The Value of Understanding Culture and Your Customers

Thankfully, companies have taken notice of their customer base and are now pushing advertising dollars towards multicultural customers. Still, many more need to embrace this trend. There are many reasons why companies are focusing on this segment. Here are a few noteworthy statistics:

• According to the Selig Center for Economic Growth, the African American and Hispanic consumer markets already are larger than the entire economies (GDP Gross Domestic Product measured in U.S. dollars) of all but nine countries in the world. Moreover by 2010, it is very likely that the buying power of African Americans and Hispanics will exceed the GDP of Canada which is the ninth largest economy in the world.

• The annual buying power of minorities in the U.S. is close to 2 trillion dollars.

• In May 2007, The U.S. Census Bureau released estimates that there are now 100 million minorities in this country which represents about 1 out of 3 residents.

• In 2006, there were 51.1 million international visitors to the United States.

As this realization has become clearer to some companies that are spending billions of advertising dollars to woo multicultural consumers, it’s perplexing as to why many companies do not focus on what occurs after the customer comes into the establishment and their encounter with employees and directly or indirectly, company policies.

As we all know, its one thing to attract customers and quite another to keep them. Focusing on the needs of all customers and providing service that has value to them will go a long way in creating a long term customer. If an organizational culture has not been established that demonstrates value to all customers, then positive long term results of multicultural marketing are weakened. A strategy of multicultural marketing in conjunction with the implementation of strong multicultural customer service strategies can lead to long term success. This means carrying the process through. In essence, to create a relationship with longevity and one that is mutually beneficial.

The term “shopping while Black” describes the experience of many Black shoppers on a daily basis. The suspicious behavior of employees not only ruins the shopping experience but also creates such an environment of discomfort for the shopper that they leave and possibly make a mental note not to return. In the process, they may tell many other shoppers about the experience. By the same token, having employees that have no knowledge of other cultures and routinely offend customers through ignorance are also a source of customer shrinkage.

If companies are in the multicultural marketing game, they need to play to win. They need to find as many ways as possible to keep the customers that they’ve earned. No matter how customers come to us, one thing is undisputed; it’s much harder and more expensive to get a new customer than to keep an existing one.

Some possible ways to do this are:
1) Create a company plan to address multicultural customer service. Clarify the value proposition and create a strategy for improvement in this area.
2) Provide executive level support for multicultural marketing and customer service initiatives which is visible to employees. Otherwise, employees will notice the discordance.
3) Provide clear and concise company expectations and standards regarding customer service, as well as, multicultural customer service. Outline the expectations of each employee and measurement standards. Reward employees for successfully meeting the standards and consequences for employees that fail in this area. Implement a strict and consistent policy for addressing employee discriminatory behavior and consistently enforce it.
4) Provide an ongoing intercultural training program for all employees which incorporates Intercultural Communication. It can be extremely difficult for an employee that has no experience working with minorities and works within a framework of stereotypes to deliver excellent customer service to everyone.
5) Comprehend that cultural groups may view customer service differently. This realization can open doors of understanding for front line employees.
6) Translate marketing pieces and information for minority groups within a demographic area. Making material accessible to as many customers as possible is extremely valuable.
7) Provide access to bilingual employees and/or interpreting services for customers. This can greatly enhance customer service problem resolution when interacting with Non-native English speakers.
Build a multicultural employee base and continuously train them to successfully interact with all customers.
9) Provide customer service training to all employees and managers. Don’t assume that everyone knows that they should say “Hello” and “Thank you”.
10) In retail, use anti-shoplifting devices when possible instead of using employees. Remove the opportunity for reliance on stereotyping and bias.
11) Respond appropriately to allegations of discriminatory behavior. Rationalizing and minimizing the employee behavior is ineffective and extremely offensive to customers. The result is a potentially lost customer and the employees’ behavior may remain unchanged which can lead to future altercations. Hold managers accountable for effectively dealing with employees.
12) Actively seek feedback from all customers to gather insight on their experience with the company and the customer service they’ve received. Use this as a tool for measuring the company’s vision and perception of itself and its customer service versus the reality of customers.
13) Seriously study all complaints of discriminatory customer service to look for patterns. This may identify locations, individuals and practices which are not adhering to the corporate policy. This can lead to proactive resolution prior to loss of customers and legal ramifications. Verbal and written contact with the customer should be made.

Customers are the key to business. Without them, companies would cease to exist. Maintaining and increasing the customer base is critical to the profitability and viability of a corporation. Therefore, maximize the opportunity to connect with all customers. Only when the concept of true multicultural customer service is recognized and applied, will everyone benefit. Companies will have long term loyal customers and customers will feel comfortable shopping and spending their income with a company that truly values them. This is what WIN-WIN in customer service is all about.

Camille Bragg is Director of Connect Across Cultures based in Columbus, Ohio. Connect Across Cultures focuses on Intercultural Customer Service consulting and training for corporations. Please contact her at camille@connectacrosscultures.com

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Manufacturers and Retailers. Sharing a Common Thread

What do notable greeting card companies, candy manufacturers, garden product companies and toy companies all have in common? They have chosen to be members of NARMS International in order to network, recruit new employees or take a short cut to the third party merchandising support that can help them gain access to the ever-changing marketplace.

The reasons for membership in NARMS International are different. The sizes of company and roles they play in the retailing process may vary as well. But, nonetheless, nearly 50 manufacturer and retailer companies have “seen the light” and joined together with the hundreds of retail service companies in forming NARMS International as we know it today.

