1. Domain Expert
The domain expert I reached out to is someone who has been working at Publix for a long time. I asked him about what different deals Publix offers and if the coupons they give out are used often. I also asked what he thought of my business idea. He said the idea itself is not bad but starting a new grocery store would be close to impossible. I found this person because he is a friend of my roommates, he works at Publix full time. Including this person in my network will be good because I will have someone who is in a grocery store everyday, interacting with the same customers I am trying to talk to. He can give insight on what deals the customers like and what types of promotions are not as popular.
2. Supplier
The supplier I will reach out to is the head of one of the biggest food importers in the country. I was an intern at this company over the summer and got the chance to meet a lot of people in the grocery department. Unfortunately it is a very stressful time in the grocery industry with the coronavirus so I figured now was not the best time to ask about my business idea. Adding this person to my network will be incredibly helpful because the company can potentially help supply the food to my grocery store. I know many food stores are competing to have them as a supplier, so if my store can get their help it would be very helpful for business.
3. Market Expert
I will again contact a person at the company that I interned with, who I had not talked to during my internship. This time I will contact the head of the marketing department that knows how to sell food to people in my target market. They will also help me with pricing and inform me on how other grocery stores they work with price the same items I will be selling. I would also like to hear their feedback on my idea from a marketing perspective.
This networking experience was great when I spoke to the person who works at Publix. However, due to the coronavirus I was hesitant to reach out to an executive during such a stressful time in the food industry. I know if I want my grocery store to be successful, I will have to have strong networking. I will need to deal with multiple suppliers for the many items that I will be selling. Networking will also be great to bring in customers. Word of mouth is a great form of marketing.
Hi Eric!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading about the people that you chose to reach out to. I think that it is great that you reached out to someone at Publix as that is a very successful grocery store. I think it is great that you got his feedback about how hard it will be to open a new grocery store. He is correct since it would be very difficult to compete against Walmart, Target, Publix, Whole Foods, etc. even with your great idea to bring in more customers. People are used to their usual places and may not be open to switching. I agree with you that adding these people to your network will be extremely helpful. I am glad to see that you got some good information out of this assignment.
Hey Eric I think that it is awesome that you already have such high ranking contacts to grow your capital. Your internship has really come in handy for your project vision. I have a friend who also works at publix and has been working full time for 6 years. I agree that it may be difficult to start a new market store as people tend to be loyal to their grocery store or choose the location closest to their house. Great job
ReplyDeleteHey Eric, I really like how your organized your ideas it was really cohesive and thought out. I also felt really nervous reaching out to the people in my networking circle as well since business owners have been on edge due to the stress and anxiety of the corona virus. You did a great job despite that though! Hopefully when this all ends we will be able to talk to them more in a better environment. Great job!
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