Foodservice Beverages

Leadership vs Management

2011-05-20T11:33:00.006-04:00

Embracing your inner Clark Kent

I was researching some information about what characteristics are found in good leaders when I found an old (2001) article published by the Harvard Business Review. (Click here to see the original article)

As I was reading, I kept asking myself, “am I a leader or a manager?”

This question was quickly followed by, “Does it matter, and if so…why?”

In my role as president of ThirsTea Corporation, I had always viewed my position as “leader.” I mean executing the big-picture, long-range plan for our company (as laid out by the owners of the company, of which I am one,) squarely falls on my shoulders. We (the owners) have a goal for where we want to be one year, three years, five years and ten years from today. And as president, it’s my job to make sure we get there.

I can clearly see the vision in my head. I know where we will be at this time next year. I know the steps we need to take to make sure we get to our goals. I’ve got a great team in place to help make sure everything gets done on time, and correctly.

But according to the HBR article, there are great managers who never become leaders. So again, am I a leader or a manager, and does it matter?

One of the contributing professors used the analogy of “Clark Kent” vs. “Superman”. Clark seemed to be the embodiment of the manager, taking care of the day-to-day stuff and interacting with people on a daily basis. Superman,obviously, was the role model for leadership. He stood for something (truth, justice and the American way) even when he was just standing there with his hands on his hips looking towards the heavens.

Of course the two were actually one in the same. There is no Clark Kent without Superman. Does that mean you can’t be a good leader without being a good manager? Maybe. Although I am sure there are plenty of examples out there of good leaders who were ordinary, or perhaps terrible, managers.

Personally, I’m not quite sure I am there as a good leader yet. I show promise, and I am confident I will get there someday. The cape is in my wardrobe; I’ll wear it one day.

For now…for now I’ll be happy as a mild mannered manager. (One who is apparently amused with alliteration.)

Bonus Question:

Obviously I had to go with the Superman theme for today’s question.

Superman’s Kryptonian name was Kal-el. His cousin, Supergirl, also had a Kryptonian name. What was it?

I -HEART- FOODSERVICE

2011-04-20T14:00:00.002-04:00

Recently, someone commented to me that my blogs weren't written 'from the heart'. They also said that my posts seemed too edited, too perfectly composed, and my words too carefully chosen.

This blog is a creative outlet for my seeking knowledge and understanding of the role of social media within the foodservice manufacturing world. Anyone who knows me, knows I am passionate about the foodservice world, specifically the beverage side of that world. So to say my posts aren't from the heart is simply not true.

If my words seem specifically chosen or perhaps too "collegiate", you can either blame (or thank) my father. My dad was the first in his family to attend (and graduate) college. His undergraduate degree was in English Literature, but even before college he was methodical in his writing.

As a teenager, he had a job at the Providence Journal. He worked alongside adult reporters who taught him how to correctly and effectively craft a sentence. Long before spell-check or auto-correct he was thumbing through dictionaries looking up the correct spelling of words. He is gifted, probably from my grandmother, with an unbelievable memory and the ability to recollect EVERYTHING. My younger brother shares that trait with my dad, a trait which apparently skipped me.

I always had to work at my grammar and vocabulary. I still do.

However, one thing I did get from my dad (and I think this is more of a learned response rather than a genetic predisposition), is pride in doing a good job...the first time. From as far back as I can remember until the day I left for the Navy, my dad used to say, "If you're going to do something, you may as well take the time to do it right the first time."

This life lesson was drilled into me frequently, but I would hear it more often when he was proof-reading my school reports. He'd review my work and catch every single misspelling, every wrong word choice, and any grammatical error. (I'm still prone to verb tense changes within a sentence, but I notice them myself more often now.) Then he would tell me to go back and do it right.

Today, mostly because of technology, I make less spelling mistakes and catch more of the blatant grammatical errors. However, I do proof my work several times before I hit send. The first couple of proofs are to make sure the story flows smoothly and ensure the message gets delivered succinctly. My final proof is always done through my "dad-filter" where I look at the work and ask, "what would dad correct"?

Are my posts Providence Journal material? No. Most of the posts aren't even USA Today material.

Will I ever be offered a job as a journalist? I seriously doubt it. But journalism isn't my passion, foodservice is.

Do I write at a collegiate level? Sure, but I am a college graduate. My peers are college graduates. My SEO professional (the aforementioned younger brother with the Mensa IQ) says I should try to write at a "high school" level for the best chance at appealing to a broader audience. Maybe he's right. But, every time I try to write for "broader appeal", I picture my dad marking up my paper and in my head I hear him tell me to "go back and do it right."

Over edited? unOptimized search engine writing style? Grown-up word choices? Sure, I'll accept all those critiques.

But to say my posts aren't written from the heart? No, I won't accept that one. Every final proof of my "over edited" posts are done with my dad (and his lessons) in mind. I'm not sure it gets much more "from the heart."

So dad, if you're reading this, I know when we were younger you sometimes thought I wasn't listening. And actually, sometimes I wasn't. But, the lesson was learned just the same. From my heart, thank you!

BONUS QUESTION

Nancy Wilson, one of the founding members of the musical group "Heart", has ties to cinema. For 22 years, she was married to writer, producer, and director Cameron Crowe. She actually has a cameo appearance in one of his movies where she is credited as "Beautiful Girl in Car." What was the movie?

I will send a gift to the first person who posts the correct answer in the comment section.

A - MUSE - ING

2011-04-15T09:44:00.004-04:00

I have some newfound respect for bloggers like Chris Brogan, Seth Godin, CC Chapman, Mitch Joel, Chris Penn, and anyone who posts on a daily basis (sometimes even multiple posts per day).

How do you find the time? Even more important, how do you find the inspiration for your content?

Sure, sometimes it feels like you recycle material from the past, or as someone wrote, “phone your posts in”, but the majority of time your content is educational and/or motivational.

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted. Life, business and travel have interrupted my creative process.

Actually, that’s not entirely true. My creative process has been amped most of the month. I just haven’t been able to direct that creativity to my blogging.

We have a ton of projects going on at ThirsTea Corp. We have initiated a few new projects, and we are close to completion of some more mature projects. It has been an exciting time around our office, but finding the time to complete a post has been nearly impossible.

My situation is not unique. Those of you who post on a regular basis face imilar challenges, I am certain. And yet you still find the time, inspiration and motivation to post.

Your dedication and effort are appreciated. Even if I don’t always agree 100% with what you write, your posts get me thinking about my own situation. And ultimately, THAT benefits me. So, to all of you whose posts I read on a regular basis, even if I didn’t mention you above, THANK YOU for helping me to develop as a better marketer, manager and leader.

Now, where did I leave that muse of mine?

(Photo: The Muse Hotel, New York)

Bonus Question:

Today we’re going gangster, pulling a question from the 1990’s flick “Goodfellas”.

Right after the “funny how” rant, Tommy DeVito (Joe Pesci) shoots someone in the foot. What was the character’s name AND what actor played the character?

This one should be a gimme, but in case you need to cheat, click here for the answer.

SAY ANYTHING

2011-03-28T17:15:00.005-04:00

This started as a comment for Chris Brogan’s latest blog, titled “Become the Buyer”, but it quickly got too wordy for the comment section. If you haven’t read his post yet, click here…it will give you the background for this post.

First, let me start by saying “I don’t know Chris personally.” I’ve read his books and subscribed to his blog(s). I’ve followed him on Twitter. I think I even “became a fan of” his Trust Agents Facebook page.

Chris has (indirectly) been a part of my business education for quite some time now. As a result, I have formed a mental image and profile based on everything he has publicly shared. My “view” of Chris may be skewed, and I acknowledge that fact. But, sometimes you just have to work with what you’ve been given.

Most of the time, I think Chris gives pretty sage advice. Social media marketing is Chris’ wheelhouse. He’s also pretty relevant when he talks about the human side of business. When Chris shares insight on those subjects, he does it superbly.

His latest post was focused on SELLING, and trying to get into the head of the transactional buyer. As a result, his post (while well written) may not be the best source of sales information or sales strategy.

In his post, Chris states, “my 'buyer' is a very diverse crowd, ranging from Fortune 10 companies to mom and pop companies.” He further goes on to say, “Unless you’re selling a simple transactional product or service, something that’s throwaway, then it’s vital that you become the buyer.”

First, Chris has established himself as a social media industry leader. He’s written best selling books on the subject. He’s been a featured speaker at events all over the world. He is a contributing writer to various nationally published magazines. And, he owns and operates several businesses within the social media industry.

His “buyer” already knows what Chris is selling…advice and services related to social media. His “success” isn’t from getting into the head of his buyer. His success is from continuously reminding buyers (potential and actual) of the “benefits” he offers.

I would challenge his argument that you have to “become the buyer” by offering that you have to “know who and what your company is from a fundamental standpoint” and you need to “sell your company on the benefits of your products and/or service.”

What makes you, your products, services, or company different from the competition? And why, as a consumer/buyer should I spend my money with you instead of XYZ company?

I have spent my career working on answers to those two questions. Not surprisingly, when we have developed a clear and concise message that allows potential consumers to know who (and what) we are, and how our products can benefit them, we have seen enormous success. When the message is confusing and complicated, usually the path to success is too.

Developing a clear, concise and simple message is no easy task. It takes continuous work, evaluating responses on a regular basis and making changes when necessary.

It’s good to try and put yourself into your buyer’s position, to try and think of how best to get your message across. But, you cannot fall into the trap of selling “you” on your own message.

Too often we become so familiar with our marketing messages that we make assumptions and overlook obvious errors…especially when the message we’ve developed isn’t a simple message.

Simple. Consistent. If you want to break down a successful marketing strategy into two words…those two would be my pick.

Chris, if you’re reading this, let me thank you for your original post. There is no “set” answer for a successful marketing campaign, and I am sure your ideas/strategy work for your set of circumstances. But, I would challenge you to try and approach it a little differently.

Instead of trying to figure out what is happening in your buyer’s mind, focus on the benefits your product/service offer. What makes “you” unique versus your competition? Then go out and sell that uniqueness. If your message is clear, you might notice something interesting…pricing will very quickly become a non-issue, or at the very least a minor issue.

Obviously, this is based on my personal experience over a number of years. Your results may vary, and you may completely disagree with me…regardless, thanks for reading this far.

