BOARD and Penzeys Spices

There's no doubt that Penzeys spices is the "D" in BOARD.

1. B = E-Commerce in a Box.
2. O = Omnichannel E-Commerce.
3. A  = Amazon.
4. R = Recurring E-Commerce.
5. D = Different E-Commerce.

When you publish a daily newsletter and you go on the offensive against one political party, you are DIFFERENT. Nobody teaches you to alienate half of your audience to the point that the audience takes to AM radio to encourage looting one of your stores because of your comments.

I don't think the marketing community understands just how different you have to be to qualify as "D" in BOARD. Penzeys clearly has "B" characteristics ... but an extreme marketing strategy that offsets everything else. They're on Amazon (click here), but again, when you have the conviction to say unpopular things that offend so many potential customers, you are the definition of "Different".

Now, let's pretend that you alienated half of your customers ... they aren't coming back ... and you greatly enthused a ton of new customers who came to you thanks to a combination of COVID and Consternation (politically).

How do you forecast what your business will look like in 2021?

How do you write Goals and Objectives for 2021 for your Marketing Team, for your Operations Team, for your Stores Division, given where the world is headed?

You'll need to understand (and quickly) how much COVID / Politically Angry (or happy) customers are to come back following the November election, and then you'll have to use instinct to respond, right?

Your Goals and Objectives are tied to risky.

Your DIFFERENT business model means employees are less accountable ... because your employees don't control the risk you've introduced into the business model.

Goals and Objectives are darn important. Get your team aligned on a common framework for 2021.