SAN FRANCISCO -- On-line grocery sellers need to leverage the data they are gathering about shopping habits to deliver more targeted marketing messages and promotions. "Developing relationships with your on-line customers is a marketing opportunity you cannot ignore," Kitt Williams, director of sales for the central region for MyPoints.com, told an audience at eFood '99, held here earlier this month. The conference was sponsored by the International Quality and Productivity Center, Little Falls, N.J. MyPoints.com, Schaumburg, Ill., is a provider of on-line direct-marketing, incentive and loyalty programs.
"Two-thirds of all adult Americans belong to at least one loyalty program. These customers are saying 'talk to me.' You need to talk to them on-line. Hit them with e-mail, special offers. On-line retailers are building incredible databases. Targeting those customers with relevant offers is key. There has to be interactivity and personalization," she said.
The challenge is to go beyond offering discounts for frequent shoppers, said Frank Britt, vice president of Streamline, Westwood, Mass. "We've really got to work to build a relationship with the customer. We've got the ability to track the success of our customer service on every transaction. We've got to use that information to constantly add value," he said.
He noted that Streamline is focusing on a specific market -- homes with children. "We feel that by focusing on that consumer and understanding all their needs, we can leverage the experience and data we have gathered to constantly improve," he noted.
The Web offers enormous flexibility in terms of pricing and gauging the effectiveness of new products, said speaker Frederick J. Horowitz, president and chief executive officer of Netgrocer, an on-line grocery and delivery services company headquartered in North Brunswick, N.J.
"On the Internet, we can be in and out in a day on promotions," Horowitz said, noting that it is a fairly simple process to adjust the pricing of items being sold over the Internet. "We don't need to change signs or send out fliers," he said.
He also noted that ramp-up time for a new product introduction can happen quickly on-line. "In a typical product introduction, it can take two or three weeks to be sure the item is on the shelf. On-line, it happens instantly. Also, it allows for experimentation," he noted.
