Cia Harden is the Lead Produce Buyer at BriarPatch Food Co-op in Grass Valley, California.

Curating a great ad program is essential for keeping customers excited and coming back. Cia Harden, Lead Produce Buyer at BriarPatch Food Co-op in Grass Valley, California shares her insight and strategies on how to manage a successful ad program. Cia has been with BriarPatch Food Co-op for nineteen years. She knows what her customer’s buying patterns are and what they are looking for. Here’s what Cia takes into consideration when developing an ad program:

• Track Inventory: Keep an eye on your daily inventory and know when and how much product is moving through your department. This is key when making buying decisions and selecting good items to put on ad. It’s easier to increase sales on a product that customers love and frequently buy. Tracking will also help guide when you need to up or back off on ordering. By tracking inventory, you will be able to give accurate projections to your suppliers and secure products for your ad cycle.
• Pricing: Attractive sale pricing is very important. Finding the sweet spot for an item’s pricing will directly affect product movement. With a great ad price, you can more than double your normal movement.
• Displays: Display location is a very important to consider when planning your ads. Make a grand visual impact on customers the moment they walk into the department. Place displays in high foot-traffic areas. Build a large display with popular items that tend to move quickly. Proper placement is essential for optimizing movement and success.
• Promote: Work with your marketing team for in-store and social media support to bump up your ad offerings. Print out special in-store signage for products like staff testimonials, flavor notes, and recipe cards. Promoting the ad on social media is a good way to get the word out to the public.

BriarPatch Food Co-op’s Produce Department.