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Discussion Forum Topic - THE IMPORTANCE OF VISION
Long term success is based on how we can better relate to one another. It is a better way of doing business, one that is customer directed, process oriented, and in which decisions are based on facts. No longer is long term success assured by wholly intuitive, seat of the pants marketing.
Of course, there have been, and always will be, exceptions to prove this rule. In the food business, these will be based usually on products that are in high demand - ones that consumers will do or pay anything to get - or those that are associated with, and introduced by, marketers with deep pockets. Even then, if the product does not meet a specific consumer need at the right quality and right price, it will be short lived.
We can no longer simply afford to think up a new food product, prepare it, and try to market it.
How does all this connect to the food entrepreneur? How does the entrepreneur, wearing all the hats at once, maintain focus? The answer is VISION. Simply put, your vision is what you envision yourself being (as food entrepreneur, professional, spouse, parent, neighbor, citizen, etc.) in about 5 to 10 years. It is your dream.
As a food entrepreneur, your vision should be a positive and inspiring statement of where your business will be at that time. A clearly articulated vision will help you and all your stakeholders (anyone with an interest in your venture) keep on track. Important elements of your organizational vision might include: Reputation, products to offer, values, types of customer, working environment, manner in which your people would work together, and how you and you team would handle both good and bad times.
You will want to share your dream with, and solicit input from, these stakeholders if you are to develop the appropriate response. Revisit your vision from time to time. See how it can be constantly refined. Your vision will help you determine if the task or activity you are doing now is adding value to getting from where you are, to where you ENVISION yourself being in 5 or 10 years.
What you are doing, or about to do in food marketing, is part of a system. If you can develop the right supplier partnering (inputs), understand variation in your process (actions), and be able to set measurable quality standards (outputs), you have a substantially greater chance of delighting your customer.
To delight your customers, everyone involved must devote sufficient time to education and training in developing a quality philosophy. This is probably the most difficult part of this process...taking assets away from what we do best - fire fighting - and focusing them on long term thinking.
The point: Food marketing, and the business supporting it, cannot continue in the same vein as it has in the past. The food industry is notoriously product driven. We are being snookered out of profit generating opportunities because we lack vision - a vision based on perceived customer quality standards. Make the bold move. Cut the waste. Set aside a half hour or more each week to think about your vision. See if the path you have selected is headed in the desired direction.
Assumption: You want to develop, produce, administer, market, and sell food that is valued and wanted by customers. As the quality of your work improves, so does your productivity. And, costs go down. Knowing how to effect this requires a Strategic Framework.
For more information, please see Chapter 2 of From Kitchen to Market, 4th Edition.
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Share your vision! Go to the "Managing Your Enterprise" section of our Discussion Forum and let us know your organizational dream.
Anyone interested in asking questions and getting answers about specialty food marketing is invited to click through. FE responds to all inquiries. <>
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