Co-ops are adapting quickly to COVID-19, demonstrating ingenuity to meet their customers’ needs and serving their communities with generosity. Here are more examples of co-ops responding to the crisis with creative solutions.
This new policy places the responsibility on NCG leadership to ensure co-op success, as well as define it. As a result, NCG’s success is measured by member success. While we will interpret and define success and growth separately, the policy requires both — we cannot achieve one at the expense of the other. This policy places accountability for member success on NCG, but greater mutual accountability between NCG and its members will support greater success for both.
Today’s rapidly changing marketplace requires food co-op managers to be nimble and make critical decisions amidst changing conditions. There is tremendous pressure on general managers to develop strategy with consideration to finance, marketing, operational processes and project management. Learn how Oneota Community Food Co-op’s manager found ways to re-imagine the store without adding any square footage.
The cold facts: Reinvestments can only be deferred for a while before it hurts the customer experience and the co-op’s ability to compete. Low or no sales growth is going to continue or — if we face a recession — perhaps even worsen in the years to come. The only way forward is to finance reinvestment the old-fashioned way: through earnings.
Customer experience is a priority in all aspects of our work, and that includes providing the best possible service when people call the co-op. But what about co-ops using an automated answering system, and what happens when a customer is put on hold?
Customer service desks are a popular component for front end design in food co-ops, but as labor becomes more expensive and productivity goals increase, is the work done at your customer service station achieving the co-op’s customer experience objectives?
Reinvesting in the co-op can improve customer experience and sales growth — and it requires cash. Here are three New Year’s cash management resolutions to help you finance reinvestment out of cash flow from operations.
What does putting customers first look like at co-ops? NCG’s preferred practices contain lots of food for thought when it comes to customer-driven solutions that have been tested and successful at food co-ops.
Ah, Thanksgiving… a relaxing holiday for quietly reflecting on our gratitude. Unless you’re in grocery retail, am I right? For us, Thanksgiving week is the culmination of everything we train for all year. The stakes are high. Pre-Thanksgiving days have the most shoppers, the highest sales and the most pressure to not ruin anyone’s famous
Strong peer support is crucial to help co-op managers navigate decisions that must take into account values and principles as well as the bottom line. Learn how NCG’s corridor networks nurture the community of co-op leaders.
