Two speakers scheduled for the Food Marketing Institute (FMI) annual Convention and Educational Exposition this May are set to encourage food companies and retailers to adopt new management styles to boost productivity and revenue.
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Tom Feltenstein, chairman and CEO of the Neighborhood Marketing Institute, and Jim Sullivan believe that it is about time supermarket operators change their views on employees, who can potentially act as marketing ambassadors, increasing sales and boosting consumer loyalty.
In a sector dominated by high staff turnover, Sullivan, founder of consultancy group Sullivision, argues that employee retention is where the largest rewards lie for companies. Strategies to achieve this involve using the motto “the customer is always the customer,” increasing the number of meetings to gauge employee opinion and increasing the authority of frontline employees to make decisions that can increase consumer satisfaction.
Furthermore, the “internal customers” that are employees should be rewarded with what Sullivan calls the “5 C’s” of cash, clothes, concerts, CDs, and college (scholarships, tuition). This strategy, which most appeals to the 18-25 year old employee, can compliment the cheaper motivational move of providing personalised business cards.
For the more stoical retailers, the strategies may seem a little too much, but Sullivan and Feltenstein are adamant that “your front line is your bottom line.”
Tom Feltenstein: Secret Tools For Starting Your Neighborhood Marketing Revolution, 7 May: 10:15 to 11:30 am.
Jim Sullivan: 21 Creative Strategies To Improve Employee and Customer Loyalty 8 May: 10:15 to 11:30 am.
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