Assignment
Murray's Cheese began in New York's Greenwich Village in 1940, as a wholesale butter and egg shop owned by a Jewish veteran of the Spanish Civil War named Murray Greenberg. When the current president Rob Kaufelt purchased the shop in 1991, it was little more than a local hole-in-the-wall. Kaufelt and his staff made the decision to focus on high-quality gourmet cheeses from around the world. Today, people come from all over to sample Murray's cheeses and to take classes or attend its Cheese U boot camp to learn about cheese. Although Murray's has extended its product line to include gourmet meats, crackers, olives, and dried fruit, cheese remains its core product. In fact, Murray's Cheese has been voted by Forbes as "the best cheese shop" and it is expanding to three other stores. Its success prompted Kroger to seek it out as a partner in its chain of supermarkets, a step that included intensively training Kroger employees in the fine points of selling Murray's products and the creation of a 300-page cheese service guide for them. "We are little and they are very big," says Murray's managing director, Liz Thorpe, in speaking of Kroger. "So it's a very interesting model for us. We've begun operating cheese shops in Kroger delis that are similar to our New York shops. This allows us to bring our knowledge and expertise on sourcing, production selection, education, and customer service to a different format. . . . We're actually going to be opening 50 of these shops in the next 36 months."
Murray's is still small, with about 70 employees, and has an advertising budget of zero dollars. Instead of advertising, Murray's relies on providing great customer service and creating positive word of mouth to promote its products and to secure its reputation. Personal selling is key. The company recruits salespeople who are passionate about both cheese and people and trains them carefully. The key is to inform customers about the store's many unique products and persuade them to taste and then purchase. The staff enjoys listening to customers, gaining an understanding of their interests, and trying to find the right product tosatisfy their needs. Their efforts often succeed in getting customers to purchase more and to make repeat buys. All customers get to taste free samples of cheese before they buy it. "We like knowing the folks who walk in our door and having everyone taste the cheese," said the managing director. "It's part of the shopping experience.
That said, we are getting more sophisticated about how we communicate with people. E-mail marketing continues to be really critical, and we're starting to take advantage of social networking outlets like Twitter. For people who are into cheese and into Murray's, it's a great way for them to be directly tapped into knowing what's going on right this second." What continues to appeal to sophisticated shoppers about Murray's is that cheese is an affordable luxury. A wine and cheese party for a dozen people, for instance, can fit almost any budget, and Murray's salespeople are happy to provide suggestions and samples to assist in the selection. Murray's manager also credits popular media like the Food Network with helping to popularize food in general, and cheese in particular. After all, he says, cheeses "don't have to be improved upon or fortified. They are naturally good for you.
Questions
1. How does Murray's overcome one of the most common limitations facing small companies: its nonexistent advertising budget?
2. What are some of the advantages of being a small business that Murray's can (or does) take advantage of? What disadvantages might it face as a small firm?
3. Do you think the partnership with Kroger will have a negative or a positive effect on the unique experience customers expect from Murray's? Why?
The response should include a reference list. Double-space, using Times New Roman 12 pnt font, one-inch margins, and APA style of writing and citations.