"The Organic Grocer Digitally...Amazon & Whole Foods"
How can Whole Foods enjoy this new found success? Whole Foods has leaped generations forward through the support of the overwhelming buying power of Amazon and all that Amazon understands digitally.
"Amazon Touches The Consumer Digitally...Successfuly"
It was not all that long ago anyone might have said how can Amazon change the playing field so abruptly? Digital prowess. no doubt Amazon has all of the cash any retailer could ever hope for. That said, the retailer must still be successful reaching the consumer.
Lets look at what digital reach might look like by comparison. Touching the customer digitally like never before.
A Marketing Results Budget Is Based On Reach..."Touching Customers ... How Many Customers For How Much"
For some reason as retail food executives we seem skeptical and often times concerned with a digital spend that saves 80% or more of what the marketing budget is today. If it really is about reach and the digital results have worked in the last three presidential elections why do we remain printing ads?
"Amazon Looks Past Conventional Print Marketing Wisdom"
Why not at least work the digital marketing into a mix with traditional print expectations?
As an old saying goes..."No One Was Ever Fired For Buying IBM" Does that metaphor even still exist? Amazon is today what IBM once was and more!
Does today's millennial believe that a print (analog) spend is as effective as the digital spend....No but his boss does and that same boss requires a comfort zone.
"Amazon Through Whole Foods Will Change That Comfort Zone"
Change is about chance and digital is about change or as we have now agreed, chance. We feel safe spending as much as 80% more to feel comfortable? Yes we do...But for how long? If your supermarket location has Whole Foods as competition you must think digitally.
First, you will find necessary a stronger bond with the younger customer. Second and perhaps most important, you will need digital savings to service more costly markdowns to compete with this digital superstar combination of both Amazon & Whole Foods.
Paper prices go up almost monthly as the world wide paper demand lessens and yet you stick to print. Who will be the pioneer to move forward to digital and who will remain within the print and its communication limitations.
"We Believe Change Is Here & Necessary For Retail Food Survival"
"Check Out This Recipe Video & Imagine The Retail Sales Results"
We can all remain within our respective comfort zones. We can continue to pay every paper mills price increases while attracting the elder customer or as business men and women we can become tomorrows retailer. A more progressive retailer like Amazon Prime.
We need to move forward and build retail sales and and the proverbial mix while saving as much as 80% of our present marketing spend.
Can we afford to wait and simply become a me too attempting survive or we can stay ahead and move toward retail sales growth again with something safer than we have right now..."A Future"
Lets not become the grocer who complains his or her shopper is an older shopper....Guess what, if we only advertise to the older shopper that is the best we can achieve. Reach out to the younger shopper as Amazon has through Whole Foods and grow your business once again.
Many have asked why I choose to write about what I see in the supermarket industry today and my ideas. At Bad-Adz Digital, PreparedFoodPhotos.com & Adlife we believe great ideas and the resulting branding will give new life and direction to any company. So for that reason we chose to open the discussion.
Yes, I understand I probably misspelled something or butchered the English language in a few places, the goal however was to open your minds to new ideas. Many thanks to Sharon Albrizio for her help with this article.
Joel Albrizio, President of Bad-Adz Digital, PreparedFoodPhotos.com & Adlife
Follow Me On Twitter @joelalbrizio or right here on LinkedIn!
Don't forget to "Like Or Share" with your colleagues!