Notes and Thoughts on Grocery 2.0

The above IAB Chart does a good job of showing that CPG spending online still lags other segments’ advertising spend. The latest Pew Internet study does a great job showing that 81% of US consumers use the internet for product research and 71% purchase online. If 2/3+ of the online adults are ready, why haven’t we seen a larger corresponding move in media dollars?

Three primary reasons:

1. It is hard to buy digital with many fragmented publishers and to many ad formats.
2. A transparent set of metrics: Is it the click? ROI? Engagement? What drives consumer product adoption and ultimately sales?
3. It takes effort and time to re-evaluate your media mix.

The IAB has done a good job addressing some of the issues with Measurement Guidlines and The Universial Ad Package . Yet, I think what is really pushing us forward is the economic downturn. There is no longer a paper in Denver to buy print ads on. That forces a reexamination and increasingly digital is the winning choice.

I use a wide set of tools but here is a list of a few of my regular favorites to increase your productivity:

1. Quantcast – Very useful to get the demographics of a site. Also does a good job in finding similar sites or audiences.
2. Compete – A great tool to compare web sites and a very clean UI so shows well in power point presentations.
3. Google Insights – 65% of US internet users use Google to search so this tool helps you understand the detail behind a search term.
4. Google Analytics – There are lots of great web Analytic packages hard to compete with Google’s combination of features for the price: Free.
5. Google Sites – Need a quick place to organize the files for a meeting agenda or build a list for your team. Google sites is free and easy to customize.
6. Basecamp – It a great paid tool to collaborate on projects with if you have an external team. Very easy to set up and you can do it all with out anyone from IT needed.
7. Box.net -  Can’t get a large file to a co-worker or client? Use Box.net. First 1GB is free.
8. Remember The Milk – Is a killer To Do List that syncs to your mobile phone, google calendar, and you can email items to a list.

MyWebGrocer and Big in Japan have partnered to bring timely and relevant product data and advertising to the Google Android Platform. ShopSavvy, Big in Japan’s popular price comparison application, utilizes MyWebGrocer’s grocery data to help consumers find relevant products and pricing at their local grocery retailers.

Using any Google Android phone, shoppers can scan a barcode found on any grocery product and are instantly shown product results from ShopSavvy. These results include prices on the web and at local stores, consumer reviews, an option to save the product to their “wish list” and to sign up for results when the price changes on the item. As consumers are grocery shopping, from the palm of their hand they will be able to see information that they traditionally had to get from newspaper circulars or direct mail.

“We’re thrilled to be partnering with a mobile leader like Big in Japan,” said Alec Newcomb, MyWebGrocer’s Vice President. “Customer response to ShopSavvy in the US has been incredible, and we are excited about being able to provide relevant and timely information on the 800,000 branded products across our 95 Grocery Retailers.”

“Grocery data has been a challenge for ShopSavvy from the very start. More than 25% of ShopSavvy users have scanned more than a million grocery items with limited success over the past year,” said Alexander Muse co-founder of Big in Japan. “Our partnership with MyWebGrocer means users can finally access real-time pricing and inventory for hundreds of thousands of grocery related items.”

ShopSavvy Demo

MyWebGrocer is currently live on ShopSavvy and relevant CPG Advertising is being deployed this quarter on the application.

About MyWebGrocer:

MyWebGrocer is the leading digital services provider for retail grocery, connecting retail brands to their consumers through ecommerce and online tools.  Retail partners include Shoprite, Lowes Food Stores, Big Y, Food Lion and 90 other leading grocery chains. MyWebGrocer has the largest online grocery-advertising network with 3.8 Million monthly shoppers, attracting advertisers such as Kellogg’s, Unilever, Nestle, P&G and 60 other leading brands. For more information please visit MyWebGrocer.com or call 1-888-662-2284.

About Big in Japan:

Big in Japan builds cool applications for mobile devices, including Apple’s award winning iPhone and Google’s open source Android platform, think of us as the mobile idea factory. Our latest application ShopSavvy™ won Google’s Android Developer Challenge and is available on T-Mobile’s G1 Google Android phone. Big in Japan is not just a development shop, they manage and support applications for millions of users for major brands including FX Network and LEGO.

So your company has a website, fantastic – this is step one in managing your online presence, but how OLD is that website? When was the last time you watched/asked people about it’s ease of use and functionality? Sure you know what you think the website should do and be used for but are you aware of how your customers use your website?

YOU ARE NOT YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE.

As marketers we all feel as though we know what the customer wants, how they use and navigate the website. We feel as though we have the ability to see through their eyes and can put ourselves in the customer’s position – YOU CAN’T. (ok maybe some of us have the ability to remove ourselves but not many)

So what should you do? Watch. Your mom, your best friend, anyone that’s never been on the site before. Set up a list of tasks you wish to have the user accomplish and take notes, use SnagIt and capture all of their mouse movements. Watch a few people and see where they get caught up. What is obvious to you may not be obvious to them and it’s important for you to see this. Resist the urge to help. Say absolutely nothing. You are simply there to observe.