The names ring familiar and powerful as a veritable “who’s who” in respective subsets of the industry: American Greetings and Hallmark; Hershey, Ghirardelli and Lindt & Sprungli; Burpee, Cuthbert, Garden State and Teters Floral; Tandy, Mattel, Lego, LeapFrog, Hasbro and Spin Master; to name a few. And let’s not forget marketplace icons like L’Oreal, The Home Depot, Ace Hardware, Papyrus, Campbell, Energizer Battery, Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble and Timex. You’ll need to read on and then review the entire directory listing which follows to gain a total grasp of the manufacturing and retailer companies that have affiliated with NARMS as a retail trade association that fits their varied needs.

A History Lesson-An Idea Germinated
Manufacturers’ relationships with NARMS go back to the very early days with the logical connection of merchandising support efforts of the founding MSO companies charged with the task of assisting as manufacturers accessed retail space.

The manufacturers were welcomed (into membership) pretty much from day one, recalls NARMS pioneer, Gary Ebben. “Folks from Pfizer and Nintendo come quickly to mind as they have always been so supportive and also have taken an active role in service on our board. Moe Rodriguez (with Pfizer Consumer Healthcare at the time) even served as our board chair in 2003-04.”

“My memories of NARMS are all quite pleasant,” relates Rodriguez, who incidentally has only recently rejoined NARMS as a consulting associate member with his new member company, Moe Rodriguez/NPS of Morris Plains, NJ. “All through those years, I saw my NARMS colleagues trying to get more manufacturer involvement in the association; mostly for their helpful ideas and insights on making retail service providers better. Any way we could help an MSO do a better job was helping the industry move forward. I truly believe the various studies, documents and presentations we made during those times each contributed towards that worthy goal.”

“We were less aggressive towards retailers themselves becoming active members,” recalls Rodriguez, “although that principle of better market performance by all parties stands to help them too!”

“I was exhibiting at a Housewares Show when I was approached (by Chuck Belding) about getting together to talk about the use of merchandising services,” recalls Kelly Baker of Teters Floral Products, Bolivar, MO. “I knew that the idea (of creating NARMS) was a good idea. I just didn’t know if it would have legs.”

“Initially, I suppose there was less take-away from our NARMS get-togethers,” says Baker. “But, when I’d evaluate the pros/cons of the time and travel; I noted that there was nothing else like it, so it was almost by default that we continued in NARMS. It’s been exciting to watch the progress over the years and it’s developed to the point where now I’d have to say, it would be a serious omission if we chose not to attend NARMS Spring Conference!”

“What really bugs me is there are so many good sessions going on at the same time that I don’t know which one to choose,” Baker continues. “The conference wasn’t built for manufacturers in the early days but did us a service in allowing us to meet with several service providers at the same time and place.”

“As time has gone on, our (manufacturers) ability to sit down together with the likes of Lego and Nintendo to try to learn how to better serve retailers has proved to be very beneficial,” says Baker. “Bottom line; no one has the complete handle on how best to serve retail needs. We all can extract one more nugget of learning, no matter how good we each might think we are.”

Baker went on to share in a phone interview the extra value he places in the NARMS manufacturer “share group” discussions, including the recent mid-year gathering held in Dallas. “Three years ago it wouldn’t have been possible to invite in a representative of the MSO community,” relates Baker of the informal committee’s recent visit with MSO Committee co-chair, Steve Donzelli. “It was extremely helpful to learn more about MSO’s, what they do and their market perspective.”

“At this point in time, I believe it is an error in judgment for a manufacturing company to NOT be a part of NARMS,” continues Baker. “And, I believe the day is not too far off that the retailer will want to be here, too!”

“In my ongoing business activities, I am always quick to throw out the fact that I am involved with NARMS as a trade association and it provides a level of comfort to both the financial and retail communities to know that I affiliate with an industry group interested in benchmarking workplace performance. I have been in this business now for 25 years and affiliating with other manufacturers through NARMS gives me great affirmation of our need to continually improve in our practices to avoid becoming the next dinosaur on this planet!”

Seeking Representation-
Another of the long time supporters of NARMS has been Nintendo of America, Redmond, WA and NARMS member since early 1998. Nintendo has typically contracted for support in stores located beyond their home geography. As a result they have ongoing occasional needs for third party representation along with occasional special interactive device installation that may require extra help.

“Our needs aren’t unique,” notes Mary Jo Bastuba, Nintendo’s Senior National Field Manager. “Although we maintain our own field force of 145 reps that service thousands of retail sites, it’s never enough when it comes time for a new product launch or in areas beyond the geography of the normal territory we cover.”

“Often our needs involve promotion or demonstration efforts and more hands-on detail work, so NARMS has been a place to connect with those who can help us,” states Bastuba. “We know the time and effort we put into training our regulars, but we realize that on those special occasions, we have many more out there representing us and need to have the comfort that we’ve come upon them through ways that can make us proud.”

“We absolutely have used the NARMS’ JobBank for position recruitment and feel the NARMS website is a strong attribute for membership.”

“Further, I have always been a believer in being involved in continued development of industry standards,” continues Bastuba. “Having the chance for such input is a very compelling reason to affiliate within NARMS as the connection place for the retail services industry.”

“It’s a very important role that we can help play,” says Bastuba, “helping shape the MSO’s efforts to meet the needs of the market. I have seen NARMS grow into a professional organization that any manufacturer should be proud to be a member!”

Recruitment Office Open-
A common reason for either manufacturers or retailers to become NARMS members is to take part in the database of positions available in the Professional Merchandising Service Industry. Only NARMS members with an expanded listing can use The Recruiter.

