May 2008 Entries
I read an online article discussing a new book on collaboration, and in it the author made some comments regarding “what smokers can teach us.” Intrigued, I read on.
In talking about the "Silo Syndrome" (in which employees in different departments, hierarchical levels or functions have little to do with one another), he used smoking as an example of a method which has proven to break down communication barriers.
Just as smokers congregating in outdoor enclaves strike up work-related conversation and get to know their roles and focal concerns within the company -- forming a kind of club of common interests --...
For those who may have missed the “Staple Yourself to a Claim” FORUM webinar today, the full presentation will shortly be posted to the TPM MATERIALS section of our home page, as will the original HBR article upon which it is based. In addition, a full multimedia recording of the webinar will be posted to the ARCHIVE section on Monday.
In it we took a “virtual journey” through the Trade Promotion Process, stopping at each step to uncover barriers and discuss some of the Best Practices used to address these challenges. A follow-up webinar will be presented Friday, June 27th @...
I have seen the future of trade promotion management, and it’s a smartphone… specifically, the iPhone. As Apple prepares to introduce the new 3G model with faster internet access speeds, their new “developer tools” offer the opportunity for TPM solutions providers to easily develop an interface for their web-enabled software to display and allow interactive TPM file updates. In a few words, this means that promotions could be DIRECTLY entered into the master TPM system while you are with your customer, approved, and finalized…all in one single step. Furthermore, field supervisors could review and approve promotions in just a few...
I heard a piece on BBC News yesterday that the British Prime Minister will be posting statements and soliciting feedback on You Tube.
Interesting.
That got me thinking of the possibilities of using You Tube as a general communication tool with internal and external trading partners. And low and behold, there was an HBR feed this morning on the Leadership Lessons of You Tube! (Link embedded at the end of this post).
Great minds...
It is interesting that politicians are beginning to discover new “channels” to reach out to connect with constituents. No surprise, really, since most campaigns have hired very young webmasters...
Foodservice manufacturers spend precious marketing dollars in the hope that they will capture the end user’s attention. All too often, however, marketers struggle to show a true return-on-investment from these efforts. With today’s shrinking budgets and growing marketing accountability, it is imperative that solutions be found that drive measurable results.
All well and good. But how to do it?
Studies (and informal discussions) indicate that a majority of foodservice manufacturers DO NOT formally revisit and analyze their trade promotion activities. Most of the analysis is anecdotal, sales-driven, and often driven by fear of competition. Even when organizations have TPM systems capable...
FRIDAY @ NRA: The buzz arising from meetings and sidebar conversations so far has concentrated on the struggle everyone is facing to reduce spending as the economy decimates budgets and financial projections. Honestly, a lot of the rabble is coming from the “glass half empty” finance department, but in this case they may have it right. Every foodservice manufacturer executive I spoke to is experiencing higher costs in every category: raw materials, logistics, manufacturing, and energy; while sales projections and RFP offers slip lower. One company even confirmed that they had instituted a “travel ban” requiring employees --- even in sales ---...
Chicago in May
Business, friends, food, alcohol
Thirty memories
Jim Matorin (SMARKETing) recently posted an interview with yours truly in his SHOW ME THE BUZZ web publication. I couldn’t resist writing a blog about an interview discussing blogging. Is that what they call “full circle”? Whatever. Here is the link if you are interested…
http://smartketing.com/03_buzz/02_buzz.htm
10. But we DO have a solution…isn’t that what Mary down in accounting does?
9. Hey, it’s a “cost of doing business”.
8. It’s the distributor’s fault. They are out to squeeze every dime they can from us.
7. The Regional Sales Managers take care of that. They all have their own way of handling it, and it seems to work for us!
6. It’s the brokers fault. They just don’t follow our clear policies about this stuff and we end up bailing them out.
5. It’s complex because our business is complex. Our business model is unique, so there really...
Over fifteen years ago an article was published in Harvard Business Review that has since become a classic. “Staple Yourself to an Order” examined the importance of thoroughly understanding your internal Order Management Cycle (OMC). The goal: improved customer service and lowering costs by removing redundant or inefficient steps.
The same concept holds true for Trade Promotion Management systems and processes. They are often so complex --- involving so many “moving parts” --- that a thorough understanding of the entire process is required to assure its ongoing accuracy and efficiency.
It is in that spirit that the Foodservice University FORUM resumes...
I discovered an interesting article while “cruising the net” to do research on a project over the weekend: “Leading in Turbulent Times” by Bob Prosen (BobProsen.com). I found it a good “leadership primer” with valid, common sense management tips to address the special problems we all face in running our companies during challenging economic times. I have excerpted several key points below; a link to the article is at the end. Read and learn…
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One of a leader's greatest challenges is being at the helm during turbulent times while keeping your employees at the top of their game. As more...
When I started this blog, it told myself that I would try to stay away from two polarizing subjects: religion and politics, but I am finding it more and more impossible to accomplish in the current information “mash-up”. You can be the judge regarding how far I have fallen off my pledge…
Author and Pulitzer Prize winning columnist Thomas Friedman’s op-ed piece in Sunday’s NY Times cannot be ignored. In it he posits that we stand on the precipice of an opportunity to refocus our country’s efforts toward nation-building --- in the US. No matter what your opinion of his politics,...
“Unless you’ve moved beyond fighting fires and are managing based on your business priorities, your TPM strategy isn’t as brilliant as you think…” --- paraphrased InfoWeek headline
“Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off the goal." --- Hannah More, English poet
“To a worm in horseradish, the world is horseradish.” --- Malcolm Gladwell, guru
“Increasingly, there are only two kinds of companies: brave and dead." --- Seth Godin, guru
“A verbal contract isn't worth the paper it's written on.”--- Samuel Goldwyn, film producer
“You can have data without information, but you cannot have information without data.” --- Daniel...
I saw Lou Reed, the 60’s rock icon, in concert at a little club in Asheville the other night. (If you are interested, a review is posted on my personal blog site www.rectorsite.com.) It got me thinking of the saying “everything old is new again.”
TPM has become more complicated and expensive over the decades. We have all followed the market toward more complex and convoluted efforts toward supporting our products. Not all of it is bad, but it’s time to take stock, and attempt to get back to basics in your Trade Promotion Management strategy.
“PROMOTION” is one of the...