Bonus Question:

The 1989 movie, “Say Anything”, had one of my ALL-TIME favorite lines…John Cusack’s character (Lloyd Dobler) offers up, “I don't want to sell anything, buy anything, or process anything as a career. I don't want to sell anything bought or processed, or buy anything sold or processed, or process anything sold, bought, or processed, or repair anything sold, bought, or processed. You know, as a career, I don't want to do that.”

Who wrote and directed the movie?

Not sure? Click here for the answer.

THE ZERO EFFECT

2011-03-25T08:17:00.006-04:00

The other day I got into a discussion with a good friend of mine about the difference between “making an effort” and the focus on “getting results”. While we weren’t talking about business, the conversation did get me thinking that way.

Personally, I am a results-driven individual. I set goals. I make the necessary effort to accomplish those goals. But, I measure success (business success) by results, not by simply "putting in my time".

I know you can’t achieve results if you don’t make an effort. And, I applaud effort. But effort, without quantifiable results, seems like…well, wasted effort.

For example, let’s say your job is to secure 10 new placements a week. You make the necessary efforts to secure those new placements. At the end of the week, regardless of your efforts, you only make 2 new placements. Can you consider yourself a success?

I think not.

My friend tried to convince me that the “effort” is the important part. I believe the exact words were, “if you focus on the efforts, the results will happen.”

I’m sorry, but I don’t buy this argument. Instead, I believe “effort" without the desired result is…well, hope.

If you focus solely on the effort, without any thought to the results, you are wasting your time. You need to show effort, but that effort has to achieve some result. If the efforts you make are not achieving the desired results, change your efforts.

As someone much smarter than myself once told me, “Effort is the process. If the process is flawed, or if your industry is dynamic, requiring constantly changing processes, you need to focus on results. It’s the results that pay the bills, not the process.”

What do you think? Are the efforts made, more important than the results achieved?

Bonus Question:

I was not a big fan of Bill Pullman, until I saw him in the movie, Zero Effect. His character Darryl Zero, an eccentric (to say the least) investigator is hired by Gregory Stark (played by Ryan O’Neal) to find what object? And, where did he eventually find said object?

(Never saw the movie, or can’t remember? Don’t worry. Click here for the answers…)

IT'S A CLEANSING MOMENT OF CLARITY

2011-03-17T16:00:00.000-04:00

I had the wonderful opportunity to meet with several chain restaurant operators recently. IFMA (International Foodservice Manufacturers Association) puts on an annual event called COEX (Chain Operators EXchange Forum).

COEX is a great way to meet and network with lots of industry personnel. Whether or not you successfully pitch a product, the chance to start a dialog and have a conversation with someone (not just a company), is worth the price of admission.

Of course there are the Keynote speakers, the white paper discussions, the industry panel discussions and an awards ceremony, but the real value of COEX (for me) was getting to talk with other manufacturers and operators about the industry.

The foodservice industry faces several large, looming obstacles. Ever increasing requirements under “Food Safety” have several manufacturers scrambling to hire new personnel just to handle the required paperwork.

On the operator side of the industry, new menu disclosure requirements, including caloric content and sodium levels, threaten to disrupt a chef’s creative ability in the kitchen. Instead of creating dishes based on overall taste, or flavor integration, chef’s stand to be limited to certain calorie ranges and sodium content. To me, this is just plain silly…anyone who’s ever cooked knows that salt (whether for good or bad) just makes stuff taste BETTER.

Another hot topic of discussion was the use of social media in our industry. If you’ve read any of my previous posts, you know that I could talk for HOURS about why the foodservice manufacturing industry should embrace social media more than it has to date.

Operators, for the most part, have figured out social media. Better said, operators have figured out that “investing” in a social media marketing campaign is a relatively inexpensive way to reach and connect with your customers. More than once, I heard one operator ask another about Groupon…was it a worthwhile campaign. Not being an operator, or someone who has used Groupon to try and “sell” anything, I can’t personally attest to the effectiveness of a Groupon campaign. What I can say is, after hearing some of the stories being told, I would never utilize them as part of my overall social media marketing strategy.

Over the course of a few days, I got to talk to some great restaurant operators. As my travels allow, I will be dining in their establishments. Why? Because thru the art of communication, I now feel connected to them on a personal level. It has nothing to do with a supplier/purchaser relationship. We talked; we shared stories; we started a “relationship.”

This industry, like most businesses, is about relationships. And relationships can only be formed if you take the time to talk to someone. In a recent post, Seth Godin talked about attending the TED conference and not remembering a single presentation. The reason why? He didn’t attend any. His most memorable moments were the one-on-one conversations with people. (Want to read his entire post, click here)

For me, COEX (like other industry trade events) is about the conversations that take place during the beverage breaks, at lunch, or even during the cocktail hour. These chats can foster new relationships and strengthen existing ones. They allow you to connect with other individuals without the 140-character limit of Twitter or text messages.

Unlike Seth, I am not suggesting you skip the speeches, seminars or break out sessions. The speakers and panelists are sharing some important information, and even if you only glean a few salient points, this “insider” information could help your organization save (or earn) money…usually far more money than the cost of the event.

The foodservice industry is not the social media industry.

There are several foodservice “experts” who can legitimately claim the title of expert. The information they share during their presentations may not change the face of my business, but I have learned from their insight.

For example, Jon Luther (Dunkin Brands), at an IFMA President’s Conference, shared personal insight on rebuilding a brand…taking Dunkin’ Donuts from “It’s time to make the donuts” to “America runs on Dunkin’”. We don’t have the budget he had, but we face a lot of the same issues. I took away some great ideas from his speech, but more importantly it gave me an opportunity to approach him and talk to him one-on-one afterwards.

Do I hold any aspirations that Mr. Luther remembers me? No. But not only do I remember him, I learned from his experience and knowledge. I can’t say I started a “relationship” with him, but I am inclined to frequent his stores more often.

I guess my point is, regardless of your industry, take advantage of the industry conferences and use the networking time to do just that…network.

BONUS QUESTION:

What 1976 movie featured Faye Dunaway, William Holden, Robert Duvall, and Ned Beatty? Hint: The blog title is taken from one of the movie's useless quotes. This should be a gimme, but if not…click here for the answer.

What about the guy you lobotomized? Did he get a refund?

2011-02-28T09:00:00.000-05:00

Within the realm of social media, there is a lot of talk about EVERYONE in the organization being a part of sales and marketing efforts. Long before the advent of Facebook, Twitter, or even email, companies were operating under this strategy.

This isn’t a new concept. The tools we use to engage the customer have changed over the years, but the strategy is the same. All great companies strive to exceed customer expectations. That’s how they become great companies.

The process has to start somewhere. I believe it starts with customer service. Our sales efforts have always focused around offering exceptional customer service and customer engagement.

In a sales organization you can either sell on price or on quality/service. If you are going to be the lowest priced commodity out there, customers don’t expect to receive high quality or great service. You are also not going to build any brand loyalty, since your customers are only interested in low price.

As an example, book a trip on a “discount” airline and your expectations are minimal. Hopefully the airline will get you to your destination. Hopefully your bag will go on the same flight as you do. Hopefully the flights will take off and arrive close to the scheduled times.

Now compare that to buying a first class ticket on a full service airline. Where are your expectations now? You expect to be treated a little differently, right?

Well anyone who knows me, or has done business with one of my companies, should expect to receive “first class” service. I expect my employees to treat their clients as if they worked for them and not me. No matter how prepared an organization is, problems come up. How your company/staff handle these problems will either build brand loyalty or brand distrust.

My sales staff will usually handle these hiccups by asking for more concessions than the actual clients would expect.

Since the sales people have the most direct interaction with the customer, we normally go with their suggestions. This level of customer service costs us more money than if we just did the minimum, but, it builds customer loyalty.

It’s not just my direct employees that I expect this level of effort from…I expect it from everyone in the supply chain who “touches” any component of our products. Take for instance our label supplier (Mike @ Labels and Systems). Mike makes ALL our labels and decals. His pricing is competitive, but not necessarily the lowest around. HOWEVER, Mike has bailed me out on numerous occasions…running and shipping labels within 24hours to make sure we didn’t miss a production deadline.

How much is that level of service worth to me? It’s priceless. It’s also one of the reasons I would never think about switching label suppliers.

It’s that extra effort, the things you can’t put a price on, that differentiates between a good company and a great company.

What kind of company would you rather do business with…a good company, or a great one?

Bonus Question:

The title, while also a vague reference towards customer service, is a quote from Arnold Schwarzenegger's movie TOTAL RECALL. Sharon Stone had a very brief part playing his "wife" in the movie. What was her character's name? (Can't remember...click here for the easy answer.)

BOOK REVIEW: THE NOW REVOLUTION BY JAY BAER AND AMBER NASLUND

2011-02-19T18:32:00.003-05:00

First, since I am sure there are going to be a slew of reviews for this book from the 75 individuals who were given the book in exchange for a review, let me say I am not one of those people.

Yes, I submitted my name in the hopes of becoming one of the “chosen” few. But in all fairness, I had already pre-ordered my book from Amazon so I wasn’t TOO disappointed.

I read and reviewed this book based on two factors: the usefulness of the content and how easily I could implement some of the tips, tactics and strategies that were provided.

For those who don’t know me, I am not a social media “guru”. I don’t market myself for speaking engagements. I don’t have a book (e-book or otherwise) to promote. And, I don’t offer services to individuals and/or companies.

I own and run a foodservice beverage manufacturing company. We make and sell iced tea concentrates (and some other flavors) to the hotel, restaurant and healthcare community. I’m over 40 (which makes me a digital immigrant) but I firmly believe in social media marketing as a tool in an overall marketing strategy. I encourage my employees to utilize social media during work hours even though as a B2B Foodservice company we haven’t quite figured out the best way to incorporate social media into our strategy. But, we keep trying.

The NOW Revolution is a book I will recommend as a “reference” book to my peers. First, this book is an easy read. By that I mean the language reads like an everyday conversation. Jay and Amber wrote this to make the reader feel like an equal. They didn’t “dumb” down their delivery, nor did they make the reader (me) feel inferior just because I still have to ask questions on how to set up my Google reader dashboard.