Further, the JobBank contains a database of positions available in the Professional Retail Marketing Services Industry. This service at www.narms.com allows individuals to search the current jobs that member and non-member companies have available in a number of professional job categories and locations. Currently, some 27 member companies have “showcase” offerings at the “Search the JobBank” selective choice on the website.

With daily postings and web traffic at the JobBank in recent months numbering nearly 300,000 searches, clearly web access is a positive method for both posting and seeking jobs.

Individuals seeking work have the opportunity to post their profiles relative to full time, part time or work as an independent contractor. Information entered into the database then becomes searchable based on retailer experience, general and specific skills, merchandising experience and language capabilities. Manufacturers and retailers are further comforted to know that NARMS provides individuals with on-line modules for merchandising, event marketing and demonstration training to further enhance the raw capability of job candidates.

“I like the way you can drill down on a prospect,” notes Ace Hardware’s project manager, Gary Crane in speaking of their use of NARMS recruiting support mechanisms. The retailer-owned cooperative based in Downers Grove, IL has 25-27 merchandisers used throughout the company and up to ten contract persons additionally across its four division network, consisting of Gulf Coast, East Coast, West Coast and Midwest Divisions. “But sometimes we find that many don’t’ want to work full time or to travel beyond 30-50 miles from their homes.” In this case, the result has been more work for third party merchandisers.

Noting Ace’s continued evolution from operating more like a wholesaler to operations more truly as a retailer, Crane related, “There’s always lots going on in our industry with outside (third party) merchandisers.” Ace stores typically have 25-30,000 SKU’s in each store and warehouse some 60,000 items to manage the variety of offerings. Within their network about 2,500 stores of the 4800 total are referenced as Vision 21 stores with the balance considered individually branded retailers. Refining the choices that we as consumers see on a day-to-day basis makes for more third party work.

“We see continued changes even with consistent offerings like we’ve had. Do we really need to offer store customers a full eight feet of padlocks or can their needs be met with four feet? Do we really need three lines of products when maybe two gives customers sufficient choices?” The result is continual development of new planograms in the changing home improvement business that allow for more niche products and private label products like Ace’s signature paint department and continual aisle and shelf adjustments.

Echoing the recruitment sentiment is Ted Forthofer, Director of Field Service Support with American Greetings, Cleveland, OH. “We engage some 12,000 part-time merchandisers and are always ready to look to NARMS to attract candidates for merchandising positions.”

“We also have had some special occasions where we needed third party representation and were able to source extra help for display repair project and have relied on our connections through NARMS to get that job done,” concludes Forthofer.

As mentioned earlier, manufacturing companies continue to join NARMS, often for a variety of reasons. Having positive past experience with another NARMS member company, Dave Balkaran, senior manager, retail operations for Spin Master, Ltd, Toronto, ON recently urged that the toy company join the NARMS family. “Having helped develop a merchandising effort before, I needed The Recruiter to help develop our own staff,” says Balkaran.

“As we start to recruit our own team across Canada, the effort will be kind of a proving ground,” says Balkaran. “What sort of return can we get from either using a third party source or developing our own talent pool?” Consistent with the Canadian/U.S. comparative model, Spin Master seeks to develop a smaller system of 12 people for Canada and based on their experience, will then determine its best methods to use to develop coverage across the rest of North America.

“Changes in the modern marketplace bring new challenges to the equation; with field operations driven by mobile solutions and sales force automation,” says Balkaran.

Balkaran also is looking forward to the developing NARMS accreditation program as an extra tool to help in third party company recruitment. “It won’t change the basic question which is: ‘Are they the right company?’” says Balkaran, “but may give us basic shortcut and comforting assistance in answer to basic questions on capability and reliability when we seek third party help.”

Not all members were available for visiting as we prepared for this story on manufacturer and retailer member use of NARMS member programs and offerings. Many companies are approached continuously to join membership organizations, making dues justification an equally constant challenge.

We trust that NARMS membership offers manufacturers and retailers a unique opportunity and experience in the realm of retail marketing and support services and their testimony bears out this truth. Whether seeking access to third party service companies that represent the gamut of association membership diversity, access to database of people looking for work, access to post professional positions in the Career Connection or posting in-store position in the JobBank, accessing networking opportunities within the retail support industry or striving to help have a positive influence on raising industry standards and behavior; we believe NARMS membership makes business sense.

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You Can Always Sell More Part 2

Welcome to our second article in the series “You Can Always Sell More: How To Improve Any Sales Force!”

NARMS International, in partnership with GreatSalesSkills.com is offering this article series to help you improve your sales organization and increase your competitive advantage. Two versions of each article are available. The first is this abridged version published in this magazine. A more complete article including extensive action suggestions is also posted at www.GreatSalesSkills.com/NARMS. Register by entering your e-mail address and ‘NARMS’ as your password.

In our first article we discussed why it is so hard to improve any sales force. In this second article we will now discuss how to improve your sales growth process by making sure you make the six management commitments needed to generate long-term change and success within your sales team.

The six commitments needed to generate long-term change and success within your sales force
Though all sales leaders want increased sales, profits and success, most don’t know how to begin leading a team through change. The long-term improvement of a sales team requires leadership to implement, or at least consent to the following, six simple, yet critical commitments to a team’s long-term success:

1st - Commitment To Values
If all team members do not share a common set of values there will be guaranteed conflicts and disagreements on how to progress and how to define success. This becomes especially critical when a team experiences a change of leadership, company ownership or the merger of different companies.

The first and most critical initiative is for you to define what values are most important and non-negotiable within your company and team. It is also critical to identify what specific values will never be tolerated. What can you do to insure all members of your team either share, or are comfortable with a common set of values?

