Walk in refrigerator-built differently for a trade show

Trade shows bring together buyers, sellers, suppliers, media and students. The right show puts you in front of the buyers seeking what you sell and connects you with suppliers. You can generate more sales leads in a day if it is done right.

After countless shows this past year, here are some observations. Today’s business people and consumers use the web for contacts, product information and competitive information.  They participate in virtual trade shows, social media and more.  Shows have been less attended than ever before. After speaking with colleagues and end users they collaborate that trade shows have become boring with the same old year after year. The sellers stand in their booth and wave the end users in or better yet just say hi.

The number of exhibitors at a show today is disproportionate to the number of attendees.  Booth size may change; faces within the booth do change but the and how is always the same.  If it is an equipment show walk up and down the aisles and what you will see is a field of stainless steel, and  if it is a food show walk up and down the aisles and you will smell food and sample food, probably not knowing the difference from one food or another at the end of the day.

How do we inspire people to change the way they have done shows?

With fewer days at show, attendees only visiting about 50% booth and even the quality of the booth visitation have changed. What is the ROI to the end users? What is the ROI to the exhibitor? The association, the trade show management company and so on.  The impact of trade shows affects the economics and time of many people and businesses.  Change is needed to have successful shows.

Getting Started:

• Look at buying trends for that market
• Look at communication trends-social media, virtual , QSR codes,
• Look at the impact on a real world
• Look at relevant suppliers at a show. Do not just try to engage any supplier. Give relevancy to the end user and you will build loyalty. Make it a differential for your business.

Some ideas for changes:

• Relevant product demonstrations-At NAFEM last year, a particular convection oven company did just that. They set up their demonstrations like a cafe.  Comfortable, ambiance, passionate chefs and it made a difference. People waited to sign up and get a chance at see what they have. Food that resonates with them and their customers.
•  Know your audience. Narrow down your focus. Gain a better perspective on who you are selling to. . if it is a hotel/restaurant show -have items, products choices that will give your customer the competitive edge
• Collaborate with fellow suppliers to come up with booth that are end users/client focused. Make it easier for them to envision what and how to use the products
• Less is more
• Rethink the way you show your products/services-think out of the box. What is your differentials and find a way to show it-e.g. at the Intl Hotel and Restaurant Show in NYC recently a refrigeration company decided to have a smaller version of their refrigerator with the full size hinges, handles, locks, casters and showed the interior with the same insulation as the full size. It was creative and yet functional. Not to say economical to ship.  Another step could be to show it within a smaller version of a kitchen or…again using your imagination to get the buyer into your booth to them the story of how this can solve his challenges.

How do you make your exhibit effective? How do you focus or engage people to come into your booth, draw traffic?

• Using apps that allow a customer to access information during the show.
• Using QSR codes for testimonials
• Contests/Competitions
• Innovative equipment that will transform that part of the industry.
• Tell a story through visuals in your booth via media, equipment , storyboards-be imaginative to draw attention
• If is a focused segment show-e.g. school, healthcare, and non-commercial, commercial, etc…The products should be but not always are focused on the consumer they are selling too.

In addition, key staffers should have:

1. Positive attitude
2. Know their market segment
3. Be able to answer FAQs,
4. Follow up. No more than 10 days of a show-this is the downfall of some many mart sales people. With smartphones and IPADs, you should be following up with information right from your booth or at least before, you head back into office.
5. I believe that at least one of your team should be at the same show year to year so that face/brand recognition starts to happen.

Will trade shows become outdated? Alternatively, will they be reenergized with new ideas, strategies in 2012?

What have you been doing differently to reach your audience at a trade show?

Do you need help getting started ? Want better sales results? Connect with me.

Passionately,

Marsha

KEEP THE POSITIVE ATTITUDE

I know I am this time of year.  Holidays, meetings, work, holidays, meeting, dinners, networking events, holidays functions and so on. You get it. These times it seems our employees are a bit more distracted.

How do you refocus your employees? And yourself.

• Here are some ideas that have worked.

1. Short directed meeting- I call them hub meeting. A stand around less than 10 minute meeting to highlight the days events, any changes from the pervious day, any challenges from the previous day, recognize any high achievers and a good quote or motivation for the day. If you can assign one of the team on a rotation and have one who will bring the quote of the day, it works well.

