connect-2-consumer's podcast

Spring is fully underway (or almost done in the southern states) and most garden retailers are busy filling orders. But, now is the time to think about engaging customers after they make their purchase. At purchase is a great time to collect email addresses and ask customers to follow you on social media. Later this summer and even into fall, you can host online coaching sessions and virtual parties. It is a great way to stay connected with your customers, especially the new ones who found you for the first time this year.

This week, Bridget talks about how hard retailers are working to conduct contactless (online, pick-up, or delivery) sales. Consider revising hours of operation, bundling products and services, beginning the online/phone conversation about how the new shopping reality works, getting the phone lines (and employees) ready, work thorough logistics, and thanking customers for shopping locally. 

Bridget invited Dr. Patricia Huddleston (Professor of Retailing at Michigan State University) back to discuss some of the changes made (and to be made) as a result of the corona-virus pandemic. Bridget and Pat talk about what changes are happening now, what the lifting of sanctions may do for retail shopping, and what changes may stick with us for some time.

This week, Bridget discusses a very recent Harvard Business Review article by Ted Waldron and James Wetherbe entitled Ensure That Your Customer Relationships Outlast Coronavirus (4/1/2020). There are some key points to help you stay connected with consumers and adopt this communication framework.

Bridget and Trey continue their conversation from last week with strategies for specialty crop businesses to work through the crisis and consumer perceptions of food and gardening. Continuing to communicate with consumer through positive messaging will help businesses be able to sell products when legally permitted.

We are all operating (?) in a turbulent environment, finding our way through COVID 19. This week, Bridget and Trey (from a safe, social distance) discuss past pandemics (Spanish Flu of 1918) and share some thoughts on how to consider operations now and in the near term. We will survive this, together, because people and our industry are resilient. What can you do now? Think about actions that are legal, ethical, and thirdly helpful.

"Great Customer Service Isn't Rocket Science" is one of my favorite quotes from a dear friend and colleague: Dr. Patricia Huddleston.  Pat is a Professor of Retailing in the Departments of Advertising & Public Relations in the College of Communications. She and I have worked together for nearly a decade on some great eye-tracking studies. This week, we talk about ways to provide great customer service and qualities to look for when hiring for great customer service.

Just because a product is sourced locally doesn't necessarily mean it is a guaranteed sale. Local products of a high-quality and consistency help pave the road. Yet, it can really be the local relationships that help sell local products the most. The brewer can "tell the story" of selecting the hops for the next brew. Wine makers use the inconsistency (terrior) to their advantage. Maybe the variability can be a good thing?

Did you watch any of the Super Bowl commercials? Bridget and Trey did. This week, they discuss the Michelob Ultra commercial about using some funds from 6-pack sales to convert farmland to organic production. Water use is a big deal in beer and plant production and can be part of sustainable production practices. Listen this week as Bridget, Trey, and Trey's doctoral student (Aaron Staples) discuss beer, water, organic farming, and that Super Bowl commercial.

Considering raising prices this spring? Bridget talks about some key considerations to make before you raise prices. The break-even point is the number of units that need to be sold before profits are generated. Another consideration is pricing by container. But what happens to products (of the same genus or species but a new cultivar) that are able to be differentiated? Growers and retailers lose their ability to profit from the "newness" when everything is priced by the same container size. Communicate more about benefits compared to features. Think about key price points, too. Always put sale prices high and to the left of the sign or communication piece. Consider putting the regular price of high-margin products in a lower font size and place it low and to the right of the display or communication piece.