Robert M. Kerr

Food and Agricultural Products Center

 

By: Andrea Graves

 

When people ask what I do for a living, I tell them my title is a Business Planning and Marketing Specialist technically, but at the Robert M. Kerr Food and Agricultural Products Center I wear many hats and perform a diverse list of duties. These duties include project management, teaching and organizing workshops, business relations, marketing and business adviser or as I like to call it – a therapist.

 

A big part of my day is giving therapy, uh, I mean business and marketing advice, out to the clients I mentor and work with almost daily. I have 30 years of experience in the food business and the list below contains some of the best advice I’ve gained during my career that I still preach today.

 

Take the time to plan.

I get it. We all want to get to the fun part, whatever your fun part is, but usually it entails the point when a brand-new product is being made and you finally have it physically in your hand to show off and sell. It could be the plan of building your own production facility or a goal of exporting products. Clients usually want to do this the quickest and the least expensive route as possible, and taking the time to properly plan can get hurried or done incompletely.

 

Whatever the goal, you must have a plan, or your chances of success diminish significantly. Put the plan in writing and be specific. Answer questions such as who will be responsible for certain tasks? How much will this project cost? What if your original goal doesn’t work, what is the contingency plan? What is a realistic timeline for the project? Can you afford it if it takes much longer? Have you fully explored if this is profitable? Is it feasible? How are you going to use marketing and communications? Be sure to go into detail in this plan. Reach out to industry resources such as FAPC to read through it and give you feedback. 

 

Planning keeps the focus on the task at hand for it is easy to veer off and go down rabbit holes. A plan may not work out, but it is better to find out now than after wasting time and money has been spent. Planning is a good use of time.

 

The world doesn’t center around you.

One thing I really admire about entrepreneurs is their drive and strong belief in the food product they want to make. They believe with all of their being that their recipe is the absolute best there is and they are going to change the world with it.  

 

Almost every food company I work with has a great tasting product, but it usually isn’t significantly different than other products in the same category. The BBQ sauce category is a great example. Down the road, as they begin to try to grow their retail sales base or find a copacker, they complain how they seem to get ignored or delayed by others. Why don’t they respond to me, the entrepreneur asks? I am in a hurry and need to get this out on the market. This is when they hopefully they learn the world doesn’t center around them. I tell my clients from the beginning; it takes time to build a food business. Everything will take much longer than you think, it takes perseverance, relationship building, brand building and consistency over many months and even years. The world won’t do it on an unrealistic timeline and under naïve expectations. You must also be the one to drive it and figure out how your product is different than your competition.

 

You can’t be everything to everybody.

Many years ago when I was in sales at my former job at a major food service distributor, my boss used to tell me that everyone eats therefore everyone is your customer. That was technically true then and is still true now, theoretically. Yes, we all eat but pertaining to my clients here at FAPC it is pretty much impossible to sell to every single person in a certain area or even on the planet. Why? 

 

If we were selling a high-end chocolate cake, can you imagine how difficult it would be to sell to those who are diabetic, allergic to eggs, are watching their health, celiacs or target those with little disposable income, let alone to someone who does not like chocolate? It would not make sense to spend time or marketing dollars on those who would not purchase your product.

 

Pick a few positive (preferably unique) attributes about your product and focus on who would be most likely to purchase it. If you choose to use claims such as healthy, gluten free, low sugar, no GMO’s, free range, etc., be absolutely sure your product fits the definition of these claims and research the qualifications in order to do so. Just because you think a food is healthy, doesn’t mean it is legally.

 

The same goes for social media marketing. There are so many platforms out there and unless you have a huge marketing budget and a specialist who just does social media, pick one or two platforms your target audience frequents. Focus and do it well and do it right. There is nothing more frustrating as a consumer who wants to know more about your brand when nothing has been posted on Instagram in months or the last blog entry was written two years ago.   

 

Don’t be afraid to charge what you are worth because you are worth it.

I often preach especially to new entrepreneurs that you never want to compete on just price because there is someone out there that is going to be cheaper. If your high-end chocolate cake is made with special ingredients and takes special steps to make while your customer assistance is above and beyond, you need to charge for it. If your product solves a problem or provides a service and helps your customers, charge for it. I am not advocating for overcharging, but account for the added value your product or business brings to the consumer. People don’t mind paying more if there is a good, valid reason. They will often come back because they too feel the value is worth the additional cost.

 

My final advice is to ask FAPC for assistance at any time. We would be happy to read your plan and help you reach your goals. We have a wealth of diverse experts available with specialties in almost all facets of the food processing industry. Just let us know, we would be glad to help!