2. Remember during this hub only connect them to what is relevant for the short-term.

3. Engage their ideas and solutions for mishaps or customer/client dissatisfaction during these meeting.

Collaboration and empowerment go a long way in reengaging your team and motivating them to do more and better.

Reward them with a note, or email more frequently during these times. Don’t wait for the quarterly HR meetings.

Some cost-effective examples: three musketeers bar on their desk with a gift tag stating we couldn’t do it without you as part of our team or a $100,000 dollar chocolate bar –“your worth a million to our team or giving them a “Tigger” finger puppet saying you have the right positive attitude and energy for our team..

Use your imagination and make sure you write the words in a gift note attached. The words and the visual make the difference in that moment. It reminds them they are on the right path and focused on your customers/patients/students, …

Lastly, Laughter is good to rengage the group too. A visual  funny picture can go along way to depict what you want done or don’t want done depending on the picture.

I find doing these kinds of things allows me to recharge myself as there tends to be a positive energy that resonates from these gestures.

What do you do to engage your employees during these times?

Passionately,

Marsha

Thanks for helping during crunchtime. It was appreciated.

A few ideas to implement to get started:

• Reenergize yourself and win at what you do. (find time to do what you like, give yourself off from technology one day a week or at least a bulk of time)
• Make a difference in how you conduct your business.
• 
• Make a difference in how people perceive you in business and your organization.
• Realign your thinking, strategies and change yourself and your organization to be more responsive and to make a positive difference.
• No matter how big or small your organization is, the reality is you should be hearing or reading your peers, clients and colleagues messages. Are you? Change your organization’s culture to be more responsive and make your work experience that one that you want to participate in everyday.
• Recognize your peers, and colleagues publicly and even yourself everyday. (as simple as giving yourself a moment to reflect)

People are born in this world as assets, not liabilities. In the end, we are the product of expectation. Expect a lot, and you create amazing people” -unknown

Service is the lifeblood of any organization. Everything flows from it and is nourished by it. Customer service is not a department – it is an attitude.” Unknown

In every life, we have some trouble, but when you worry, you make it double. Don’t worry. Be happy.” Bobby McFerrin (1950 –) American music artist.10-time Grammy Award winner

“Everyone has the ability to do great things, but attitude will determine how well you do it. Make today a great day!” Marsha Diamond, Business Development Advisor, Inspirational Speaker.

I think we shouldn’t forget the passion in our business. Passion=Great Customer Service.  Share with me what makes you passionate about your business? Life?

.

• Quality
• Reputation
• Good Results
• Great Employees
• Knowledgeable Staff
• Consistency in service, goods and/or products
• Responsiveness
• Innovativeness
• Trust

Innovation

Customer-focused innovation has to be more than just an idea; we –– need to take action and remove barriers to enhancing the health care experience. It begins and ends with the end-user – it tells us what they need, what they want, and how we deliver.
When we begin to drive toward making things simpler, more consistent, and more
effective for the people we serve – as they would judge it – that is when our
innovations will begin to make a positive difference in the delivery of care.

Set your customers’ expectations: Need to understand how other internal employees
and external partners influence the customer experience, and what that customer
experience really feels like for customers today. Why? Communications or
marketing displays of every shape and size set your customers’ expectations.

Customer research

Customer experience research can help boost loyalty and drive desired behaviors by helping your organization answer these questions:
1. Once we win a customer, how does the experience we deliver match up to what
our customers expect from us? Where do gaps exist, and how big are they?

2. Are we under-investing in areas that are important to our customers? Alternatively,
overly investing in areas that do not matter? How can we reallocate our
resources to be more effective?

3. Where can we focus customer experience efforts to boost loyalty with our
most profitable customers? Which “dials” can we turn to boost loyalty with our
best customers? The job of measuring and improving customer touch points is
getting at this critical information from the “outside in.” What do your
customers think? And why? As a result, companies can acquire more accurate and
more actionable data, seeing where and how insights into customer opinion,
experience, wants and needs can be leveraged to boost loyalty, improve overall
marketing, sales and service effectiveness and strengthen brand.

After all, in a world where nearly 90% of customers will walk out your door (whether virtual or physical) after a single poor experience, the cost of focusing
research efforts on satisfaction alone may well be your survival.  Make it a differential positive experience-whether it is the food, service, sales experience, or process.

Do your customers/patients feel like a commodity? Everything the same. Is it just another day for your organization and the employees who carry out the services or
produce products?  Make the difference. Start today to impact your customers, employees.

