Earlier this week I spent the better part of two days at one of our sales meetings, where I was invited to share with our sales force some of the trends, challenges and targets in non-commercial foodservice. As I pulled together the notes for my presentation, I realized that the time is already upon us to begin planning for 2011.
Just as all of you have forecasts you must make as you plan your foodservice budgets for the coming fiscal year, we have to take time to do the same, to draft an editorial “budget” for the following year. This budget is not a monetary one, but one of time and focus.
Where should we put forth our efforts to bring you the best editorial product? What are the issues we must address, the features we should write, the people we should profile, the trends we should highlight?
Our conference season is, for the most part, wrapped up. The Society for Foodservice Management is the only segment conference yet to be held this year, and so for the most part we have gathered the information we need to begin the process of creating an editorial calendar.
But it is never enough. There is always room for more research, more input, more commentary to gather. Eventually, over the next couple of weeks, we will have to pool our knowledge and take our bests shot at what stories and issues we will target in 2011.
Before we do, I thought I’d make one last pitch to our readers. What do you think we should be covering in 2011? What “hot buttons” are there in your segment? Who are the movers and shakers, the professionals who deserve to have their stories told in the pages of FoodService Director?
Take a moment, if you will, and shoot us an email with your thoughts. You may validate what we already are thinking, or you may come up with in idea to which we haven’t given enough merit.
Our goal is to provide you with the best information we can gather, in every issue. We’ll begin that process in the next couple of weeks. We’d like you to take part. Email me at pking@cspnet.com. I look forward to your input.