IT'S A CLEANSING MOMENT OF CLARITY

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?

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?

TRANSFORM CLIENTS INTO SALESPEOPLE

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!

“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

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?

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.

Communication Breakdown

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

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

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.