Final Report

Comms 318: PR Research

Cara ChristensenAmberly AsayAngie HatchKate KeenanBev Storrs

1

Executive Summary

2

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

a. The purpose of our research was to determine why the love group was called the

love group. We wanted to find out why the customers loved GPDB and what the benefits

were for them. Once we found out what the customers loved about GPDB then we could

use it to sell to the swing group and all of those interested in organic foods.

b. We were able to find the answers we needed to in our research questions. Of those

the questions asked were: How satisfied are you with the Green PolkaDot Box customer

service? How manageable the website is on a scale of 1-10? What the biggest factor

keeping you from shopping at Green PolkaDot Box? What categories of product do you

purchase most?

c. We conducted research through a number of different methods. We conducted a

very useful focus group made up of members of the love group. We also helped conduct

a survey with 500 different types of customers. We also did some social media analytics

associated with those talking about GPDB and organic foods, those who were the biggest

advocates and those who were most influential in the organic food world.

d. In our focus group we were able to determine that the customers were pleased with

GPDB and bought products their number one out of convenience and two because of the

products offered through GPDB. In our survey and the statistics we ran, we found that

those who shop for groceries online and shop at GPDB, shop exclusively at GPDB. We

found that shipping costs are not as much of a concern as the client originally thought and

3

should focus their efforts on other aspects. We found that GPDB currently has a great

reputation and one that their customers are proud of.

4

Introduction to Research

5

INTRODUCTION

The most basic need of Green PolkaDot Box is to bring in more revenue so they

can become a profitable company. They are still a fairly new company, and the methods

they have used to bring in more business in the past have proved to be unsuccessful and

unprofitable. For example, at one point they gave out free memberships. Doing so left

them with 17,000 members, but there are only a few thousand of those customers who

make regular purchases. The issue with Green PolkaDot Box is that they are trying to

become a leader in online groceries, but the concept of online groceries has not yet

gained worldwide popularity. They also have to compete with similar companies, such as

Whole Foods, who pride themselves on their supplies of organic and healthy foods. The

goal for Green PolkaDot Box is to become a leading voice in the organic foods market

and increase the number of customers making regular purchases.

Our group will be focused on the “love” group, which consists of individuals who

purchase from Green PolkaDot Box regularly. Research questions that will be asked are:

-How satisfied are you with Green PolkaDot Box customer service?

-How manageable is the website on a scale of 1-10? (1 being difficult to navigate, 10 being easy to navigate).

-What is the biggest factor keeping you from shopping at Green Polkadot Box?

-What categories of product do you purchase most?The methodology we will use will include a few different components. We will conduct

background research to better understand the market of organic foods, and the history of

Green PolkaDot Box. We will contact individuals given to us from Green PolkaDot Box

in order to assemble a group with which to conduct a focus group. We will analyze their

6

responses and determine what opinions appear most frequently. We will also produce a

survey, then analyze our results in order to determine what we learned through the

survey.

7

Background Research

8

BACKGROUND RESEARCH

Background on Organization

The Green PolkaDot Box company was first created in 2007 with the focus of

providing affordable, organic products to everyone. Rod Smith, along with his wife and

five children, helped create Green PolkaDot Box with that vision. The company’s overall

goals focus on providing customers with accessibility to clean, organic, and specialty

foods. They also specialize in catering to customers with unique dietetic needs like

specific allergies, vegetarian or vegan food preferences, and gluten-free products. The

Green PolkaDot Box has also earned a respected reputation for providing non-GMO

products.

Green PolkaDot Box’s products range from household cleaners to harvest fresh

produce to supplements. Smith and family created Green PolkaDot Box to provide

customers with products that fit into their lifestyle; whether they suffer from allergies or

simply prefer healthy alternatives. By being an online-based store, customers are able to

shop at their own convenience and accessibility which regular grocery stores or even

other health-based grocers don’t offer.

Since the early 2000’s the organic food industry has grown rapidly. With people

becoming more and more concerned about their health, the search for health foods has

increased as well. Specialty stores like Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s have had major

success with the health food craze, the Green PolkaDot Box distinguishes itself from the

group. The Green PolkaDot Box capitalizes its market by providing health-conscious

products delivered to your doorstep. They also have huge support and experience positive

publicity in providing non-GMO food. Their website also allows customers to search for

9

food based on specific allergies, diseases, and organic preference. The main idea behind

this company is to provide the public with health conscious products conveniently, right

at their fingertips.

In the past, Green PolkaDot Box tried to gain customers by providing free

memberships. Although there are 17,000 people signed up for a membership, only a

handful are actively buying from the site currently. For a company with such a small net

sales figure, $980,000 for the last fiscal year, Green PolkaDot Box must retain the good

members they have, and gain more active members in order to make a profit and expand.

Green PolkaDot Box has received praise and support from many health-conscious

and “mommy” blogs. The exposure from the blogs has created a positive response and

new members have joined because of this. Mike Adams, whose blog NaturalNews is

influential in the health community, raves about Green PolkaDot Box and their services.

Currently, Green PolkaDot Box offers a free trial membership for 30 days.

Potential customers have the option to shop and buy products without a membership for

30 days with hopes that they sign up after the trial.

Research on product/service provided

Green PolkaDot Box is a family owned, online membership grocery shopping

company, similar to Costco or Sam’s Club, that specializes in organic and specialty

foods, as well as earth-friendly household and personal care items. The company offers a

lowest price guarantee, and have also made a stand against products that contain any

GMO’s, MSG and preservatives.

10

Green PolkaDot Box offers three different membership options: the Charter

Membership, the Club Membership, and the Rewards Membership. The Charter

Membership costs $1,000, gives the member $2000 in shopping privileges and sets their

membership for life. The Club Membership costs $50 per year and gives the member a

$50 credit to begin their shopping experience. Finally, the Rewards Membership costs

$125 annually and gives the member access to a $75 credit for their initial purchase, plus

access to additional deals and rewards. At the end of this year, the Rewards and Charter

Memberships will not be available, and the Club Membership will be the only option.

Green PolkaDot Box offers shelf-stable groceries for the health-conscious

consumer, including baking supplies, breakfast foods, beverages, soups, canned goods,

legumes, condiments, grains, pastas, ready-made organic meals, sauces, snacks and

superfoods. They also offer personal care items like shampoos, and other hygiene items

and lotions, and baby care items. They also stock cleaning supplies and kitchenware,

vitamins and other supplements, gardening supplies, seeds, and composting materials.

Another service that sets Green PolkaDot Box apart from other online grocers, is

their new Harvest Fresh Program, that ships fresh, organically grown produce to the

customer in a refrigerated box. There is an auto ship option connected with this service so

that consumers can get their produce sent to them on a weekly basis. Employees of Green

PolkaDot Box recently conducted a survey of their customers regarding this service, and

it has been met with differing attitudes. Many people like the idea, but many customers

are single or live in small families who don’t consume enough produce to value the auto

ship option. Also, many live in produce-rich regions and go to farmers markets to

purchase their produce because they value locally-grown produce.

11

Resources and Personnel

Green PolkaDot Box has a personal relationship with each of its vendors, and

secures a special lowest price from each of them as a result of their strong relationship.

There are many bloggers who blog about Green PolkaDot Box, as well as dietitians and

food-conscious opinion leaders. Mike Adams from Naturalnews.com has featured the

company on his site, and directs his consumers to Green PolkaDot Box.

The CEO of Green PolkaDot Box is Rod Smith. The company is family owned

and run, and all of the management is run in-house. They have a team of programmers

that is working to develop the website into the most user-friendly option for online

grocery shopping.

Customer service for Green PolkaDot Box prides itself on being legendary, and it

is run by Sariah and her sisters. Customers always talk to a real person. For any orders

that are less than satisfactory, points are added to the consumer’s Green PolkaDot Box

account so they can receive the correct product.

Background on Issue & History of the Issue

The history of the issue in the case of Green PolkaDot Box is online grocery

shopping and organic foods. Online shopping is not a new idea and many companies sell

products online. It is convenient and easy for the tech-savvy generation. However,

shopping online was not always a common occurrence. Online grocery shopping was a

rough market at the beginning. Some learned to roll with the punches while some failed

to adapt. Organic foods are a prevalent issue with a growing public right now because

the idea to an overall healthy lifestyle is growing. People want to put the best things into

12

their body to get the best out and best health possible. In the last few years, there have

been a few companies that have attempted to find success in the online grocer industry.

Some of which are the following:

Webvan (failed online grocer):

- Had an overly aggressive business strategy

- Put too much money in investments too quickly

- Leaders in the company had little to no experience in the grocery world

- Had no market research/didn’t know their audience.

- Offered customers their groceries within a 30 minute window of their choosing,

which was unrealistic due to the time required to pull items from the shelves, the orders

arriving late at night, and varying driving times required

- Groceries were more expensive

- They underestimated the difficulty of capturing a market

- They did recognize that an online market exists and would be able to thrive if

handled correctly

- “In a mere 18 months, it raised $375 million in an IPO, expanded from the San

Francisco Bay Area to eight U.S. cities, and built a gigantic infrastructure from the

ground up (including a $1 billion order for a group of high-tech warehouses). Webvan

came to be worth $1.2 billion (or $30 per share at its peak), and it touted a 26-city

expansion plan. But considering that the grocery business has razor-thin margins to begin

with, it was never able to attract enough customers to justify its spending spree. The

13

company closed in July 2001, putting 2,000 out of work and leaving San Francisco's new

ballpark with a Webvan cup holder at every seat.”

- “Companies like Tesco and Peapod have entered the delivery market and not only

survived, but also thrived in the grocery delivery arena.”

Grocery Gateway (long standing successful online grocer in Canada):

- Focused on growing slowly

- Found a market that wanted their products in this way and capitalized

- Mission statement - “As of August 25, 2004, Grocery Gateway is being operated

by Longo Brothers Fruit Markets Inc. A family-owned independent business since our

founding in 1956, Longo's hallmarks of quality, freshness and personal in-store service

have earned us a reputation we're proud of. At Longo's we're dedicated to exceeding your

expectations by offering the best food experience to every customer, every time –

whether in our stores or at your door.”

- "Grocery Gateway has succeeded where other online grocers have failed because

of our focus on proving our model works in the Toronto market, and not expanding too

quickly," Al Sellery, Grocery Gateway's president and chief executive, said.

Peapod (successful online grocer):

- Did not own warehouses in the beginning

- Partnered with existing groceries to grow in community

- Used local supermarkets to fill orders

- Use a centralized warehouse plan now (independent warehouses)

14

- Strived to keep balance between automation and people

- Human element is key to customer satisfaction

- Relied on external alliances and customer relations

- Implemented technology gradually

- Focused on concentrated markets

- From the beginning, Peapod’s focus was on groceries.

- Their “go slow” attitude and partnerships were keys to success

- Did not stray far from their original area/market

- “This is where Peapod earned its experience. With Royal Ahold’s help, Peapod

developed a more profitable model and gained a solid hold on the e-grocery business.”