2nd - Commitment To Leadership
You can only lead a team if all members individually agree to follow you. Your leadership power comes from three sources…

Personal power is the strongest and comes from one’s ability to persuade and attract others to want to follow. But personal power can only be earned.

The second leadership power is informational power. Whomever has the most information benefiting others will be viewed as a leader by the rest of the team.

The third but least effective power, positional power, is the easiest power to achieve yet is also the weakest to maintain long-term.

What can you do to increase your leadership power in each of these three critical areas?

3rd - Commitment To Communications Structures
An organization increases their success and ability to lead when it has more accurate, current and complete information. In most organizations management constantly demands more information and reports while the sales team keeps complaining about excessive reporting and paperwork preventing them from spending more time with customers.

Review all management information requests of the sales force. Test your team’s openness, especially your most senior players, to see how open they are to receiving coaching assistance with their selling situations.

4th - Commitment to Responsibilities and Expectations
Everyone from senior management down to your customers all have responsibilities as well as expectations of what your team will provide. The responsibilities of team members have to match the expectations of managers, and the responsibilities of managers have to match the expectations of their team. Are you reviewing these areas of responsibility and expectations on a regular basis?

5th - Commitment To Rewards and Consequences
The greater the risks and expectations you have for someone the greater the rewards need to be offered for their success. Why would anyone take significant risks if there were not also significant rewards available for success? Are the payoffs in balance with the risk and commitments being asked?

6th - Commitment to Focus & Strategy
Ask your sales team these three questions to learn if they share a common selling focus and strategy:

Question 1: Can you define the attributes or shared values of our “core” customers?

Question 2: How would you answer a prospect who asked, “Why, based on all the competitive alternatives available to me do I want to buy from you?”

Question 3: What business do you not want? Under what conditions are you not the best choice for a customer?

If your entire team shares the same selling focus and strategy, then all answers will be consistent. But if your team, like the majority of sales teams, is unfocused and inconsistent with their selling strategies their answers to these strategic questions will vary significantly.

How did your sales team do with the questions covered in this article?
How consistent is the focus and selling strategies of your team? Are they all “rowing in the same direction” or are they all scattered in their focus and beliefs as to why their best customers buy from you?

Once these six components of team commitment are in alignment then the next steps are to work to increase the skills of your sales leadership and the selling skills of your team members.

In our next article in this series we will discuss how mastering the five central leadership values can dramatically increase your ability to successfully lead your sales team.

Want even more information? My latest book “You Can Always Sell More - How To Improve Any Sales Force” outlines the entire process described in these articles. Order by calling 800-526-0074 or through www.GreatSalesSkills.com/NARMS (and receive your NARMS sponsored discount). If it’s your first visit, register for our site by entering your e-mail address and ‘NARMS’ as your password.

I congratulate you for your interest in continuing to work through these articles as you strengthen the skills and competitive advantage of your sales team. May you enjoy the process.

Reprinted with permission; “You Can Always Sell More- How To Improve Any Sales Force” ISBN #0-471-73915-4 John Wiley & Sons.)
Copyright 2007 Jim Pancero, Inc.

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Sharing MSO

We’re happy to report busy times for the NARMS MSO Committee since our last update. Specifically, this edition will recap our summer MSO committee meeting along with comments from Vickie Alarie from Alarie Consulting concerning efforts to update the ROI study along with highlights from a recent manufacturer share group discussion that was sponsored by NARMS.

The MSO committee is proud to announce the addition of Tabitha Williams-Peret, the VP of Operations for Lawrence Merchandising, and Tracy Neff, the Vice President of Syndicated Sales and Service for BDS Marketing. Both Tabitha and Tracy bring years of industry experience and knowledge to the team. We are grateful that they have chosen to share their considerable talents with us!

In July, the MSO committee convened in Denver, Colorado for its mid-year meeting. We discussed a wide array of topics with the primary focus on planning for the 2008 conference and the ROI study. In addition, we discussed the need to update the training manual and prepared for the Manufacturer roundtable discussion. Due to the limited space for this column, a brief recap of each area is provided below:

2008 Conference Planning
It is standard for the MSO committee to begin planning for the 2008 conference at its mid-year meeting and this year was no exception. The committee will typically make recommendations for the conference workshop based on member feedback, the previous year’s conference survey and the state of industry. Our intention is to keep topics relevant and attempt to incorporate experts to speak in each particular area. While we have not finalized the subjects yet, here are a few that were recommended.

Technology, now and in the future
Seeing Your Business through Your Clients’ Eyes – after the resounding success of the 2007 workshop, “Seeing your business through your reps eyes”; the committee is putting a spin on this year’s conference. We will attempt to build a database inclusive of quantitative and subjective feedback provided by manufacturers/retailers in all industries. As this is in its’ infancy, we will share more information as it becomes available.

We welcome your feedback as to the direction of the workshops. If you would like to recommend any additional topics for consideration, please forward them on to membership@narms.com.

ROI Study - Update thoughts of Vickie Alarie
Everyone likely would agree that the ROI Merchandising Study presented by IRI at the NARMS Spring Conference in Tucson proved that marketing products through the use of store-level merchandising initiatives benefits manufacturers and retailers. However, the NARMS Board and the MSO committee agree that the study was unable to isolate specific returns associated with utilizing merchandising forces to support those efforts. During the mid-year meeting, study objectives were refined and a sub-committee formed to ensure completion of this important final component of the ROI study. I am pleased to have been selected to assist in achieving the goal of documenting the increased sales and profit realized from using merchandising forces.

