Despite optimistic forecasts, consumers aren’t biting for online grocery shopping. In fact, dissatisfaction increased for first time online buyers from 17% last year to 27% this year according to a survey by Morgan Stanley.

Why? 84% decided against ordering groceries online because they preferred to physically see and choose their groceries – the same percentage as the previous year.

Why online grocery shopping may be slow to catch on:

• Delivering fresh high quality fruit and produce consistently will be a tall order, even for Amazon.
• Even if the grocer can deliver quality produce, it may never seem as good as what shoppers would choose for themselves.
• Millennials are driving the increases in produce sales and over half of them prefer shopping at brick and mortar.
• Online ordering is still new for many grocery stores and first-time online buyers may not come back if their experience is bad.

What can grocers do to make sure that initial experience is positive?

eMarketer asked industry experts to share the top six expectations customers have when grocery shopping online:

1. Shoppers want the same full selection online that’s offered in store and at the same price point.
2. They want to edit their online grocery cart anytime from anywhere. (Customers of online grocery delivery service Peapod update their orders an average of six times.)
3. The option to order via mobile device or desktop. Although most consumers prefer ordering groceries on a desktop computer.
4. Ordering online must save them time.
5. Satisfy their growing demand for meal kits.
6. Win their trust. As noted above this may be the biggest obstacle. Successful online sales will require grocers to consistently deliver high quality fresh produce and meat – at least comparable to the level shoppers would choose for themselves.

 

Related articles:

http://www.fooddive.com/news/grocery–study-dissatisfaction-with-online-grocery-shopping-increasing/505123/

https://retail.emarketer.com/article/top-six-things-customers-want-online-grocery-stores/58d3e05eebd4000e20e0fcc1

https://qz.com/1077743/people-dont-buy-groceries-online-because-they-prefer-to-pick-things-out-in-stores/?mc_cid=2cc06b36a7&mc_eid=4404986bea

https://toughnickel.com/frugal-living/Pros-and-Cons-of-Online-Grocery-Shopping

http://www.retaildive.com/news/most-millennials-especially-younger-ones-still-prefer-stores/445090/

Why hiring managers shouldn’t put knowledge before talent.

Obviously knowledge is important, but for most marketing and copywriter positions, my advice is to hire the most talented candidate regardless of their background in a particular industry. Knowledge of the company, industry, media, management system, etc., can be quickly learned.

Talent can’t be taught.

You cannot train someone to become an effective marketer or writer. They come with the ability or they don’t.

Let’s be clear. I’m not talking about knowledge of marketing or copywriting. A prerequisite for talent is extensive knowledge of your craft.

But in many cases, the hiring manager seems to be more interested in whether you have a background in XYZ industry or experience with a particular medium than your ability to achieve marketing objectives.

Trust me, an experienced and talented marketer or copywriter can quickly come up to speed. Yes, they may take a little longer than someone already familiar with the industry, but in the end, the marketing strategy and communications will be more effective.

OK, so how do you identify a highly talented marketer or copywriter?

Closely examine their track record of marketing successes – not project management or administrative work, but actual marketing achievements. Did they simply ride a wave of product popularity or the coattails of talented team members? Did they help the company grow faster than the market by taking market share away from competitors – the true measure of marketing prowess.

In today’s slow growth, hyper-competitive world, clients need real help, not hyperbole. So drill down into a candidate’s particular contributions; what they did, their thought process and how it helped achieve objectives. There should be numerous examples from a variety of situations.

Here’s a simplified example, but may illustrate my point. Imagine you’re recruiting for a running back for the Canadian Football League. They play on a larger field and have different rules than the NFL. Would you pass up an NFL star running back not familiar with the CFL for someone less talented, but who has played in the CFL?

Like football, marketing is about winning. Winning takes talent.

 

Ignoring the 40-40-20 rule.

What determines if an e-campaign or any direct response campaign will be successful?

40% is the quality of the list

40% is the quality of the offer

20% is the quality of the creative

The rule applies to all direct response whether it’s for direct mail or email campaigns.

Yes, every campaign is unique and there are variations of this rule out there, but this is simple to remember and serves the purpose.

The mistake most marketers make is focusing most of their time over-analyzing and revising the creative – often diluting its effectiveness. The creative is important. It needs to grab attention and trigger a response. But it can only get a response from someone already interested in buying.

The list – As noted, it’s critical to understand that the only a small number of people will respond. Even a perfect list will only generate small percentage of responses. So the list must be comprised of only people who are most likely to buy. For many prospects on the fence, it’s matter of convincing them this is the best time to buy.

The offer – First it’s important to understand that the offer is more than just a promotional discount/offer. It includes the product combined with the promotional offer. The product must fill a unique niche. Obviously, a discount off a product no one wants is worthless.

Real world example:

Long before I had ever heard of the 40-40-20 rule, I experienced it first hand as a marketer in General Mills Foodservice Division. A sales person on the GMI Foodservice team suggested we add caterers to the list for the annual Thanksgiving stuffing promotion. He noted that he had made this request every year, but ignored. (Possibly the Marketing vs Sales ego road block was to blame. But that’s fodder for a different article.)

I asked our promotion ops folks to add caterers, but was told it was not in the budget to expand the list. I suggested we drop the names of some low responders to make space for caterers so the list would remain the same size. “Yes, we can do that.”

The result? The highest sales ever for the fall Stuffing promotion. I know because I checked the reports going back 20 years. One simple change to the list dramatically boosted sales without increasing the costs.

• Get a quality list (those already sold on the idea of buying a widget)
• Must have offer (i.e. unique widget for half off!)
• Creative (first goal is get them to open the email or DM)