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By: Emma Kowalkowski, Kristen Ann Fox, Danielle Wilder, Matt Kavanagh

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Overview 3 - 10

• Company
• Scope
• Market Share Goals
• Hypotheses Overview
• Research Conducted

Hypothesis One 11 - 16

• Product Perception Test
• Recommendations

Hypothesis Two 17 - 34

• Drive traffic
• Test conversion rates
• Increase amount spent per

transaction

• Website Design and Layout

alterations

Hypothesis Three 35 - 38

• Industry reports: Lower

shipping timing and costs

• Creating an emotional story

through the company

• Solidifying a company mission

and values

Conclusions 39 - 41

• Overlapping Hypotheses
• Bottom Line
• Ranking of Recommendations

"This report is based on work by the Small Business Institute Team. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations are those of the team and do not necessarily reflect the views of the University of St. Thomas."

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There are Three Lines of Business to Choose From to Increase Revenue → This Project Focuses on Online Retail

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To determine the most effective route in which Maddy and Maize can grow their online sales revenue in order for it to amount to 25% of their 5 year goal.

• Wholesale
• Customization Sales
• Recommendations/Ideas Exceeding the 5 Year Goal
• Increasing Human Capital

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Perspective of Market Share Goals

• Industry’s revenue is growing to $2 Billion in the next 5 years (Nationwide)
• You want to grow to $10 Million in revenue
• 10 Million/2 Billion = .5%

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https://www.statista.com/statistics/546366/us-market-share-of-ready-to-eat-popcorn/

IBISWorld Industry Report OD4281: Popcorn Production in the US

SWOT Analysis → Opportunities to Boost Online Sales

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Overview: Research Findings → Hypotheses

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Overall Task: Boost Online Sales

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Hypotheses:

1. We Need to Improve Online Product Perceptions
• Based on only name of popcorn and visual
• Lack of product taste descriptions

2. Website needs Optimization and to align with Best Practices

• Drive traffic
• Test conversion rates
• Increase amount spent per transaction
• Website Design and Layout alterations

3. We Could be Better in Accordance with Millennial Buying Behavior

• Industry reports: Lower shipping timing and costs
• Creating an emotional story through the company
• Solidifying a company mission and values

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We gathered both primary and secondary research in order to support our recommendations with ways for implementation.

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Primary Research

Secondary Research

Perception Test:

Survey of Millennial Target Market

Website Best Practices: Professor Steven Giovannellli

Industry Analysis: Industry Reports and Online Research

Website Best Practices: Online Research

Millennial Buying Behavior: Online Research

Throughout our report the color presented will indicate the data source.

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What to Improve to Boost Online Revenue

Hypothesis 1: Negative Online Product Perceptions

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Purpose of Product Perception Test:

Testing consumer perceptions and reactions to the general theme of having obscure flavor names for your whole popcorn collection on your website.

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Product Perception Test Overview

Purpose:

Testing subject's reactions to the name and visual- how people are comprehending the product without tasting it; reflecting the situation new online customers (having only name and visual of the product to go off of)

• Group A: tasted the product first without knowing the name, filled out survey, found out the name→ Meaning survey results were based on just the product TASTE
• Group B: Saw the product and heard the name, tasted after survey was completed→ Meaning survey results were based on just product NAME and picture

Methodology:

• We had a sample size of 30 people for Group A and 30 for Group B (60 Total)
• Each participant test each of the flavors… Creating 180 Results (Took Results only from 2 ‘obscure’ flavor types)

Flavors Tested

1. Kettle Corn: used as a control flavor, one people are familiar with
2. Lemon Raspberry Layer Cake: Sweet flavor, initial presurvey displayed this flavor as one of the top 3 least likely to try----solely based on name
3. Coconut Curry: Savory flavor, initial presurvey displayed this flavor as one of the top 3 least likely to try----solely based on name

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Product Perception Test Results → Mixed Reviews

With Group A (taste first, learn name second), the overwhelming majority of subjects either liked or were pleasantly surprised with the TASTE of the popcorn. After learning this, we realized there is no problem with the taste or flavor of the popcorn, but there were mixed reviews on the NAME.