- “Currently, Peapod is still expanding operations but e-commerce purists could

argue that this company is not truly a pure play e-grocer since they never strayed too far

from Ahold’s traditional storefront infrastructure.”

Organic Foods

- The way products are grown and processed in order to meet requirements

- Safe soil, no modifications and must remain separate from conventional products

- Not allowed to use synthetic pesticides, bioengineered genes (GMOs), petroleum-

based fertilizers and sewage sludge-based fertilizers

Benefits of organic food

- Fewer pesticides

- Fresher

15

- Organic farming is better for environment/ soil

- Organically raised animals not given antibiotics, growth hormones or fed animal

byproducts

- Better taste, truer flavor

- Reduce toxic load from bodies

- Reduce off-farm pollution

Factors contributing to the issue-

Research on the effects of online shopping:

Interface design and the interaction between computer and consumer are critical to

business effectiveness over the web.

A key aspect in retail is store layout, in our case virtual store layout.

A test was conducted in Greece and the UK to see how different layouts manipulated

their behavior.

Their results showed that customers prefer a hierarchical/tree structure, provided

only by the grid layout, which appears to be the easiest to use.

Customers’ planned shopping behavior is also helped by them being able to reach any

place in the store directly, either from the homepage or from any other place in the store.

Racetrack and freeform layouts engage subjects for longer.

Web grocers benefit from growing numbers of women surfing the Internet.

"Women make the majority of [food] purchases and household decisions, so it's no

surprise that they are utilizing the Internet as a tool for daily living," said Kenneth Cassar,

director of strategic analysis for Nielsen//NetRatings.

16

Consumers today have fewer security concerns and are willing to complete financial

transactions over the Internet, as shown by online banking.

One busy consumer, Cummings said, “There is a huge tradeoff to pay for

convenience.”

Factors contributing: bargaining power, growth, cost structure, competitor analysis.

Consumers are time starved, wanting to be organic and healthy.

Convenience: You can shop at your desk at work, on the phone, waiting on the train.

You can take advantage of specials on bulk goods, and not have to worry about taking it

home. All you have to do is answer the door, unpack your groceries, and return to your

daily business.

Savings: It is difficult to compare prices when you are in a supermarket, either

because there are too many distractions or there isn’t time in a crowded aisle. Online you

can see clearly and easily what’s on special. You can even just shop from the sale

section. You can look at everything in your cart and the prices and make better decisions

about what to keep and discard. You don’t even have to put things back on shelves if you

don’t want them.

Healthiness: Online grocery shopping offers so many ways to inspire healthy

decisions. It is a lot harder to get distracted by junk food or other things you don’t want

to buy. You can search for and view only the things on your list, or look only on the

seafood, organic, or grains page. You can always look over your cart one more time

before you purchase anything.

Past Research

17

The popularity of organic food has grown substantially over the last decade.

Research has been conducted in a variety of ways to study consumer trends in purchasing

organic foods, and consumer attitudes towards organic foods. Some of that research has

found the following:

“Organic food is one of the fastest growing areas of the food market in Europe,

Northern America, Australia and Japan with sales being in excess of $114.5 billion in

1999. Although organic food sales still account for only around 1 per cent of the total

food market, many countries are showing growth of 20 to 30 per cent annually”

(Leatherhead, 2000).

A more recent study found, “The organic food industry has been growing rapidly

and now accounts for about two per cent of the world's retail food market. The organic

industry (food and non-food) reached $10.8 billion in consumer sales in 2003 expanding

by 20 percent in 2004 to reach $12.7 billion” ([25] Scheel, 2005; [24] Organic Trade

Association, 2004).

“Previous studies on the organic food market diverge in the level of stress that

they place on socio-economic variables versus product attributes such as taste, freshness,

quality, safety etc. Yet, a common outcome of these studies is that organic food

purchasers are likely to be highly educated (college and above), young, and to have

relatively high incomes ([8] Govindasamy and Italia, 1999).”

“According to existing research, organic food is perceived as food without

‘chemicals’ and ‘growth hormones’, food that is ‘not intensively’ produced and is grown

as ‘natural’ (Soil Association, 2000; Makatouni, 1999; Davies et at, 1995).” “Consumers

purchase organic food mainly for health reasons; in view of being better for the children

18

because of lower pesticides and fertiliser residues (Soil Association, 2000, Makatouni,

1999; Latacz-Lohmann and Foster, 1997; Morris, 1996; Davies et al, 1995; Tregear et aL,

1994). Moreover, better taste, being like home-grown, being free from BSE, genetic

modification and food additives are motivations for buying organic food.”

“The main reasons that prevent consumers from buying organic food are: high

price, lack of availability, satisfaction with conventional food, lack of trust, the limited

choice and lack of perceived value (Soil Association, 2000; Makatouni, 1999, Mintel,

1999; Morris, 1996; Davies et at, 1995; Roddy et al, 1994; Tregear et aL, 1994).”

“Previous research has shown that measurement of consumer attitudes and belief

structures becomes more reliable and predictive of consumer behaviour when the focus is

on specific products rather than in broad product categories in general (Bredahl, 1998).”

The life values which were revealed to be factors in consumer attitudes towards

organic food are:

(1) values that are centered around the human being

(2) values that are centered around animals' well-being; and

(3) values centered around the environment.

“Regarding the first category, values that refer to human health, well-being, and

feelings and desires are included, such as responsibility for health and wellbeing of self

and family, feeling relaxed and satisfied, nostalgia, longer life, happy life. Moreover,

these values can focus either on the individuals (longer life, feel relaxed and satisfaction)

or on the family unit (responsible for family health and well-being) or on the society unit

as a whole. In this category the most frequently mentioned value was that referring to the

19

health-related factor and, in particular, for being responsible for health and well-being for

self and family.”

“While definitions differ, many agree that organic products refer to products made

without the use of conventional fertilizers, pesticides, hormones, or genetically modified

components,” (Valentin, 2011).

Yet, buyers of organic products are generally less price-sensitive, more socially

conscious, and tend to object to major retailers’ business practices—e.g., the way they

treat small farmers. They may have negative image that repulses them from buying

organic foods from those stores,” (Valentin, 2011).

“A MORI poll in 1999 found that one third of the public buy organic food (SA,

1999). In an NOP poll in August 2004 this had increased to 77 per cent of all households

buying some organic products,” (SA, 1999).

“Historically, organic food was only available in selective locations, such as

health food stores. However, supermarkets have gradually increased their number of

organic product lines in response to changing consumer preferences and the development

of the organic supply chain,” (Pearson, 2011).

Based on the research we conducted, we developed possible questions that would

help to better understand our love group. These questions included:

· How satisfied are you with Green Polkadot Box customer service?

· How manageable is the website on a scale of 1-10? (1 being difficult to navigate, 10 being easy to navigate).

· What is the biggest factor keeping your from shopping at Green Polkadot Box?

· What categories of product do you purchase most?

20

We believe these questions will help identify our group’s needs and self-interests. By answering these questions, we hope to help create a solution for Green PolkaDot Box.

21

Primary Research

22

PRIMARY RESEARCH

Qualitative research and analysis

i. Describe qualitative methodology

a. How participants were selected:

The process of selecting participants involved contacting Sariah Smith for the

email addresses of our targeted public, and sending each GPDB member on that list a

short screening survey. Since our group was the “love” group, we asked Sariah for a list

of email addresses of clients in the Utah area who made purchases at GPDB two or more

times per month. This list consisted of 72 people. Once the list of emails was provided,

an email was sent out informing the clients that we are BYU students in the public

relations program who are working closely with GPDB. We also told them that we were

holding a focus group for GPDB to better understand what customers like and dislike

about the company, and included incentive and logistical information about the focus

group. Attached to the email was a survey, which asked questions about each client,

including their name, age, occupation, gender, marital status, how often they purchase

from Green Polka Dot Box, what would be the best way to contact them and if they

would be a part of the focus group. From this information, we followed up with those

who said they would be willing to participate in the focus group in the manner they had

previously specified. The follow up included a reminder of the day, time, location and

incentives.

b. How interviews were conducted:

The one interview that was conducted was via email because one of the women

who wanted to come to the focus group was out of town. We asked her the same

23

questions that we asked in the focus group, and she answered them and responded in a

reasonable amount of time.

c. How the focus group was conducted:

The focus group was conducted by Amberly, and Cara was her assistant and also

took notes. It was held in the Tanner Building in conference room W139, on Wednesday,

September 26 at 7:30 pm. The actual discussion began at about 7:35, and the focus group

lasted approximately 55 minutes. Green Polka Dot Box provided organic snacks and

drinks.

d. Description of focus group

We had four people attend the focus group and give feedback about Green Polka

Dot Box. The four participants were; Connie Self, an organic enthusiastic Doula, and

early investor in GPDB; Tracey Christensen, a young mother who recently lost a sizeable

amount of weight, and Suzy and Tim Hayes who are both in the workforce and are

extremely health-conscious as well. The focus group lasted 55 minutes, and the

discussion included asking if the clients do any other online shopping, asking how Green

Polka Dot Box fits into the each client’s lifestyle, what groceries they purchase the most

frequently, who they talk to about the company, why they shop there and what keeps

them coming back. The discussion deviated a little bit from the main questions that were

asked, but it was still structured, and these were the main points. Each participant was

active in the group discussion and gave helpful feedback about Green Polka Dot Box.

e. Incentives used

24

We had two different incentives for our focus group. First, each participant was

promised a $50.00 credit to their Green Polka Dot Box member accounts as a thank-you

for their feedback. The second incentive we used was a gift certificate to Studio 1030, a

Paul Mitchell Signature Salon in the basement of the Wilkinson Student Center at BYU.

These gift certificates included services like free haircuts, free scalp treatments, free nail

shellac or 50 percent off any service. Studio 1030 donated the certificates. Each

participant chose the certificate they preferred.

f. How interviews were transcribed and analyzed

Cara conducted the e-mail interview and the responses were included within the

transcription of the focus group itself below each question that was answered in the focus

group. The transcription of the focus group was then divided into 12-minute intervals and

each interval was assigned to a team member who transcribed that section. After each

section was transcribed, Kate formatted it and made sure each section was finished. Cara

and Amberly then did the analysis of the transcription, and Kate and Angie identified

primary and secondary themes that occurred within the focus group. Bev wrote up the

descriptive paragraphs about the focus group and incentives used.

ii. Provide analysis of qualitative data.

a. Interviews:

Misty does no other shopping online for food. She likes GPDB because she is

vegan and they offer a lot more choices for her dietary needs than regular supermarkets.

She talks to friends who are local business owners and other vegans about GPDB. Misty

is a very “niche” type of customer, and one that GPDB should continue to target.