Although there is some good information in the beginning of the book, my interest didn’t really get captured until they started their discussion on setting up and administering a social media policy. My company is a small company. We have 11 employees, and although I encourage everyone to participate in social media, we really only have two or three people (including myself) actively participating. So far, because of our numbers, we have not had to worry about a “formal” social media policy. But, as we continue to add additional employees, a formal policy (including crisis management) is something we have started discussing. The NOW Revolution provides great content and resources for us to start our development process.

Another instantly implementable strategy I learned from the book is how to set up listening stations. Right now, we do the basics. We have Google “alerts” and RSS feeds on key words. But, as Jay and Amber point out, there are some missed opportunities and delays if you ONLY use those tools. Thankfully, the authors provide a detailed blueprint on setting up a listening dashboard.

Another item I found incredibly interesting was the internal social media channels. Here is probably where I show my immigrance (immigrant/ignorance: if nobody’s created this word yet, I claim it as mine). I was aware of the instant messaging ability of Skype, AOL chat, even Facebook chat but I didn’t know we could set up internal social media platforms. I can totally see the benefits once an organization reaches a certain size. Our organization doesn’t warrant it at this point, but it is definitely something I will remember as our company grows.

There’s good information on metrics and ROI. They’ve included one of my all-time favorite social media stories – Taylor Guitars. And they offer up lots of tools to use, both free and paid content.

The NOW Revolution is a good purchase and should be in your library. It is not the “holy grail” book of social media for small businesses, but I don’t think that is what the authors were trying to accomplish. Personally, I will use this book as a reference to go back and review new strategies to implement as my organization grows.

If I had one complaint, it would have to be the book jacket. The design used on the jacket immediately brought to mind a religious book. I was sent to a catholic school from kindergarten thru 6^th grade, so I have read my share of religious books. Maybe that predisposed me to my association, I don’t know.

But don’t let the cover fool you. Jay and Amber have done a good job of presenting lots of useful information in a way that is easy to understand and implement. If you run a business that uses or plans on using social media as part of your overall strategy, you should read this book.

If the authors read this review, and I am 99% sure Amber will, please let me know how I can get you guys to send me an autographed copy to add to my personal library.

Again, no bonus questions on book reviews. I PROMISE the Arnold question is coming up next entry, so come back.

I'M IN PASADENA AND YOU'RE NOT...

2011-02-17T09:20:00.005-05:00

I am in Pasadena, California. Actually, as I type this entry I am winging my way across Texas en-route to Pasadena. I wish I could say I was there to sell some iced tea concentrates (and indirectly I guess I could say that), but the truth is…

I’m here attending an industry conference called Top 2 Top. The Foodservice Marketers Association, or FSMA, hosts the conference, which takes place over a couple of days…this year in the VERY beautiful Langham Huntington Hotel, Pasadena.

Top 2 Top is a networking event designed to bring foodservice manufacturers (me) and foodservice marketers (we call them brokers) together to discuss challenges and opportunities facing our industry.

This is the first time I have been invited to the event, so I am not quite sure what to expect. All I can say is that spending a few days in Pasadena with foodservice industry veterans is a pretty good gig, and I consider myself very lucky.

Of course, one of the items I am most interested in discussing is the use of social media in our industry. More and more of the foodservice industry is heading online, which I believe is a good thing. But are we heading online simply to BE online? Or, are we being effective in our social media efforts?

Obviously, there are some foodservice companies and brands that are doing well in the social media universe. And of course there are some that maintain an online presence and do nothing with it.

My company (ThirsTea Corp) has only scratched the surface on our social media strategy. There is a lot we still need to do to try and engage our customers online. Eventually we will get there, but I am cautious to make sure our online efforts support our traditional marketing efforts.

Top 2 Top is about more than just industry networking and my social media queries. It is yet another chance for the foodservice industry to meet and discuss the challenges and opportunities facing our industry.

It’s no secret that the foodservice industry has been hit hard by the country’s economic situation. The industry has been affected by rising ingredient and packaging costs, high labor costs, and relatively low margins.

Manufacturers have had to absorb rising ingredient and packaging costs over the last two years, afraid to pass those costs on for fear of losing portions of our client base. We have had to deal with rising distribution costs in the form of higher outbound freight. And, our cost to market our products to foodservice operators has increased as well.

As a result, manufacturers have had to get creative in finding ways to reduce costs and/or become more efficient in our ordering, warehousing and manufacturing processes.

In our very specific niche of the foodservice beverage industry, we have started seeing signs of economic improvement…slow, small signs that the financial health of our industry (and also that of the country) is starting to improve.

Over the next few days it will be interesting to see if others in my industry have seen similar improvements in their segments, or maybe my optimism is just filtering my perception like light thru a prism.

In any event…I’m in Pasadena and you’re not.

Bonus question:

I promised an Arnold question, but the fact that I am in Pasadena could not be overlooked…so…

“The Little Old Lady from Pasadena” was recorded in 1964, by Jan and Dean. How high up did it get on the charts? Don’t know the answer? No worries. Just click here for the answer.

BOOK REVIEW: SOCIAL MARKETING TO THE BUSINESS CUSTOMER

2011-02-01T08:00:00.003-05:00

SOCIAL MARKETING TO THE BUSINESS CUSTOMER by Paul Gillin and Eric Schwartzman

This book is AWESOME! Actually, the word "awesome" has become so overused these days I will rephrase my assessment and call the book - “FRIGGING AWESOME”.

Over the last couple of years, I have learned a lot about social media and social marketing. I have learned how to take some of the fundamental concepts of social media and apply them to the very niche specific aspect of my foodservice beverage company. I have learned how to use social media to identify opportunities (both on the sales and manufacturing sides of the equation). I have learned how to solicit market research using social media, and enjoy the benefit of real-time feedback as a result. I have learned how we can use social networks to connect with, and therefore support, our customer base. And, I have learned how social media can be used to solicit feedback and evaluate marketing programs (again, in almost real-time).

I know there is no teacher like experience. But learning from experience takes time. Since time is the most valuable commodity there is, we look for tools to help us save time and (in terms of our education) speed up our learning curve.

This book is THAT tool for speeding up your learning process of WHY and HOW to use social media/marketing for B2B business.

If your business is on the fence about participating in social media, or if you have said something along the lines of, “our organization will fully commit to a social media program as soon as someone can show me how we make money with it…” then you NEED to read this book.

If you are in the foodservice industry (either on the manufacturing side or the distribution side) and a digital immigrant like me: someone who grew up in a world with only 3 major television channels; someone who remembers (or better yet, still has information stored on) 5 ¼” or 3 ½” disks; someone who used Lotus 1-2-3 or dBase III…this book will help you build a solid understanding of social media and its importance for our industry. More importantly, it will help you do it FAST.

I downloaded the electronic version to my iPad. It is the first book I have read on the iPad where I have highlighted (what I felt were) important passages. When you flip thru my copy, it looks like a college textbook of yesteryear. There are highlighted passages and notes “in the margins” throughout the entire book.

One of my favorite quotes comes early in the book. “Social media marketing is a way to humanize the business, to turn frailties into endearing qualities that encourage experimentation, loyalty, and forgiveness.” If you want to discuss the WHY of social media for our companies, is there a better reason than helping to humanize our businesses?

This book is literally a blueprint on how B2B businesses can get started in social media…just look at some of the chapter titles:

· Creating a Social Organization

· Creating and Enforcing Social Media Policies

· Learning by Listening

· Understanding Search

· Choosing Platforms

· Planning Social Media Campaigns

· Lead Generation

· Profiting from Communities

· Return on Investment

If you aren’t sure what some of those things are…do not worry. The authors do a fantastic job of explaining concepts in a manner that even I can understand.

The electronic version will travel with me from now on. It is a permanent fixture in my iPad library. The hardcover book will soon be taking up residence on my office bookshelf, becoming neighbors with some of my all-time favorite business tomes.

If you want answers to “WHY social media” and “HOW do we implement social media” as part of an overall marketing strategy…this book is a must read.

If you want a link to purchase the book from Amazon…click here…

(Full disclosure…I am not an affiliate of Amazon. I don’t get credit for you clicking on my link. It’s a straight link to the Amazon site and I post it because I really think you should read the book. I would also like to point out that I have not been offered anything from the authors, or publisher, to review this book. I bought it (twice) because I wanted to read it. I reviewed it because it is a great book and I believe it can help many in my industry understand social media integration.)

If you purchase and read this book as a result of my review, please let me know...not because I am keeping any sort of tally, but because I want to ask you if you got the same amount out of the book that I did.

Alas, no bonus questions on book reviews. Sorry. But be sure to brush up on your Arnold Schwarzenegger movie references for my next post.

WHAT CLINT BARTON TAUGHT ME ABOUT B2B AND SOCIAL MEDIA

2011-01-26T09:46:00.005-05:00

Let me pose this question to the social media “experts” out there…how many times have you been told, “We are a B2B company and just don’t see the need, or benefit, from a social media program”? Well, I am about to give you some tips on how to sell me.

Yesterday, thanks to Twitter, my “understanding” of why social media is important to B2B grew significantly.

If you are a foodservice manufacturer, pay very close attention. If you’re a consultant, pay even closer attention. What I am about to reveal is not only cool, but also relevant to our industry…and for the consultants, THIS is how you sell someone like me on social media.

Like other foodservice manufacturers, we participate in food shows across the country. We participate in state restaurant association shows, like the Florida Hotel and Lodging Association show or the Texas Restaurant Association show. We also support our distributor partners by participating in their individual shows.

Yesterday, in Des Moines, Iowa, one of our distributor partners (Hawkeye Foodservice) held their seasonal show. While we try to stay on top of what shows are occurring and when, the sheer volume of shows tends to prohibit (or at least impede) that flow of knowledge. There have been instances where we have not found out about a food show until after it occurred.

Yesterday, if not for one of our standard twitter searches, we might not have known about the Hawkeye food show in Iowa.

I personally use TweetDeck because I like the layout and functionality of the application. As one of my standard Twitter searches, I keep a lookout for the term “foodservice”. Yesterday, while sifting through the tweets regarding “foodservice job postings” I came across a tweet from Michael Leaders.

Michael is the manager of sales training and development for Hawkeye Foodservice. Through his Twitter account, he was letting people know the Hawkeye food show was kicking off at 9am.

