One of the questions we get most often in the AWG Corporate Marketing Department is, “What services should I be investing in for my digital marketing?” It’s a question that both larger groups and single-store operators within the AWG membership ask.
While there are some constants in terms of digital marketing, there is no one mix that is right for every AWG store. Given the nature of the member retailers that make up AWG, we work with vendor partners that can cater to all sizes of stores. But the one thing that should be readily apparent to every AWG retailer is that you need to have a digital marketing strategy.
AWG Marketing has put together two tiers of digital marketing services broken up into a Standard and Plus package. We designed these because we know that each AWG retailer is at a different level in their digital marketing footprint currently. It’s also designed to meet the varying budgets of AWG member retailers.
Standard
As part of the Standard level of services, we recommend that retailers carry digital coupons, a website, mobile app, text messaging and email. These services set up retailers to have some basic marketing tools available to them.
Digital coupons are a part of both levels of marketing services and have become increasingly more important over time. Consumers are looking for ways to save money given the current economic conditions. We feature three levels of digital coupons – a feed of national coupons, AWG-specific digital coupons and AWG Brands digital coupons. Offering digital coupons allows you to be on the same level as many of your competitors.
Plus
We feel that for retailers to truly compete in today’s grocery marketplace, the services that come in our Plus offerings are key to keeping track with national and regional competitors. This Plus offers all of the services in the Standard package, but adds in key programs like online shopping, full loyalty/rewards program, in-store audio and social media.
These are programs that can truly take your stores to the next level. A loyalty/rewards program has been proven to equate to more than $8 more per basket. This allows you to build basket size, use data to deliver deals to specific shoppers, run clubs and continuity programs, and so much more.
Ecommerce has become a significant part of many retailers’ business, especially since the beginning of COVID. This allows stores to offer a full ecommerce platform that serves an important group of shoppers that are interested in shopping online. According to the Brick Meets Click/Mercatus Grocery Shopping Survey for April, 54% of consumers who identified grocery as their primary grocery shopping channel, 54% had online shopping activity that month.
The Skinny
It’s important to note that while we have these services broken into tiers, each can be utilized in an a la carte basis. You may already have a loyalty provider, but want to add in social media and ecommerce, and that can be easily done. We want to match where you’re at with these key services.
In addition, we have some additional programs like our new digital circular program, premium social media and in-store kiosk that can add even more to your marketing presence.
We would love to talk to you about our tiers and how we can get you to the next level of marketing to drive sales in your store. Contact Kurt Kloeblen at kurt.kloeblen@awginc.com or Carissa Teschner at carissa.teschner@awginc.com.
