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Supermarket Samples in the Internet Era
How online grocery delivery service Alice.com woos prospects and partners

Alice's custom swag bag

In this edition of CultureBuzz, we look at how Alice.com won over its audience with a strategic multi-touch sample campaign.

It's no secret that the internet era has reinvented shopping. Web users can purchase everything from shoes to books to high-end electronics from the comfort of their couches. In June 2009, grocery retailer Alice.com entered the market, taking the mundane task of grocery shopping to the next level.

Standing out in the crowded online shopping industry is no easy feat. Alice ups the ante by promising to "take household shopping off your to-do list," giving its customers robust household management tools like easy reordering, budget tracking and coupon organizing. Shoppers can order non-perishable food items and household goods from their own online grocery lists, while Alice helps them remember when to reorder (encouraging repeat business) and sweetens the deal with free shipping.

Alice.com’s sample kit Alice.com’s follow-up e-mail Include a branded pen like Alice's in your promotion ⇒

Throw in a sophisticated design aesthetic and a quirky brand personality, and it's no wonder Alice has experienced massive growth and garnered media attention from the likes of CNN, the Today Show and The New York Times.

In October 2009 Alice began a new digital sampling program intended to "directly connect with their end consumers and gain greater accountability from their advertising." Alice customers who placed orders during the month of October received a free logoed gift bag containing relevant product samples, an Alice-branded click pen and, for lucky shoppers, surprise gifts like an iPod Shuffle, a Flip video camera or certificates for free movie rentals. The branded goodie bags also held coupons for the sample items, which were chosen based on the demographics of the customer.

Alice followed up the swag bag with an e-mail containing additional coupons and marketing for the samples the customer received. When logging in to their online Alice account, shoppers could then see a report of the samples they received and easily click through to purchase the items.

Both Alice and the product manufacturers benefited from sending targeted samples to consumers more likely to buy certain products than the average supermarket aisle wanderer. The program also helped retailers measure the effectiveness of their samples by correlating customers' future purchases with the product samples and coupons each customer received.

Alice co-founder and CEO John Mullins has declared the multi-touch sample campaign a success. "The manufacturer gets an engaged user, and the consumer gets a new product that is directly relevant to his or her life," Mullins said. "It's a win-win that is dramatically better than the traditional method of blasting out a mountain of untargeted samples to an undefined audience and guessing whether the samples had any impact."

Want to check out Alice's grocery service? Click here to register (for free) and receive a $10 credit on your first order of $50 or more.

Three Steps to Sample Success

1. Direct mail is just the beginning.
   Alice had a clear-cut objective of increasing revenue by placing tangible, relevant samples directly in its customers' hands. By combining the snail-mail component with online support, the company was able to measure the success of the campaign and directly affect conversion. Driving prospective employees or partners from direct mail to a landing page allows you to get the hard statistics and measure your success.
2. Know your recipients better than they know themselves.
   Recipients of the supermarket samples were more likely to be converted because Alice had demographic information indicating their previous interest and likelihood of purchase. Any campaign will be more successful when recipients find it individually relevant. Consider using available demographic info or running an interest survey prior to sending out your big push to prospects.
3. Reinforce your brand with every step.
   Alice included gifts and branded merchandise in its sample campaign to build goodwill and brand loyalty among customers. Pairing traditional gifts like iPods and movie rentals with useful branded merchandise is a great way to associate your brand and logo with a positive experience.