We sell Hawkeye some iced tea and beverage concentrates, so I was VERY interested in our participation at the show. I contacted my VP of Sales and asked him to check with our sales rep and broker to make sure we had a presence at the show. He contacted the sales rep and confirmed our participation at the show. We then contacted everyone we knew in the Hawkeye distribution coverage area to let them know we would be at the show, and to please stop by and say “hello”. We did not try to sell them anything. We did not offer any discounts. We invited them to come by and share a glass of iced tea.

The show finished late in the afternoon and I have not had a chance to review the post-show report to see how successful our efforts were. Hopefully I will get those numbers later today.

Because of an integrated marketing plan that does include social media and email marketing, we were able to generate a few more “touches” on our end-user client base. We attempted, on relatively short notice, to get more people to attend the show…even if they were not regular Hawkeye customers. We did not pitch the email as “hey come visit us so we can sell you more of our product”. We informed our foodservice customers that a foodservice operator was having a show…we know our customers buy more than just iced tea and beverage concentrates and might just need the services of a distributor like Hawkeye Foodservice.

My one regret is we only found out a few hours before the show. If we had more time, we could have done a much better job of marketing in that area. Michael and I are now following each other on Twitter so I will be sure to catch all his updates, ensuring I know about their food shows well in advance from now on.

How can B2B companies utilize social media into their marketing strategy, and why is it important? The “how” is easy…(to borrow a phrase from Nike) “Just Do It”.

“Why” should you do it? Ultimately the company is going to have to figure that reason out on their own. But, having a social media presence allowed us to: KNOW about a food show; ensure we were AT the food show; strengthen the relationship with our distributor; get another “touch” with our clients; and hopefully sell more products.

Today’s bonus question: How does “Clint Barton” relate to ANYTHING in my post? Can you figure it out without cheating by clicking here?

THE SECRET OF MY SUCCESS

2011-01-23T21:58:00.007-05:00

I’m back in South Florida after spending a few days in Fresno, California. As much as I enjoy visiting the valley, and eating at some VERY cool restaurants, I am always excited to make that turn over the Atlantic Ocean right before touching down.

This time, “touchdown” occurred in West Palm Beach, so I was treated to a beautiful view of The Breakers Hotel and some of the Palm Beach Mansions. If you find yourself in Palm Beach, make sure you do the drive over to the island and down the coast past Mar-A-Lago, Donald Trump’s Palm Beach residence. It’s not the biggest in town, but it is one of the nicest.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I was in California to ensure our ThirsTea® concentrate flavor profiles are consistent among the various formulas and packaging options we offer. We want to make sure that our customers get the same glass of iced tea whether they utilize our bag-in-the box concentrate, our 4x1 gallon program, or our 4oz high-yield product line.

Since taking over the company in 2009, we haven’t had the opportunity to undertake this task until now. However, I am going to recommend we do this once a year. The project allowed us to try all our products. Believe it or not, that doesn’t get to happen very often.

Don’t get me wrong, we drink lots of our iced tea, but it’s typically our 4oz high-yield line. We don’t often get the opportunity to try all our products side-by-side with each other. The experience was not just helpful, it allowed us to catch a minor discrepancy in one of our formulations and make the changes necessary to standardize all our flavor profiles.

After, as my management team was discussing the day’s events, I began thinking about how what we had just done, with tangible products, is very similar to what many of you social media marketers do on a daily basis with your intangible ideas and blogs.

You develop. You launch. You market. You monitor and evaluate. You modify and repeat.

Each step is important by itself. But to be successful, you need to incorporate ALL parts. The same is true in the Foodservice Beverage industry.

You can develop THE BEST shelf-stable orange juice concentrate. One that tastes like FRESH SQUEEZED Florida orange juice, but if you don’t launch it, or let people know it is out there and available, you won’t sell a box. (I have friends that have accomplished this feat, and it is the BEST tasting concentrate I have tried. This product will significantly change the juice portion of our industry.)

Once you’ve taken those preliminary steps of manufacturing and launching your product, if you don’t monitor the effectiveness of your launch (or marketing strategy) and evaluate what is working (or not) your product sales could stall, or worse disappear.

Those of you who have written books based off your blog postings and have tried (or are still trying) to market and sell them, probably understand this process better than anyone.

I am sure each of your marketing campaigns is tracked and regularly analyzed to determine which programs have been successful and which need improvement. Right?

When you started the process of writing, didn’t you feel like THAT was the most important task? You wanted to get those thoughts on paper (figuratively speaking), and probably spent an enormous amount of time editing and rewriting. At some point during the process I am willing to bet you thought, “If I am able to effectively get my thoughts organized and written, this book will be a powerful tool and will help a lot of people.”

I’m also pretty certain that, at least up until the book went to print, you may have thought, “This book is going to sell thousands of copies simply because of the content I am providing to people.” (C’mon, at least one of my readers is a published author…)

But then the book is printed and you get ready for the initial launch. The butterflies start fluttering and you start wondering if what you’ve written is really THAT good.

About then, your publisher starts to kick in their marketing program…and you write a blog, post to your Facebook page, tweet about the book…monitor, evaluate…and sell.

It’s the same for us in the beverage world…although sometimes our butterflies feel like eagles (subtle shout-out to my American University family).

--My title is based on the 1987 Michael J. Fox movie. For bonus points, what was "Supergirl's" character name in the movie? Anyone...anyone...?

TWO DAYS IN THE VALLEY

2011-01-20T13:00:00.003-05:00

Last week was a tough week. I buried a very good friend.

She had been sick for a number of years, so her death was neither painful nor a surprise. Actually, when I say her passing wasn’t painful, I meant it wasn’t painful for her. For those that knew her, her death will leave a huge void in our lives.

As a result, I was off-line for a few days.

Upon returning home from the memorial services, I found myself trying to catch up on my job duties over at ThirsTea Corp, so my on-line presence has been limited…although I was able to participate in the #leadershipchat on Twitter this week (thanks @LisaPetrilli, @swoodroff and guest @Russell_Bishop).

Today, I find myself in Fresno, California. My executive management team and I are meeting with our strategic partner, evaluating flavor profiles for the iced tea concentrates we sell together in the foodservice industry. We are also discussing our joint marketing strategies for 2011.

As you might imagine (since you are reading this in an on-line blog), ThirsTea Corp. has allocated part of our marketing spend to social media and online marketing. While it is tough to quantitatively analyze the financial return on the marketing dollars spent online, we do realize there is a return (and it can be measured).

Since our primary business (and our partner’s primary business) is B2B and not B2C, it has been tough to convince them of the benefits of social media. I continue to remind them that conversations are happening; the conversations may not be about their company or brand, but there are conversations about the products they offer and companies they sell. Listening to the conversations can open new opportunities for them, IMHO.

I have also shared with them how our companies can use social media as a lead generation, specifically targeting segments of the foodservice industry.

So far, my arguments for a social media strategy have fallen on deaf ears. But, I’m certain they will eventually understand the importance of a well rounded and integrated marketing strategy that includes social media.

What are some ways other B2B companies are using social media? Within the social media spectrum, where would you recommend a B2B company place their focus…Facebook? Twitter? YouTube? Yelp! (Remember, we are a foodservice beverage company)…

And more importantly...who wants to try some iced tea?

MY DOUBLE VISION GETS THE BEST OF ME

2011-01-12T09:00:00.007-05:00

The other day I wrote about lack of focus at a corporate level, more specifically as it related to Sears. (click here to read)

Sears has announced plans to launch a video download service to compete with the likes of NetFlix, etc. My observation, and others too, is that this is far removed from their core business, and IMO, a major distraction for the company's management team.

In even more recent news, and from the perspective of companies re-focusing their efforts on core business practices, the Wall Street Journal wrote about Foodservice behemoth Sara Lee potentially shopping two of their divisions in an attempt to sharpen their focus.

Sara Lee's meat division and their foodservice beverage (coffee) division are apparently being evaluated for spin-off. Tyson appears to be interested in the meat division; and Nestle, which recently acquired Vitality Beverage Foodservice, may consider acquiring the beverage division.

I must admit, I have a personal interest in what happens to Sara Lee's beverage division. They, and Nestle, through the Vitality acquisition, happen to be competitors. In fact, Sara Lee dealt us a pretty significant blow late last year when Houston based SYSCO Foodservice Distributor announced that Sara Lee would be the single supplier for iced tea under the company's private label.

Until October 2010, several regional beverage companies manufactured and packed iced tea concentrates for the distributor. The decision to go solely with Sara Lee might have been a smart one as far as the distributor is concerned, but it significantly impacted the sales revenue for several beverage companies.

Now, it appears, the Sara Lee beverage division may not be under the Sara Lee corporate umbrella much longer. The parent company, following the resignation of their CEO for health reasons, is revitalizing its focus.

I am confident the decision to shop the beverage division was not made because the division is losing money. In fact, it's been said that division is one of the most profitable divisions at Sara Lee, valued somewhere in the $7Billion neighborhood.

Then why sell?

Running a beverage company takes the right personnel, both in sales and equipment; it takes a financial and time commitment to equipment because 90% of foodservice beverages are dispenser driven and dispensers need regular maintenance and service; and, it takes an understanding of the beverage distribution model, which is different from even your standard foodservice distribution model.

Nestle would do well to acquire the Sara Lee beverage division. It would immediately put them back in the drivers seat with SYSCO, picking up millions in potential annual sales. Plus, it would give them yet another recognizable foodservice brand in their portfolio.

It would of course make my life more difficult and my job more challenging, but what's life without a little more difficulty and challenges, right? Besides, from a visual perspective, Nestle would become the Goliath to our David.

Before someone misinterprets my comment, I am not saying our little company will (figuratively or otherwise) take out a multinational foodservice giant and one of the most recognizable brand names in the world...no, I'm not suggesting that at all.

All I'm suggesting is a Nestle/Vitality/SaraLee beverage company would be HUGE. As typical with most huge companies, there are limitations to how fast they can react and make decisions. (I compare it to an aircraft carrier trying to turn around while at flank speed...you measure the distance it takes to turn around in miles, not feet.). As a smaller company, with a finite number of shareholders, we are more "nimble" and can make decisions more rapidly. Our "focus" is more pinpoint, and hopefully more effective than a multinational foodservice giant.