Because of this, we primarily focused our recommendations on the results from Group B (learn name first, taste second)→ they have same criteria for someone buying online; they are provided with simply the name of the popcorn and a picture of a kernel.

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Continuing with Group B:

• Roughly 16 out the 30 subjects sampled reported they were hesitant to try the popcorn based SOLELY on the flavor name and color.
• After trying, about 9 of the 16 subjects ended up liking the flavor.

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Product Perception Test Recommendations→ Describe Flavor or Alter Name

• Adding a product description will help alleviate this hesitation
• Subjects were more willing to try after being told a description of product flavor
• “ Don’t think it of as a ‘curry’ flavor but as a bold spice flavoring”

From an online buyer not having tried the product (specific to coconut curry and lemon raspberry layer cake):

• Product Descriptions are the final point in the conversion funnel
• Tell a story with emotional language
• Benefits of product (i.e. Non-GMO)
• Easily Scannable
• Quote Testimonials
• Describe what to expect
• Coconut Curry: Sweet and savory with a little Indian kick
• Lemon Raspberry Layer Cake: Sweet and fruity- the perfect blend for a wedding cake
• Kettle Corn: A classic favorite, sweet and salty

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https://blog.kissmetrics.com/product-descriptions-boost-conversions/

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https://www.jackdaniels.com/en-us/whiskey/old-no-7

Sample of a Flavor Description

Tell a story:

“doesn’t follow a calendar, only ready when we say it is”

Easily Scannable Title: Readers know what they should expect

Benefits of the products as well as easily scannable

Hypothesis 2: Improve Website

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Improve Four Specific Website Areas

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Drive Traffic: Online Advertising

Search

• Natural
• Improving SEO
• Site copy, keywords & metadata
• Paid
• Google AdWords
• Cost per click

Display Ads:

• Facebook
• Other relevant sites (target market)

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Drive Traffic: Display Banner Ads to Increase Awareness

According to Google, banners—not video or more complex display formats—accounted for 82% of the unique reach of our tier one campaigns [in 2014]

• Eye-catching, timely, and personalized
• Banner ads are relatively cheap to produce and highly targetable.
• When creating banner Ads remember the 3 C’s
• Conscice
• Clear
• Compelling

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89% of millennials are likely to act on push notifications

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https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/articles/inside-google-marketing-creative-effective-banner-ads.html

How to achieve the best results via banner ads

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https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/articles/inside-google-marketing-creative-effective-banner-ads.html

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Drive Traffic: Ways to Obtain a Natural SEO for Higher Search Rankings

• Be specific while still being natural!
• Don’t want it to be a long forced phrase that sticks out
• Use long-tail keywords to grab a more specific market
• “Gourmet Popcorn” → “Buy Bulk Gourmet Popcorn”
• Internal link flow
• “An internal link connects one page of a website to a different page on the same website.”
• More content (pages) will lead to a better flow of linking → Relevance is key
• Don’t link the home page or contact us → already populating in search bars
• Earn links, don’t buy them
• Against Google Code of Conduct
• Create compelling content and it will lead to getting linked by bloggers

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https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/237819

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Drive Traffic: Grow Your Social Media Presence

Instagram

• Photos of product / customers lifestyle photos

Facebook

• Brand information
• Events
• Contests
• B2B Partnerships

Lifestyle Bloggers

• Bite and Booze
• Feast + West
• Aiming for ‘Buzz’ not ‘Likes’
• Millennials view Social Media as Transactional

According to industry reports, Gourmet Flavors and Packaging will be the next big differentiator in the popcorn industry

*Maddy and Maize is in the right market*

*Put a face to the brand with your gourmet flavors*

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Maddy and Maize Instagram, https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/articles/inside-google-marketing-creative-effective-banner-ads.html

