NEW Canada mixer brings opportunity to network

By Nancy Kwon

Published in Canadian Grocer

June 19, 2012

On Monday, the Network of Executive Women Canada (NEW) organized a summer mixer at Mondello Ristorante in Mississauga, Ont., which brought out a strong contingent of the retail and consumer goods products professionals.

Amid the relaxed atmosphere, the some 70 female industry executives shared experiences and got to know one another better.

More than a year after its formation, the organization’s mission is anchored around three pillars: dialogue, inclusion and a catalyst for development.

NEW isn’t entirely, however. It was launched in the U.S. a decade ago, where it now has 15 chapters and 3,000 members. The Canadian office is the first outside of America.

A fall event is in the works.

Julie Ihamaki, Canadian Grocer; Dana Childerhouse, Nielsen; Vanessa Peters, Canadian Grocer





Kara Parkinson, Nestle; Debi Bowins, Moore Packaging

The NEW mixer gathered professionals from both CPG and retailer businesses

Dorina Vendramin, Kraft; Alannah Virtanen, Nielsen

Clara Shevalier and Sara Clarkson, Store Support

Janet Mangat, Pivotal Solutions; Ming Yapp, Walmart

Amy Umrysh, Sarah O'Regan of SC Johnson

Nicki Balfour, GlaxoSmithKline; Paula Brar, Walmart;Jennifer Mitrovich, Kimberly-Clark

Mystery Shopper Jobs Play an Important Role at Retail and are Plentiful

Mystery shopping (also known as secret shopping) is the method by which a store or a company evaluates its employees’ performance and customers’ experience. A mystery shopper will visit a retail outlet pretending to be a customer. The mystery shopper will interact with employees to assess their customer service and sales abilities.  

Mystery shoppers can be deployed by brands, retailers or companies who offer supporting services to brands and retailers. A mystery shopper will report his or her results, which will reveal to the retailer or brand what they need to do to improve their services.

Apart from evaluating performance, a mystery shopper will analyze other commercial aspects of a retailer’s store. These aspects could be price, availability, quality of the product and customer service via websites, telephones and in person, as well as housekeeping.

The role that a mystery shopper fills is an important one and mystery shopper jobs are in great demand. There are no essential requirements to become a mystery shopper, as shoppers don’t have specific appearance or qualification. With that said, a mystery shopper job is a profession just like any other. While the job entails shopping, which is fun; mystery shopping is a serious business and should be carefully dealt with. To be successful, a mystery shopper must be able to act or pretend, be trustworthy, reliable and professional. Apart from all these characteristics, mystery shoppers should have good writing skills and a clear perspective of reporting their personal opinions so that the truth is not tampered with and the brand or retailer gets a very clear picture of what was observed. Mystery shoppers are relied upon to help stores and brands to uplift their sales by improving customer satisfaction and improving the performance of the employees.

Mystery shopping is useful not just for evaluating the staff’s performance but also for checking the customer service offered by rival businesses. It can be compared with one’s own customer service to find the problem areas. The problems can then be rectified to increase the number of customers and in-turn will increase a retailer’s sales.

Mystery shoppers represent ROI to retailers and brands, especially when they are deployed by third party organizations. This is because third party organizations provide the retailer or brand with a truly impartial review of performance. Third party organizations who specialize in mystery shopping can work with a brand or retailer to pinpoint areas of focus, develop a strategy, and take measurements to ensure that the mystery shopper and outcome of the exercise is effective.

Mystery shopper jobs can be found with organizations that provide these services to brands and retailers. If you interested in becoming a mystery shopper, sourcing mystery shopper jobs through these organizations is your best first step. Because these organizations service so many different brands and retailers, obtaining a mystery shopper job through one of these organizations promises to be exciting and diverse.

The role of a mystery shopper at retail is an invaluable one. In addition, those interested in becoming a mystery shopper will find a fun and rewarding career opportunity as well as a fantastic opportunity to help brands and retailers become more competitive while improving their offering.

