Twitter

DW's Blog


Sales vs Expenses

by DW Green — June 5, 2019

There is a fine line between reducing costs and maintaining or increasing sales.

A client is considering switching from a weekly ad to a biweekly ad. What effect will reducing print advertising in half do to sales? I don’t know the answer. In the short term maybe not so much. But long term, it could be a different story. Controlling/reducing expenses is a good thing. But there is a fine line between reducing costs and maintaining or increasing sales. Reducing labor expense too much will result in reduced sales. Reducing product purchasing will also reduce sales. And on and on.To me advertising frequency is about brand exposure and having an ad presence on a competitive basis. Though biweekly ads will reduce ad expense, what it will do to sales long term is unknown. To me, any activity that contributes to sales and brand awareness is a prudent expense.

Read More – They, Them, We, Us

...
read more

Copper River Salmon

by DW Green — May 29, 2019

I love those competitors that won’t sell the neat stuff…

“I love those competitors that won’t sell the neat stuff, I call them Sales Preventions Managers.”—Wise retailer.Last week several of our clients promoted Copper River Salmon. Salmon from the Copper River in Alaska could be the world’s best tasting fish. It’s truly a very special early summer treat. I remember back in the late 1980’s, suggesting a Copper River salmon promotion to an Alaskan retailer. The owner said, “No way Jose. They wouldn’t sell. Because everyone who lives in Alaska, catches their own salmon.” After some arm twisting, a couple shots of bourbon and a small wager, he agreed to promote them. It was a huge success and they continued to promote Copper River salmon every year thereafter. Now days, the cost of procuring Copper River salmon is the reason cited by retailers not to promote them. They are expensive, nearly $50 a pound retail in California.“I love those competitors that won’t sell the neat stuff, I call them Sales Preventions Managers.” Funny yet true. How many times do retailers discourage or prevent sales? Fear of loss always prevents gain.

Read More – The Most M...
read more

Served

by DW Green — May 22, 2019

Happy Memorial Day.

One of our clients offered a 10% Off Military Discount to all veterans, active duty military and family members for Memorial Day. The only purchase exclusion, gift cards. Many retailers offer similar promotions for Memorial Day. I think this is a great promotion. I especially like the minimum purchase exclusion. It’s important to honor our servicemen and women and their families. They willingly volunteer to protect our freedom, our way of life and our country. My dad served in WWII and my good friends Ron Short and John Jella served in Vietnam. All brave, selfless men. The word served is huge. It describes what our military does. To serve their country. Thank you.I will add this to my promotion list for next year.

Read More – Help!

...
read more

Positive Thinking

by DW Green — May 15, 2019

What the mind expects, it finds.

As a kid, I remember The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale. I never read his book, but the notion of positive thinking seemed to make sense. I’m not sure how aware we are of our own thinking processes but witnessing negative thinking by others can be annoying/challenging! The power of awareness shows up again. For me, self-awareness is a big deal!I read an interesting article, entitled The Power of Staying Positive, by Madisyn Taylor. Here’s a portion of her article…“The words and ideas that we think can shape our lives and drive us toward success and happiness or failure and distress. How you think and feel can have a profound effect on your ability to recognize opportunity, how well you perform, and the outcome of the goals that you’ve set for yourself. When you maintain an optimistic outlook and make an effort to harbor only positive thoughts, you begin to create the circumstances conducive to you achieving what you desire. You feel in control and few of life’s challenges seem truly overwhelming because it is in your nature to expect a positive conclusion. An optimistic mind is also an honest one. Staying positive does not mean that you ignore difficulties or disregard...
read more

Hot

by DW Green — May 8, 2019

Marketing Chops!

I received a Hot email blast from Dorothy Lane Market last week. “Hot Sauce Hurrah”, 20% Off all hot sauces! Plus, they told a brief story on eight different hot sauces on their website, two of which are manufactured in Ohio. Sure, last Sunday was Cinco de Mayo, but Dorothy Lane had the marketing chops to highlight a smoking category while promoting their fantastic product variety! I think it’s wise to promote product categories. Consumers have many product choices. It’s great when retailers present them in a single event. Categories like mustard, BBQ sauce, salsa, soup, olive oil, salad dressing, root beer, even oatmeal and more! Variety is a competitive advantage. Show what you got and tell their story! Well done Dorothy Lane Market!

Read More – Closed Minded – Not Black and White

...
read more

Look for the Genius in Others

by DW Green — May 1, 2019

“It’s not what you look at that matters. It’s what you see.”