No matter what happens with the Sara Lee beverage division, I can promise you my company will remain focused on our core business ... Foodservice Beverages ... and on our core principles: quality, customers, and value.

Now...can you tell me the release year of the Foreigner record that my blog title is based on? And how many times did it go platinum? (Without looking it up on Wikipedia) :)

HOW TO LOSE FRIENDS AND BECOME IRRELEVANT IN 30 DAYS OR LESS

2011-01-10T09:00:00.004-05:00

Are you focused on doing those things you do well? No.

Don’t feel too bad. You’re not alone.

On December 28^th, 2010, (which in the digital age is an eternity ago, I know) Crain’s Chicago Business posted an article on Sears. Apparently, Sears announced that it would be launching a video download service. (Link Here)

The service (named Alphaline Entertainment) will allow users to download movies the day they are released on DVD or Blu-ray. Television shows will be available the day after they air, according to the article. Alphaline will be powered by RoxioNow, which according to people much smarter than me has been rejected by the bigger players because of technical issues and operational limitations.

Within minutes of the posting, Ken Leonard, of Leonard Associates, offered his thoughts on the decision. (Link Here)

Take three minutes and read his analysis. I think it is right on the money. And besides, he has one of the best quotes I’ve seen recently, “…always try to be the best at what you do best.”

Sears is in trouble. This is not news. They have not focused on what they did best. They are following industry trends (poorly) instead of doing what they know how to do well.

What does Sears do well? Well, my parents own a Kenmore washer and dryer set. I’m in my 40’s and the set is older than I am. Guess what? Both units still work.

I have a set of Craftsman tools that are OLD. (I may have been 18 years old when I bought the set.) Guess what? THEY still work. You can’t break Craftsman tools. Sure, I paid more for them then I would for the Home Depot (or Lowe’s) brand…but I don’t care…they last forever.

What does this have to do with Foodservice Beverages you ask?

How many beverage companies have not held true to what made them successful in the first place? Do I need to say anything other than “New Coke”? I probably do since New Coke was introduced in 1985, a few years before our college intern was even born.

If you want a more recent example, look at Tropicana circa 2008/2009. (C’mon, you know where I’m going, right?) Tropicana led the market in “not from concentrate” orange juice. A distraction, in the form of a packaging change, caused them to lose 20% of their unit sales in less than 2 months (January 1^st thru February 22^nd, according to Information Resources, Inc.).

Both beverage companies were able to refocus and recover from their distractions. The jury is still out on whether Sears can right the ship, but I have my opinion.

I’m going to borrow Ken’s phrase, and adapt it slightly…

Focus on doing those things you do best…

In order to do that, you need to know what it is you do best. That may take some introspection. But, once you have figured out what those things are…do them better than anyone else and you will soon be an industry leader.

If you can't figure it out, you are destined for irrelevancy...say hello to Hollywood Video and Circuit City while you're there.

Vision (not the Superman X-ray kind)

2011-01-06T09:00:00.006-05:00

I’d like to take full credit for this blog post, but I have to credit Lisa Petrilli (@LisaPetrilli) for co-creating the #leadershipchat conversation on Twitter.

Actually, I should really thank Amber Naslund (@AmberCadabra) for pointing out that the conversation was happening, and directing her Twitter followers to “check it out.”

#Leadershipchat is an online conversation that happens once a week. The particular one I took part in, or at least listened to, occurred on January 4^th. The topic of conversation was “vision”, and had around 200 people participating.

To me, the truly amazing thing is I have never met Lisa, Amber, or any of the other 200 participants. I know almost nothing about the backgrounds of the people participating in the conversation, except for those whom I chose to do some research on. But, even a digital immigrant like myself was able to learn a thing or two from the conversation.

Now my computer skills, typing skills, and tweet-reading skills are passable. I’m not great, but I am also not as bad as most people my age. Being of average tweet-conversing skill, it was initially challenging trying to keep up with the conversation. But after 10 minutes of following the dialog, I got into a rhythm and it became much easier to keep up.

I understand the sheer volume of participants tweeting the hashtag caused Twitter to hiccup a time or two. (To me it was more like a rather juicy belch…there was no activity on my screen and then BURP! - 30 tweets scrolled down in rapid succession.)

If you want the transcript of everything discussed, I'm attaching the link. I’d suggest reading thru it because there were several great points made throughout the night. You might learn a thing or two about leadership and vision. (Transcript Link)

My favorite definition for vision is: the act or power of anticipating that which will or may come to be. When the talk is about leaders and their vision, especially using this definition, I can’t help but very closely associate another important leadership skill -“execution”.

If a leader has the power to anticipate "that which will come to be", it doesn’t just happen, does it? I mean there has to be more than just "having" the vision, right? Leaders have to work at making the vision “come to be”. That sounds like the very definition of execution, doesn’t it?

I searched the transcript to see who initially brought up the idea of a shared vision -developed and therefore more readily embraced by a team. I can’t directly attribute it to anyone (you know I would name-drop if I could), but I’m not sure I agree with the concept.

A leader needs to "own" his vision completely. Sure, outside forces such as personal experience, employees, etc., will help shape the vision. But that vision should be the leaders alone, no?

If you want a team-building exercise, have them collaborate on the steps necessary to achieve the leader’s vision. A team can continuously evaluate their progress, making sure they are moving closer to making the vision a reality.

But the vision belongs with the leader. If you don’t believe me, go ask General Patton. He would tell it to you straight.

Hoorah!

Reflection and Resolutions

2010-12-29T16:00:00.025-05:00

It’s a few days early, I understand, but Happy New Year!

As I have oft been reminded these last few days, this time of the year is perfect for reflection and resolutions. There are several people who should take credit for my “jumping on the bandwagon” and posting about my reflections on this past year, and my resolutions for 2011.

In no particular order, these three authors and posts were the catalyst for my content this week. If you’re reading this post, please click on the links and read the ones that inspired me.

Amber Naslund | Brass Tack Thinking | The Brass Tacks of Resolutions |

Rick Stilwell | Over Coffee | Just Doing It in 2011|

C.C. Chapman | ccchapman.com | End of a Decade |

This past year has been a challenging year for me. In addition to the commitment I made when I created this blog, I also run a beverage manufacturing company. My partners and I bought a 33 year-old company almost 2 years ago. The transition period took almost 14 months to complete, and during that time we weren’t able to focus on much marketing or brand building.

During the past 12 months, we launched new products, a new website, and, a new on-line store. We doubled our marketing spend, developing new sales materials, attending more tradeshows, and developing strategic partnerships. We also hired new personnel. In an economy where other companies were cutting budgets and people, we went in the opposite direction…we spent.

As anyone can tell you, when you ramp up your spending like we did, you simultaneously ramp up your stress level. Thankfully, a lot of the programs we initiated have paid dividends, and should continue to benefit us in 2011.

My new year’s resolutions, at least for this blog, are to write more consistently (but always focused on providing valuable content, right C.C?).

In order to do that, in addition to my normal posts I am resolved to read more social media, marketing, and/or business management books. I’ll post a review of the books, and offer up practical information I can implement in my own businesses.

I am also going to add an interview category. I’ve been involved in foodservice beverages for over 15 years. Over that time, I have networked with several FnB industry leaders. Their views and opinions of industry trends are not only insightful, but also relevant. I’ll be asking them about their views for the industry, current trends, future predictions, and best-practice examples.

As we head into the new year, what are some of the things you will do differently to make 2011 better than 2010?

TRANSFORM CLIENTS INTO SALESPEOPLE

2010-12-17T09:00:00.019-05:00

Customer service as marketing and sales tool?

I grew up in Central Florida.

When I was in high school, I was lucky enough to land a job at the Magic Kingdom in Disney World. I say “lucky” because one, it was a job at Disney; and two, the experience introduced me to the Disney approach to customer service.

The job itself, like most high school jobs, was menial. However, the education I received from working for “the mouse” has continued to serve me over the last 24+ years.

Disney is often referred to as “The Happiest Place on Earth.” Anyone who has visited the Magic Kingdom, or any of the Disney parks, can attest to the validity of this statement. Not only are you happy to be at Disney, you are also happy giving them all your money.

For Disney, the secret to achieving this level of happiness starts with a commitment to customer service (They call is guest service, which makes you feel like you’re part of their family.)

Disney initiates their guest service program long before you ever reach the park. Call them for help with your reservation and by the end of your call you will feel like you have been having a conversation with a relative…a relative who has up-sold you during the entire conversation.

I have been involved in sales most of my adult life. Phone sales (think stock brokers) are the most difficult type of sales jobs I can think of, yet the folks at Disney make it look easy. Some of my favorite sales conversations with Disney guest relations’ representatives have gone like this, “As long as you are staying on property with us, you should think about the Disney meal plan.” Another favorite is, “I see you are scheduled to stay with us for two nights. If you extend your stay an additional night, I can offer you the following deals…”

When you hang up the phone, you’ve got a smile on your face; you feel like you have just made a very helpful new friend, and you have already blown your vacation budget before ever leaving the house.

As a business owner, we always look at ROI (return on investment). Whether we are contemplating the purchase of a new piece of manufacturing equipment or the hiring of additional employees, we want to know how much that investment will add back to our bottom line (and, how long will it take to recover those investment dollars).

But things like a commitment to customer service, or an “investment” in social media marketing are difficult to analyze quantitatively. If we can’t put an actual number on the effectiveness of these marketing practices, how can we determine if those investments are adding to our bottom line?

Measuring the ROI of customer service, like that of social media marketing, is nearly impossible…at least in traditional terms. Can you quantitatively measure how each dollar spent towards customer service adds to your bottom line? No.

Can you track how much revenue has been added to the company relative to the number of man-hours your staff has spent engaging your clients in social media spaces? If you can, email me the formula…please.

The message has to be clear and consistent among the entire organization. But a long-term commitment to customer service (and social media) programs will pay off. Engage your customers, build a relationship with them, exceed their expectations and they will become your best marketing and sales team. They will talk about you in a positive light. They will refer you to their friends and families. And, they themselves will continue to do business with you.

Disney engages you at every point during your visit with them. Everyone on the front line has a mandate to exceed the customer’s expectations. From the moment you arrive, you are continuously greeted by, “Have a Magical Day.” And every employee (cast member) works hard to make sure your stay is magical.

