Six months ago a grocery store near my home changed hands. The company that acquired it is a local chain that has been adding many locations in the last couple of years. At first, the acquiring company redid the interior, opening up the space by taking down dividers, adding refrigerated frozen food units, and expanding the liquor department with a second access from inside the store. From a consumer’s perspective, these changes looked positive.
When a store is being re-merchandised, having bare shelves for a few days is normal. Deliveries may not arrive on time. The construction and reset of shelving may not happen on schedule. Orders may not be processed in the anticipated time frame. Consumers tolerate these bare shelves as par for the course in store resets.
However, the bare shelves at this store have not been filled. In fact, more and more shelves are completely bare or have a single item facing on the edge of a deep shelf. The magazine holders by the checkouts are completely empty. The last time I shopped at the store I mumbled to myself, If I didn’t know better, I’d think this store was going out of business.
Then I thought, How do I know it is not?
I based my assumption that the store is not going out of business on the recent acquisition of the location and all the time and money invested in the reset. Management usually does not risk more money if it is uncertain as to the store’s status. I also noted that the dated items including produce, bakery, meats, and dairy are all fresh. The bare shelves house non-perishables such as groceries and liquor.
I’d read an article in the paper that the company had a dispute with a vendor. In the course of doing business, that can happen to any company. Thus, I didn’t know if that was an isolated incident or indicated a more pervasive problem.
From a marketing vantage point, continuous and increasingly bare shelves do not look good to consumers. They made me feel that I could not find what I wanted, whether that was true or not. I felt that I was missing something. I also felt that I would have used my time more wisely shopping elsewhere.
I’m not the only one with those thoughts. On at least two occasions, others have commented, “I heard that store’s going out of business.”
To which I responded, “I don’t think so. It just changed hands.”
The reality is that I don’t know. I just don’t think so.
Store management has not said that the store is closing. Management has said nothing. That silence has created a vacuum that is leading to speculation on the part of consumers. Since the bare shelves look like a store that is closing, consumers have come to that conclusion and are spreading it around via word of mouth. As we know, word of mouth is powerful marketing, whether it is good or bad for the business.
When a business has a problem, it needs to be addressed. While problems happen that management cannot control, management can control communication with customers, and customers want to know what is going on. They want the truth. If they don’t get it, they will create their own explanations and spread them around via word of mouth. The result will impact the business negatively and create a vicious cycle of customers going elsewhere. Doing that could weaken the business enough to cause it to close.
If you have a situation at your business that affects your customers negatively, tell them the truth. Do it as soon as possible.
This week's marketing trivia challenge is What situation have your explained to your customers?
E-mail me your answer.
When a store is being re-merchandised, having bare shelves for a few days is normal. Deliveries may not arrive on time. The construction and reset of shelving may not happen on schedule. Orders may not be processed in the anticipated time frame. Consumers tolerate these bare shelves as par for the course in store resets.
However, the bare shelves at this store have not been filled. In fact, more and more shelves are completely bare or have a single item facing on the edge of a deep shelf. The magazine holders by the checkouts are completely empty. The last time I shopped at the store I mumbled to myself, If I didn’t know better, I’d think this store was going out of business.
Then I thought, How do I know it is not?
I based my assumption that the store is not going out of business on the recent acquisition of the location and all the time and money invested in the reset. Management usually does not risk more money if it is uncertain as to the store’s status. I also noted that the dated items including produce, bakery, meats, and dairy are all fresh. The bare shelves house non-perishables such as groceries and liquor.
I’d read an article in the paper that the company had a dispute with a vendor. In the course of doing business, that can happen to any company. Thus, I didn’t know if that was an isolated incident or indicated a more pervasive problem.
From a marketing vantage point, continuous and increasingly bare shelves do not look good to consumers. They made me feel that I could not find what I wanted, whether that was true or not. I felt that I was missing something. I also felt that I would have used my time more wisely shopping elsewhere.
I’m not the only one with those thoughts. On at least two occasions, others have commented, “I heard that store’s going out of business.”
To which I responded, “I don’t think so. It just changed hands.”
The reality is that I don’t know. I just don’t think so.
Store management has not said that the store is closing. Management has said nothing. That silence has created a vacuum that is leading to speculation on the part of consumers. Since the bare shelves look like a store that is closing, consumers have come to that conclusion and are spreading it around via word of mouth. As we know, word of mouth is powerful marketing, whether it is good or bad for the business.
When a business has a problem, it needs to be addressed. While problems happen that management cannot control, management can control communication with customers, and customers want to know what is going on. They want the truth. If they don’t get it, they will create their own explanations and spread them around via word of mouth. The result will impact the business negatively and create a vicious cycle of customers going elsewhere. Doing that could weaken the business enough to cause it to close.
If you have a situation at your business that affects your customers negatively, tell them the truth. Do it as soon as possible.
This week's marketing trivia challenge is What situation have your explained to your customers?
E-mail me your answer.
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