25

b. Focus Group:

The focus group we held with the love group was very informative. We

discovered that some of the frequent shoppers, shopped as often as they did because they

are shareholders in the company, and thus they are invested in the company’s success or

failure. Focus group attendants loved a lot of the products that are offered from GPDB,

but had some frustrations with some of the details in the actual ordering process on the

website. They were concerned that some products are not always available. They were

frustrated that their favorite products go away without explanation or warning. They also

wanted to be able to pull up their previous order. When asked if they would recommend

GPDB to their friends, they all said that they hadn’t done so yet, and they agreed that

they wouldn’t do so immediately because they feel that the company and website are not

“up to par” enough and sharing the information is confusing.

ii. We found three main patterns in the reasons that members

of GPDB gave for purchasing GPDB’s products. The first reason is the cost-effectiveness

and competitive pricing of the products, the second is convenience of shopping in the

comfort of their own home, or wherever they happen to be, and finally the health benefits

of the products themselves. Our focus group participants love the whole concept and are

behind the company 100 percent, they are, however looking for a stronger, more reliable

ordering system.

If we are going to convince the “swing” group or attract new customers to GPDB,

it will be important to strengthen the aspects of the organization that the love group loves,

26

but it will also be important to address the issues that the GPDB love group brought

forward.

When Green PolkaDot Box presented the issues they are currently facing, they

suggested a solution of getting current customers to purchase more at one time, or just to

purchase more often. However, in our focus group we discovered that what the loyal

members of GPDB order is already a lot of (if not too much) food for their families, and

they make these purchases because they want to support the company. Thus far, GPDB

has not targeted the right group of people who will help them increase their sales. Rather

than asking their loyal customers to double what they are already spending, the key to

GPDB’s success is going to hinge on reaching the right network of health-conscious

people who value organic foods that do not include GMO’s.

iii. Using the constant comparative technique of Thematic Analysis, identify

primary and secondary themes. Describe the themes and use quotes (data) from

interviews and focus groups to support your thematic analysis. Be selective with quotes.

a. An important aspect of Green PolkaDot Box is its convenience to provide

healthy, organic food to customers. Its main mission is to make shopping easier and to

provide the best products for its customers. The focus group provided many key themes

that are important to understand how Green PolkaDot Box should do better serve its

customers. Here are the themes broken down into primary and secondary messages.

b. Primary

1. Desire to find a good deal.

27

A common theme throughout the focus group was the customers’ frustration in

finding good deals for organic foods. They noted that GPDB is able to meet those

specific needs and gave ideas for what they should do better. They said that GPDB

should improve its produce selection because so far it is still easier to buy organic

produce locally.

Tracey: "I'll often shop specials on GPDB so that but the things that I know that's the best deal that I could get without having to go to a bunch of stores."

Misty: “We eat a LOT of produce in our family, so I was hoping for fresh and inexpensive but organic produce.”

Tim: “Mine was just okay, trust related, okay Rob so you say you can beat Costco pricing. That was number one.”

Connie: “The green leaf lettuce, that is really normal. For $1.89 I can get that if I go to the health food store and I will pay exactly that for a bunch of green leaf or red leaf lettuce or baker romaine for $1.99. If you go to Costco and buy the big bins for $3.99, it goes rotten so fast. I find that two days later its rotten for me so I don’t buy it anymore. I don’t like the wait. It’s a cheaper deal.”

2. Convenience of shopping/receiving product

Many reasons why customers shop at GPDB is because of its convenience. They

are able to shop for healthy, organic products from the comfort of their own homes. They

love that the food is delivered to their doors, and agree that it does save them time. All

participants agreed that they like the convenience and how the food comes in the box.

Connie: "I live rurally, so it's hard for me to got to the store, and I LOVE coming home to a box of groceries on my front step. I just love it, that I didn't have to drive somewhere to get it."

Tracey: "My kids love it. It's fast, and I do like being able to shop online because I can do it at any hour, in any form of attire, so that's nice."

Tracey: “Well I do love the convenience. My kids think it is just like Christmas.”

28

Suzy: “For us, we are super busy professionals, so time is a big thing. It's convenient, I can do it wherever, whenever, in whatever city I happen to be in at the time.”

Suzy: “I know every few days, you know, they just buy all their groceries, and probably it takes more time, and a lot of it, for me it's a huge time saver and I love it for that reason.”

3. Reasons for buying elsewhere

Green PolkaDot Box is interested in why its customers still feel the need to shop

elsewhere when they order two or three times a month. Participants shared that GPDB

doesn’t have everything they normally want to buy, and sometimes it is just easier to run

to Costco or the local grocery store to pick up those things. They like what GPDB has to

offer, but feel the selection isn’t strong enough for them to stop shopping at other places

yet.

Connie: "Yeah but I don't only shop there, I can't get everything I need, I wish I could."

Suzy: "I don't, I mean, it depends on when. I buy a lot, but I find the little things, if I'm making some kind of specialty dish, I go and I get what I can fresh. You know, for example, lemons, I'm not going to buy two pounds of lemons every month. Or if I need some herbs or stuff like that, I'll just go and get it at the store. That's about my limitation. I think as far as making specialty dishes, I think that that's - they don't offer that."

Connie: “Because even myself, I think I order $100 a month, because there's stuff that's not there, so I'm still going to Costco, I'm still going to, you know, Smith's and I'd rather not be because that's so far out.”

4. Suggestions for improved online services

Participants love the convenience of online ordering, but believe that some

problems need to be fixed in order to make the experience better. They like the idea, but

believe it can be enhanced to improve ordering.

Tim: “Wouldn’t it be great if you could pull up your old order?”

29

Suzy: “I re-order a lot, we have our favorites and we try to order something new every order. Every time. I wish we could label our favorites so I can go in and look at our favorites list, you know it’s overwhelming. And because it’s like drag and drop into your basket it never works. I don’t know if I will ever order any of the produce. Who knows maybe it will all change?”

Tim: “One thing in the past is that there needs to be some, showing of how big it is. There is no dimension of size on the internet. It has to be visual. It must be visual measurement. Like even if you bring in a ruler.”

Suzy: “But they could make another deal with FedEx. They should negotiate making small packages less shipping costs.”

Tracey: “My big frustration is that I don’t know the whole buying system of the company, but when I find something that I like and I go and it’s not there then it is frustrating. So I have my favorites. Then I do get frustrated because I am going in and trying to find everything that I like.”

5. Who they talk about GreenPolkaDotBox with

It is important for GPDB to understand who its current customers are talking to

about its services. GPDB wants to expand and continue to grow its little company.

Knowing who its current customers are talking to about its services can only help. The

members of the focus group, with the exception of Connie, had not talked to a lot of

people or shared a lot about the organization yet because of the confusion and lack of

control of what they can share with people.

Tracey: “I have talked to my family, and I kind of also was waiting for this whole program to be set up, not because I like how its setup, I haven't really talked to everybody about it, but I have talked to certain members of my family who I know would dig it.”

Tim: “I don't talk to many people about it. Mostly because I've been waiting for the produce thing to kick in, and trying to describe it, it takes some time.”

Connie: “I've talked to my friends, I've talked to my family, I've given away brochures, I've gone door-to-door and stuck those things on the doorstep, and got zero from that. I had some people sign up. I have given away free memberships, and they don't buy a thing. And so one of the things that I'm discovering is that I think it's really hard for people to change their habits.”

30

6. Suggestions for new services/promotions

It is crucial for GPDB to maintain the customers they already have, and also gain

new members as well. In order to grow, GPDB needs to be open to customers

suggestions to how to make its services better. Focus group participants discussed the

promotions and services that they believe would benefit the company.

Suzy: But something else I would like to ask about is the possibility of doing a gift box for someone else. I love that idea. I would send that out for gifts for people I know would enjoy it, just a mini one.

Tim: “Here’s a thought you could send out and order a gift box to determine what they want. You could give them a link saying here’s your gift certificate and you choose the contents of your basket. And then they have to have that Green Polkadot Box experience.”

Tracey: “I feel that I should be in control of the information that I give to my friends. It's going to come across better and it'll come across as way less pushy, way less MLM, that people would be way more receptive to it if I am like "Oh my gosh this rocks, it's so easy and try it out, let me show you how to do it." But I just think it will be a big turn off- I don't want my friends to have a bunch of GPDB initiated communication, because then they'll hide it- they'll block it and they'll be done.”

Tim: ... So if he does send us emails or newsletters or here is the specials for the month, there might be a section of that that indicates here are your health benefits for the stuff that’s in this newsletter or summarize it really really short.

Connie: What I was hoping was that I would have a little red sign saying “Welcome to Green Polkadot Box, your friend Connie referred you here.” And then I could give them out and have them check out Green Polkadot box and then tell people. And if they wanted to put stuff on Green Polkadot Box saying that would be fine but I don’t want them emailing me. If only I could choose…

c. Secondary Messages:

1. Consistency of product/service

Participants like how they can rely on their GPDB order to be accurate and arrive

on time. They are confident that GPDB will deliver their food in a timely matter.

31

Suzy: "If it lands on my doorstep, I can get someone to get it, or I can time it when I'm going to be home because I know that their delivery is pretty accurate when they say it's going to arrive."

Tim: “It's pretty fast.”

2. Quality/uniqueness of the product

Participants agree that GPDB has a great selection of products that cater to the

specific needs and wants of the company’s targeted publics. They agree that their

products are great and GPDB does a good job picking the products for their customers.

Connie: “I want all non-GMO foods, and Rod said that he's really serious about that, making sure they are all non-GMO foods.”

Suzy: “Most importantly, it’s quick. I mean I would not go home and eat that for dinner. But in a car or on the river, we were quite happy. It’s just really fast food.”

Tracey: “Ya, like if you’re celiac or need gluten free. I like that. Like how you can shop for only gluten free items.”

3. Favorite products

GPDB chooses products that are unique and very specific to certain customers

needs. Participants like these products and keep ordering from GPDB because its

products are the best in the health food market.

Suzy: “I love all the frozen foods. I’m not really sure about the breaded snacks. I really like Pamela's gluten free.”

Tim: “My favorite is the meal in a can- Salmon del Four.”

Tracey: “I eat a lot of the nutrition bars they offer. Like the ones over there are really good.”

Tim: “Ya, those are good. These are the coconut almond ones and we like those ones”.

Suzy: “Ya there are things we like and we eat. We have tried everything to some degree. Oh and the shampoo for dogs, we love that. It’s the best. I really like it though for our dog. I’ve also used some of the facial products and I like some of the creams and some

32

of the cleansers. The laundry detergent I like a lot. Eco Clear, the steel magnolias. I like that one.”

4. Political Justifications

GPBD caters to people who are interested in maintaining a healthy lifestyle. An

issue that was brought up in the focus group was the idea of healthy living around the

country. Participants discussed what people think of this issue and the fact that people

aren’t educated about where their food comes from.

