Concord Provisions: Using Social Media to Build Community and Brand

Concord Provisions (CP) in Concord, MA is a 5,000 sq ft., family-owned grocer known for its prime cut, shop-butchered meats, fresh fish, local produce, craft beers and liquors as well as hand-selected wines from across the world. This October, town rumor suggested that a new entry in specialty food and drink might appear, located more conveniently for commuters and twice CP’s size, financed by deep-pocketed, well-admired Tom First, former owner of Nantucket Nectars. Mr. First already has called on CP’s General Manager to join him to manage the store. The new store would threaten CP’s brand of convenience and quality, likely at lower prices.

CP has delved in social media (SM) through FB, Twitter and Yelp, but no one posts with any regularity: CP’s FB and Twitter have had no interaction since 2014, and Yelp’s last review in Aug 2015 was negative with no management response. CP either has to engage or shut down the pages. A SM audit suggests pushing forward. Furthermore, another local grocer segmented in organic foods and health aids, Debra’s Natural Gourmet, has a large and successful presence connecting people to share experiences of food and culture that builds its brand, store visits and sales. Debra’s SM effort also gives its business a presence beyond the street front, providing the opportunity for the store to win national retailing awards yearly. Indeed, Debra’s business has the same mission as that of CP: quality, convenience and expertise at high margins.

Ten SMART recommendations for CP’s social media strategy are proposed, including focusing on FB with regular management interaction, linking the store’s website and news about farms, vendors and promotions to FB, shuttering Twitter, opening Instagram, hiring a “wintern” through Tufts, acquiring analytics for measurement, and committing to social media content’s rule of thirds. The strategy will touch the CP’s current and future customers frequently, easily and in a fun, friendly tone, adding more visibility to value-added services and products of the store and allowing customers themselves to influence reliably and significantly the store’s brand by electronic “word of mouth” establishing a sense of community through food, drink and culture.