Howdy!

In this week’s newsletter, I am looking into:

• Why Trader Joe’s Wins

• Jiminny’s way of going after Gong in their own category

• [Free Notion Template] Objection Handling Tracker

Lezzgo!

Dejan - @dgajsek

Have you ever wondered why, in a world of mega-supermarkets, a humble grocery store like Trader Joe's commands such loyalty?

Born out of Pasadena, California in the late 1950s, Trader Joe's (yup that was his actual name) started as a small chain of convenience stores. Today, it's an epitome of grocery store success and a altar for early pioneer hipsters. It’s known for its tiki-themed decor and a sea of enthusiastic fans.

Why is it so successful? It’s just a grocery chain…

By being different and embracing their own uniqueness!

• Thoughtful, Quirky and Quality products - although white label Trader Joe’s put care into the brand. From big store chains they differ from its focus on being healthy, and from bulk supercenters by having their own product lines with witty names.
  This goes from staple to gourmet types. The quirkiness is the part of its brand and binds the whole brand together. Just check out the Fearless Flyer Newsletter which is themed like timey newspaper.
  

• Constant Rotation of Products - In tech you have to pay attention to things like retention, daily or monthly active users (DAU/MAU). Well stores also have to be amazing for customers to come back.
  While location is important for convenience sake, the Trader Joe’s customers will go out of their way and drive to shop at TJ’s.
  One reason is constant rotation of products which makes every visit a treasure hunt. Missed out on Mango Sticky Spring Rolls? Better luck next time.

• Conservative Pricing - I’ve got this bit when someone asks me how is Slovenia like (my home country). I like to describe it as pocket Switzerland. If Switzerland is Whole Foods, Slovenia is Trader Joe’s.
  Almost as beautiful (or even more to my biased heart) but without sky-high prices.

• Compact Size and Intuitive Store Layout - Everything is big in US. Big cars, big meals, big people. Trader Joe’s has been bought by Aldi SUD back in 90’s. The Aldi brothers who owns mega successful chain of Aldi/Hofer and Lidl stores in Europe brought the small get-in and get-out format. The perceived friction to get what you need is way lower plus you’re also having fun when you’re shopping.

• Staff - Even more than products, the people represent the brand of Trader Joe’s even more. Whoever is worthy of wearing Hawaiian shirts, has to be friendly, kind, and up for distributing high-fives on a daily basis.
  

I’m no different when it comes to TJ’s products. If I could choose I’d pitch a tent somewhere between the cheese section and peanut butter fillet pretzels. To this day, I ask friends to bring me a hipster treat or I get a Christmas / Birthday pack with TJ goodies.

I wrote a looooooooon growth study on Trader Joe’s success many moons ago. If you’re in it for a long read, give it a go.

Grocery Wisdom into Tech Gold? 

So, how can a SaaS business or a B2B tech company ride this wave?

The first thing in tech is always value. You wouldn’t use something just because it’s “cute”. Try sell this to your CFO.

But you do have to be different. Slack’s whole design brand is built around vibrant colors and informal copy. Maybe your software has unexpected features that makes tasks feel like a game?

Keep your services fresh; regular updates or new additions can create buzz and anticipation.

As for pricing? B2B products are expensive. One look at those numbers would make your head spin. But that’s why you have to increase value elsewhere. Make sure your clients feel they're getting premium.

Design your user interface to be as intuitive as a well-laid-out store, ensuring even the least tech-savvy user feels at home. And lastly, customer service – be the Trader Joe's employee in a sea of faceless tech support. Make your clients feel heard, valued, and maybe even share a virtual high-five or two! And make it personal, and not through AI bots.

Jiminny’s Looking for Disillusioned Clients

I’ve noticed this promoted ad on LinkedIn.

Jiminny is a small company of 20 employees from New York who is looking to get a piece of that conversations intelligence market.

This is a nice example of an underdog biting at the ankles and catching customers that weren’t happy with an incumbent.

It’s small-scale, it wouldn’t really fly wheel for a bigger company but it’s well targeted ad for a defined audience of clients.

In fact just curiosity alone is great to earn that click.

Once you get to Jiminny’s website, they do have a dedicated competitive lander for Gong. (Nice!)

The elements of a competitive lander:

• Clear title: Jiminny vs Gong

• Social Credibility callout using peer review website (G2)

• 5 identified strong points against Gong
  

  

  Case for Jiminny vs Gong

Competitive landing pages are a great example of bottom-of-the-funnel content since whoever is reading this page is in the middle of a consideration phase.

If the messaging lands, the reader will go ahead and book a demo call which is the main CTA on this page.

[Free Notion Template] Objection Handling Tracker

Stefanos Karakasis, PM at Quinyx has been dropping value-bombs of these beautiful and useful Notion templates for Product Marketing Managers.

On this last one, we have joined our forces and create an Objection Tracking Template. The template will let you note down which objections appear the most often in your sales deals.

Once you know what has been slowing down your team, you can use the Redirect, Reframe and Reposition framework to turn an objection into an opportunity.

It’s free to use!

Spicy Memes

Newsletter Shoutout

I’ve been enjoying Çiler Demiralp’s Newsletter Circle where she interviews and shares origin stories of some of the most popular and unique newsletter writers.

My favorite part is her Newsletter Identity Card which looks like a newsletter battlecard of category, tech stack, and all the essential email metrics like open and click rates.

Check it out by yourself 

Last but not least - our company Grow + Scale has openings for new clients starting September. If you always wanted to have an experienced enablement-as-a-service outfit in your pocket, let’s talk.

That’s it. Have a wonderful week!

🤘🤘

d.

Lay it On Me

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