AMERICAN AIRLINES WEBSITE  = FAIL

User experience is important. It’s how your customers interact with your brand when you can’t be there in person and you want this to be the best experience possible. Recently Dustin Curtis was booking a flight on the American Airlines website and had a terrible experience; so much so that he felt compelled to send them a letter complete with a mockup for a redesign of their homepage.

How embarrassing. Not only are your customers unhappy but they actually redesigned your homepage for you! The response from the lead UX architect was even more surprising – he agreed with Curtis. The architect admitted that the website was horrible and then explained to him why – over 200 people touch and have input on the AA website. 200 people! and that’s not the UX team – this includes the marketing people, product people, code development, business analysis, etc. etc – and each group with their own agenda, no wonder the site is a mess. Read the UX response letter and see if it’s similar to the process that your website goes through. If it is, it’s time to re-evaluate.

I understand that many people have an idea of what purpose a company website serves but if it’s not inline with what your use wants than it doesn’t matter what what you think. If you lose people on the homepage what’s the point? A website needs to stay fresh and serve the needs of it’s users. If you’ve received feedback that the website is hard to navigate, maybe it is. If Google Analytics is showing that the top landing page is not your homepage maybe there’s a reason and you should investigate further.

LANDING PAGE LESSON

A while ago I had created a landing page with a store locator for a paid search campaign, the page did well and had high traffic. One day I noticed that there were very few new customers and a lot of direct traffic using the page, meaning that the page had to be either bookmarked or the url directly typed in. Why was this? Turns out that users found it easier to google the brand name, click on the text ad and use this landing page rather than navigating the website to find the store locator there.  This is a problem for the website. It should never be easier to click on an ad than use a company’s website. EVER.

No one likes to hear that their website is ugly or difficult to use but if you do hear this do something about it. Your customers are savvy, we know what an old, outdated website looks like and this will reflect poorly on you. Take the time to audit your site – pay someone – do it in-house – but do it. (While you’re at it audit your SEO/SEM initiatives as well.)

A positive user experience will reward you tenfold and there’s nothing more powerful than happy users and word of mouth.

Elise

MyWebGrocer Produces Facebook Application for Unilever’s Ben & Jerry’s

June 1st 2009, Colchester VT: Through the use of social media MyWebGrocer launched a customized Facebook application in twenty-one countries for premium ice cream manufacturer, Ben & Jerry’s. The custom Facebook application provides Ben & Jerry’s 900,000 Facebook Fans with enhanced lines of communication from manufacturer to consumer and consumer to manufacturer.

The global Facebook application, launched on April 14th, enabled Ben & Jerry’s to collect valuable global email addresses of their Facebook Fan base and provide consumer insights for individual countries. These email addresses opened the line of communication allowing Ben & Jerry’s to send news, product updates, specials and other relevant communications to their consumers. It also gave Ben & Jerry’s insight on how to geo-target their advertisements within different markets, and give insight for future product development based on country specific trends.

The custom Facebook application, “Do the World a Flavor”, mirrored the promotion from Ben & Jerry’s website and further enhanced their marketing promotions currently in place. MyWebGrocer worked with Ben & Jerry’s internal development team to make their application function on Facebook.

“We were excited to be able to offer a solution to a key client’s problem” explains Gerry Howatt, Director of Marketing Services at MyWebGrocer. “While discussing an email acquisition program we were launching for Ben & Jerry’s, they expressed the desire to also capture information from their Fans on Facebook. MyWebGrocer had made the commitment to creating solutions for grocery retailers on Facebook, so it was an environment we knew we could navigate for Ben & Jerry’s.”

“MyWebGrocer worked diligently on creating a Facebook application that truly mirrored our brand” explained Katie O’Brien, Web Marketing Manager of Ben & Jerry’s. “Their level of dedication and detail oriented skill set made them a pleasure to work with. We had many changing needs throughout the course of this project and MyWebGrocer was completely flexible. Our Facebook application opens the lines of communication between us and our Facebook fan base.

About Ben and Jerry’s:
Known not only for their funky flavor names like Cherry Garcia®, New York Super Fudge Chunk®, and Phish Food®, but for their dedication to social causes, the company operates its business on a three-part mission statement emphasizing product quality, economic reward and a commitment to the community. A wholly-owned autonomous subsidiary of Unilever, Ben & Jerry’s contributes a minimum of $1.1 million annually through corporate philanthropy that is primarily employee led. Additionally, the company makes significant product donations to community groups and nonprofits both in Vermont and across the nation. The purpose of Ben & Jerry’s philanthropy is to support the founding values of the company: economic and social justice, environmental restoration and peace through understanding, and to support our Vermont communities. For the full scoop on all Ben & Jerry’s fabulous flavors and social mission initiatives, visit www.benjerry.com.

About MyWebGrocer:
MyWebGrocer provides digital services for leading retail grocers since 1999. MyWebGrocer has the largest grocery advertising network in the country covering 85% of the US, earning their clients direct ad revenue. Some of our clients include Shoprite, Lowes Food Stores, Big Y, Food Lion and 95 other leading grocery chains. For more information please visit www.mywebgrocer.com or call 1-888-662-2284.