The committee is currently in the process of gathering case studies and data that substantiate a positive ROI from new item implementation, planogram execution and display/endcap placement. If your company utilizes merchandisers to ensure that your products, or your clients’ products, are on the selling floor, and you have a success story with corroborating data that you’d like to share, please contact Steve Donzelli, or myself (vickie@alarieconsulting.com) for more information. If your story fits the criteria, we’ll be happy to submit your information for consideration by the ROI committee.

Ultimately, we hope to include a minimum of 10 solid studies across various classes of trade. The conclusions gleaned from these studies will become the basis for a sales tool that can be used to discuss the ROI of merchandising forces.

Training Manual
While long overdue; the MSO committee will be updating the Merchandising Proficiency Training Program manual that is currently found on the NARMS website. Our intention will be to ensure that it is relevant to the ever-changing retail industry and meets the objectives of our member community. As such, we have designated a sub-committee, comprised of Steve Wilkinson, Tory Edge and Tabitha Williams-Peret, to be responsible for its overall development. Should you like to provide any assistance or guidance to the committee, please send an email to membership@narms.com.

Manufacturer Round Table Discussion
NARMS recently presented a manufacturer share group in Dallas, Texas. In preparation for this session, the manufacturers expressed an interest in learning more about the inner-workings of MSO companies. NARMS obliged and as part of this two-day gathering, the MSO committee was asked to provide its perspective on how an MSO worked. With collaboration from the committee, Steve Donzelli presented and engaged in a highly interactive discussion with the manufacturers, highlighting five key areas:
1. Goals of an MSO
2. Labor Planning, specifically recruiting and Retention
3. Financial Management
4. Reporting and Technology
5. Creating a Sustainable Partnership with an MSO

In its collaborative preparative discussion, the committee spent much of its attention on helping the manufacturers understand the importance of pre-planning, favorable payment terms, measuring success and accountability and the challenges associated with labor laws and inconsistent work loads. In turn during their discussion, the manufacturers asked that MSO’s find ways to add creativity and meaningful value to their organizations. Most importantly, manufacturers encouraged MSO’s to deliver on commitments and not to over-promise. The session was a huge success and one that we hope becomes a regular sharing occurrence between these two groups.

As always, we thank all of you for your continued support and confidence in NARMS and the MSO committee. As your representatives of the MSO community, we always welcome your feedback and look forward to collectively building a better and brighter future!

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Event Marketers

The first of a series of member conference calls was held on July 21, 2007 to begin to identify the common issues facing the members of this division of NARMS. By listening to the opinions, suggestions and expectations of all members of this division, we expect to establish the key initiatives for 2007-8.

The following members showed their interest and support by participating in the first session: Pat Blackwell, Lynda Childs, Jo Clark, Ethan Charas, Jayne Ann Conklin, Debbie Davis, Judy Einbinder, Susan Irwin-Simmons, Beverly Jones, Jennifer Kinner, Judi Koch, Lynda Makol-Davidson, Tony Maichen, Kit Moss, Sadie McGoodwin, Julie Nichols, Brenda Sloan, Todd Taranto & Mary Lou Toscano.

Question:
What would you like to learn/see at the 2008 Conference? Should we consider setting aside more time for Event Marketing topics and discussions? What would motivate you to attend?

Response summary:
• Industry updates. Who are the key players?
• Outbreak sessions on legal and ethical questions.
• Consider Event Marketing members arriving a day before the conference or staying an extra day to focus on common issues, networking, etc.
• Specific session on how to get more value from the NARMS membership.
• How to identify and where to connect with new clients?
• How to make NARMS the recruiting website for event marketing?
• Design conference agenda to avoid overlapping sessions.
• Special session on how to recruit/hire to avoid discrimination and legal issues.

Question:
Do we need a program to upgrade the quality of our collective staffing services? If so, how do we do this?
Reponse summary:
• We need to upgrade the recruiting process; develop special testing to help find the right person for the job.
• Make sure the demo/event people are doing their job.
• Upgrade the website with demo/event information & expectations.
• Insist on personal interviews with all candidates
• Launch a recruiting program like YouTube, the popular video sharing website where users can upload, view and share video clips; or like My Space, the popular social networking website offering an interactive, user-submitted network of friends, personal profiles, blogs, groups, photos, music and videos internationally.
*Develop a field training program & ranking system for event personnel.
• Support the NARMS member Accreditation Program to upgrade the performance of our member companies.

Question:
What suggestions do you have for the NARMS Accreditation program as it relates to this division?

Response summary:
• The accreditation program started because the quality of demos and business practices varied widely. National companies hired regional companies whose practices ranged radically. The hope is that retailers and manufacturers want to hire companies that satisfy the NARMS ACCREDITATION requirements in their business practices.
• The accreditation initiative for the event marketing division should be the primary objective for this committee for 2007-08. We must upgrade the overall quality of our collective staffing services.

Question:
What can we do as a group to upgrade the image of event personnel and the industry?
Response summary:
• Design and support the accreditation program.
• Promote on-line testing for event personnel & upgrade periodically. *Market the NARMS recruiting process.
• Establish standards for a qualified EP and determine how to attract candidates to this type of work.
• Upgrade the demonstrator image by upgrading the demonstrator.
• Market our services, certify our product and create a blog for our Division.

The session was invigorating because everyone agreed that a COMMON GOLDEN THREAD has to be woven into the fabric of our business. WE NEED TO UPGRADE THE QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE OF OUR PRODUCT (event personnel) through better recruiting, training & management techniques.

I invite all of you to send any comments and suggestions to kmoss@kitmoss.com. We need to hear from every member of the Event Marketing Division. Also, mark your calendar for the next conference call on Wednesday, Sept. 15 at 1:00 PM Central Standard Time. Watch your e-mail for the preliminary agenda but please plan on joining in on the call that day by dialing 1 866 740 1260 and use group code 3421960.