Connie: “What is really frightening is that 60% of our population is obese, 25% of our military can’t get in because they are obese and cannot serve they are rejected because they are overweight, this is the United States, we should be healthy and active. We got to get our act together. It is political.”

Suzy: “As you can tell people who are really in the loop and want to educate themselves and then there are people who are ignorant and don’t want to listen. And we came here tonight instead of listening to our political program, we are kind of boycotting the other media because we are sick of their one sided message. I am so tired of being controlled.”

5. Suggestions for practices

Participants were disappointed with some of the products that didn’t align with

GPDB’s goal of providing healthy food for its customers. They were frustrated that some

products were misleading and how many products were full of sugar and fattening.

Connie: “There are still a lot of sweet and fattening things at GPDB. There is plenty of it. Maybe they should start labeling really great snacks that are low in calories.”

Tim: I would almost say that every single product needs to have a health benefit.

Tracey: I know they already have symbols for no MSG, no trans-fat and organic. But those cookies they have on there still have a ton of sugar even though they are organic. They need to have symbols that are for no sugar and low fat so that people know. People don’t care until they start thinking seriously about it.”

Connie: “In the title of the items, it should say organic. Like instead of dried cranberries, say “organic dried cranberries.” Because right now I have to click on the picture, to see the tiny little word organic. It should be right on the name of the product, and be more

33

clear that the product is organic. The product descriptions could also be better. Like if it says 50 ounces of laundry detergent, how many loads is that?”

iv. Provide a transcript of your focus group and interviews as an appendix to the

proposal. Our transcript is at the front of the appendix

v. If participant observation is involved, describe what you were looking for, how

you observed, and your conclusions.

a. We didn’t do participant observation, aside from the fact that there were two of us in

the focus group. Cara took notes on the things that were key to the focus group, and

Amberly led the focus group. All of the participants spoke and gave their input on each of

our questions. All had different angles, but Connie, Suzy and Tim were all shareholders

and it was obvious that they really wanted their concerns to be heard.

Conclusion:

Overall, the ‘love group’ is behind the business plan of GPDB, and they believe in

the company’s potential and the health benefits of eating organic and specialty foods.

They also value supporting an emerging business. The main things that the ‘love group’

like about GPDB are the convenience of purchasing their groceries online and having

them delivered to their homes, the competitive pricing of the products, and the overall

health benefits of the products that GPDB stocks on its virtual shelves. They raised

concerns about the consistency of the products offered, the flaws of the ordering

experience, the amount of superfluous correspondence from GPDB, and the transparency

of the health benefits or non-benefits of some products. Another key finding, was that

most of the members of the ‘love group’ purchase from GPDB twice a month or more,

34

but really could not commit to much more than that because they had no need of more

food than they were already ordering.

35

Social Media Analysis Research

36

Social Media Analysis and Research

1. Of those talking about this online, who has the most influence? Any future campaigns should look to target the top 10 or so influencers online talking about this topic.

The top influencers over the last 2 weeks have been:

1. Forbes-forbes.com-

a. Oprah’s influence  http://www.forbes.com/sites/clareoconnor...

b. Forbes is a leading source for reliable business news and financial

information.  Lately has been recognized for Oprah’s recent

announcement of the release of her line of organic products.  

2. BET-bet.com

a. Snoop Dogg’s Organic food initiative in Jamaica

b. BET.com is home to all the latest celebrity, music, fashion, entertainment

and African-American news. The online chatter about organic food is

primarily driven by celebrities, and BET specifically is following Snoop

Dogg’s campaign that is teaming up with Reed’s Ginger Brew to create

sustainable, organic community gardens in Jamaica.

3. National Post-

a. nationalpost.com-Lots of discussion about Canada’s organic food

certification system

b. In Canada, there is no mandatory laboratory testing of products to ensure

organic-labelled food is actually farmed without pesticides, leaving the

organics industry in the hands of the honour system.

4. Readers Digest

a. http://www.rd.com/slideshows/13-things-you-didnt-know-about-organic-

37

food/

b. Article about what to do before you buy organic or natural foods. Readers

Digest encourages people to see what today's food experts have said about

making smart food choices. Reader’s Digest has a large audience that

reaches a wide demographic of people who are health-conscious.

5. Black Enterprise-

a. Oprah’s influence

b. Information regarding entrepreneurship, technology, personal finance and

other minority business issues.  A lot has been written about because of

the launch of Oprah’s organic food line and natural beauty products.

6. Funkmasterflex-

a. inflexwetrust.com is a website for a DJ and his music, as well as a forum

for celebrity news and gossip.

b. Funkmasterflex DJ retweets Oprah about organic food awareness a lot.

7. CTV British Columbia-

a. bc.cbvnews.ca-

b. Canadian news source that covers the issues regarding Canadian

regulation of organic food, and how it is basically the honor system there.

8. Lisa Lampanelli-

a. insultComic.com

b. She is a comedian who has a sarcastic sense of humor. She includes

Oprah’s influence on organic food in her comedy routine.

9. Inhabitat-

38

a. inhabit.com is a New Yor City-based blog that is devoted to the pushing

architecture and design in the home towards a more sustainable and smart

future.

10. Soil Association-UK-

a. soilassociation.org is the United Kingdom’s center for organic food

growers, geared toward taking care of the planet and growing organic food

to eat.

The top 10 on one particular day differs in type from the overall top ten, so here are the

top 4 results from November 27 as well:

11. Derek Markham-NaturalPapa.com, writer for Treehugger.com and Discovery.

a. Derek Markham he is a digital dad, blogger and created NaturalPapa.com

to share his observations on fatherhood.   Now he writes about homebirth,

homeschooling, natural health, natural foods, manliness and relationships.

12. OrganicLiveFood-Organic Whole Food-Seattle organic resturants.com

a. Seattle Organic Restaurants offers Seattle residents the latest and best

restaurants specializing in whole foods, natural foods, vegan and organic

foods.  

13. EPPS_Nina-ZenaWarriorPrincess-Administrator at Cornucopia Movie

Productions-retweets OrganicLiveFood

a. ZenaWArriorPrincess has a large web presence due to her work done with

the EPPS.  She retweets OrganicLiveFood a lot.

39

14. AM640-radio-640toronto.com-

a. Canada’s number one station for talk radio.  They reach a large audience

and talk about the Canadian issues surrounding organic foods.

b. The most important influencers that GPDB should focus on, are probably

Forbes, BET and OrganicLiveFood. Forbes was the number one

influencer, and from our research we found that a lot of our Love Group

were business people who value a healthy lifestyle. Since Forbes is a

publication geared toward business news, this would be a good publication

to target. BET is another good influencer to target, because of the volume

of traffic driven by black celebrities like Snoop Dogg and Oprah. Since

they are endorsing organic foods, it would be beneficial to have their

endorsements as well. OrganicLiveFoods is a restaurant conglomerate in

the Seattle area that promotes and specializes in organic and specialty

foods. We found that most of the chatter about green grocery was in the

Pacific Northwest, in the Washington area, so this would be a good

influencer to target because it reaches a wide demographic of people who

are already health conscious.

2. Where across the nation is there the most chatter online about green grocery?

The West Coast has the most chatter regarding online green grocery. The

Northwest (primarily Washington and Northwest Oregon) has the highest concentration

followed by the Bay Area in California, and Los Angeles, California. These regions are

known for being health conscious and have a climate that allows for active outdoor

living. Inhabitants of these areas turn to healthy lifestyles.

40

Overall, there is a positive reaction to online green groceries. While the West

coast has the most concentration of green groceries, the rest of the country seems to have

a positive opinion of it even though they are not as aware. It seems that only in a matter

of time for the rest to join the online green grocery trend.

3. What is the tonality of the conversations online? And for those negative conversations, what is driving the negative discussion?

Sentiment of organic foods is 22% positive and there are 5% negative responses.

o The topics that are driving the negative discussions are:

Organic food is expensive

Organic food is tasteless

The stigma of “Organic Food Eaters” being “uppity”

Questioning the reality of value of choosing organic.

41

Recent research findings have stated that organic is not as

healthy as it was once projected to be.

4. Create a word cloud that shows the terms most often used in connection with green

grocery.

The term most often used was organic food. This phrase was then broken down

into key other phrases including “organic food in less than 8 hours” and “organic food

without telling anyone”. These phrases help to see what is being talking about more

specifically and how to target publics more effectively.

5. What is driving the most conversations online about green grocery? Is it corporate announcements (if so, who?), is it simply opinionated individuals or is it some research or news article?

42

For the top 10 overall, the conversation seemed to be driven by corporation

endorsing pop culture. Some of the pop culture includes celebrities like Oprah and

Snoop Dogg. Corporations respond to the organic trend with pop culture supporting

its claims.

However, we also found that in the top 10 for November 27, there were many

opinionated individuals who voiced concerns about online green grocery. It was

interesting to compare individuals ideas with that of corporations.

Looking at the top influencers for online green grocery, the conversation is

primarily driven by the actions of celebrities and their endorsements of organic foods

and green grocery shopping. Since these people are already endorsing organic foods,

it would be beneficial to GBDB to seek out endorsements from celebrities as well.

6. Which online medium has the most conversations on this topic? Twitter, Forums, Blogs, etc?

The most conversations on the topic of organic food and green grocery are on

Twitter. The top 4 most conversations were from four different specific Twitter

handles, and Twitter itself.

o Twitter:

@Green Festivals

@Occupy Canda

@certifiedhealthnut

@savpr

o Other online mediums:

yahoo.com

43

Forbes

amazon.com

linkedin.com

craigslist.org

7. Based on an analysis of the online discussion, where should GPDB look to become more engaged online?

TWITTER-the top three most common online discussions are via Twitter handles.

It is important to reach out to twitter more in order to get customers and potential

customers engaged and feeling that they are heard and valued. By being where the

customers are, GPDB can become more aware of what their customers are talking

about and what they’re interested in.

8. What suggestions do you have for standing out and becoming a thought leader in green grocery?

GPDB needs to establish what their “voice” is online, and ensure they are

appealing to a wide variety of people. If they portray themselves as “uppity” and

above everyone else, they may damage relationships with potential customers. They

need to appeal to everyday people, who already value living a healthy lifestyle.

GPDB needs to embrace the use of social media by creating a Twitter and a

Pinterest account, and updating the Facebook page to be more informational and user-

friendly. It will be important to have someone who is completely devoted to

managing the social media, and who knows how to create messages and respond

quickly and efficiently to comments.They need to find positive ways that their

product stands out from others, and provide useful information. GPDB also needs to

44

pursue the use of channels alongside social media, that will help convey the mission

and vision to GPDB’s target demographic. Celebrities and well-known publications

that already feature green grocery and organic food are a good place to turn.

45

Survey Research

46

SURVEY RESEARCH

In order to create our survey, all the survey leaders first met with their team and

created questions which applied to their sample. My group had the “love” group. These

customers buy from Green PolkaDot Box more than once a month. We created our

questions based on what we learned from the focus group and our analysis. We

recognized that our questions would not apply to all the groups in the survey because

they were specialized for people who are members of Green PolkaDot Box.

