Case Study - Farmer Jack Markets

Case Study - Farmer Jack Markets

Farmer Jack is a grocery chain that has deep roots in the Detroit area and deep problems today. Their history dates back to around 1966 and even before then, under the direction of Borman's Inc. This causes one of Farmer Jack's problems today because new competition has been fierce over the last 15 years. Grocery and mega stores like Kroger, Meijer, and Wal-Mart have been taking away a lot of business from "the neighborhood grocer," as stated on the Farmer Jack website. To combat this, Farmer Jack stores, which are now owned by the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, have used the advertising jingle "It's Always Savings Time at Farmer Jack" in the past, and recently brought back the campaign to attract customers. To fulfill and promote their social responsibility, Farmer Jack's website also mentions that they have supported sports teams, charitable organizations and local improvement projects. While advertising with catchy jingles and promoting goodwill may help the grocery chain, there is much more they can do to improve their marketing and customer service.

After doing research, looking at their website, and visiting several local Farmer Jacks at different days and times, I noticed similar issues the company must face and overcome to boost marketing and customer service. Farmer Jack's sales have been decreasing, causing stores to shut down. As for the insides of stores, I found some to have dirty floors, unorganized and sometimes dirty shelves, and very few employees to help customers. Farmer Jack's marketing campaigns of "Low, low prices" and "It's always Savings Time," along with a Bonus Club Savings Card have allowed the grocery chain to stay alive. To advance their marketing efforts and increase sales, Farmer Jack must prove and advertise that they offer a better shopping experience than their competitors. This means always having clean and organized stores, helpful and friendly employees, and always competitively low prices.

Farmer Jack also needs to promote more of what is in demand in the market today- currently it is all about healthy, natural and organic foods. By advertising what they offer in these areas, Farmer Jack can attract more customers into the stores for those products and others. Once customers enter the stores, there are further marketing elements that can