Also, start your planning now to attend the 2008 NARMS Spring Conference in Williamsburg, VA. Some early program placements include:

Dr. Kenneth Herbst of Wake Forest University will lead two workshops for our division. Sunday’s workshop is entitled:
Food Marketing is About Three Things: Sampling, Sampling and Sampling; with Monday’s program element to feature a roundtable discussion on all aspects of in-store, hands-on marketing.
Perils and Pearls – Industry Chatroom, a reprise tradition of having Event Marketers share both the successful and not-so-successful stories from the past year in a chat room setting.

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Broker Basics

Our ongoing IFBA ad campaign currently appearing as a monthly ad flight in Supermarket News magazine has drawn attention and positive comments from IFBA members and manufacturers alike. It has also drawn the attention of some of our esteemed competitors who have questioned the tone of the campaign. I thought it might be worthwhile to review the campaigns genesis and purpose as we attempt to compete in the post national roll-up world of the food broker.

When the IFBA was formed in 2004 as an independent group within the sales and marketing industry, it was done in order to split off from our former brethren of the Association of Sales and Marketing Agencies (ASMC), which was formerly known as the National Association of Food Brokers. The independent brokers believed that ASMC had become dominated by the agenda of the larger national agencies, whose vision was to offer services from coast to coast. The independent brokers felt that they needed to have a separate voice and platform from which to differentiate themselves from our larger and more “corporate” competitors. The independent brokers felt that they reflected the more entrepreneurial spirit of an industry founded by some truly “free spirits.” The “corporate” essence to which I refer can be best described by the fact that two of the national agencies have subsequently entered the world of Wall Street by being bought and sold by public companies or private equity players. The term “financially driven” has been introduced to the lexicon describing our competitor agencies.

Unique to our IFBA membership division within NARMS, independent broker-members contribute into a special IFBA advertising and brand building fund at a level of 80% of their NARMS dues. These monies are then used in a campaign to showcase how the network of independent brokers stands ready to serve the needs of manufacturers and retail buyers. A fundamental theme of this campaign is to stress our entrepreneurial roots and management philosophy. Another theme is to compare and contrast ourselves to our competitors in areas where we see a difference. Pretty simple. The IFBA campaign has given us the voice needed to offset the ad campaigns and solicitations of our competitors.

As independent brokers, we pride ourselves in our in-depth knowledge and our relationships within a local marketing area. Today there are several independent brokers in areas that have been abandoned by national brokers who have closed offices and re-organized on a more regional basis. This, too, is a theme of our campaign—we are local. Our goal is to provide successful sales results to our manufacturers through superior salesmanship and service to our customers.

Our growing “IFBA brand” also means that we are networked to provide sales, marketing and service options all across North America, no matter the geographic or customer needs of a manufacturer. Today a manufacturer can have the option of utilizing a “best broker” approach to the business where independents can be linked among themselves or with nationals depending on manufacturer needs. We believe that performance should drive the process, not the convenience of “one stop shopping.” Independents will continue to perform. Our survival depends on it.

The ad campaign is the result of the effort of the IFBA advertising committee, ably chaired by Jim Hall, a member of the IFBA Divisional Committee and a founding member and former Chairman of NARMS. If you have any comments or questions regarding the campaign, feel free to contact Jim (jhall@arm-retail.com) or myself (cohare@johare.com) at any time.

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Refining and Enhancing In-store Service

The NARMS Manufacturers’ Division share group recently had their semi-annual meeting. Usually this meeting occurs in late fall but due to unfinished work from the annual spring conference; the group decided to meet in July. The meeting was successful in problem solving and brainstorming elements and included one departure from the norm. We had a special presentation by Steve Donzelli, representing the MSO Division. This small agenda change may almost go unnoticed or seem insignificant until we explain further.

The immediate goal of having MSO companies represented at the meeting was to better understand what the MSOs need from manufacturers for a mutually successful business model. Steve represented the MSOs brilliantly. Achieving this goal opens the door to much larger opportunities through NARMS.

The greater goal might be to blend the varied agendas of the membership to discover the premium commonality. NARMS is primarily about in-store retail services. Although the different groups and companies employ special niches and unique channels, the commonality is supreme. As we refine, enhance, and promote this commonality our membership in NARMS will be rewarded. As we focus on in-store service the differences between the diversity of divisions of NARMS disappears. This focused effort also reveals that there is little difference between our greatest challenges and the in-store challenges of the retailer.

Refining and enhancing in-store service is to focus on three all-important topics:
• Finding employees
• Training
• Communication

You may notice, reducing turnover is absent from the list. Our spring conference discussion at the Tucson meeting suggests that success in the aforementioned topics reduces turnover.
Finding Employees
Every member at NARMS participates in this event far too frequently. Better utilization of recruitment techniques from “word of mouth” to the Job Bank pays immediate dividends. Interviewing and screening techniques must be developed. We all draw from the larger pool of candidates and finding the person who is the absolute best match for our organizations is critical. Sometimes, we may think that the quality of candidates has diminished over time. I happen to believe that the quality of candidates has remained stable. The greatest change over time has been the cost of a vacancy. The cost of an open territory has risen to the point that we sometimes accept a lesser candidate for quick availability. Although we all know the downside to this decision tree, we still find ourselves caught in the trap.