After the groups had established their questions, we met together and put them

into a Qualtrics survey. We then met with Sariah, Professor Plowman and our lab TA to

go over the survey. During this time, we changed some of the questions to fit the needs

and wants of the client. We also explained the necessity of the questions she did not

think were needed because they did not fit the audience she wanted. This was the last

meeting where all the survey leaders were involved with the client and the survey.

Although we were kept informed, it was easier to have one person dealing with the client.

Alisha Gallagher, was survey leader for her group, and also worked with the

Bradley Lab for GPDB, made the edits the client requested and sent them the “final”

copy of the survey. The client wanted multiple items changed from this draft. The

changes were made when thought necessary, but some questions the client did not agree

with stayed on the survey because they fit the audiences different groups focused on.

The sampling methodology was originally going to be a simple, stratified, random

sample, but the client did not feel this would fit their needs so we added several

qualitative questions. After some speculation, it was decided to send the survey to all of

47

the members of Green PolkaDot Box as well as people who would be interested but were

not members and then break down the surveys randomly after they were completed.

This survey was administered through Qualtrics by email.

The sample selection for this survey was all the members of Green PolkaDot Box

and the emails acquired by the group who studied non-members. This group of people

was very large and totaled to about 17,000. Since each group waited until they had at

least 100 participants from their group, we would say we have a decent margin of error of

95% which is acceptable for this situation.

Since we sent the survey to the entire population of Green PolkaDot Box

members, I would say that the sample demographics and the population’s demographics

are identical. This is also seen with the people who were not members because we sent

the survey to the population of emails we had for this group.

iii/iv. After the survey was completed, the responses were recorded and then analyzed.

We decided to focus our results on those participants who answered that they had ordered

from Green PolkaDot Box more than 4 times. We established these participants as our

love group and measured our results against this group. We thought that this would be the

most effective and provide the most information to help our client achieve their overall

goal of the company.

The results from the survey provided information that was beneficial to help

understand more about the “love” group and why they act the way that they do. Green

PolkaDot Box wants to understand why these loyal customers keep ordering from the

company and what factors have an impact on their actions.

48

The research questions we came up with as a group included:

· How satisfied are you with Green PolkaDot Box customer service?

· How manageable is the website on a scale of 1-10? (1 being difficult to navigate, 10 being easy to navigate).

· What is the biggest factor keeping your from shopping at Green PolkaDot Box?

· What categories of product do you purchase most?

These questions were created to help focus our survey results for our “love”

group. With these guidelines, it was much easier to see how the “love” group was

affected. We could then use those results to see how we could help Green PolkaDot Box

reach the “love” group.

In order to better understand the behaviors of the “love” group, we created a

separate frequency based on question 10 which reads, “How many orders have you

placed at the Green PolkaDot Box?” We then separated and relabeled the never order

groups at 1.00, ordered between 1-3 at 2.00, and order 4 or more times as 3.00. This new

frequency was then measured against other questions to better understand the “love”

group.

The following questions are questions we believed had the best results to help

better understand the “love” group.

a. One question that was we decided to measure the “love” group against was question

5, “On which website do you frequently shop for groceries?” We ran a Chi-Square test

against our new frequency group and where they shop online for groceries. We ran a Chi-

Square test because they primarily are used to test a hypothesis. The results showed other

websites used to online shop and the expected and actual count of participants who

49

answered. Amazon, Green PolkaDot Box, and “I don’t shop for groceries online” were

highlighted with red bars since they were statistically significant. They all had standard

residual values above 2/-2. This is beneficial to our “love” group because it shows that

majority of the customers who shop for groceries online primarily shops exclusively at

Green PolkaDot Box. This also shows, however, that if they were to shop elsewhere

Amazon would be its biggest competition. The graph below demonstrates this test.

b. Another question that we thought was relevant to our “love” group was question 6

which reads, “Do you have any concerns about shopping for groceries online? Check all

that apply. These options include freshness of perishable foods, shipping costs, delay in

product arrival, I prefer to physically handle the food, it may increase the carbon

footprint, I need to see the expiration dates, I don’t have any concerns, and other. After

running a Chi-Square test, the categories that were statistically significant for our “love”

group were both shipping costs and delay in product arrival.

50

The shipping costs proved significant because the actual count for those that said

shipping was not a problem was much higher. This shows many more people than they

expected didn’t find shipping costs a problem. It is important because it shows that

shipping costs are not as much as a concern as they thought and should focus their efforts

on other aspects of the company’s services. The chart below shows the expected count

and actual count for shipping costs.

The other statistically significant response was the delay product arrival response.

The actual count for those who thought it wasn’t an issue was less than the expected

count. This is important because it shows that more people didn’t think that it was an

issue, when they thought it should have been. Green PolkaDot Box should use this

information to understand better the “love” group and their actions. The graph on the next

page shows these results.

51

Both of these response shows what they thought the “love” group would respond

is different from what it really is. This information is valuable because it helps Green

PolkaDot Box to understand their target audience better.

c. We also thought it was beneficial to run a test against question 20 which reads, “On

a scale of 1-10, how likely are you to refer a friend to the Green PolkaDot Box (1 being

very unlikely, 10 being very unlikely). We thought the “love” group would be a good

group to see if they were referring friends to this company. By running an ANOVA test,

which allows us to compare means of more than one sample, we discovered that the

“love” group significantly had a higher rate of referring friends to Green PolkaDot Box

than those who ordered less. Although other groups said they would refer to friends, the

“love” had the highest mean of 8.75 referral rate. A mean of 8.75 shows us that when we

totaled and averaged the results of the love group, 8.75 out of 10 would refer Green

52

PolkaDot Box to their friends. This shows Green PolkaDot Box has a great reputation

and one that their customers are proud of.

d. One last test that we ran which was beneficial was based on question 13 which

reads, “ On a scale of 1-10, how easy is it to navigate the Green PolkaDot Box website (1

being difficult to navigate, 10 being easy to navigate).” We ran another ANOVA test and

thought the “love” group would have more of an impact than other groups. However,

there was no statistical difference between groups on this question. The means for the

groups were 7.5, 7.75, and 7.4. The averages were very close and didn’t have any real

significance. We thought that website navigation would have more of an impact

depending on which groups ordered more.

e. We also tested Question 11 which reads, “Why do you continue ordering from the

Green PolkaDot Box? Select top two reasons: Convenience, Price, Product Selection,

Reliability, Product Quality, Trust in the Green PolkaDot Box’s mission, I do not order

from the Green PolkaDot Box, and Other. We ran a Chi-Square test against our new

53

frequency to see which the reasons the “love” group chose most. The results show that

the “love” group continues to order because they trust Green PolkaDot Box’s mission and

Price. These are important because it helps Green PolkaDot Box understand why loyal

customers keep returning to shop. It also shows the areas which it can improve on as

well.

Although we ran many different tests comparing our results, we found these

questions to best represent the “love” group. The tests we ran showed significant results

for the “love” group. Based on our research questions and the data gathered, these results

best suit the client’s needs. Each question that was tested proved to be statistically

significant and invaluable for Green PolkaDot Box. The results we gathered will help to

better reach the “love” group and to understand how they can use them to better their

company. The ultimate goal is to increase customer transactions and that will then

increase company profit.

We ran the rest of the test, but did not find them statistically significant. However, they will be included in the appendix.

54

Strategic Recommendations

55

STRATEGIC RECOMMENDATIONSSynthesize the background and primary research to develop a SWOT analysis. Strengths:

o Strong customer loyalty to Green PolkaDot Boxo Customers understand the company goalso Customers have an appreciation for company valueso They are already trying to live healthy lifestyles

Weaknesses:o The Love Group has a skewed opinion because they do love ito They are biased because some are heavy investors in the companyo Many of the members of the love group are financially invested in the

company and are supposed to purchase food weeklyOpportunities:

o “Birthday” and “gift” package promotions-an idea brought to us by the love group

o Increasing the referral rate and making it beneficial for userso Spread the good news of GPDB by word of moutho GPDB has a great opportunity to expand their customer reach, especially

those with food allergies and restrictions.Threats:

o The decline of the “organic” trend, which is rapidly occurring and past advocates are turning their backs on organic (Dr. Oz)

o The high cost of the productso People shopping at local marketso Other online shopping has been made available (Amazon.com, etc.)

Situation Analysis

The Green PolkaDot Box has become a mecca for organic food lovers and people

with dietary restrictions alike. The simplicity and delivery service GPDB offers is one

that other retailers cannot compete with. Loyal customers love GPDB’s ideas and their

company’s goals. The convenience and quality of this company is one their customers

love. However, there is a lack of awareness of the services and products GPDB offers in

the organic food world. The organic community is unaware of the business itself, and

customer-buying behaviors are not as frequent as GPDB would like.

56

Many local markets and grocery stores are providing organic food options and

services. Seattle, Denver, Portland and Los Angeles are some of the top cities for organic

selling food options. Customers are frustrated with the inconsistency of products and the

website itself. If GPDB fails to fix these problems the customers of GPDB will be

frustrated with the business and be less likely to purchase and be advocates for the

company.

Core problem/opportunity statement:

If GPDB does not retain current customers and expand their customer base, then

the company will be in financial danger and may close their doors.

Make recommendations (strategies and tactics) based on the research.

Strategy: To establish customer loyalty and advocacy by interacting with customers

through special online promotions.

o Make mini “Birthday” or “gift” Green Polkadot Boxes available for current

customers to send to their friends and family as the perfect birthday or special

occasion gift.

o Offer Holiday Specials to get more people to buy and use for their holiday

dinners.

o Describe the specific health benefits of products that are on special so that

people are interested in buying them.

o Combine with health-awareness times of year and give weekly specials that

match up with the themes. In 2012, there were many health-awareness

months, weeks and days that GPDB could offer themed promotions for.

January 8-14 “National Folic Acid Awareness Week”

57

March 27 “American Diabetes Alert Day” April 2-8 “National Public Health Week” April 7 “World Health Day” May 1-31 “National Celiac Disease Awareness Month” May 13-19 “Food Allergy Awareness Week” May 13-19 “Womens’ Health Week” July 11-17 “Men’s Health Week” September 1-30 “Fruit and Veggies- More Matters Month” September 1-30 “National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month” September 13 “National Celiac Disease Awareness Day” September 1-30 “National Cholesterol Education Month September 1-30 “Whole Grains Month” October 1 “Child Health Day” October 16 “World Food Day” More details about health observance days can be found at

http://healthfinder.gov/nho/nho.asp

Strategy: To raise awareness of the GPDB and the products they offer through

Awareness Events.

o Set up a booth at SLC farmers markets and markets around Utah, but also

expand to other cities with health conscious audiences such as Los Angeles,

Portland, and Denver (Have examples of the different types of products and

services, and make it possible for people to sign up and make their first

purchase there and then)

o Make possible for customers to host a GPDP Dinner Party made with organic

food from the site.

o Host a recipe night with food and take photos. (Combine with social media

tactic number 1).

o GPDB sampling, maybe open a support group for those with similar dietary

restrictions and discuss meal options with them.

o Research found that most of the online chatter about organic food is driven by

celebrities. GPDB hosting a concert at Ginger’s Garden Cafe in Springville,

58

UT would be an excellent tactic. Get the band to endorse the company and

have examples of the products there as well.

