. These directions could not be given on a commercial. However, leaving the location off the commercial completely was a mistake. Expecting consumers to take the extra step to find a business likely won’t happen.
As the lady I referenced earlier indicated, people are too busy to investigate. Give them the information that they need to make a decision. Vino in the Valley would have been wise to indicate its general location. By not doing so, I felt that something was wrong. Either they had forgotten or were cloaking it for some reason. The latter made me suspicious. The lack of the location irritated me.
Perhaps the Vino in the Valley people thought that because they couldn’t give all the directions, they should avoid directions entirely. Or, perhaps they thought that telling the general location might be a turnoff for some consumers. If that was their thinking, they were probably correct. However, revealing that information after a consumer has taken extra time to go to a Web site will have the same result. If the consumer wouldn’t be interested by the general location, she won’t be interested by the specific one, either. Having interrupted her schedule to go online, her disinterest may be coupled with irritation.
In your marketing, be transparent. Good marketing piques interest but does not hide or neglect important information. Give consumers what they need to know to find your business.
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