Training
Retailers pick up the tab for all in-store services. It does not matter what service you provide or who you bill. Manufacturers know the cost of service is ultimately reflected in the cost of goods. The only things a retailer will pay for are services they cannot provide for themselves. Any other service a retailer pays for detracts from their competitive position. Reducing this proposition means any services you provide out of “convenience” becomes a burden to the retailer’s balance sheet. The only exception to this rule is if the “other service” you provide can be done with less expense to the retailer than if they provide the service for themselves. The conclusion means our people must be intricately trained in specific projects for efficiency. Any advances in training provided by NARMS may become invaluable to the membership and the retailer.

Communications
The phrase is nebulous and worn but still very important. Most of us still think in terms of “top down” communications. Reality dictates communication to be circular. Although there are many technological opportunities to communicate today, nothing beats good old “face time”. Ideas provided by NARMS that engage us in better communications are vital.

Why the plea for a cooperative effort to enhance in-store service?

The idea for a cooperative effort from the membership at NARMS is rather simple.

I’m not sure any person can fully develop a strategy to reach the pinnacle of in-store service. I know I cannot. A cooperative effort allows us to utilize the break-through ideas of others. Relating to ideas, a friend of mine claims he “steals shamelessly but shares generously”. While I didn’t completely agree with the statement, I think you get the idea.

According to recent research I’ve seen, over 50% of the merchandiser’s surveyed work for more than one merchandising company. The implication here is if Teters substantially raises the bar for in-store service, over 50% of the employees will carry the advanced ideas to other companies. The opposite is also true; as other in-store service companies performing at a higher level of excellence may result in better performance in behalf of Teters.

A look at the future:
As we become wholly focused on bettering in-store service, the retailer will be more naturally attracted to NARMS; not to lead and direct, but to share in the learning experience. If this feat is attainable, everyone’s programs benefit and we’ll see winners at all levels. When this feat is accomplished, the circle of NARMS membership becomes complete.

P.S.
In an effort to help our base of manufacturer members within NARMS network, a new Manufacturer Division List Serv has been established. Yet another NARMS membership benefit, this will enable the 41-manufacturer members to have ongoing conversations throughout the year.

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Networks Work

There may be more value in our contacts than we sometimes realize. This is according to Ranjay Gulati, a specialist in strategy and organizations who has researched the impact of network resources for the past fifteen years. Gulati currently serves as the Michael L. Nemmers Distinguished Professor of Strategy & Organization at the Kellogg Graduate School of Management, Northwestern University.

What are network resources? Fundamentally they are social networks that may include suppliers, customers, and employees. These networks (such as NARMS International provides its member companies) provide us valuable information and assistance not always available from inside our own companies.

Network resources should be treated just like the internal assets of our companies. Internal assets such as people, technology, and intellectual property are developed over time usually through significant investment. It basically restates that old cliché, “it’s not what you know; it’s who you know!” Networks provide value by complementing our existing resources and allowing us to leverage the internal assets of our partners with minimal added investment.

Mr. Gulati cites Starbucks as a company that has successfully grown their brand and store count while maintaining a focus on quality; greatly because of their ability to leverage their network. Starbucks reinvented a category that had been in decline for years by introducing in the 1980’s what only residents of Europe and Seattle knew at the time – the experience of a coffeehouse.

Selling an overall experience in one store or even a single market is achievable. Replicating the same experience across the country (and globe) and doing so across multiple channels is a Herculean task. Starbucks recognized very quickly that energized employees and suppliers along with their other key partners were needed to keep their product consistent as the store (and destination) count has increased exponentially.

Professional Installation Companies (PICsm) can benefit similarly by understanding the importance and value of network resources. As programs become more complex there is an added challenge for service companies to maintain consistency from store to store, location to location. Partnerships can be developed to strategically add skills and capabilities that complement our own internal strengths. Depending on the client program, relationships may be needed with electricians, painters, logistics providers, technology companies, as well as other NARMS service organizations to assure total success.

The PIC trade publication “Building out the Future” (available at www.narms.com) provides more detail on the types of services and specialty skills sometimes required for complex, national rollout programs. Clearly, our PIC and other service companies can provide added value to their clients when we include the added skill sets and expertise of a well-developed network of partners.

The PIC Committee met in late August with full agenda to develop and finalize our planned break-out sessions for the 2008 NARMS Spring Conference and site where I know we’ll find some time to continue our development of an extensive network with our old and new NARMS friends during the breaks.

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News and On the Move

Opportunity Knocks
pleased to note board of director action at the July meeting will promote new retailer involvement in the association in offering introductory complimentary membership to new retailer members interested in taking advantage of the networking and industry contribution that association membership provides. Obviously, to get the maximum value out of NARMS affiliation, these retailers will need to invest in expanded listing fees for use of The Recruiter and pay normal rates for postings on JobBank. We ask all other NARMS members to give considerable thought to promoting this opportunity with retailer contacts. If you have suggested retailers for this new membership initiative, please forward the specific contact information to membership@narms.com.

Moe’s Back:
Moe Rodriguez, NARMS’ Chairman during 2003-2004 and the first Manufacturer representative to attain that position has returned to NARMS as an Associate member in a new company called Moe Rodriguez/NPS. Moe represented Pfizer during his tenure as Chairman and recently created a new firm focusing on Market Information/Analytics, Marketing/Advertising and Master Broker Services from his base in Morris Plains, New Jersey. It is great to have Moe back in the fold with the new membership continuing to the ever-growing new record membership within NARMS as we push towards and past the 550 membership mark. Congratulations to Moe and to all of us! Welcome home!

Spring Conference: Stepping Up
Jim Louder, Campbell Sales Company, will join Gregg Morrison as NARMS Spring Conference vice-chair in 2008 and then chair of NARMS Spring Conference in 2009 at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, CO.

