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

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

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...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

Reflection and Resolutions

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?

Social Media Sniper School - HOORAH!

“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?

Strategic Partners: For better or worse

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

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)

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)

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)