Beware of Twitter

Now that Food Lion and many other corporations are setting up Twitter and Facebook accounts everything they do can be seen by the world.  This can be good as long as they control the information posted on your site from outside sources.  Take for example Price Chopper Supermarkets had a media fire storm on their hands from a Tweet posted on their Twitter page.

A customer made a complaint on Twitter about produce being out of stock.  An employee of Price Chopper that was working at the store responded to the Tweet with a derogatory comment.  This created a media nightmare for the supermarket giant.  The employee was made to apologize to the customer and Price Chopper had to reaffirm he did not have authority to speak for the supermarket. 

Social media devices can be useful but they can also be harmful.  I'm sure many other retail chains will learn from this incident and review posts before they are uploaded.

Food Lion's Finacial Situation

Food Lion is finding itself (like may grocery chains) in a hard fight with Walmart Super Centers.  Because Walmart is able to purchase in such large quantities it's able to purchase products at a slightly lower cost than many firms.  This accompanied by their superior logistic systems helps them sell their grocery products at very competitive price. 

Food Lion has always prided itself on extra low prices but has been taking a beating by low cost competitors like Walmart.  The weak economy has also been plaguing Food Lion.  Food Lion has been competing through convenient locations and special merchandising.  For example their private label brand accounts for 20% of it's sales.  The strategy of placing stores around town has enabled Food Lion to increase foot traffic.  Walmart perfers to have it's customers come to it. 

Food Lion Is On Facebook

Do you have over 38,000 friends on Facebook?  Food Lion does!  Food Lion has a very well liked Facebook page that contains information about upcoming sales and special events.  On their wall you will see customers posting comments about products they like and general information about the store and their shopping experience.  I find the page to be very informative and entertaining.  They have posted video's pictures of store openings and special events.  You can also sign up for the MVP card for additional savings and coupons.

Food Lion Mission Statement

There's a lot you can learn about a company and it's mission statement.  Food Lion mission is "Food Lion is your neighborly, practical and dependable grocery store for life!"  Food Lion mission to focused on being neighborly, dependable and retaining it's customer base. This mission is good for today but does nothing about saying where the company will be going in the future. I think they should add onto their mission to include a road map that is helping to direct the organization to a higher goal.  They should focus on employee growth and development  It's important that employees know where the company is going and how they will get there. 

Food Lion's on Twitter

Food Lion has a Twitter account and is actively participating in customer inquiries.   This is a great way to make the supermarket chain to be more personal.  It pushes out customer service by listening to customer Tweets and posting valuable information.  

Food Lion to team up with Office Max

Food Lion has decided to expand their stationary supplies offered in stores.  Food Lion will be carrying two hundred Office Max product year round.  These products will include binders, glue's, crayons, paper, and writing products. 

This partnership should benefit Food Lion by drawing in more foot traffic to the stores.  Having a wider selection of stationary supplies will bring customers into their stores that normally would have gone to a Walmart or other large chain store.