At the end of your visit with them, no matter how much money was left with Mickey, Minnie and Donald, you have had a magical time…more importantly (from Disney’s perspective), you have already started planning your next visit. (And next time you are going to coordinate with friends and family, because imagine how much fun it would be to go as a big group…)

If your clients don’t have that same level of passion about your organization, ask yourself what can be done to foster that level of loyalty. Do you engage your customers, or do you react to problems and issues as they arise?

Have a great Disney guest relations’ story? Please, share it below.

Is your organization committed to exceeding customer’s expectations? Are you using social media as part of that commitment? Let me know what you’re doing, and if it’s working for you.

Social Media Sniper School - HOORAH!

2010-12-07T15:41:00.004-05:00

“One Shot. One Kill.”

That’s the motto for the US Army Sniper School.

What does that have to do with social media marketing and/or foodservice beverages? Read on. I’ll tell you.

“How can you incorporate social media into a foodservice manufacturing company’s marketing plan? We are B2B, not B2C?”

I wish I had a nickel for every time I heard that question (or some variation thereof) from one of my peers.

Wait, I do. But that’s only because my circle of influence is pretty small. The foodservice beverage industry is enormous from a revenue perspective, but pretty small from a company/personnel perspective. I think that’s one of the reasons I love this industry…it has a “small-community” feel about it. But I digress.

I follow quite a few blog authors. My RSS feed looks like a “who’s who” of social media. The content shared on these blogs has been instrumental in my understanding of social media marketing.

If you haven’t done so already, check out the infinite blogs out there and sign up for a few of the good ones. You can start with this one if you’d like. (Any of my foodservice peeps that don’t know what a blog is, or how to subscribe to one, have no fear. Send me an email, or call me on the phone…I’ll walk you thru the process. We non-natives need to look out for one another.)

Generally the blogs offer suggestions on how to increase your twitter following, or talk about the steps you should take to build an effective social media campaign. But this week, whether planned or not, a common thread has been to focus on “content, content, content.” The message is: nobody wants to write just for the sake of writing. And surely as readers you don’t want to read something that isn’t a 10/10 in content.

So, today, I am posting a real-life example of how my company has started to use social media for lead generation.

Yes, this information is going public, which means any of our competitors can use the information to compete against us. But, I’m confident in our employees. I’m confident in our strategic partners. And, I’m confident in the uniqueness of our products. Besides, I have always liked competition.

One of the social media sites I have used for some time is Yelp! When I’m at industry events (foodservice industry, not social media) talking about the benefits of social media, one of the first apps I show is Yelp! To truly “wow” my fellow digital immigrants, I show them the monocle widget within the app.

I can’t quite describe the looks and/or reactions when one of my industry peers holds my phone and walks around in a circle, looking at the interactive “head’s up display” which shows all the restaurants in a 360degree fashion. It never fails to bring a smile to my face.

But Yelp! is more than just an app to find nearby restaurants, bars, nightclubs, etc. For me, it is an awesome lead generation system.

How, you ask?

One of our target markets is the catering industry. We have a line of iced tea concentrates that are perfect for the catering industry. And, we spend a small fortune on traditional marketing to make sure the industry knows about our products. But, traditional marketing is more of a “shot gun” approach. You throw it out there and hope you hit something.

Yelp! allows us to be marketing “snipers”.

What do I mean? Go to the yelp! website. At the top is their search header. Search for “caterer” and plug in a city “Austin, TX”.

What happens when you hit the enter key?

I’ll save you the effort and tell you. You get 196 entries, all complete with addresses and telephone numbers. Do you want to know a secret? These contact numbers are more up-to-date than any list we have purchased.

You can filter your search by type of foodservice operator too. Have a product you want to pitch to sports bars in Columbus, OH? There are 184 listed.

If you are a sales manager for a foodservice distributor or manufacturer, and I told you I’ve got a sales tool that will filter out the specific type of operator you desired, gave you the operator’s contact information, was capable of mapping the locations and providing you directions to the location, and would constantly update itself so your information was never stale, how much would you be willing to pay me?

How much more effective can your sales organization become if it can achieve the same level of concentrated focus as the US Army sniper? One targeted shot. One confirmed hit.

Social media IS changing the way our company does business. We can embrace the change and learn how to make it work for us, or we can ignore the change and hope to stay in business.

I’ve made my decision. How about you?

Social Media for OLD people

2010-12-03T16:15:00.001-05:00

Anyone who has followed my blogs knows that Chris Brogan has had a significant impact on my social media education. The amazing thing is, he and I have never met nor have we even talked on the phone to each other.

I was sent a link to one of his blog posts. I read the post, liked it, and then searched his archives. Some of the suggestions and tips he offered were useful in our “everyday” business of selling iced tea concentrate to foodservice operators. Some of his ideas and postings were completely new revelations to me.

You see…I am old. Well, I’m older than Chris. I learned spreadsheets on Lotus 1-2-3. I did not have online access to research sites and news archives. I had to look stuff up in encyclopedias (real books) that required you to correctly spell the thing you wanted to research. For news archives, we would sift through hundreds of microfilms looking for a particular picture or quote. It was tedious and sometimes painful.

I love what the Internet has developed into so far. With news apps, search engines and alerts, we can filter information to specific key words so we don’t have to read the “fluff” until we get to something that is personally useful and/or relevant.

As a marketer and brand owner, I really love that social media is reshaping how business gets done. We have heard the term “social media marketing” so often that we blindly accept the phrase without really understanding what it actually means.

The concept of social media marketing is not an easy one to understand. (At least not for my age group.) We can define it as “marketing strategies utilizing the Internet and social/community websites”, which sounds pretty, but what does it mean?

Initially I looked at it in the context of traditional marketing. I tried to figure out how our print and word of mouth marketing campaigns would fit within the social sphere. To put it simply, I tried to fit a square peg (traditional marketing) in a round hole (social media).

It wasn’t until after reading Chris’ book (co-authored by Julien Smith) Trust Agents and then the book Socialnomics by Eric Qualman that the proverbial light bulb went off.

Social media marketing is not so much about marketing as it is about communication.

Reading those words now, I feel pretty silly. And I am sure a few of you out there (Chris, Julien and Eric most likely) are probably in disbelief that I didn’t just KNOW this simple truth.

Facebook, Twitter and the like are not about forcing a brand or product upon the consumer. For the companies who DO employ that strategy, IT IS SIMILAR TO WRITING AN EMAIL IN CAPS…it’s just not very professional.

Social media sites are about communicating. Sometimes you communicate with your clients and consumers. Sometimes you communicate with your peers. Every once in awhile you may even communicate with your competitors.

The marketing aspect comes from keeping your brand and/or product in front of consumers. By engaging in conversations about your product/company/ brand/ or even personal interests, you develop (or enhance) a relationship with your customer. You get to know more about the people using your product, and they get to know more about the people making the products they use.

I still have a lot to learn about social media marketing.

Thankfully, BECAUSE of social media, I have an almost unlimited supply of reference material and expert advice available to me.

Is social media viable?

2010-12-01T11:30:00.003-05:00

Every once in awhile a question comes up on LinkedIn and I feel compelled to add my two cents worth. Most recently it was a question that came up in a food manufacturers forum. There were about 10 other answers before I added my thoughts. If you’d like to read the entire discussion, here’s the LINK.

How do you feel about the potential viability of "social media" communications in the food service channel?

The fact that we can have this discussion on a social media site IS pretty promising. And yes, I agree with the comments about it being more difficult to figure out the B2B strategy as opposed to the B2C one. But, I believe our industry needs to figure out an overall social media strategy (and soon) because consumers (both operators and ultimate end-users) are getting information differently than they did a few years ago.

As manufacturers, what we need to understand is social media is about communication. People are having conversations about our company, our industry, and our brands. They're talking about us 140 characters at a time. Some of the talk may be good. Some of the talk may not be as positive. But the talk is happening.

One of the questions I am asked by my peers is, "how do you monetize social media?" Since you can't measure the ROI on an investment in social media the same way you can measure the investment in a new piece of manufacturing equipment, most manufacturers seem hesitant to commit.

Personally, I think it is because they don't fully understand the dramatic changes in communication that have taken place over the last few years. And of course, there is always the comment about, "why would I care that you are standing in line at the grocery store waiting to check out? Do I really need to know that much about your life?"

10 years ago I would have answered, "absolutely not!" But today, yes, I want to know that you are in a grocery store. Not only that, but I want to know WHICH grocery store you are in, and if you geo-tag your tweets, even better because I will then know in what state and city you're currently located. And, if I have a coupon going with that particular grocery store where you are standing in line to check out, I can send you a quick little note to remind you to purchase my item and take advantage of the coupon.

Communication.

We, as an industry, need to figure out how to communicate more effectively with the actual people who are purchasing and using our products. Then, we will see the monetization of social media and the more traditional return on our investment dollars.

I ended my response there, but I apparently I had more to say on the issue. Here is what I haven't added to my LinkedIn response...yet.

The foodservice manufacturing industry consists mostly (if not entirely) of digital immigrants. We, myself included, grew up without instant access to information. My first computer had to be started with a 5 ¼” floppy disk, and I needed to know how to write DOS to get the computer to do ANYTHING.

The young men and women coming out of college today, our children, are digital natives. They have never known anything other than instant access to information. They embrace transparency in every aspect of their lives, because that is all they have known. The Internet has provided them a way to find out almost anything. Want to find out the annual sales revenue for a privately held company? It’s out there and available if you can ask the right question. Want to read classified communications between government agencies? You can find that too. Want to see how intoxicated “Jamie” was at last weekend’s house party? There are probably pictures and a written account of the actions online.

These “natives” live in total transparency and expect everyone (companies, brands, products and even government) to be just as transparent…just as honest…just as raw. If you want to know an opinion, just ask them. They won’t hesitate to tell you.

Over the years, I have spent small fortunes on market research…polling groups about a label design or a flavor combination. With the advent of social media and sites like Twitter and Flickr, I now have a much bigger audience to poll, and will have instant feedback from that audience. And, I will have access to this information at a minimal investment cost.

Social media is a tool. It’s a way for us to communicate. It can be used effectively by the foodservice manufacturing industry, for both B2C and B2B communications. But we as an industry need to understand the way we do business is changing...140 characters at a time.

