107: Foodservice promos... making the most of them

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EPISODE 107

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

Part 2 of 3-part series

If you remember nothing else during our series about the three P's of DSR Communications (Preview, Promote and Position), remember you should always ask yourself...

WHY should any DSR (or customer) care about
your new product (let alone your promotion)? 

DSRInsightsLogo300pngMost likely there are dozens (if not hundreds) of relatively equal products a DSR can offer.  So, when it comes to a new product promotion...  odds are DSRs won't care any more (or less) about your promotion than the stacks of other offers sitting in their car trunks. 

The perceived "value" of your product promotion has almost ZERO impact on its success.  Three other characteristics, however, will attract DSRs to your promo over the competition:

  • Timing: Is the promotion available when the DSR needs it (and rarely do they need it at the time of the actual launch date)? Promotions lasting a month or two are generally worthless to many DSRs. Short promo periods don't give operators or DSRs time to consider it among all the other chaos going on during the day. Promotions should last at least six months. Heck, DSRs will lose (and find again) the info several times during this period (Bill's comment!). Or DSRs (and operators) will instantly lose interest if they know the promo is available... but the product is yet to be stocked at distributor (listen to the short video comment from the executive chefs from a prestigious North Carolina golf course).

  • Training: Promos without product training are like the Jay Leno Show at 10 p.m. It's a complete disconnect! Brief demos by brokers during sales meetings are a great start... but your product will compete alongside dozens of other products being introduced during the meeting. And just hope your product isn't the last demo of the day! By then, many DSRs are doodling or drooling (and/or snoring). Getting focused attention through something like AFDR's DSRSmart program ensures you get DSRs' undivided attention, and ultimately build comfort about your product. DSRs sell what they know... if there's a promo attached, all the better!
  • Business reality: DSRs, if they're lucky, will make 50-cents to $1 each time they sell a case of your stuff. You'll most certainly lose them with or without a promotion if they don't see any long-term financial upside. It simply isn't worth working real hard to push a $3 case customer rebate (or a $3 spiff) when the odds are they can only sell a case or two per month. 

In other words, DSRs need and want promotions.  But promotions generally work best when:

  • Customers are finally ready to try a product (which could be months down the road).
  • The DSR is comfortable with presenting the product to the customer.
  • Both the DSR and operator know the product will work and lead to profits.

In this week's episode, DSR Live co-hosts DSR Dave Miesse and Bill Hornung talk more about the picky promotional process that drives DSRs crazy (both in a good and bad way!).

Click below to play this week's show...