Strategy: To raise awareness of GPDB and the products they offer through social

media.

o Launch a photo-recipe Contest using products from GPDB and the winners

recipes are featured on the website.

o Create a twitter account, and create at least 2-3 meaningful Tweets about

relevant topics per day.

o Facebook page revamp- Utilize the Facebook page better to make it more user

friendly and relevant to the company.

o Create a Pinterest account and post photos of food and/or recipes regularly.

o Link social media badges to the GPDB website so people can follow them on

social media and receive custom notifications about promotions and related

information.

59

Conclusion

60

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS FROM PRIMARY RESEARCH

a. After reviewing the research we have done for the “love group”, it is clear there are

three main reasons this group continues to shop at Green PolkaDot Box. The first reason

is the cost-effectiveness and competitive pricing of the products, the second is

convenience of shopping in the comfort of their own home, or wherever they happen to

be, and finally the health benefits of the products themselves. However, the “love group”

is looking for a stronger, more reliable ordering system on the website and they are

ordering the maximum amount possible from GPDB. We also found that the frequent

shoppers are often shareholders in the company and are deeply invested in the success of

GPDB.

The key to making GPDB successful is focusing on the right audience. Rather

than asking their loyal customers to double what they are already spending, the key to

GPDB’s success is going to hinge on reaching the right network of health-conscious

people who value organic foods that do not include GMO’s.

Some information we found valuable from the research how the ordering process

works. There were frustrations with the details in the actual ordering process on the

website. Some of the products are not always offered and the customer’s favorite

products are discontinued without warning. Customers would also like the option to pull

up their previous orders. Even though the survey showed the “love group” had the

highest recommendation rates to friends, our focus group said that they hadn’t done so

yet and would not recommend GPDB until the company and website were “up to par.”

GPDB members said the main reason they still shop at other locations is GPDB

does not always have everything they want to buy. They also said it is sometimes easier

61

to run to Costco. Another large factor was the produce selection offered on GPDB was

not large enough and it was easier to buy organic produce locally.

Our research showed that customers who shop online primarily shop at GPDB, but

Amazon.com is their biggest competitor. The research also showed that most customers

did not find shipping costs to be a problem. Customers were not concerned with a

product arriving late,which was originally expected to be a larger issue.

Finally we found that the “love group” continues to order because they trust

Green PolkaDot Box’s mission and price. This will help GPDB know what to focus on

to persuade others to shop with Green PolkaDot Box.

b. The research which was performed for Green PolkaDot Box was useful, but there were

also drawbacks as well as strengths to performing primary research.

The strengths to performing our own research was we were using their clients.

This was useful because when we conducted our focus groups, the people participating

purchase from our client on a regular basis. These people were extremely familiar with

the ins and outs of the company and knew the problems that needed to be fixed and stated

them clearly. Our survey was also helpful because we were able to create questions with

our same audience in mind. We had already conducted the focus group and knew of

some problems, which needed to be fixed. The purpose of the survey was to gather

numerical data to reinforce our previous research, which would help us pinpoint the

needs of Green PolkaDot Box.

The weaknesses and limitations of conducting our own research had to do with

resources, but also included our client. We were limited to working with the email list

62

which was provided to us from Green PolkaDot Box. Another limitation we had was the

questions which ended up on the survey. They were not best suited for what the client

wanted. This happened because the client wanted specific questions on the survey as

well as in a certain format.

Overall, the research we conducted was effective and helpful to the client, but there

were weaknesses and limitations we had as a class and as a group.

63

Appendix

Focus Group Transcript

64

Focus Group Transcript

Participants:

Connie Self

Age: 57Gender: FemaleMarital Status: Married, no childrenOccupation: Project ManagerNumber of purchases from GDBP each month: 1-2

Tracey Christensen

Age: 42Gender: FemaleMarital Status: Married with childrenOccupation: Health CoachNumber of purchases from GPDB each month: Bi- monthly

Suzy Hayes

Age: 46Gender: FemaleMarital Status: Married, no childrenOccupation: School AdministratorNumber of purchases from GDBP each month: Monthly

Tim Hayes

Age: 46Gender: MaleMarital Status: Married, no childrenOccupation: Small business ownerNumber of purchases from GDBP each month: Monthly

Misty Amodt (E-mail)

Age: 42 Gender: FemaleMarital Status: Married with children Occupation: HomemakerNumber of purchases from GDBP each month: 1

65

Transcription:

Amberly: The first question is, do you do any regular other online food shopping?

Tracey: No

Misty: No

Connie: No, I'm waiting for Rod

Suzy: Yes.

Amberly: Where?

Suzy: One less wait- for chicken, and we also do Beyond Organic, and there's another company

Amberly: What do you get from the other?

Suzy: Um, the thing we like about beyond organic is that everything is all organic, all grass fed, all beef. And we have a connection with the owner of that company as well, so that's why.

Amberly: So how does GPDB fit into your lifestyle?

Misty: I like it - there is more variety for me as a vegan by choice

Connie: I live rurally, so it's hard for me to got to the store, and I LOVE coming home to a box of groceries on my front step. I just love it, that I didn't have to drive somewhere to get it.

Tracey: My kids love it. It's fast, and I do like being able to shop online because I can do it at any hour, in any form of attire, so that's nice. I'm not, like, a coupon shopper, I'm not a person that can stand to go to ten different stores, so there are times when i can do that when, because I can recognize that it's a good deal, but I'll often shop specials on GPDB so that but the things that I know that's the best deal that I could get without having to go to a bunch of stores.

Suzy: For us, we are super busy professionals, so time is a big thing. It's convenient, I can do it wherever, whenever, in whatever city I happen to be in at the time, and if it lands on my doorstep, I can get someone to get it, or I can time it when I'm going to be home because I know that their delivery is pretty accurate when they say it's going to arrive.

Tim: It's pretty fast.

66

Amberly: This is kind of a similar question, do you buy all of your groceries at GPDB? You said that you purchased soap and detergent as well.

Misty: no

Connie: Yeah but I don't only shop there, I can't get everything I need, I wish I could.

Suzy: I don't, I mean, it depends on when. I buy a lot, but I find the little things, if I'm making some kind of specialty dish, I go and I get what I can fresh. You know, for example, lemons, I'm not going to buy two pounds of lemons every month. Or if I need some herbs or stuff like that, I'll just go and get it at the store. That's about my limitation. I think as far as making specialty dishes, I think that that's - they don't offer that.

Amberly: Okay, so who do you talk to about GPDB?

Misty: Friends who are either vegan or who own local food businesses

Tim: I don't talk to many people about it. Mostly because I've been waiting for the produce thing to kick in, and trying to describe it, it takes some time, so, rather than getting into it because we have an MLM state of Utah, there's a prejudice, so I'm waiting to go hey, look, you can buy it less expensive here, you know, I'm waiting for it to be more benefit.

Suzy: I would agree with him. In terms of explaining it, it's confusing. Um, and how it works, and also there have been some glitches with the website and things like that, so we've just kind of been waiting for the website.

Tim: But there's still glitches.

Suzy: Yeah there's still glitches.

Amberly: we'll get to that for sure.

Tracey: Okay, well I am not a shareholder, I was bummed because I was too late to be a shareholder, however I have emailed with Rod a bunch of times, and I did the trial program of the charter system. But I have issues with that, but who do I talk to about that? I have talked to my family, and I kind of also was waiting for this whole program to be set up, not because I like how its setup, I haven't really talked to everybody about it, but I have talked to certain members of my family who I know would dig it.

Cara: So would you say you talk to people who are interested already?

Tracey: People who I know are interested in eating healthily.

Amberly: Connie have you talked about it?

67

Connie: I've talked to my friends, I've talked to my family, I've given away brochures, I've gone door-to-door and stuck those things on the doorstep, and got zero from that. I had some people sign up. I have given away free memberships, and they don't buy a thing. And so one of the things that I'm discovering is that I think it's really hard for people to change their habits. You go to the grocery store, you're there anyways, you buy your stuff, so why would I do that when I'm going to the grocery store anyway? And I think that's the biggest thing, is that it's hard for people to change their habits, and even I find that. For the produce, you know, it's limited selection, so if I'm going to be gone, or I find that you know I could do less, and we couldn't really eat all that produce. And we have lemon juice every morning, and so I can buy all those lemons, that works every week. but it's um, in talking to people, you know first of all, is it MLM? No it's not MLM, okay well that's good, but then there's still, there's resistance, it feels like work to them. And my friends that live rurally, or far away, that makes more sense to them, but if they're going to the grocery store anyway, I think that's going to be the biggest hurdle, which I did no think about, is to just change people's habits. We've gotta figure out that- how do you get people to do something different? And that's the biggest challenge that they face I think. Because even myself, I think I order $100 a month, because there's stuff that's not there, so I'm still going to Costco, I'm still going to, you know, Smith's and I'd rather not be because that's so far out.

Tracey: I think you're right, I think that's very true, you have to be coming, because people shopping online, the food is going to take longer. Partially because it's the convenience.

Suzy: It's automatic gratification, and it's planning. It's like, I have all this food right now, what do I do with it? If you're not kind of thinking, okay, I'm going to buy this so I could prepare this. So maybe like recipes or something like, that you could use with different products would be helpful for those people who don't plan, and aren't really in that mindset. I know every few days, you know, they just buy all their groceries, and probably it takes more time, and a lot of it, for me it's a huge time saver and I love it for that reason.

Tracey: It can be a time saver for most, and then if you need to pick up one thing,

Connie: And that's more doable than spending an hour in the grocery store. You walk in there, it's like I go to Costco and Smith's, and I feel like I'm disappearing into this metropolis for five hours, and I will avoid that as long as possible. Going into Smith's on my way up the hill is one thing, but disappearing into Costco-land.. I spend hours in there, and I buy way more than I usually eat and so this saves me money. But, we'll get there.

Amberly: And then you said that you didn't like some things about the system, but you didn't say what things.

Tracey: I think that I'm probably just confused about it, but um, to me, at least the email when he finally said okay, so the trial, or you've got it set up so you can say and tell your

68

friends, it was a really complicated process, and then you know, give us all your friends' names because we're going to pose things to them, I don't like that. I feel that I should be in control of the information that I give to my friends. It's going to come across better and it'll come across as way less pushy, way less MLM, that people would be way more receptive to it if I am like "Oh my gosh this rocks, it's so easy and try it out, let me show you how to do it." But I just think it will be a big turn off- I don't want my friends to have a bunch of GPDB initiated communication, because then they'll hide it- they'll block it and they'll be done.