Conversion Rate: Optimizing Your Site Speed will Increase Conversion Rates

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• “Amazon calculated that a one-second increase in page-load speed would cost a company $1.6 billion in lost sales per year. “
• “Other studies have shown 40 percent of website visitors abandon a site that takes longer than three seconds to load. “

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Almost at the break even point of losing customers.

https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/237819 - https://tools.pingdom.com/ - https://www.fastcompany.com/1825005/how-one-second-could-cost-amazon-16-billion-sales

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Conversion Rate: Prepopulate Shopping Cart to Streamline Shopping Experience

• Is it easy to find?
• Cart only visible once item is added
• Not insinuating online purchasing from home page
• Streamline Shopping Experience
• Auto populate drop down with ideal choice

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http://www.maddyandmaize.com/

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Suggestions

• Play around with ingredients
• Ex. pictures, colors, font size
• Close gap between ingredients and cart
• Image swap

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Conversion Rate: Increase Graphics and Descriptions on Purchasing Page

Close This Gap

http://www.maddyandmaize.com/

Conversion Rate: Test Which Image Sells More

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ABC Test:

Swap images out for a period of time to see what produces the most traffic and sales

http://www.maddyandmaize.com/ - Google image search

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What does this mean?

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Maddy and Maize have the right drive and determination to increase online sales per millennial online food buying trends.

www.emarketer.com

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• Industry will continue to grow as popcorn is further recognized as a snack food alternative
• Pre-popped Popcorn is where the market is headed

Popped Popcorn: Market Share and a Snack

www.emarketer.com - Ibis Industry Reports

Use Different Tactics to Increase the Amount Spent per Transaction

1. Bundeling
• You are already starting to do this but start giving the option to the consumer of which flavors they want in their bundle→ create monetary incentives to buy bundling packs to increase amount spent per transaction
2. Cross Selling / Upselling
• Start offering different products to them in the checkout or throughout emails.
1. Based on your flavor choice you might like *input flavor option*
2. Buy one more and save!
3. Only $__ until free shipping maybe add a small of this flavor
3. Popcorn of the month
• Use this to introduce new or “odd” flavors to customers → Make them aware and try it
• Potential to be a test month for popularity and adding it to the realm of products
4. Recurring Subscriptions (delivery)
• 25% of Holiday Shoppers plan to buy Gourmet Food or Snack Subscription Products according to a 2016 Deloitte Holiday Survey

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Because of the fact that testimonials and word of mouth marketing are so highly relied upon, consider offering a VIP membership or points based rewards program in exchange for promoting the product via social media

https://smallbusiness.fedex.com/selling-to-millenials.html

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95% or more of millennials say that they want their brands to court them with coupons via email or snail mail

70% of millennials search for online promo codes

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Utilize Coupon Codes

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Consumers want Descriptions and User-Friendly Websites!

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www.emarketer.com

Have and Highlight a Philanthropy!

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Create Deals and Discounts

Website Design and Layout: Not Informative or Personable → Create a Personality

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“Looks like a chicken at first glance”

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http://www.maddyandmaize.com/

Website Design and Layout: Make More Informative, Personable and Inviting

• Add and “About Us” Page
• People, especially millennials, engage with companies who tell a compelling story
• Why you started the company
• What does the name Maddy and Maize mean

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• Add a “Company Mission and Values” Page
• Having and specifying values helps people relate more to your company and leads them to identifying with it
• Millennials seek out companies with a corporate responsibility statement
• Many millennials prefer organic, non-gmo, and locally made products

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https://smallbusiness.fedex.com/selling-to-millenials.html

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Website Design and Layout: Make More Informative, Personable and Inviting (Continued)

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• Tell the unique story behind each flavor and name
• This is covered in more detail later on in the report within the product perceptions test recommendations
• Millennials seek adventurous flavors and like companies who break the norm (Forbes)

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• More Appetizing Pictures of Product Flavors
• Relating back to conversion rate slide suggestion swapping out single kernel pictures for a whole basket of popcorn