Passionately,

Marsha

Not necessarily. Value is relative. It’s in the eye of the beholder. So much depends on how the decision makers you’re dealing with perceive “value.”

To be successful in today’s business environment, you may need to become invaluable to your customers.

Customers can be segmented into three different types based on their perceptions of value and what you can do to increase your effectiveness when working with them.

Commodity Buyers
These buyers know exactly what they want and how to use it. They do not need sellers to explain the details. Commodity buyers typically value:

• Low costs. They do not want to pay any more than necessary. To be successful with these buyers, companies need to pull as many costs as they can out of their supply chain.

• No hassles. Make it simple, simple, simple to do business with your company. Give them an 800 number, send quick quotes, or allow easy online ordering and they’re happy.

We are all commodity buyers at times. As a seller, there’s little you can do to create value or sell “value add.” Make it cheaper, simpler to order, delivered to my door and with easy returns.

E.g. books, hairnets, aprons, etc…

Strategic Buyers
These people are looking far beyond the scope of your products or services. They want a strategic partnership. They are looking at how to best leverage their organization’s core competencies in combination with another company’s core competencies. These buyers value:

• Intimate and strategic relationships between multiple levels within both organizations.
• Mutual investments in joint projects.
• Merging of systems to accomplish more than either organization could do alone.

E.g., design consultants with equipment manufacturers, branding concept within a hospital retail venue.

Invested Buyers
These buyers are either spending a lot of money on a decision or they do not know everything there is to know about what they’re buying. Typically, their decision process is complex, involves multiple people and takes place over an extended period.
If corporate decision makers are seriously considering your product or service, they assume it meets their basic requirements and that your organization is reputable. Having a decent offering gets you in the game, but does not typically provide enough value to win the business.

In fact, with these buyers, the seller creates the value by what they personally bring to the relationship. These buyers value sellers who:

• Help them understand their problems in greater depth.
• Add additional insights into the challenges they face.
• Offer solutions
• Share relevant information regarding “best practices.”
• Develop unique, innovative approaches to resolving their business issues.
• Keep them up-to-date on trends in the industry and how others are addressing them.
• Help them find ways around the obstacles they’re encountering, and
• Propose new ways to do more with the same investment.

E.g.: major foodservice equipment, meal delivery solutions, cooking systems, dishwashers, etc.

Becoming an Invaluable Resource
What makes a seller invaluable? The ability to contribute so much more with each and every customer interaction – so much so that they can’t imagine doing business without you.

Here are some more ways that you, as the seller could become invaluable to your customers. You could:

• Share ideas about other what works, what doesn’t.
• Help them find ways to increase the results of their existing programs.
• Show them how to reduce the overall costs of the program while maintaining its effectiveness and integrity.
• Let them know what their competitors are doing.
• Develop ways to increase the quality of their programs or venues.
• Proposing ideas for new programs to help them achieve their desired marketing results.
• Acting as an advocate within your own organization on issues impacting the customer.
• Better warranties
• On time delivery
• Post sale training and follow up

To become invaluable, you must bring more to the relationship than just your standard product or service. What you want to create is a situation where corporate decision makers cannot live without your ideas, insights, and knowledge.

Becoming invaluable doesn’t just “happen.” You need to invest in yourself. Learn more about your customer’s business. Figure out how to help them improve it. Be an idea generator. Become an expert in your field. It takes a real commitment on your part.

Only the best make that commitment. But it truly sets them apart from everyone else and literally makes them invaluable

How do you make your customer’s job easier? More profitability? Efficient?

This week’s blog is one that resonates with me and should with you too. It is my colleague, David who wrote this and I wanted to reblog(is that a legitimate word)as I feel it is very relevant and timely.  Enjoy and see if you agree? 

What to do when there is economic uncertainty? Will the healthcare reform act affect your hospital, and your food service department? Are you shaking your head as you read this and thinking how do I get through this? How can I continue to have a culture of quality in my operations? Increase my value based purchasing practicing?

Foodservice directors will still be held highly accountability for their operations.

One way to combat this is to collaborate with your suppliers? Are your suppliers listening to what you need during these times? Effective vendors (suppliers) realize that they should be passionate about foodservice to sell in this industry. They love to part of your process and realize they are contributing to the success of your operations.

Suppliers should be one of your team. They help to create a collaborative environment with our internal hospital team. Vendors can be one of your trusted advisors.