Pay attention to the greatness you observe in as many people as possible, and if you don’t see it at first, then spend some mental energy looking for it. The more you’re inclined to think in genius terms, the more natural it becomes for you to apply the same standards to yourself. Tell others about their genius. Be as complimentary and authentic as you can. In doing so, you’ll radiate loving, kind, abundant, creative energy. In a universe that operates on energy and attraction, you’ll find these same qualities returning to you.
It’s not what you look at that matters. It’s what you see.—Henry David Thoreau

Read More – The Arrogant Bastard

...
read more

Emotional Connection

by DW Green — April 24, 2019

People are emotionally connected to grocers

I’ve been an advocate of emotional branding for more than twenty years. A company’s ability to connect emotionally with their customers is a huge, huge benefit and competitive advantage. But it doesn’t happen on its own. Emotional branding needs to be a cornerstone of a company’s brand. It needs to be stated and implemented in every daily activity performed.I read an interesting article by Amit Sharma, in the April 18, 2019 Harvard Business Review, entitled What the Grocery Stores Holding Their Own Against Amazon Are Doing Right. The following is an excerpt from the article.“Emotional connection is another driver of loyalty; our survey found that 50% of consumers are more likely to buy again from a brand that connects with them emotionally or reflects their values. People are emotionally connected to grocers, as utilitarian as grocery shopping may seem. For example, Trader Joe’s, which ranked highly in the C Space study, inspires loyalty by creating an enjoyable shopping atmosphere. A 2018 Forrester survey of 287 brands rated T...
read more

Integrity

by DW Green — April 17, 2019

The meeting of our inner and outer lives is called integrity.

“To thine own self be true” writes William Shakespeare in Hamlet. “Let your conscience be your guide” the Blue Fairy tells Pinocchio and then asks Jiminy Cricket to serve as Pinocchio’s conscience.Integrity is an important and powerful quality. To be referred to as a person of integrity is the ultimate compliment. I have come to realize that my life experience is about the journey toward wholeness, and to seek wholeness, is to live from a place of integrity. Conscience is the alarm that goes off when integrity is at risk, when wholeness is splintered.“The meeting of our inner and outer lives is called integrity, and the health of our integrity often determines our inner strength and resilience in meeting the outer world. This is the purpose of integrity, to balance the outer forces of existence with the inner forces of spirit,” Mark Nepo, The Exquisite Risk. One of the most useful definitions of integrity comes from Rabbi Jonathan Omer-Man: Integrity is the ability to listen to a place inside oneself that doesn’t change, even though the life that carries it may change.So living from integrity is when our actions, our outer life are in sync with our inner...
read more

Are You Really In Control?

by DW Green — April 10, 2019

Trying to control our lives limits us.

Learning what we can control and what we can’t, makes life’s journey a more pleasant and interesting one.“The closest thing to being in control we’ll ever be is in that moment when we realize we’re not.” — Brian KesslerGustavo Razetti writes the following in an article entitled Control Less, Trust More, “Happiness is about being in charge of your life not controlling every aspect of it.Not everything that matters can be controlled, and not everything that can be controlled matters.That’s the paradox with life: we want things our way, yet, most of the times, things take on a life of their own. What if we stop trying to control everything? And start trusting our ability to adapt?Letting go of control doesn’t mean not caring. But keeping our minds and hearts open — to make room for the unexpected.As Shakespeare wrote, “Come what come may. Time and the hour runs through the roughest day. One way or another, what’s going to happen is going to happen.” (I like Shakespeare. He’s one insightful dude! My words)“Being in control might bring you serenity at the expense of driving everyone else crazy.Control is ...
read more

Imitate or Innovate

by DW Green — April 3, 2019

The status quo impedes the search for competitive advantage.

I was reading an article on leadership the other day. The following from Bill Taylor, cofounder of Fast Company, makes really good sense to me.“The true mark of a leader is the willingness to stick with a bold course of action—an unconventional business strategy, a unique product-development roadmap, a controversial marketing campaign—even as the rest of the world wonders why you’re not marching in step with the status quo. In other words, real leaders are happy to zig while others zag. They understand that in an era of hyper-competition and non-stop disruption, the only way to stand out from the crowd is to stand for something special.”It’s been my experience that following the status quo promotes imitation rather than innovation. Leadership is about discovering and performing different activities from rivals or performing similar activities in different ways. Differentiation arises from both the choice of activities and how they are performed. Activities, then, are the basic units of competitive advantage. Overall advantage or disadvantage results from all of a company’s activities, not only a few. The status quo often impedes the search for competitive advantage.

<...
read more



  • Archives

  • Categories

  • Tag Cloud:

  • Our Work: