109: The most favored brands among DSRs

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

Go ahead... just try to get that cute little puppy out of your mind.  You know, that precious fluffy hound (or... kitten, gerbil, girlfriend, boyfriend or other mammal) that you have bonded with over time. 

Believe it or not, DSRs often hold a similar special spot in their heart (and minds) for certain foodservice brands.  Maybe yours!  Somehow, somewhere... a specific brand connected with them.  Maybe a broker helped them out in a crisis.  Perhaps your product was the perfect fit for a customer that lauded the DSR for her genius when recommending the right solution. 

Or maybe DSRs simply know that they can sell your product without fear of ever being embarrassed in terms of quality or availability.  Who knows!  But every DSR will quickly utter their favorite brand (hey, we asked them and they didn't hesitate).

We gave AFDR members 72 hours to respond to a quick survey.  We had 201 respond.  We asked DSRs which brand comes to mind each day that they want to sell.  We didn't prompt them with any brand names... just fill in the blank with the brand name that first comes to mind. 

The good news is we uncovered a few brands that have a large following (AFDR partners, send us an email and we'll share the results).  

But the even better news is the survey confirmed that many more brands have the opportunity to step up into a leadership role!  The vast majority (37%) of the brands mentioned were in the "other" category... these are companies that only scored a few mentions.  

This means that, with few exceptions, the field is wide open to influence DSRs.  And the brands that focus on building DSR relationships stand to win big for the one simple reason that we often repeat: 

DSRs sell what they know... 

In the nearby chart, you'll see, that having a reliable experience with a brand is the is the #1 reason DSRs love their "favorite" brand.  Well before things like margin, incentives and promotions (although, undoubtedly, these help build the relationship).  They know that the money will follow if they believe in selling the right brand to customers. 

Frankly, none of this is rocket science.  Who isn't loyal to those companies that have treated them well in the past?  We'd be surprised if the results were any different! 

So, what have you done for DSRs lately?  Are you the fuzzy little puppy in their mind... or more like a distant childhood friend that hasn't called in 10 years? 

Ready to hear more... click below to watch our DSR Insights video.