To start a strong and value added relationship with a vendor:

· Tell them about your operations?

· Encourage them to share their knowledge, experiences in similar environments

· Build trust and give and take in this partnership

· Discuss with your vendor “their” role

Successful suppliers are educated and aware with what is going on in their market segments whether it is healthcare foodservices, retail, etc…They have solutions to rising food and labor costs and have ideas that help them improve yield for the products/services they offer to the end-user.

Today’s food service director expects more from their suppliers to be more effectively and specifically convey resources.

**Suppliers/vendors today need to be a key asset in those efforts. Here are some valuable resources that a vendor/supplier can offer to enable them to be a stronger part of the foodservice team:

• Support and knowledge to navigate labor considerations, food safety standards and issues related to customer service
• Insight on consumers; culinary expertise and menu development support, trends,
• Training for products and equipment; packaging collaboration; and help with differentiation
• Culinary expertise to advice and influence menu mix, equipment, etc…
• Sustainability practices
• Educational webinars to offer solutions
• Menu ideas, new product mixes across market segments
• Marketing solutions=promo kits
• Valued added services that go beyond your core business

You have a choice so select your vendor partners that services, goods and resources will make a difference in your environment.

Include this guideline checklist when choosing your vendor partners,

1. What resources are available at my suppliers?

2. How can they assist me in my goals, and help execute my business plan

3. How can they benefit from working with me?

Make no mistake vendors want to see their customers not just survive; we want to see them thrive. Forward thinking suppliers engage in positive actions to elevate your highest level of performance to move ahead strategically today and tomorrow.

Are you a vendor/supplier that listens to your customers’ needs? Tell us how you bring value?

Are you an end-user who gets value from your vendors? Share how they elevate your foodservice operations.

David Bermingham, VP of Healthcare and Education, U.S. Foodservice

The hassle map of healthcare foodservice -rifle with duplication, inconvenience, poor access to appropriate information is ripe for a change. Should we not look at companies like Apple and Google to see how they are simplifying?

A recent online survey asked customers if they would pay more for services that were seamless and had a single source of care coordination. About 80% stated yes they would pay more for making it easier. Would you?

The rewards that could await companies that solve these problems are their ability to compete on value and convenience will allow shorten sales cycles and more consumers that are educated.

The vendor’s monopoly on information has been broken as consumers make use of online tools and sites to generate their own communication about features, benefits, quality and brand. Consumers will increasing rely on each other for information and advice. Viral marketing, social networks, blogging and online webinar/learning will afford more educated customers/.

Do you offer these type of services to your end users? Does your website allow the ease to get relevant information? How easy is your website to map out? Content should be transparent and resonate with your audience. Does it? Is it time for a reevaluation of your marketing strategy?

Ideas to consider when playing to win in healthcare:

· Understand consumer needs

· Build brand familiarity and trust

· Establish a transparent strategy-be clear on your benefits, value of your products,

· Product innovation and differential

· Customer centric focused marketing-materials, website, and social media

Passionately sharing,

Marsha

You need a great product that can solve a challenge or fill a solution for this hospital or long-term facility, you need to have an understanding of the markets and what influences their choices and needs. For many directors, once they have the capital and know they need to buy for replacement or renovation, the buying step is the easy part of this process. However, the part of the process that leads up is the pre-sell. The Pre-Sell includes knowing your customer, their clients, their reasons for buying and have an understand what you are helping them achieve in their operations. The post sell component includes the warranty (if you really stand behind this product make this a real differentials from your competitor), training, post evaluation of their usage of the products/equipments and any other follow up services. Do you understand the markets you sell to or is it one size selling approach for you and your reps/dealers?

Each component -pre, during and post selling needs to be strong. When there is a weak link it become apparent to a loss of a sale and perhaps influence future buying decisions. These three components include person or people with a knowledgeable background and a can do attitude(s).

Do you sell to a status quo or do you look at the details of each foodservice delivery system a bit differently?

Ask the questions and consult with a person who can give you insights to avoid these mistakes manufacturers, dealers and reps make when calling on healthcare foodservice executives, can save you valuable time, money and credibility. Identify the practices that add value and explore ways the supply chains can better work together will be a win win for all those involved in the sales process especially the buyer.

Understand the healthcare markets, offer more value added items/services/features, and you will connect better with the foodservice healthcare executive of today. All supply chain partners want to deliver excellent customer service for their operators.

