POI Pulse June 16 2014

Trends & Developments

Starbucks Successful Payments App
Source: (Forbes June 13, 2014)

While most of the world was getting ready for Halloween celebrations in late October 2013, Starbuck announced that now 11% of sales volume comes through its own mobile wallet [1].  This is just a staggering amount of transactions for a single retailer…Learn more

Amazon Smartphone, to Tether to Consumers
Source: (NY Times June 14, 2014)

The retailer is expected to introduce a smartphone on Wednesday at an event in Seattle, a long-rumored project that aims to close any remaining gap between the impulse to buy and the completed act. Learn more

You’ll Achieve More at the POI Summit in Dallas!

Your next opportunity to learn, network, and advance at the  POI Fall Summit is November 2-4 in Dallas, TX.  The agenda will once again be advanced (view the preliminary agenda here),  and make your plans now to attend, as the POI April 2014 Summit was sold out!
More than 250 CPG and Retailers will join us —

Teams Taking advantage of early registration include:
Lowe’s Foods, Unilever, Turkey Hill, Post Foods, 3M, Kellogg’s, PepsiCo, Utz Quality Foods, Philips Consumer, Dannon, 7-Eleven, JM Smucker, Church & Dwight, Busch Bros., Topco, Keurig Green Mountain, Continental Mills, P&G, AAFES, Ventura Foods, Michael Angelos, Hillshire Brands, Campbell Soup, Kroger, Jarden, Tree Top, Hormel, Musco Family Olive, ConAgra, Windsor Foods, Ainsworth Pet Nutrition, Del MonteRich Products, Whole Foods Markets, Mckee Foods, Bi Lo Holdings, and many others.  Reach me for your pass today at mkantor@p-o-i.org

Brands are Keeping Score in a Digital World
Source: (Knowledge @ Wharton June 2014)

There is not yet one silver bullet answer on how to measure digital brand advertising. But as the world of brand advertising is increasingly expanding to digital platforms including Google, we are beginning to see how the measurement mindset is changing.

One thing we’ve seen is that some brands are shifting models of what they measure in response to evolving digital ad formats. Learn more

Imagining a More Modern Grocery Store
Source: (Tribune June 11, 2014)

Industry experts at this week’s FMI Connect are trying to prepare for what they see as the retail experience of the future. It could include everything from super personalized shopping experiences to stores that transform based on the time of day.

Frank Jimenez, senior director of insights driven performance and retail evolution at Hershey notes, have proven to be “an operational solution and a merchandising challenge.”  Learn more

Coca-Cola Gets Personal…Promotions
Source: (CS News June 13, 2014)

Fans who have the Coca-Cola Freestyle app on their mobile phone can scan a QR code on the dispenser’s home screen, follow the prompts and send a friend a coupon for a free 20-ounce Coke. Learn more

POI TPO Challenge: Make Each Dollar Count
Source: Retail Leader Mag June 1, 2014)

Five different solutions providers were given historical sales data from actual retailers and CPG companies, which they used to predict and optimize promotional outcomes.

The five were given wide latitude in interpreting the data, determining its relevance and deciding what kinds of promotions were indicated. Learn more

Candidates Gain Collaboration Skills w/ POI at SJU
Source: (POI CCM at SJU December 3-4, 2014)

If you plan to contribute more effectively, lead a customer team, or retail marketing team, you need to know all sides of the desk, and the CCM educational curriculum is the proven experience to ensure you’re skills are current. Enroll today!

Trading partners are coming to POI at SJU to learn the skills necessary, and be certified to collaborate effectively…  The next orientation begins December 3-4. Learn more, and enroll today!

 POI Perspective

In last week’s issue of POI Pulse, I mentioned a conversation/experience I had with Fred who is 81, and owns a small grocery nearby.  I made mention to the concept of Reliance vs. Loyalty when is comes to the relationship between shoppers/consumers and Retailers. Last week at FMI, I engaged several manufacturers and retailers around an advanced concept of Reliance that can be scaled to larger stores, chains, and multiple formats. Technology will enable the relationship, yet having shoppers rely on your stores requires leveraging every aspect of the trading partner relationship, and threading that through the stores, your people, and each community served. Ultimately your customers rely on you for their knowledge of their unique needs, your products, and consistency in communications, pricing, and your commitment to service excellence. Mariano’s knows their customers, works with vendors on product knowledge, and communicates that experience to their customers. Eataly in NYC and Chicago play where they play best, and their customers rely on them for their unique assortments, and Sean Baker, CEO at Cabela’s described going beyond a loyalty program as; “You need to focus around the customer experience. Anybody can offer points or rewards — that’s easy. What is going to differentiate you and give your customer a reason to increase their brand affinity with you? The only way to do that is to build common experiences and values.
The most important thing you can do to have customers rely on your stores is as obvious as it is overlooked: improve customer service. No matter how great your product/assortment is or how talented your staff is, one of the things that customers are most likely to remember is the direct interaction they have with your company (regardless of channel).A strong company will already have great customer relationships. But a smart company will always be asking “What is good customer service, and how it is consistently delivered (in person, via mobile/social, via digital)?”  This has always meant getting personal (like Fred). Your customers want to know they have access to real people. Offer more than just automated email responses, taking full advantage of social media and write responses when your customers post on your page. This shows your customers that you are real people working on their behalf.
Create communities. Your customers will feel even more valued if you treat them as important members of a community. You can bring various customer segments together in numerous ways, including webinars, interactive websites, social media, cooking classes, education, etc. And don’t forget that while your customers come to these forums to learn from you, you must learn as much-if not more-from them on how to continuously improve your relevance, and what ensures their reliance on you.

Join today as a member of POI.

Have an outstanding week!
Michael Kantor
CEO & Founder
Promotion Optimization Institute
mkantor@p-o-i.org
www.POInstitute.com

Career Opportunities

If you have a relevant opportunity, list it in POI Pulse, reach us at info@p-o-i.orgKeurig

Keurig Green Mountain

Trade Marketing Manager – Away From Home Channel

The Trade Marketing Manager for the Away From Home Channel (Foodservice, Office Coffee Service, Hospitality, and Convenience Stores) serves as the conduit between Trade Marketing and Field Sales in providing guidance and training on effective management of trade spend within budgets and ensuring compliance in the Trade Promotion Management (TPM) system. The Trade Marketing Associate regularly collaborates with Finance on the trade spend accrual and Sales Planning to develop guidelines for effective promotional programs and helps to develop and deliver the messages to the sales team.

UTZ Quality Foods

Manager of Strategic Pricing and Promotional Effectiveness

We are currently recruiting for a Manager of Strategic Pricing & Promotional Effectiveness. The primary purpose of this position is to be responsible for strategic pricing, promotional effectiveness, and profitability at UTZ and its brands through pricing actions and promotional optimization. Learn more

Upcoming Events
FMI Connect: June 10-13, McCormick Place, Chicago, IL

Nielsen Consumer 360 June 23-25, San Antonio, TX

POI Fall Collaborative Promotion Optimization Summit November 2-4, 2014 Westin Galleria Plaza, Dallas, TX