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https://www.forbes.com/sites/jefffromm/2017/02/08/what-brands-need-to-know-about-modern-millennial-snack-culture/#2c0ab8951885

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Hypothesis 3: Start complying with Millennial Online Purchasing Trends

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Shipping: Times and Costs:

“It’s hard to cater to an impulse mentality if you have to wait too long to get something. I can wait two days for a new pair of jeans, but not if I’m craving chocolate.” -emarketer

• With an online snacking company, shipping timing is a huge consideration due to:
• Ensuring the product is still fresh when the consumer receives it
• Many consumers snack because they’re craving something; will the craving last by the time the order arrives?
• Is the customer willing to pay the price to ship it?

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Shipping: Costs and Timing: Shipping is the number 1 killer of transactions

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• 66% of online shoppers have decided not to buy an item because of shipping costs.
• Increase Average Order Value (AOV)
• Free shipping thresholds
• Expedited shipping price points
• Flat-rate shipping on specific high profit items

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Top reasons for buyers abandoning shopping carts (source: UPS Pulse of the online shopper)

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https://www.bigcommerce.com/blog/ecommerce-trends/ - https://www.bigcommerce.com/blog/ecommerce-shipping/

Shipping: Costs and Timing : Change shipping methods and cost systems

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• 3 in 5 consumers have increased their total spend in the past to qualify for free shipping

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• Free shipping → Absorb Costs
• Make available after certain price points
• Part of COGS or marketing budget → both?
• Limited free shipping to regions → Contiguous 48 States
• Monthly perspective vs individual transactions
• Local Carriers → Offer only available to local customers
• Zip Code Reference
• Real time costs
• Surcharge to make up losses

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https://www.bigcommerce.com/blog/ecommerce-shipping/

Overlapping Results Among the Hypotheses→ Company/Product Descriptions and Testimonials

• A Hypothesis 1 Recommendation: Describe the taste of each flavor or what consumers should expect
• Many of subjects who were initially apprehensive to try the obscure flavored popcorn because of/based on the name and color. They ended up trying it after we provided a description of the taste or compared it to something familiar to them.
• A Hypothesis 2 Recommendation: Make your website more personable to hit consumers on an emotional level by:
• Adding an About Us page to tell your story and promote your values
• Telling the story behind each unique flavor
• Use these pages to create internal linking → Increasing SEO

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Tell a Story, Add Emotion, Make an Experience → Keep Adventurous Flavors, add Descriptions

“Millennials have a large appetite for adventure and flavor adventures fit within their experience framework. It can create an emotion, inspire a sense of travel or provide an opportunity for exploration. These experiences range in magnitude and price but all have one thing in common: they allow these consumers to co-create, participate and experience a brand. As brands begin to offer more experiences, millennials begin to capture those moments as a new form of currency - experiential currency”

-Forbes: What Brands Need to Know About the Millennial Snacking Culture

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BOTTOM LINE: Millennials are interested in companies like you and products that Maddy and Maize have to offer, but you need to attract them and engage them by telling a story-of both your company as a whole and of each unique flavor.

Solidify and Sell your Brand Personality!

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Ranking of Recommendations

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Easiest, Fastest, Cheapest More Difficult, Timely, Expensive

Add Descriptions to Better Connect with your Target

Company Descriptions:

• “About Us” Page
• Why you started
• Your Values

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Product Descriptions:

• Taste of each flavor
• What to expect
• Story behind each flavor and name

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Publish Positive Testimonials

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More Helpful in the Short Run Less Helpful in the Short Run

Use Banner Ads, Push Notifications and SEO to Drive Website Traffic

Shorten Shipping Times and Lower Shipping Costs

Banner Ads:

• Pop up advertisements on relevant websites

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Push Notifications:

• Send emails for promos, speciels, etc.

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SEO:

• Improve natural SEO
• Buy keywords or phrases on Google

Shipping Times:

• Way to pack/ship order right when it is put in

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Shipping Costs:

• Decrease cost in general
• Offer free shipping on orders ___ and more