I recently watched the programme about Sainsbury’s – Inside the Supermarket on the BBC. Here are my thoughts on episode 2:

It was Easter and stores were challenged to sell the most hot cross buns than the other regional stores.

They followed one store and they put hot cross buns in every place imaginable. In the bakery, at the front of the shop, in the aisles and near the checkouts.

But just because you put it everywhere in the shop doesn’t mean more people will buy it.

Most thinking is that you can sell to everyone.

Put it everywhere and hit everyone and you will make people buy.

Like most advertising/marketing.

Throw it everywhere and some of it will stick.

But you sell to people that want to buy.

For instance, when Jordan Belfort (the Wolf of Wall Street guy) was a kid, he saw that a kid was delivering papers to houses.

He noticed that the kid delivered papers to some houses and not other houses. 

So Jordan followed and noted all the houses he didn’t deliver too.

He then went round to the houses that the kid didn’t deliver too and knocked on their door and tried to sell them a paper.

The result?

Zero sales.

But why?

The reason was that those houses didn’t want a paper.

Jordan wouldn’t have been the first kid to knock on their door and try and sell them a paper.

So, he did the opposite. He sold to people that have already bought a paper and sold them another paper.

He knocked on those doors and guess what?

He had a paper round. 

You can’t sell to everyone. But when people are in the market to buy what you sell, the product needs to be correctly positioned. That could be correctly positioned by price, place, quality, convenience etc.

So if people wanted to buy hot cross buns they would go to the bakery and pick the ones in the bakery, rather than at the front of the shop or next to the tills. 

Would people buy hot cross buns next to the checkouts? They could have been there for hours or weeks. So putting the product in an unfamiliar place could put off buyers instead of encouraging them.

You need to target people you are selling to and tell them this is the best product and service available. 

What needs to be done is communicate that hot cross buns are on sale. Things that could be done include:

– The front of the store and around the shop you could have a person going round giving out free tasters of hot cross buns. If they like it, they can point them into the direction of the bakery. 

– Tannoy messages that hot cross buns are on sale in the bakery this week

– Signs at the till about fresh hot cross buns are available at the bakery. Maybe even have the sign on the checkout dividers. 

– The staff at the checkout could ask if they wanted to buy hot cross buns.

If I don’t want it I won’t buy it.

But if I want to buy it give me a reason to buy yours instead of any others.