Specialty Food Magazine is the leading publication for retailers, manufacturers and foodservice professionals in the specialty food trade. It provides news, trends and business-building insights that help readers keep their businesses competitive.
Issue link: https://specialtyfoodmagazine.epubxp.com/i/55461
EDITOR'S LETTER Taking Your Questions I n our continuing drive to connect you with the information you need to run your business, Specialty Food Media is creating opportuni- ties for you to ask questions of recognized experts in the industry. Te answers will run on specialtyfood.com. We begin this series by focusing on two often complicated aspects of running an enterprise—making smart marketing decisions and, if you run a family business, success- fully avoiding the pitfalls of working with family members. We are tackling the family business area because a large number of companies on both the supply and retail side of our trade are family-owned. Some have been operating successfully into their third or fourth generations, some are just getting started with the intent of passing them along to the owners' children and others are reaching a transitional stage where the next generation is stepping into power. But all face similar challenges and distinct requirements of navigating business operations and familial personalities at the same time. Starting this month, family-owners will be able to ask questions of Otis Baskin, Ph.D., a consultant with The Family Business Consulting Group, who will share his knowledge about the logistics and challenges of running a family business. At- tendees of Fancy Food Show education programs will recall Baskin from seminars such as "How to Develop Your Next Generation of Leadership." He has worked as an advisor with public and private companies around the world, and has expertise in helping families develop governance structures, leadership succession plans, growth strategies and conflict-resolution skills. In his first Q&A;, Baskin addresses tricky issues, such as dealing with personal loan requests from the family busi- ness, handling compensation for family members who occasionally contribute, as well as sharing the most common problem that he's seen derail a family-owned operation. Even if you don't run a family business you may be able to apply some of his strategies and tips to other situations in your company. Marketing, on the other hand, is something that all companies must focus on; specifically, the time, expense and ROI of marketing efforts. In our second online Q&A;, food and beverage brand marketing expert Tammy Katz of Katz Marketing Solutions fields questions such as determining the best social media outlet for your business. Katz discusses which questions to ask yourself before getting started to help determine your goals and recommends the advantages of specific social networks. Throughout her marketing career Katz has launched more than 100 new products with cumulative sales of $2 billion, many for Fortune 500 companies. She serves as adjunct instructor of brand management at Fisher College of Business MBA Program at The Ohio State University and has also provided assessments of companies' growth and branding plans in Specialty Food Magazine's regular feature, Brand Spotlight. You can find these Q&As; at specialtyfood.com/onlinehighlights where they will run on a recurring basis. We're counting on our readers to help grow them by submitting questions, comments and letting us know what other areas of concern you'd like to see covered in the future. |SFM| By Denise Purcell HAVE A COMMENT? Visit specialtyfood.com/dpurcell/onlineq&a; Editor, Specialty Food Magazine dpurcell@nasft.org facebook.com/specialtyfoodmedia MARCH 2012 1