Business Skills

Conducting educational supermarket store tours continues to be a valuable way to point out new products, provide special diet guidance, dispel common food myths and highlight a variety of convenient, storewide options that help consumers prepare healthful meals at home. Conducted properly, tours can enhance customer loyalty, increase basket size and have a positive impact on the health of your shoppers. Here are five tips to help increase the effectiveness of your tours:

Retailers have a goal of providing choice to shoppers, including foods and beverages that align with the individual shopper’s definition of health and wellbeing. 

In the past, retailers who wanted to reach their target market with information on products and services typically created a printed ad or commercial, but in today’s digital world, marketing has become more of an omni channel approach. Yes, there is still paid media, but earned and owned media are also part of the picture. Here are some basic definitions to help you understand the differences and benefits of using these different marketing tactics:

As retail dietitians, we regularly navigate a tricky path between managing business requirements while providing meaningful and effective wellness guidance for supermarket shoppers. This is a task that is complicated enough under the best of circumstances. But as many of us have experienced in retail, the only constant is change itself. There have been many ‘disruptors’ recently, from the rise of e-commerce to the growth of small format stores, but perhaps one of the most intimidating disruptions happening at retail is the increase of retail mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the last few years. However, these types of changes can bring great opportunities to you and your wellness initiatives if you maintain a flexible perspective while aligning with your retailer’s new strategic plan.

Consumers love video content for a host of reasons – it’s visual and easy to absorb, convenient, can be viewed in short spurts, and is much more entertaining than reading. 

Whether you’re a team manager or a team member, there are a variety of things to consider in establishing career paths within retail dietetics programs.

Conquering your calendar means shining a light on what’s important to your work and to lead by example. If your crammed calendar looks more like a battle plan than a focused, realistic schedule, you’re not alone. Here are some tips for ensuring your days provide the space you need for opportunities, growth and success:

Motivational Interviewing (MI) is a proven counseling method that can help people resolve ambivalent feelings to find the internal motivation they need to change their behavior. The process involves a practical and empathetic facilitative style that takes into consideration how difficult it is to make life changes. This technique helps people become motivated to change negative behaviors and retail dietitians may find this intervention helpful in a variety of workplace situations.

If you follow various industry organizations in social media and through their e-newsletters, you’re likely to see announcements over time about other retail health and wellness initiatives.  Over the summer alone there have been key announcements – Kroger is hosting a wellness and music festival, Hy-Vee has streamlined their store tour process and is marketing the program more, Raley’s added a dietitian back to their organization, to name a few.

Most retail dietitians need to be proficient writers as a means of reaching their target shopper audience. Whether it’s authoring blog articles, ad copy, media scripts or social posts, being able to communicate concise, meaningful messages is vital. Becoming a good writer takes time and practice. Below are some tips to improve your writing skills to ensure your content is engaging and actionable.