What best practices do you implement in your organization to make the supply chain experience better for your customers? Is the sales experience seamless and trouble free for your clients?

Passionately,

Marsha

My last blog gave you an overall feeling on the understanding of what ACO is and how it will relate to you and your operation.

The new hospital value-based purchasing program for Medicare that will reward hospitals for providing high quality, safe care for patients. Organizations that have Medicare patients will be looking at their budgets more closely to fund their organization. Especially hospitals and nursing homes that are over 65% Medicare patients.

Hospitals are tightening their belt. Retuning operational with more efficiencies in terms of expense and accomplish cultural diversity without compromising qualities.

How do you maintain quality and have proper staffing too?

Ideas as you move forward:

· Always look to the future for solutions that are for today that is sustainability over time and in terms of green/energy efficiency.

· Take into considerations menu trends that drive taste and economics scale

· Increase cultural food diversity in menu needs and how your environment is set up to reflect. Equipment that has multi functionality and reflects healthy needs/green.

· Review any trends or  insights on  what is going on and how it can  influence equipment selection, capital expenditures purchases today  or back-of-the-house operational needs would be an added bonus to gearing up.

· Being more proactive not reactive to the situation. Purchasing oven for today but looking for multifunctional aspects. Purchasing a multi temp cart that can offer various uses-emergency room trays, evening trays, and guest trays left up on a floor

· Reallocation of staff/cross training

· Planning for 3 to 5 year strategies, with next steps and focus on moving forward to keep up with the best of the best.

Here is a link that I thought would be interesting to you that is related to what I am writing about in this blog. http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20110107/NEWS/110109980/#

This relates to the hospital having better patient satisfaction surveys (press ganey type surveys), shorter length of patient stays and performance based initiative.  If you are proactive and thinking about more efficiency, menu diversity, etc…It makes a difference in how effective you are with you patients and customers too.

ACO, healthcare reform, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, and whatever terminology is out there about the changes that are happening are all related back to value-based, incentive payments to hospitals. Those payments will be based on either how well the hospitals perform on certain quality measures, or how much the hospitals’ performance improves on certain measures from their performance during a baseline period. According to the CMS, the higher the performance, the higher the incentive payment will be.

Transparent communication lends itself to a positive impact and better results.

What are you doing to prepare for this? How are you communicating these changes to your employees? Your patients? Your customers? Your vendors?

So what exactly are accountable-care organizations, anyway?

In broad outline, these entities propose to unite doctors and clinics or hospitals in groups that pool their resources with the goal of trimming spending while boosting the quality of care. When the group can show that it is improving care and delivers it for less than the cost projected—arrived at by crunching historical patient data for that market—a share of the savings goes to the hospitals and the teams.

Medicare defines payment to organization that agrees to be accountable for the quality, cost and overall care.

Hospital executives have expressed that by building ACO it is the key to better managing patient care across the continuum. Patient centric care is the key to:

· building  strong relationships with physicians

· draw in physicians that are patient centric and positive outcomes

Overall focus

· physician lead

· patient centric

· patient participation

· keep patient healthy

· fewer admissions into hospital

· shorter length of stay

· more preventive and proactive solutions

Major needs:

1. Teamwork among all members

2. Clear leadership

3. Accountability

4. technology to coordinate patient care,

5. better communication and transparency

How can foodservice leadership make a positive impact on ACO and be a major part of the team?

• Open your lines of clear communication with physicians, c-suite level in terms of what you are doing, how you are making a difference, etc…
• Customer focused in terms of healthy options, food choices, more sustainable foods, local foods, healthy preparation techniques, culture diverse food that appeals to their customer
• Value based purchasing
• Actionable initiatives to more effective supply chain/revenue cycle approaches(many of your distributors and/or GPOs can partner with you on this)

Some good resources for understanding ACOs and creative ways to implement initiatives at or hospitals: Creating a culture of health www.hret.org, www.ama-assn.org,

In today’s environment of health reform, with so many challenges and opportunities before us, the stakes have never been greater for our patients, organizations and communities. Consequently, having an ethical foundation for leadership and decision-making is more important than ever.
If you do not change your patient experience, you will not be reimbursed for Medicare/Medicaid. It is all about the outcomes on patients and not about the process and payments.

How do you own the customer experience? What ways can you start implementing to be proactive and make a difference in your department?

Passionately,

Marsha