Automatic Merchandiser - 31

McWhirter said this is especially
attractive for smaller and independent
operators who need help in getting
a collective deal in place to get more
value out of the investment in their
equipment. He noted that micro
market operators can offer CPG brands
something other industries can't: direct
access to the workforce consumer.
"We had a certain CPG that wanted
to put out a feature for a new flavor of
product," McWhirter explained. "They
would give you half off the product if
you answered two survey questions
that were linked on that ad. That CPG
got a lot of insight from direct consumers that was candid and targeted for the
space it was consumed in. It was a new
channel that CPG had never been able
to reach before to really tap into the
at-work consumer."
HOW TO USE PROMOTIONS
EFFECTIVELY

Integrating promotions can be as
simple as selecting a daypart to increase
sales, such as a free coffee with a breakfast item to boost the 5 a.m. to 10 a.m.
time slot, or offering buy one/get one
free on featured products. According to
Jorquera, another way to keep consumers engaged and excited is to offer a
"product of the week" deal, in which
operators promote a specific product to
their customers.
"That 'product of the week' will
be promoted so it shows up at the top
of customers' vĪv menus and/or the
product will be discounted to provide further incentive to purchase,"
Jorquera said. "We've seen the impact
of this particular effort increase sales of
specific products anywhere from 20%
to 300%."
It can also incentivize customers to
buy items that operators need to move
quickly.
"We have an operator in the Midwest who has a 'Fresh Food Friday'
promotion," Reilly said. "On Fridays,
they offer 40% off fresh foods. That's a

win-win because the market customers love to get a good deal. At the same
time, it allows the operator to sell out
their fresh food before the weekend."
Moving beyond internal promotions in the micro market, Danna suggested that operators propose to their
clients' HR departments the creation of
a unique rewards program for highperforming employees.
"Talk to HR about creating a
'high-five' program," Danna said. "This
allows HR to identify the top number
of employees at the end of the month
and reward them with a voucher that
is only good in the micro market. The
consumer then logs into their account,
scans the voucher and it will top up
their account with the dollar value. It is
a great tool for the vending operator to
get money in advance by invoicing the
company for these vouchers."
Avanti offers a meal allowance that
enables the employer to load money on
an employee's stored value card.
"Every week, [employers] could give
[employees] $5 or $10, and it's good for
a week. Then, it resets at the beginning
of every week," Reilly explained. "We've
been promoting meal allowance as a
way to engage with employees to keep
in them in the office, safe and virusfree. We're seeing employers start to
take a bigger look at that."
DURING COVID-19 AND BEYOND

For operators who have experienced a
slowdown in micro market business,
Jorquera advised working closely with
accounts who are still active to maximize impactful promotions.
"If the account is open, operators should be taking advantage of
these programs more to increase
engagement with their loyal customer
base to show that they're not going
anywhere and they support their
customers and are thinking of them,"
he said. "Double down [on] efforts at
accounts that remain busy and could
use further engagement."

Danna said operators who have
seen a decrease in pantry service can
take this opportunity to convert those
accounts to a subsidized micro market.
"Instead of companies offering
100% subsidized products, they can
now offer items at different subsidies
based on what they are willing to
cover," Danna explained. "You will
also be able to tier these subsidies to
give different percentages based on
the type of products they are purchasing from the market. A great example
is to give a subsidy for only healthy
products."
As employees are increasingly
returning to work, operators can take
this opportunity to reintroduce the
micro market.
"We've talked to our operators
about doing 'welcome back' rewards,
or doing a re-grand opening," Reilly
said. "These professional efforts will
provide the company with a touchpoint
for their employees and show them
that they care about their safety and are
offering promotions to them."
"A company's micro market provides a natural touchpoint for employers to positively communicate and
show they care," Reilly said. "Offering a
special 'welcome back' reward or doing
a re-grand opening of their market
can create a sense of connection while
encouraging staff to stay safely onsite
for snack and meals."
Johnson reinforced how important
a personal connection - from a safe
distance - can be as micro markets
reopen to customers.
"It doesn't have to be this huge
grand reopening, but just show up and
sit there and talk to people," Johnson
said. "Remind people that this a business and there are humans behind it
who care. That will get people warmed
back up. Micro markets should come
back stronger than ever because people
don't want to go to a public place when
they can get what they want right there,
in their office." ■
June/July 2020 * VendingMarketWatch.com

http://www.VendingMarketWatch.com

Automatic Merchandiser

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