I stalk my customers online. I’m pretty sure they do the same in return. At M. Tucker, we interact on a multitude of social media outlets to develop trust and understanding. Anyone can see all aspects of my humanity @littlemtucker and see how passionate I am about plates, food, and dining. I learn about the true needs of my partners through intrepid invasion of their personal space. The entire notion that privacy should be a sacred cow in current market conditions is preposterous.
At The Singer Equipment Companies, we don’t believe in cold calling. Instead, we do our homework. We are all forced to respond to the growing expectations of our educated customers. Each dealership and their sales representatives can choose to respond in a number of ways. Our company has made the conscious decision to become “influencers” and use every resource available to understand the unique needs of our partners.
Bradley University Professor of Management Aaron Buchko writes that we are now “competing on information, knowledge, and customer intimacy” rather than traditional sales benchmarks. In the September/October Issue of FEDA News and Views Magazine, I offered my perspective on how the rules of engagement in foodservice have changed and shared insight into my sales strategies.
We took action on our words at the 12th Annual Star Chefs International Chefs Congress at the Brooklyn Expo Center late October. Our sales “SWAT” team met with hundreds of friends from all across the country and used “creativity and innovation to present new products and services that solve problems [our] customer did not know existed.” –Buchko
We partnered with our clients at Café Boulud to showcase artful presentations on some of our exclusive Steelite Dinnerware collections for Little M Tucker. We watched detailed demonstrations of the latest technology from Irinox alongside celebrated chef partners. We enjoyed a generous number of cocktails crafted with mixology gear by Mercer – Barfly. If you haven’t seen these barware accessories and essentials yet, get ready. These affordable stainless, gold, and copper tools will be everywhere, very soon.
At the end of the three day symposium we handed out the innovation awards, just as I have for the past six years. One award went to Rational for their SelfCooking Center XS, the smallest unit they have ever built. Another went to Steelite’s Pier Collection by Robert Gordon, for its natural appearance and neutral, reactive glaze. A third was presented to Vitamix for their Aerating container, which invents an easy way to create new, unique textures from your existing Vita-Prep’s. Our commitment to innovation and endless reinvention is at the forefront of our business model. This is why we sponsor Star Chefs as the exclusive distributor partner and why we champion these awards year after year.
We’re equally proud to share FOH’s From Our Hearts Initiative partnership with Jose Andres’ World Central Kitchen, launched on the heels of Star Chefs. The ‘buy plates, give meals’ campaign will donate proceeds from porcelain dinnerware sales towards ending hunger and poverty.
In conjunction with the HX Show, we are hosting numerous events with our factory partners. If you’re looking to meet some of our designers and see what the next BIG development is, please email my team at littlemtucker@mtucker.com. How often will you get to share a cocktail with Sam Gordon, of Robert Gordon Australia, who is flying all the way from Australia to meet YOU!
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