Don't Overlook One of Your Best Resources: Your Store's Website

Take a minute to think about your website. Actually, go ahead and open it in another window. Now, put yourself in your customer’s shoes – "I'm going to the store to buy groceries. I want to see what is on sale this week, and I need quick and easy recipes, cooking tips, and preparation tips to turn sale items into healthy and delicious meals for my family." While searching on your store's website for these needs, are you led to beef?

If your 2 minute search leads you to coupons for beef, recipes for beef and promotions related to beef sales, great! If not, here are a few ideas to allow you to meet your customer's needs and encourage them to visit the meat department:

• Include information on your website about perks shoppers can receive when using their frequent shopper cards to buy beef.
• People are looking to save money in any way possible. Consider offering coupons on your website as a way to encourage customers to shop for beef at your meat department.
• Place a sign by the meat case telling customers "Save Money! Visit [insert your store's web site address here] for coupons on beef."
• Highlight weekly beef specials with product photos and prices on your website's homepage.
• Provide a bank of beef recipes on your website. Place a sign by the meat case: "Tired of the same meals over and over? Visit [insert your store's web site address here] for new beef recipe ideas!"
• If your store is currently featuring middle meat cuts or has implemented the Beef Alternative Merchandising (BAM) make sure your website informs your customers they can currently get some of the most tender and delicious beef cuts available at a great value.
• Offer cooking tips and preparation tips for beef. Feature a tip applicable to the current season on your homepage. During the summer months, give grilling and marinating tips. During the winter, give tips for entertaining with a holiday roast.
• Utilize the ultimate consumer resource – BeefItsWhatsForDinner.com to find recipes, preparation and cooking tips, food safety and nutrition information to share with customers on your site. Customer handouts filled with tips, recipes and prep info are also available.

Note: If you're not able to include recipes, cooking tips and preparation tips on your store's website, you can always link your customers to BeefItsWhatsForDinner.com. Work with your store's marketing department or webmaster to incorporate the above ideas into your store's website.