On The Move:
Charlie Fanning: NARMS boardimember Charlie Fanning has taken on new responsibilities as Sr. Vice President of Operations, Eastern US, for MSO member company Driveline Retail Merchandising. His contact information includes home office phone at 978-433-3301, or e-mail him at cfanning@storecast.com.
Steve Donzelli: NARMS MSO Committee Co-Chair Steve Donzelli has joined with MSO member company Chuck Latham Associates, Inc. as the Senior Vice President of Operations. His office number is 800-249-3768 (ext. 214), or e-mail him at Steve_Donzelli@clareps.com.

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A Fast and Fleeting Summer

For those of us who live north of the Mason-Dixon Line it is an on-going battle to make summers last as long as we can. It seems like we work so hard to get to summer and with a flash it is gone. Of course there are some positives: the weed pulling season isn’t as long as if you were in the south and certainly for those of us who play golf, the frustration is short-lived since by the time we find our “A-game” the snow flakes are already falling. And of course I am not complaining, but work does get in the way of all these remarkable pastimes. Maybe an office without windows would prevent all the diversions.

Talking about work, it has been a full and rewarding summer at NARMS this year. Historically the summer months are allocated to initial planning for the upcoming Spring Conference and the various divisional meetings and this year was no exception. Here are some of the highlights that are already planned for the 13th Annual Spring Conference scheduled for April 12-15, 2008 at the Williamsburg Lodge in Williamsburg, Virginia.

A highly focused four hour Human Resource Workshop on Sunday morning (8:00-12:00 Noon) emphasizing Recruitment, Retention and H.R. Issues. The session will be presented by Talentkeepers of Orlando, Florida, a well respected web-based human resource service and is planned for NARMS members who need an update on H.R.

All three keynote speakers will also participate in what we are calling Keynote Debriefing & Internalization Sessions immediately following each keynote presentation. The debriefing sessions will last 90 minutes and will provide registrants the opportunity to have their questions answered and for more intensive explanation of the presentation.

The three keynote speakers already committed for Williamsburg are: Scott Deming – Creating the Ultimate Customer Experience; Harry Paul – Fish! A Remarkable Way to Boost Morale and Improve Results and John Moore – Word of Mouth Marketing Basic Training.

Two General Interest Sessions (Rita Wilhelm – The Dollars and Sense of On-Line Communities and Margie Johnson – Retail Realities and Trends) will highlight the Monday afternoon period that will also include unstructured time so that you can make appointments with Exhibitors, participate in a Technology Panel Discussion or use our Individual Meeting Rooms for networking, B2B opportunities.

Harold Lloyd will make a return visit to the NARMS Spring Conference as the facilitator of the Retail/Manufacturer Panel General Session scheduled for Tuesday morning from 9:00 to 10:45 while also presenting a workshop entitled Help Wanted…Building the Team of Your Dreams immediately following at 11:00 a.m.

Dr. Kenneth Herbst of Wake Forest University will be conducting two workshops for the Event Marketing Division on Sunday and Monday. The Sunday workshop is entitled: Food Marketing is About Three Things: Sampling, Sampling and Sampling with the Monday session as a roundtable discussion on all aspects of in-store, hands-on marketing.

This year’s conference will be headquartered at the newly renovated Williamsburg Lodge but you will have at least three price points to choose from when selecting where you want to rest your head overnight. The lodge has a very attractive $199.00 rate but we have also made arrangements with the Woodlands Hotel & Suites for rooms as modestly priced as $120.00. The Woodlands is accessible via the Colonial Williamsburg shuttle bus service.

The Annual NARMS Golf Outing is scheduled for Sunday at the course that hosted the NCAA’s Division 1 Men’s Tournament this year – The Golden Horseshoe and the Closing Night Event will be a progressive dinner with individual attendees picking which Colonial Tavern to partake in dependent on their selection of entrée. Entertainment and dessert will be offered back at the lodge to top off the evening.

Gregg Morrison of DAVACO, Inc. and the PIC Division Chairman will serve as the Chair of the 2008 Spring Conference.

Once activated, conference registration will be available at www.narms.com with an Early Bird Discount until December 31st.

NARMS members are receiving a Spring Conference Sponsor brochure with details of how to get involved with the mailing of this newsletter. The Spring Conference could not be anything like it has become without the financial support of our sponsors. Please see the enclosed brochure for details.

As you can see, much has already been planned for the Spring Conference with much more to come. The MSO, PIC and Event Marketing Division Committees all met this summer and are busily working to plan their individual educational sessions that are the backbone of the Spring Conference. As always, we are taking to heart the conference survey recommendations and suggestions in preparation for the 2008 event.

The Manufacturer Division also met this summer in a Share Group format with representatives from 10 member companies sharing their successes and needs. Discussions on labor and the ROI Research were highlights of the gathering. As a result of the meeting, a new Manufacturer Division List Serv was established so that all 42 Manufacturer members can continue the conversation throughout the year. The next Manufacturer Share Group Meeting is scheduled for Saturday, April 12th from 1:00 to 6:00 PM in conjunction with the Spring Conference in Williamsburg. Manufacturers are encouraged to come early and participate in all that your membership provides.

Finally, we are continuing to enhance the NARMS ROI Study that debuted in Tucson this April and is available for download at the NARMS website with additional Case Studies that will give the membership a more “hands-on” approach to the research. The NARMS Accreditation Program is proceeding in its developmental stage with an enormous amount of work still ahead but with the satisfaction and knowledge that the membership buy-in is very positive.

Enjoy the remainder of the summer and do find time for yourself and loved ones.

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