Connie: Yeah people get so many emails, and so much stuff anymore that they just have to be mindful of that.

Amberly: Okay, so why did you first begin shopping at GPDB?

Misty: We eat a LOT of produce in our family, so I was hoping for fresh and inexpensive but organic produce

Connie: Well I, my big thing, first is that I'm out to do in Monsanto. I am really frightened that only ten companies in the world control all the food. That is a very frightening concept, and just in terms of our own well-being and controlling our own little world, you know my family and my community, and 10 companies, that is a frighteningly small number for the whole world's food production. I mean, I'm not talking about little tiny farmer's markets, but in terms of all the food that is in all the grocery stores across the world. So I was on board for that immediately, because I've watched all the food eats and all the different films on what's happening. And the whole seed thing, that farmers can't clean their seeds and re-use them in our country anymore, Monsanto is like, outlawed, I just can't believe what Monsanto is doing to our country in terms of our own food production, it's really frightening, so I want all non-GMO foods, and Rod said that he's really serious about that, making sure they are all non-GMO foods. I can’t believe what we are doing to our country. So I was on board for that immediately and all the different films on what has happened. Farmers can’t clean their seeds and reuse them in our country anymore. I can’t believe what we are doing to our country. I live rurally, even educating people about that they want to know. I keep finding more people who are interested in that (referring to organic food) if I can convince them that we have to do is get them to I don’t have a lot of options here, I am kind of mad at whole foods. I am really excited for to get better and better and have more stuff. So I can only rely on them. What is really frightening is that 60% of our population is obese, 25% of our military can’t get in because they are obese and cannot serve they are rejected because they are overweight, this is the United States, we should be healthy and active. We got to get our act together. It is political.

Suzy: As you can tell people who are really in the loop and want to educate themselves and then there are people who are ignorant and don’t want to listen. And we came here tonight instead of listening to our political program, we are kind of boycotting the other media because we are sick of their one sided message. I am so tired of being controlled.

69

Amberly: So why did you start shopping here?

Tim: Mine was just okay, trust related, okay rob so you say you can beat Costco pricing. That was number one,

Suzy: I also think we are health conscious.

Tim: I was lucky that I got to get into the business side of it, in my mind people will say, is it cheaper?

Tracey: I lost 32 pounds earlier this year, I didn’t want to eat the old normal way, so when I saw someone posting about it. The health, the convenience and the price are the reason I shop here at GPDB.

Amberly: What keeps you coming back?

Misty said “I like supporting this company.”

Tracey: Well I do love the convenience. My kids think it is just like Christmas, my big frustration is that I don’t know the whole buying system of the company, but when I find something that I like and I go and it’s not there then it is frustrating. So I have my favorites. Then I do get frustrated because I am going in and trying to find everything that I like.

Tim: Wouldn’t it be great if you could pull up your old order?

Suzy: I re-order a lot, we have our favorites and we try to order something new every order. Every time. I wish we could label our favorites so I can go in and look at our favorites list, you know it’s overwhelming. And because it’s like drag and drop into your basket it never works. I don’t know if I will ever order any of the produce. Who knows maybe it will all change?

Tim: One thing in the past is that there needs to be some, showing of how big it is. There is no dimension of size on the internet. It has to be visual. It must be visual measurement. Like even if you bring in a ruler.

Tim: We still come back because we are invested in it,

Amberly: If you weren’t shareholders do you think you would still purchase at gbdp?

Connie: I can see how it would be easy to fall away because I still go to the grocery store. I think it would be easy because you go to the grocery store anyway, one day I went to the grocery store and I bought a ton of spaghetti sauce and I bought eight bottles and because you know, that is going to last me for awhile.

70

Tim: I think you gotta, you need that reminder or a thing that is like okay here are your specials. Are you ready to reorder? Order today.

Tim: Although I already do get emails from rod and I accept it because rod is a friend and again I am like oh no not another email from GPDB. You want me to take 30 minutes out of my day today and just kind of like- I appreciate the way he phrases things, he is articulate. The frequency is too high in their dilemma mode.

Connie: I sent him an email saying ok now I am worried about it.

Suzy: I appreciate honesty though.

Connie: I do I like that they aren’t trying to hide anything.

Tracey: I don’t know I might not use the membership right now. I don’t know.

Tim: Here’s another thought for me is that. You know, two weeks ago there were three of us got in this huge debate about organic foods are not as strict, as whatever like oh my gosh. Now if rod could address that. There needs to be someone monitoring the nutritional websites, and I do that for my own business. And they can just pick out of it just go recent studies indicate that coconut water does Blah. Then I’m more apt to receive an email and go, oh that’s nice. Ok, I’m getting an essential nutrient by taking GPDB fruit and here’s what it does for the body and its measurable benefit. So if he does send us emails or newsletters or here is the specials for the month, there might be a section of that that indicates here are your health benefits for the stuff that’s in this newsletter or summarize it really, really short.

Tracey: And that’s much easier to forward too. You’d be more likely to go, oh ill share that with somebody. Cause it’s useful.

Tim: So if you’ll send that to them and make it really short it would help.

Tracey: They should also say different families favorite snack food. Cause that’s like oh what is everyone else eating, what does somebody else like and have pictures of it. Then I can be like oh ya, I can see my kids eating that. That information would be good.

Amberly: What are your favorite products? I heard you mention Spry Gum. I see you all agree to that.

Tracey: Ya, ya

Suzy: love all the frozen foods. I’m not really sure about the breaded snacks. I really like Pamela's gluten free. The spices are a little funky, they are too much. I won’t buy them anymore

Tim: My favorite is the meal in a can salmon del four

71

Connie: They have salmon, they have beans, salad mix. We just took those home with us

Tim: I’m on the road 200 days out of the year and I just keep those with me. Throw them in a pack. If I’m starving, I’m not going to grab junk food, I’ll have those.

Connie: It keeps you away from the junk.

Tracey: Do you warm them up?

Suzy: No, you can eat them right out of the can. They come with a spoon

Tim: They come with a spoon and sea salt and pepper. You pull the top, eat it and chuck it.

Suzy: It’s sort of like a tuna fish can.

Tim: Except that it’s salmon.

Tracey: But it’s tasty? It’s not just the fish?

Connie: No because its pasta and vegetables, and it’s a whole little meal. It’s like a pasta salad with salmon. And it’s good. Quite tasty.

Suzy: Most importantly, it’s quick. I mean I would not go home and eat that for dinner. But in a car or on the river, we were quite happy. It’s just really fast food.

Connie: I was really glad when they started carrying organic. Organic is very important to me, I don’t care what the studies say. I know my experience and I know what I don’t want to put in my body. So organic is important and for a long time they didn’t have any organic nuts. Now they do. Now it’s starting to be winter, but during the summer, I eat so much fresh fruits and salads. So now I’ll be eating my grains and cereals and nuts in the mornings. I’ll get almond milk again so I’ll start buying more products like that instead of summer stuff. It’s a challenging business. A lot of them don’t do well.

Tracey: One of the thing that I don’t care for is the sodium content in some of the food.

Tim: Oh ya

Tracey: Especially in the Asian foods. Oh my gosh, it’s like 720 mg. I threw them all in the garbage. I couldn’t eat them.

Suzy: Those bean chips are horrible. We eat a lot of the chips, but those ones are just bad.

Tracey: I eat a lot of the nutrition bars they offer. Like the ones over there are really good.

72

Tim: Ya, those are good. These are the coconut almond ones and we like those ones.

Suzy: Ya there are things we like and we eat. We have tried everything to some degree. Oh and the shampoo for dogs, we love that. It’s the best. I really like it though for our dog. I’ve also used some of the facial products and I like some of the creams and some of the cleansers. The laundry detergent I like a lot. Eco Clear, the steel magnolias. I like that one.

Amberly: Earlier you said we need to be changing people’s habits. Our job is to figure out how to make people do what we want them to. And so, you said you changed your lifestyle and you have changed to try to live a healthier lifestyle. So what motivated you to do that and how do you think we could motivate other people to live like that?

Connie: I think it’s like what he said. If people get the information it will work. They may have heard organic doesn’t make any difference. Well, here is why it really does. We need to counter what is in the news today and really educate people in a fun, simple, concise way.

Suzy: Another thing is, they haven’t really found a specific target market. And so they need to find some way to tap into the health food market because it’s not like a group of people. Athletes are a good way. It’s also a good way to get a lot of money because they care about their bodies and they take care of their bodies because they can tell the benefits. That’s a huge group to tap into.

Connie: And I also think families. When we talk about educating, I don’t think people know that 60% or Americans are obese or overweight and that child obesity is a huge, huge issue. And they’re offering solutions. There are still a lot of sweet and fattening things at GPDB. There is plenty of it. Maybe they should start labeling really great snacks that are low in calories.

Tim: I would almost say that every single product needs to have a health benefit.

Tracey: I know they already have symbols for no MSG, no trans-fat and organic. But those cookies they have on there still have a ton of sugar even though they are organic. They need to have symbols that are for no sugar and low fat so that people know. People don’t care until they start thinking seriously about it.

Suzy: The other thing that has become really popular are health coaches. Well now it is going more towards online nutrition coaches and health coaches, trainers that are online. If somehow they can get in that because it is becoming very popular to be online for coaches. It’s very popular back east

Tim: I think that’s a really good idea. Maybe Rod should bring on two people. The first could guide people through their first order. It could say, this is what other families or couples have liked and maybe you would like it too.

73

Tracey: I think that’s a great idea. It would help me to do that.

Tim: And then also they need to have another person on staff to monitor what is going on in the industry. So every day there is another global announcement on one of the main websites. All these are would be little bits of information that could be posted on the site. So someone goes to check out and it says, just so you know this is happening back east. This will be like, oh my gosh, they are actually monitoring the food industry and I’m getting updates with my membership.

Tracey: They need to work on social marketing. I mean, there are no tweets going on. 80% of people have twitter accounts or Facebook. It’s a great way to connect with people. Look at the offers on Facebook. They offer free stuff and information. That could be huge for them.

Tim: I agree, it’s a great corporate market. It could get 2-3 boxes ordered a day and publicity for them and their staff.

Suzy: It could just be one or two good tweets a day about them and people who find it interesting would be like, oh I want to follow them. So there’s a company, and I could put you in touch with them. They control a bunch of social media in the area here and in Salt Lake and you could get them involved in the training and networking that comes along with that is just awesome. They could kind of tell them about what’s going on and about how companies are using those. It could also show how companies who have someone full time updating their social media can affect them.

Suzy: Even if it’s just every half hour, you could send out the tweets in prime time.

Amberly: Is there anything else in the concerns area that anyone wants to bring up?

