105: What foodservice marketing and white collar crime have in common!

EPISODE 105

By DSR Dave Miesse and Bill Hornung
Co-hosts, DSR Live

OK, which of the above men would you entrust with your family fortune (or the success of your foodservice product line)?  You have to choose based on only what you see... time is ticking.  If you don't choose one, your entire fortune goes away!

We bet most of you will say the guy on the right. He appears to be a happy, confident and professional dude.  The other guy seems a little worn out... maybe even a tad shady with those downtrodden eyes and looking tired and gray.

Well, welcome to the real world of what sales reps face everyday with the BOX you pack your foodservice products in.  All things being equal (and often they are), an operator will choose product A over product B simply because they believe a nicer looking case must be the better choice!

In our little profiling test above (uh oh... we hope the ACLU isn't reading this), you'd actually be screwed whether you picked the guy on the right or left.  Both are notorious white collar criminals. 

The guy on the left is Conrad Black, a former member of the British House of Lords, who was sent to prison on wire and mail fraud charges for stealing millions during the sale of a variety of businesses.

Joseph Nacchio, on the right, is the former CEO of Qwest who also is cooling his heels in prison on insider trading charges.

Warning... a cliché is approaching:  First impressions are everything when  DSRs face operators during product cuttings.  Even though the taste test might be blind (and your product wins), there's a good chance the operator will reverse a decision if your competitor's case looks sleeker than your box. The customer assumes she must have made a mistake because something coming out of THAT BOX couldn't be good.

Still not convinced?  Listen to this week's DSR Insights below when DSR Pat Friel from IFH describes a real-life scenario involving a box of chicken.  Joining in the conversation are DSR Live co-hosts DSR Dave Miesse and Bill Hornung.

P.S.  Yes, only we at DSR Insights could draw parallels between crooked business executives, the color of boxes and frozen chicken.