For more information about mystery shopper jobs or to apply for a mystery shopper job, please visit www.storesupport.ca or call Bonnie Yhip at 1 877 421-5081.

Looking for Work in Toronto - Has Your Ego Affected Your Ability to Find Toronto Employment?

The recent recession left many people in Toronto laid off, displaced and looking for work. Two of the most difficult situations are:

 

1.       When you become laid off and realize that you will need to re-tool and change industries because of altered economic conditions or;

2.       You left the work force to start a family and are re-entering at a time when the employment landscape has changed considerably.

 

If you are looking for work in Toronto and have previously held a high paying or prestigious position, you may now find that there is more competition in the market than ever, and these types of positions are harder to come by. This can present a crushing blow to the ego. The first thing that you need to do if you want to find Toronto employment is set your ego aside and get focused.

Re-entering the job market in Toronto can be both exciting and disappointing at times. Your success will depend on both your energy and outlook on things. When trying to find Toronto employment, getting passed over for an interview or learning that the job offer you were counting on was actually given to someone else can definitely hurt your pride. Realize that this is a natural and common experience that you may encounter during your career transition but also be aware that if you don't tend to your bruised ego in a quick and positive manner, it will impact your ability to find employment.

When your pride is hurt, your motivation, energy and attitude can greatly suffer, and all of these things need to be in tip-top shape to achieve success in the job market.

When looking for work in Toronto, it is important to stay positive. Try not to spend a lot of time talking with former colleagues at your past company if the conversations are emotional and negative. This will only make you feel worse. Stay away from others who have given up. They will make it difficult for you to get your head around the possibility of taking on a new job in a lesser capacity than the one that you held with your previous employer. Do not listen to negative feedback that basically tells you you'll never work again or not to take on a job that is not equal to or higher capacity than the last one you had. Unfortunately, this often comes from well-meaning friends and family members who are not experts on the job market.  

Look at this time as an opportunity to gain new experience. Be open minded to different industries where you can apply your core attributes.  Embark on a new and rewarding career, even if it is in a different industry than you are used to.

The retail industry in Toronto is one that is fairly easy to enter and can provide immense opportunity. The retail industry offers individuals from many different backgrounds with a chance to excel. Those who possess organizational skills and have experience in sales or customer service can be successful in retail. Even folks who have come out of the manufacturing industry or are just handy can be successful at retail. Retail provides opportunities in distribution, store set up, merchandising, sales and customer service.

When looking for work in Toronto, take a “cup-half-full attitude” to your job search. You can get through this tough time by taking care of yourself, reaching out to others, and focusing on your goals. Losing your job or re-entering the workforce can be an opportunity to take stock of your life, rethink your career goals, and rediscover what truly makes you happy.

For more information about looking for work in Toronto or for Toronto employment opportunities, please visit www.storesupport.ca or call Bonnie Yhip at 1 877 421-5081.

What is Experiential Marketing or Engagement Marketing at Retail?

Experiential marketing, which is also sometimes referred to as “engagement marketing”, "event marketing", "live marketing" or "participation marketing," is a method of marketing that directly engages consumers by inviting and encouraging them to participate in the evolution of a brand. Rather than looking at consumers as passive receivers of messages, engagement marketing encourages participation from the consumer. 

Experiential marketing at a retail level has become very common and is very important. Some examples of experiential marketing include:

In-store tastings. These can commonly be found in grocery stores. Food tastings engage consumers and invite them to sample products. This is a highly effective form of experiential marketing that will result in many consumers purchasing products that they never would have considered had they not tested the product in-store.

Live demos. Live demos are commonly found in shopping malls and department stores. Live demos are used to demonstrate to the consumer how they can use a particular product or appliance. Often participants will receive a coupon or sample of the product as a gratuity for participating in the demonstration.