Strategic Partners: For better or worse

2010-11-29T16:43:00.005-05:00

Strategic alliances are not uncommon within the foodservice community, not even within the foodservice beverage division of the community. Sometimes, despite the best of intentions, strategic differences can occur between the two partners.

Over the next few weeks we will get to witness what is sure to become a very expensive dispute between two international foodservice brand powerhouses…Kraft Foods and Starbucks Corp.

According to an article on thestreet.com, Kraft has begun arbitration to challenge Starbucks’ attempt to end a 12-year agreement.

The dispute, it appears, is over the right to market Starbucks’ bagged coffee products. Starbucks has asserted that Kraft failed to meet certain provisions of their arrangement, including keeping Starbucks involved in major marketing initiatives, and has said those failures caused “the erosion of brand equity.”

In their defense, since executing the agreement in 1998, Kraft has taken the business from $50million to $500million in annual revenue. So there seems to be slightly more than “erosion of brand equity” behind Starbucks decision to terminate the agreement.

As the arbitration process evolves and more information becomes available, maybe we’ll get a more accurate picture of what is really at stake, and how much this dispute will cost.

In the meantime, the process has raised a question I feel is important. What is more important to a company/brand – maximum annual revenue or brand integrity and control?

Sure, my question is a somewhat loaded question. What company doesn’t want to achieve the maximum annual revenue possible? That’s what companies are designed for…annual revenue. If developing a strategic alliance with a partner is going to help you increase revenue (and/or decrease operating costs), then at the surface, it would be a wise decision.

However, decisions like that always come at a cost and usually that cost is brand control and/or brand integrity.

We don’t need to look any further than this past July when tensions arose between Honest Tea and Coca Cola over wording on the labels of the tea company’s product line. Honest Tea, in an attempt to retain brand integrity and brand control refused to change the wording. Coca Cola respectfully agreed with Honest Tea management, and no changes were made. Since Coke has a financial stake in Honest Tea, we can’t really define them as “strategic partners”, but even so, the importance of brand identity/control can be seen from this example.

A more likely dispute between strategic partners would arise when a decision is made to grow a product line thru new product offerings. The brand owner, after establishing brand recognition and value, decides they want to cash in on that exposure. The brand company develops some complimentary products to extend their product offerings only to find the synergies shared with their strategic partner on the original item(s) aren’t there on the new product offerings.

With the recent success of the Via line of instant coffee products, and the inevitable brand extensions to follow, the Starbucks decision to end their alliance with Kraft is a little easier to understand.

We’ll have to wait and see how much the decision costs Starbucks in terms of money and brand dilution.

Distribution 2.0

2010-11-22T11:00:00.002-05:00

If the sign of a successful blog posting is an open and passionate discussion about your topic, I must have written the mother of all blog posts. After posting the 3^rd installment of Foodservice Outlook 2020, my phone started ringing.

The irony of having someone call me regarding an online posting was not lost on me at all.

Don’t get me wrong. I received several emails with comments and words of congratulations as well. But the phone call was one of the most interesting.

“Why did you write that stuff about the distributors and brokers?” I was asked. “What were you thinking?”

“What do you mean?” I responded. “All I did was write about a day dream I had describing a distribution model which was efficient from a manufacturers perspective. My model doesn’t exist, and in all reality probably never will exist.”

“That’s not the point. You’re a brand and a manufacturer who needs distributors to get your product to market. Your post could potentially cost you a relationship with a distributor.”

I usually try to think of how my words will be interpreted before I hit send. However, I did not even consider the scenario I was currently being presented. I mean, my post was written a little tongue-in-cheek. I had been presented with a scenario in a conference, which as a manufacturer seemed to be at one end of the spectrum. I offered the unorthodox and contrarian perspective as a means of illustrating the normalcy of our existing distribution model.

Sure, our distribution path has some potholes. We have some issues that need to be resolved. We, as an industry, have to figure out a better communication model so manufacturer, distributor and operator are all working towards the same goal. We need to develop transparency throughout our multiple channels to build trust and foster better partnerships.

BUT…our distribution model works. Foodservice Manufacturers build products. Operators purchase food products. Consumers consume food products. And distributors, well distributors are the important piece that makes the entire system work.

We aren’t interested in reengineering the distribution model. Foodservice Beverage Manufacturers like myself only want to figure out how to sell more foodservice beverage items, communicate with our operators and consumers, and maximize our profit margins by becoming more efficient.

So, from this beverage manufacturer and brand owner to all those distributors who help us get our products to market, thank you for doing what you do. We don't have the patience, the knowledge, or the vehicles to do what you do...so please keep doing it. And if you can add a few extra cases of mine on every delivery, I would surely appreciate it.

Foodservice Outlook, 2020 (3 of 3)

2010-11-19T11:00:00.004-05:00

This is a continuation of my earlier posts, describing my thoughts and comments about the 2010 IFMA President's Conference. This post wraps up my discussions regarding FS-2020.

I was immediately brought back to reality when I subconsciously heard Bill say, “Costs and prices always go down.”

What? Huh?

Did I hear that correctly, or was I still working on my new distribution model? Thankfully, as if he heard the panic in my thoughts, he repeated himself…”Costs and prices always go down.”

Bill, I love you, but what the heck are you talking about? My ingredient costs have gone up. My warehousing costs have gone up. My labor costs have gone up. My freight and fuel costs have gone up. My packaging costs have gone up. The only thing that has gone down in the past year is my profit margin.

I looked up to find Bill moderating a panel of industry leaders, discussing the talking points from his presentation. Apparently the panel was back to discussing buying groups, and Bill was trying to make the point that as manufacturers (or distributors) once you lower your pricing, it is hard (if not impossible) to raise it again.

First, I need to offer some constructive criticism of the panel. We were at an IFMA conference - IFMA, as in the International Foodservice Manufacturers Association. Notice the Foodservice Manufacturer's portion of the name. Bill’s panel consisted of 3 operators and a distributor discussing the potential future and shape of the foodservice industry.

Personally, I thought a key component of the foodservice industry was missing from the panel…a foodservice MANUFACTURER. It would have been great to hear the thoughts from a global food manufacturer like Kellog’s or Nestle, but really any manufacturing perspective of the potential future of our industry would have been appreciated.

Despite the lack of a manufacturer on the panel, the panel offered some insightful comments. One sentiment repeated by all the panelists was - the sales process is changing.

Let me repeat that because I think it's important...THE SALES PROCESS IS CHANGING.

Consumers are not interacting with brands in traditional fashion. They are talking about our brands in social spaces like Facebook and Twitter. They are finding foodservice operators on sites (and mobile apps) like OpenTable, Yelp!, and FourSquare.

Conversations ARE happening, and people ARE talking about our brands. The "new" sales process needs to focus on engaging those customers and participating in the conversations.

If our industry of foodservice manufacturing is going to survive (and succeed), we need to figure out how to engage with the customers. If we can figure out how to engage with the customer and operator in the same conversation, even better.

Foodservice Outlook, 2020 (2 of 3)

2010-11-17T14:30:00.000-05:00

This is a continuation of my earlier post, describing my thoughts and comments about the IFMA 2010 President's Conference.

I left off the first post describing Bill Hale's discussion of cost controls and efficiency...as relevant to the foodservice distributor. Bill had posed the question on whether it was more or less cost effective to have more trucks on the road distributing from fewer distribution centers.

Although my first instinct when I heard the question was to check my email, Twitter and Facebook accounts…I decided to listen instead. Actually, I couldn't get a strong wi-fi signal inside the conference room, so really the decision was made for me.

It turned out that listening was the better option. Even though I didn’t hear an answer that directly addressed concerns from the manufacturers standpoint, the ensuing discussion did get me thinking about the issue from our perspective.

As a manufacturer, I would much rather ship into 6, 12 or even 20 distribution points rather than say 82 individual distributor houses. I can manage my freight costs with more certainty. I can achieve better economies of scale by shipping (and thereby producing) more products at one time. And, it is easier on my receivables and cash flow.

The problem with my "solution" occurs from the distributor level, as far as I could predict. By having fewer distribution points, distributors will be shipping over longer distances. This means relatively more trucks with higher fuel costs and considerably more logistics planning.

But, could it work?

As Bill continued to speak about FS2020, my mind began building a distribution network that worked from a manufacturer’s perspective.

First, the organization would have a much leaner employee base with an increased focus on logistics instead of management. There would be a core group of personnel at each of the distribution points whose main focus was to facilitate the inbound and outbound shipments. Orders and AR/AP could be handled at a corporate location and delivered electronically to the few distribution centers and supplier partners, again minimizing the work force, preventing duplicate efforts and increasing efficiency.

Every distributor needs a sales force, but why not outsource it?

Instead of foodservice brokers working for manufacturers, why not have them handle the sales for the distributor? I mean, brokers maintain relationships with operators anyway. I would assume the cost for a distributor to reach an operator would decrease dramatically by utilizing a broker with existing relationships. As for chain account business, manufacturers already have people focused on selling the chain accounts. Why duplicate the efforts at the distribution level?

Plus, unlike the current manufacturer/broker relationship, a distributor would not necessarily have to exclusively align themselves with particular broker. A distributor could open up the marketplace to competition, and competition should help sell more items. If you’re a broker authorized to sell for a distributor, you can sell anything in the distributor book, and, you’ll get paid on everything you sell. Sales could be tracked by broker codes, making it easy to track commissions.

From a manufacturing perspective, since our broker fees were eliminated, we would be able to offer more distributor programming monies...which, since those monies would now be spread over a smaller executive base would translate into larger profits for distributor shareholders.

Yes, my mind wandered for a few minutes, and I am positive I missed the entire focus of Bill’s point. And yes, I know my scenario requires manufacturers and distributors to develop real partnerships, working openly to financially benefit these two sides of our industry and become more efficient.

But I couldn’t help wondering…what if??

--To be continued-- (Part 3 will post on Friday, November 19th)

Foodservice Outlook, 2020 (1 of 3)

2010-11-15T11:26:00.000-05:00

I recently attended the 2010 IFMA President's Conference in Palm Springs, California. This is the second year I have attended, after officially joining the association last year. It is one of the better networking events of the year for the foodservice industry, bringing together executives from the foodservice manufacturing, distribution and operator industries.