Connie: In the title of the items, it should say organic. Like instead of dried cranberries, say “organic dried cranberries.” Because right now I have to click on the picture, to see the tiny little word organic. It should be right on the name of the product, and be more clear that the product is organic. The product descriptions could also be better. Like if it says 50 ounces of laundry detergent, how many loads is that?

Suzy: It needs to be quick, so information can be found more quick. Because people just don’t have the time.

Connie: Ya, because even clicking on the picture takes me time, and I don’t want to do that. I just want to be able to see right away that it’s organic. Organic dried cranberries, then I can also check the labels for sugar and other ingredients. That’s my main thing, it should be it’s own category.

Tracey: Ya, it might be it’s own category, but I don’t shop by category.

74

Amberly: Do you mean the different categories you can shop by on the site?

Tracey: Ya, like if you’re celiac or need gluten free. I like that. Like how you can shop for only gluten free items.

Connie: But there needs to be a little symbol so people know what they’re buying. Because I’m in to all of this stuff, but even I don’t always recognize those things, so other people aren’t going to know either.

Suzy: And if you’ve spent a lot of time on it.

Connie: Ya.

Suzy: But for me, if I go to baking, and the list comes down, it jumps away before I can click on anything.

Tracey: Mine does too!

Suzy: It like requires speed and coordination. It’s weird.

Tracey: Ya, so you go to click on it, but it’s so weird. You have to hold it and try to click it, but maybe you’ll get it on the first time.

Connie: But they just need to have their labels be more clear. So it says organic raw vanilla bean, organic cow powder, organically grown rice. I’ll assume, but I’ll always check. All the labels should just say organic. And, they’re getting more stuff.

Suzy: Ya it’s fun to see more and more things. I see more on there each month. But do you know how long it’s going to take for them to sell produce too?

Connie: They’re working on it right now. Right now they have 500 people committed, for $25 a month or more. I just signed up today for $25 a month. But my question is if I can regularly change the address my products are sent to. Because sometimes we travel and I want it to go wherever I am. So, those are my questions. But, I want it to work. I have to get into a rhythym of when to shop and when I need to get groceries. So I can commit to $25 a week, but I can’t do more than that.

Cara: They just did a survey about the possibility of providing produce. Did you guys participate?

Connie: Well, I clicked on the survey, but it’s actually a pitch to get me to commit to ordering $25 a month of produce. It’s not really a survey, like did you get it on time? When you got your produce, was it good? So they need to fix that, that’s not right. It’s misleading.

75

Suzy: But something else I would like to ask about is the possibility of doing a gift box for someone else. I love that idea. I would send that out for gifts for people I know would enjoy it, just a mini one.

Tim Ya maybe they could have pre-made cards. So, you could just send it with, here’s thinking of you. You could even throw a birthday thing in there.

Tracey: Ya I would love that. It would help the company, and save me time. You could even send it as a wedding gift. And you could make it a $25 minimum.

Tim: And we could send the best stuff, that we like.

Tracey: And they could have different sizes available, like small and medium. And you could just drag and drop the items you want into it. You could just order how much would fit into the box.

Suzy: Maybe GPDB could make it half price shipping if you’re sending it to someone else as a gift, in a small package. You could get more out of my pocket that way.

Connie: Well right now its at having to spend a minimum of $25, and for free shipping you have to spend $75.

Suzy: But they could make another deal with FedEx. They should negotiate making small packages less shipping costs.

Tim: Well maybe if the package is being sent to a third party, they could make it half price.

Suzy: And, it’s basically free marketing on our dollar. They’re not having to pay a cent other than just to negotiate something with FedEx and a smaller package.

Connie: Ya, put that in that they need to negotiate for a smaller package, or they won’t remember.

Amberly: We’re recording our meeting, so don’t worry, GPDB will know what is discussed.

Connie: Well we’re the “love” group, imagine what the hate group is saying!

Tracey: Well, they need someone monitoring their social media, so they can counteract negative messages that may be out there, because even for myself as I’ve googled.

Connie: Also, because my one sister, she’s never eaten healthy a day in her life. She drinks like a fish every night. You know, the doctor told her she almost died. But, she’s drunk every night for 20 or 30 years. But, when her lab results came back her liver was totally fine. But anyway, my point is she got all excited about organic foods because she

76

learned she could get 20% more nutrition. So, she could justify spending more because she’s trying to lose weight. She likes that she can get more nutrition while eating less calories. So, you have to counteract other opinions that are out there.

Suzy: And that can be the pesticide thing as well. Even it was justified. Like saying sulfur is a necessary part of your diet.

Tracey: But with whatever is said, you have to check the media source. And you have to validate the research too.

Tim: But GPDB should respond when negative things are said about them, because no one is responding. GPDB should monitor what is being said about them and organic food. They could provide a summary of what has happened this week.

Suzy: They could pull together small companies to help each other, so they’re not over run by larger organizations.

Connie: Well I got some grapes from the produce. My last produce order was warm when I got it. I’ve never had that happen. It always came in the ice box still frozen, it was amazing. And this time everything was melted and it was warm and my grapes were already going moldy. And some of the oranges were moldy and the lettuce too and it was bad. I was so busy I didn’t call and tell them, and I didn’t order again for a while. And it came really, really late in the day and it was not Fedexed it was the other guys. IN fact I was bummed to order from them again because it came at like 7 at night.

Tracey: Do you feel like when you get produce it is a good value for your money? It what you get

Connie: Sometimes I would pay a little more I think, but I look at it and I can see that its 2 pounds and so for the grapes right now, two pounds will get me. Yes I kind of look at it and measure. I kind of, you know, weight it in my own mind. Like two pounds of organic grapes, and even there, it does say certified organic. So two pounds for $4.99, that’s $2.50 a pound, that’s about as cheap as I can find organic grapes and they are often $3.49 or $3.99 a pound. So I know that’s good value. A 4 pound bag for $3.99, that’s pretty good. Maybe I could find it a little cheaper once in a while somewhere.

Tim: What about farmer’s markets? Do you shop there?

Connie: Yes, well I don’t shop there since I moved, well I do up in Eden, there’s slim pickings.

Tim: There’s a lot of farmers markets on the Wasatch front. And I don’t know, I’ve not compared, so I’m curious. People can go up to

77

Tracey: In the summer, the pricing for me personally and how much we are able to save because of our traveling and schedules and what not. That’s our biggest challenge. Its probably too much for when we’re home and when were not.

Tim: But I’m curious do you guys have any feedback on pricing on veggies, fruits and veggies. Can anyone say they’re better than Costco

Amberly: I don’t know on the produce, I know on all the other stuff, Sariah said it was all the cheapest. I’m not sure

Connie: The green leaf lettuce, that is really normal. For $1,89 I can get that if I go to the health food store and I will pay exactly that for a bunch of green leaf or red leaf lettuce or baker romaine for $1.99. If you go to Costco and buy the big bins for $3.99, it goes rotten so fast. I find that two days later its rotten for me so I don’t buy it anymore. I don’t like the wait. It’s a cheaper deal.

Tim: If they can’t figure out the produce segment then they’ve got some problems because they need that.

Amberly: I know that they are working on improving that.

Suzy: It would be nice if they had some fresh herbs. Another thing that I’ve asked them about is like all there granolas are really expensive. The 6 oz aren’t so bad but the 12 oz are. I can go buy bulk for so cheap and they said that they would do bulk eventually and that would make a big difference. We have some interns working with us on the building lot and we provided all the food and he’s like I cant order that its too expensive. Ill just go to the health food store and pick it up myself in bulk. Its fine with me because we can use that money for something else, but that’s an issue.

Tracey: What’s your company?

Suzy: We have a … mountain foundation, we make movies without … Raising money that’s the challenge. Money is always the biggest challenge.

Amberly: Do you guys have any questions or suggestions for them? Anything you want to add? If you think of anything while you're sleeping

Tim: I believe that we haven’t talked at all about the network part of it. Members are saying there’s an interesting … that’s a big asset to them to tell your friends and here’s how you do it. we can help you and here’s some promptings. Okay I can tell I’ve been sitting here for an hour … ( all voices jump in)

Suzy: They’d all make more money if they did this…

Connie: What I was hoping was that I would have a little red sign saying “Welcome to Green PolkaDot Box, your friend Connie referred you here.” And then I could give them

78

out and have them check out Green PolkaDot box and then tell people. And if they wanted to put stuff on Green PolkaDot Box saying that would be fine but I don’t want them emailing me. If only I could choose…

Tim: Here’s a thought you could send out and order a gift box to determine what they want. You could give them a link saying here’s your gift certificate and you choose the contents of your basket. And then they have to have that Green PolkaDot Box experience.

Suzy: I tell you the problem with that is people don’t use their gift cards, It’s a time issue. But if you give them something that arrives on their porch, and then there like oh my gosh it’s a Green PolkDot Box.

Tim: They like to see things on their porch.

Suzy: Yes they do. They created what in the world is this. Where did this come from? Oh my gosh this came for me. I love this.

Tracey: We’ve been trying to give her to buy something for her daughter. Just do it and three months later she had never done it. Monday’s the new month and were going to place an order for her and send it because she’s just too busy because she’s a new single mom and making it all work.

Suzy: I think it’s a little intimidating. It’s taken me a little while.

Tim: What if you send it to them and they get that expressed and sign it with a coupon saying and for you next gift next month or when you want to reorder the next reorder is on us too.

Suzy: That’s a good idea.

Tim: And its’ free. It’s the same amount or whatever.

Suzy: Yep. That’s a whole order. Maybe like 25 dollars.

Tracey: Maybe even 5 bucks off. People do anything for 5 bucks off.

Time: With a coupon credited to your account for your referral and there’s …

Connie: I think that’s a really good idea like once a month there was coupon for me. Order today or order by Friday and use this coupon.

Tracey: And especially or even if you don’t buy products. I know when things are starting to expire. They have things in the warehouse expire anyways you know and they want to move things that aren’t moving or whatever.

Connie: (chatter) Give them away. They should give them away

79

Tracey: Right. As a freebee. Anything that expires you can put in for free

Tim: One other thing, when the boxes come they create quite a mess and I don’t know what the solution is.

Connie: I want to give all that stuff back.

Suzy: When they deliver.

Tim: And recycle area and go oh my gosh but I guess you just pack stuff in my own business I just use theirs.

Suzy: I’m always like who’s moving who’s moving when I see those boxes. If I could leave my packaging from the previous order and when they delivered that one and pick up that one it would be so cool. What about the other guys? The truck ones?

Connie: I don’t know.

Amberly: Then your produce will be rotten. Just kidding.

Tracey: I don’t know if there is a good solution.

Connie: We could save 10 dollars a month to have a green boxes picked up. I would drive for that.

Suzy: I would pay 10 dollars for that.

Tim: I wonder if they have a shredding machine … (chattering and fading off)

Amberly: Thank you so much.

80