Owner Extras Marketing Materials

NCG’s 2018 consumer research indicated that shoppers think ownership is too complicated, and that the benefits of ownership are not compelling or easy to understand. Shoppers want to know what’s in it for them financially to join a co-op. A key recommendation from this research was for NCG co-ops to adopt common owner rewards and consistent communication around them.

NCG’s 2019 survey of co-ops’ existing ownership programs largely validated consumer research — while there are some common owner benefit elements across co-ops, the application and performance of those benefits varies broadly.

In 2019, NCG selected several existing and potential benefits (immediate and ongoing) and consumer-tested them to determine what options were most compelling. Each of the top-rated ongoing benefits, as well as a $20 “join incentive,” were applied to financial modeling scenarios using co-ops of varying sizes and locations to assess general financial feasibility of replacing existing benefits with the simplified options. The two ongoing benefits that yielded the best results were (A) 1% cash back on purchases and (B) an extra 10% off Co+op Deals.

NCG’s plan to test these in a 2020 pilot to collect data on bottom-line impacts and make recommendations accordingly was derailed by COVID-19 pandemic. However, several co-ops have since adopted approach B – offering members an everyday savings of an extra 10% off Co+op Deals.

These marketing materials are intended to support co-ops interested in using that model (but may be customized to promote any simplified benefits program). Co-ops interested in adopting a 10% off Co+op Deals approach are advised to conduct their own financial analysis. Note that simplifying owner benefits may require changing programs that have been in place for some time. Plan carefully to ensure staff are prepared to support the change and owners understand what is changing. Review and follow the Preferred Practices for Ownership Marketing and Ownership Drives for guidance on routine ownership maintenance and owner recruitment.

Ownership marketing materials are available via the Owner Extras Dropbox folder (link at page bottom).