Testing products. Product testing sessions, like testing hand crèmes and hair products, is a very common occurrence in shopping malls. Have you ever walked past a retailer in a shopping mall to be stopped by a sales representative who asked if you would like to test or sample a product? Or have you ever walked through the cosmetic and perfume section of a department store where a representative stopped you to sample fragrances or cosmetics? Often times, these representatives represent the brands. They are not employees of the retailer. For example, if you walk past the Estee Launder counter, the rep is likely an Estee Lauder employee or an employee of a marketing company that specializes in experiential marketing.

These examples are the essence of experiential marketing. There is nothing more engaging then inviting a consumer to try your product.

For experiential marketing to be effective it must be properly planned and executed. The brand should have a clear objective at the outset. If the offer will be a taste test, for example, how will the consumer be converted into a customer? Running a sale on the product the day of the experiential marketing campaign and/or offering coupons and/or discounts on a first purchase are excellent ways to entice the consumer to buy.

Your sales person is as important as your product. The sales person should be able to attract the consumer, establish a rapport, create a comfort level, knowledgeably answer any questions and sell product. Experiential marketing is an investment and money well spent, however brands often err when they send in entry level staff and/or students to fill this very important role. This type of marketing should be executed by skilled professionals who are trained in experiential marketing if you want to ensure that that your investment results in the best possible representation of your brand.

Working with an experienced marketing company that specializes in experiential marketing can provide you with the skilled staff, expertise and consulting to make your marketing campaign a success.

For more information about experiential marketing please contact Store Support at 905 847 6513 or visit www.storesupport.ca

The Customer Experience is What Dictates Store Loyalty

How many different grocery stores do you go to every month? Chances are that you are loyal to a particular store, as are most consumers. Strong consumer loyalty is a retailer’s ultimate goal because repeat business is the key to profitability and success within the retail industry.  

Cost is often not what makes a consumer incorporate a retail store into his or her routine. Loblaw’s, for example, is slightly more expensive than store brands like No Frills, yet has a dedicated following of consumers who love the look and feel of the stores, the spacing and organization of the merchandise and the diverse range of merchandise. Similarly, Fortino's also offers pricier merchandise than a food chain like No Frills but many consumers choose Fortino’s because of the wide selection or brands and the quality of the produce. Product placement, customer engagement through product demos, dynamic store set-ups and displays also play a role in the customer’s overall experience.  

The customer experience is the sum of all experiences a customer has with a supplier of goods or services, over the duration of their relationship with that supplier. At retail, the customer experience is what will dictate the loyalty that a consumer shows to a particular retail store or brand. Efficient merchandising and distribution plays a huge role in the customer’s experience and features many moving variables that include: 

·         a wide range of products and brands

·         accessibility to those products and brands

·         product availability (products are sufficiently stocked and on the shelves)

·         products are properly priced 

Consumers want to find what they need in all one place especially when it comes to grocery shopping. A consumer will generally be loyal to a store (even if the cost of goods is slightly higher) when they can get everything they need in one central location. A consumer who visits a retailer to find that they don’t sell the brands they love, are consistently out of stock (sold out or simply not on the shelf) and/or the items prices are not clearly marked, can quickly get frustrated. Where un-stocked merchandise is concerned, it is very inconvenient to the consumer and they will likely not forget the experience the next time they need to shop. 

It pays to invest in the customer experience. Many retailers and brands have come to realize that working with professional merchandising and marketing companies can make a big difference when it comes to enhancing their customers’ experience, which leads to increased profit, heightened customer loyalty and increased customer retention.  

Professionals with expertise in this regard can point out and facilitate in-store improvements and offer services to improve overall merchandising and distribution. For example, working with a merchandising and distribution company will mean that your products will always be on the shelf because their staff will ensure that it is never out of stock or sitting in the back of a retailer’s warehouse. They have the skilled resources to provide trained support on-demand during high seasons, facilitate in-store marketing campaigns and assist in ensuring  adequate distribution and effective merchandising to increase store loyalty. 

For more information about the customer experience and improving store loyalty please contact Store Support at 905 847 6513 or visit www.storesupport.ca