Because of the length of the post, I am splitting the post up into 3 entries. This is part one of three.

First, Bill Hale of the Hale Group moderated the event. For those who don’t know Bill, he is an industry veteran and one of the nicest gentlemen you will ever meet. He has a great sense of humor and has probably forgotten more about supply logistics than most of us will learn during our entire career.

Bill opened the event with a vision for the future of foodservice. He called it FS2020. I am sure the entire deck will be available shortly, but here are the points I keyed on.

First, Bill described a future with “flatter” distributor sales organizations. Thru the course of discussions, I came to assume he meant that distributors are going to learn how to do more with less people, given the state of the economy and job market.

Bill also went on to prognosticate we will see more buying groups and co-ops within the next decade, noting a significant shift to volume purchasing. “Volume counts”, he quipped. Again, I believe he was talking about end user’s and operators getting together to purchase like items in bulk quantities in order to obtain better pricing from their distributors. But will that affect manufacturers? I think so, yes.

As a manufacturer, we do have to think about the surge of bulk buying groups and how they will affect our current pricing models. Manufacturers have faced this for years as we have watched the consolidation within the foodservice distribution community. Once upon a time we could develop individual distributor-location pricing models that covered the outbound freight cost to deliver our products to various distribution points across the country. Clients knew if they were buying a product manufactured on the East Coast of the United States in their home state on the West Coast, the product was going to cost them more money than if they were located on the East Coast.

Today, with the consolidation of the industry and need for single distributor pricing, manufacturers find themselves “averaging” their freight costs. In some instances, such as distributing close to home, you pick up some margin. In other instances, like shipping cross-country, you lose some margin. This shift costs us manufacturers time and money because we have to make the investment to track, analyze and forecast fuel costs. In our small little manufacturing company, this investment can cost us as much as 1.5% of revenue in a given year.

Actually, this discussion on pricing and freight costs becomes a nice segue into another of Bill’s key points…cost controls and efficiency. Once again, Bill’s presentation focused on the distributor as he posed the question on whether it was more or less cost effective to have more trucks on the road distributing from fewer distribution centers.

--To be continued-- (Part 2 will post on Wednesday, November 17th)

FS Beverage Update

2010-09-08T12:03:00.000-04:00

I realize it has been some time since my last update, and I apologize. Over at ThirsTea (my day job), we have been working on several new products.

As a result, I have been working on formulations and flavor profiles; working out our supply logistics; helping to create a cohesive marketing plan for next year; and, trying to maintain some type of balance in life.

I am not making excuses. I fully intend to catch up on my blog, offering insight into foodservice beverages and the role of social media in marketing those products.

A lot has happened in our marketplace since I last posted. Which means I now have plenty of material to comment on.

Look for an update within the next few days.

Thanks for your understanding.

-Ray

Communication Breakdown

2010-08-02T16:57:00.000-04:00

As manufacturers, how do we utilize the power of social media to help promote our brands? That’s a question I have been asking for over a year.

If I had a retail brand, the answer (I feel) would be simpler. As a foodservice beverage company though, how do you open the lines of communication with customers? Is it even important to a foodservice operator to have some type of communication with the manufacturer?

From the manufacturer’s perspective, I KNOW we want open communication with the operators who use our products. We want to feel like we are part of the operators’ success – a resource they can call upon when they need something outside of ordinary. We love the challenge of creating unique flavor combinations, or developing a product to meet a specific application. We also like hearing from operators when they have problems…it gives us a chance to resolve the issue and, sometimes those resolutions lead to completely new products. In any event, the communication leads to a stronger relationship and better understanding of each other’s business.

I’m pretty sure the operator would say it is important. With open lines of communication, an operator who has a specific need can communicate directly with the manufacturer to have a specific flavor profile developed. Or, if the operator had a problem with a particular product, wouldn’t it be easier to resolve the problem directly with the manufacturer?

If operators think communicating with manufacturers is important (and I know manufacturers think it’s important) where does the breakdown occur? Why are we not having more direct communication with each other?

From my personal experience, the breakdown appears to happen from the distribution side. Now before my distributor friends jump all over me, let me say this - not all distributors are the same. There are some progressive, modern thinking foodservice distributors across the country that have embraced social media as a way of solidifying the relationship between operator and manufacturer. By being a conduit and opening direct lines of communication, those distributors have strengthened their relationships with BOTH the operator and manufacturer.

But there are other distributors who (as I was reminded at a recent conference) feel they need to “own the relationship with the operator.” I can understand the sentiment, and the desire to keep the relationship private, but in doing so transparency is eliminated and trust is broken.

We’re all in this together –operators, distributors and manufacturers. Transparency is happening all around us via social media. If we become overprotective of our relationships, and don’t foster an environment that promotes open communication, we run the risk of alienating ourselves as the rest of the world rushes by at Internet speed.

Relevant Content

2010-07-20T12:11:00.000-04:00

A few days ago, while scrolling thru my RSS feeds, I came across the following header:

Ben & Jerry's Drops Email Marketing In Favor of Social Media

I had to read the article.

It appears that in the UK, Ben & Jerry has decided to drop their email marketing strategy. The article stated that customers “disliked the email despite loving the brand.” But, the author didn’t go deeper to try and find out WHY the newsletter was disliked.

Many social media experts have argued that traditional marketing is intrusive: your program is interrupted in order to bring you a commercial; or the magazine article you are reading is continued on a page following some advertisements.

The email newsletter, although not considered “traditional” marketing, could also be seen as intrusive or interruptive marketing. But, it still doesn’t make sense for a company to drop the entire email marketing campaign when all the quantifiable metrics still show it to be one of the most effective forms of communication marketing.

My question to Ben & Jerry’s is: why was the email newsletter disliked? Was it a technical issue? With more and more people checking their email on mobile devices, was the newsletter formatted for the proper delivery vehicle?

Was the issue content? What kind of information was being disseminated in the newsletter? Was it geographically important information, or was everyone in the B&J database getting the same information, regardless of where they lived? Were they offering “relevant content”, or were they just using the newsletter to keep their name/brand in front of customers?

I can’t answer the questions because I have never gotten one of their email newsletters. Right now, I wish I had...just to see why it was so disliked by customers who clearly love the brand. As of this writing, I have signed up to receive future ChunkMail…you can too. Just click here.

Regardless of the reason customers disliked the email, you shouldn’t just drop the campaign. You should work on integrating email and social marketing so they work in conjunction with each other and with traditional print marketing. According to Information Week, “Almost 40% of consumers consult Facebook and Twitter to complement the information, deals, and news they receive from companies via e-mail marketing…”

No matter the delivery vehicle of your message (social, email, or traditional marketing channels), the single most important component should be content.

Is your content relevant? Are you talking about noteworthy issues like new flavors or new sales promotions or new location openings? Or are you talking simply to hear yourself talk?

Gen-Y consumers like their content in 140 characters or less. As marketers, we need to be brief, concise and most important…relevant. Our customers will eventually stop listening to us, or (worse) listen to someone else, if we are providing information and content that is both useless and irrelevant.

Foodservice, beverages and Social Media

2010-07-14T15:06:00.000-04:00

The foodservice industry is best described as a "mature" or "seasoned" industry. The leader's, and I count myself among those, are almost (if not completely) digital immigrants. Information flow in the foodservice industry happens at snail pace, and sometimes even slower.

Social Media is a MUCH younger industry, inhabited by much younger people, and information flows at real-time speed. To me, that is one of the benefits of social media...instant feedback.

This week, I attended a trade conference in Chicago. It was a joint program of the Foodservice Manufacturers Association (IFMA) and the Foodservice Distributors Association (IFDA). It was the first time both sides had formally met as a single conference.

I personally thought the conference, as an initial attempt, was a success. There was an educational component, with real life case studies from both sides, and the format fostered an open dialog between us all. In future events, I hope they place more emphasis on the open dialog portion, because many of us felt that was the biggest benefit, and where most of the learning happened.

One of the educational sections of the conference, on the second day, was devoted to "Social Media Marketing for Independent Operators." The 40 min block opened with Erik Qualman's video "Socialnomics" which led into a discussion from two distributors having success with social media. For those not in attendance, the two distributors are BenEKeith Foods and Shamrock Foods Corp.

First, I love Erik's video. I loved it the first time I saw it. If you haven't seen it yet, click on the link above. This video was so personally moving, it got me to buy his book...not once, but several times. I own a hard copy, which I will have him sign for me next time I see him. I own a digital version which permanently resides on my iPad. And, I bought several hard copies to give to peers for them to read.

In simplistic terms, one of the important messages Erik delivers is, "consumers are talking, are you listening?" My industry, or at least a large portion of it, isn't listening. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say we are not communicating efficiently, at least not by today's standards.

How do I know? What's my basis for making a statement like that one? Easy. If you have a twitter account, search for #iismc10. That was the hash-tag assigned to the conference. Scroll thru the conversations, not so much for the content but for the participants IN the conversation. You'll notice only a select few (@ThirsTeaCorp for one) participating in the online conversation.

But it's not all doom and gloom for the industry. One of the manufacturing leaders has embarked on a new (for them) social media marketing campaign. The concept, as I understand it, is for this manufacturer to offer coupons on Facebook. The coupons would be for a local, cooperating eatery and would offer a discount on one of the manufacturer's menu items. Coupons, set up as a click-thru ad, would be geographically filtered to a specified area around the restaurant.

To me, this seems like a "safe" way for foodservice to stick their toes in the waters of social media marketing. The manufacturer is running a campaign that has been done before, in other market segments, to varying degrees of success. It will help build strategic partnerships between manufacturer and operator. It will have quantifiable results. And, it will eventually evolve into much more creative ways to communicate with and engage consumers.

The "buzzwords" bandied about at our conference were "transparency", "efficiency", "open communication", "trust"...we used these words to describe what we felt would make our channel (manufacturer - broker - distributor - operator - consumer) more effective. It's fitting that those are the same words used to describe the benefits of social media.

Social media is not a fad. It's here to stay. It is changing the way people communicate and listen. It is not conducive to secrecy, so we are forced to become more transparent and open. These things will lead to trust. And trust, from supplier to broker to distributor to operator to consumer, will lead to better products...better offerings...better efficiency...and better relationships.

Since our industry is built on relationships, we should start participating in the conversations and work on building better, stronger ones.