Want to give an extra boost to your meal solutions program or your Thanksgiving turkey sales? Then try putting some “entertaining experts” (we’ll call them EEs here) in your aisles to engage shoppers, promote items and do some up-selling.

The idea is the brainchild of Doron Levy, president of Captus Business Consulting, Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada (416- 587-9995, doron@gocaptus.com). He worked with a supermarket chain on a highly successful Thanksgiving season promotion last year. (Yes, they do celebrate Thanksgiving in Canada, with turkeys and everything, but a little earlier than we do.)

 

Here’s how it worked. Levy arranged to have the EEs staffing the area of the store that sold turkeys and associated products such as stuffing, desserts and side dishes. They engaged customers by asking “Are you reading for holiday entertaining?”

 

This led to easy conversations with shoppers, who most frequently had three questions: 1.) How do I stuff a turkey? 2.) How do you make gravy from scratch? 3.) What is the cooking time for a turkey?

 

Naturally, the EEs had the answers. But they also had recommendations for five promoted categories, along with menu cards/meal ideas with brand logos and prices for quick reference. The EEs even helped shoppers find products and put them into their baskets. And they were more than happy to up-sell or suggest additional products for holiday entertaining.

 

Shoppers loved the hands-on knowledge and special attention. The retailer loved the ROI, which Levy says was substantial. Ultimately, $663 was spent for labor per location over the course of six weekends before Christmas. Average increases for the five categories involved ranged from 19% to 32%, and overall baskets were 18% higher. Transactions increased by 42%.

 

“Having the expert there really gave it an elegant and classy ambiance,” Levy says. “Customers really appreciated the hands-on knowledge of the expert and showed this by spending more dollars more frequently. After debriefing the experts, most said they had no trouble placing extra items in the customers’ carts and that there was a sense of excitement during the whole event.”

 

Levy sees this type event working nearly anywhere, with most any product. “The possibilities are really limitless,” he says.