Module 5 1 Marketing, Merchandising, and Customer Service Participant Workbook

MODULE 5

Marketing, Merchandizing, and

Customer Service

Participant Workbook

Module 5 2 Marketing, Merchandising, and Customer Service Participant Workbook

Key Terms and Definitions

Customer Service – Customer service may be defined as a combination of

product, price, presentation, support, information, and delivery of service

that has value to the customer.

Food Presentation – Food presentation is the art of making food look good.

Presentation of food includes using arrangement, color, texture, shapes, and

garnishes to increase eye appeal.

Four Principles of Marketing – The principles of marketing represent the four

levels used to influence target markets. The principles are product, price,

promotion, and place.

Marketing – Marketing is a process or technique of promoting, selling, and

distributing a product or service.

Marketing Plan – Identification of specific customer needs and developing a

plan for fulfilling those needs. The school nutrition marketing plan should

focus on getting students to participate in the school meals program and eat

a better diet.

Merchandising - merchandising is any practice that contributes to the sale of

products. This includes presenting a product to the right market at the

proper time, in the right quantities, and at the right price.

Promotion – Promotion is using activities such as advertising, promotional events,

or personal selling to entice someone to purchase or use the product.

Module 5 3 Marketing, Merchandising, and Customer Service Participant Workbook

Marketing, Merchandising, and Customer Service Decision-Making Process

Determine the Issue

Have I promoted our total school nutrition program to the customers?

Explain the Issue

1. Successful school nutrition programs use marketing to encourage

participation and healthy food choices.

2. Special events are used to promote the school nutrition program.

Create Procedures to Address the Issue

1. Use products, price, place, and promotion to help the school nutrition

program better serve its customers.

Involve Others: Who and How

2. School Nutrition Administrator: Discuss ideas for marketing the

program.

3. Other Managers in the District: Share ideas that have worked in other

marketing efforts.

4. Employees: Work together to find ways to market the program.

Decide to Succeed: Take Action

1. Use the 4 P’s in promoting the school nutrition program in my school.

2. Have at least one special event each month

Evaluate Success:

Have I successfully promoted our total school nutrition program to the

customers?

Module 5 4 Marketing, Merchandising, and Customer Service Participant Workbook

Section 1: Marketing School Nutrition Programs

Objective: Understand the importance of using marketing for promotion of

the school nutrition program and creating interest in school meals.

Group Activity Convincing Someone to Eat a Food Least Liked

1. Think about a food that you least like and share it with the others

sitting at your table. You have two minutes to share, then move on to

number 2 and 3 below.

2. Think about the foods that other participants do not like and decide

what reasons you could use to convince a person to eat one of the

disliked foods.

3. Make notes for your arguments.

Food: ____________________________________________________________

Reasons:

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

Module 5 5 Marketing, Merchandising, and Customer Service Participant Workbook

Group Activity

Challenges of Increasing Student Participation

What do you think is the greatest challenge to getting students to eat

breakfast and lunch at your school? Write two challenges to increasing

breakfast participation and the two challenges to increasing lunch

participation in your schools.

Breakfast

1. _______________________________________________________

2. _______________________________________________________

Lunch

1. _______________________________________________________

2. _______________________________________________________

Individual Activity

Four Fundamental Principles of Marketing

Price, Promotion, Place, Product

Match each of the principles of marketing shown in the box below with its definition.

Write the principle in the space provided.

1. _____________The spot or outlet through which the customer acquires the

product or receives the service.

2. _____________Goods or services offered for a price.

3. _____________Activities such as advertising, promotional events, or

personal selling to entice someone to purchase or use the product.

4. _____________The costs to the target group in money, time, or effort for

obtaining the product or changed behavior.

Module 5 6 Marketing, Merchandising, and Customer Service Participant Workbook

Group Activity

Applying the Four Principles of Marketing to a School Nutrition Program

Marketing Goal: Increase Consumption of Fresh Fruits in an Elementary

School

Part I: Scenario

The elementary students in Bay Elementary School are offered a

selection of fresh fruit choices daily in the school lunch program. Other fruit

choices such as canned fruit, fruit juices, dried fruit and frozen fruit cups are

also offered. The fresh fruit selection usually consists of whole bananas,

oranges, and apples. The fruit is arranged in a large clear plastic bowl at the

end of the serving line. Some teachers and the cafeteria cashier encourage

students to try the fresh fruit by reminding students that “fresh fruit is good

for you.” The school averages serving approximately 460 students each

day. Only about 138 (30%) of the students pick up the fresh fruit and at

least 45 of those students discard the fruit instead of eating their selection.

The Bay Elementary school nutrition staff decided to conduct a

marketing campaign to increase the student’s consumption of fresh fruits as

part of the school’s wellness policy activities. The school district nutrition

director, teachers, and school administrators agreed that promoting fresh

fruits is a good idea, and they want to help with the effort.

Complete the exercise below by answering the questions about how

each of the four principles of marketing can influence the campaign.

Module 5 7 Marketing, Merchandising, and Customer Service Participant Workbook

Part II:

Activity: Use the Four Principles (4 P’s) in a Marketing Campaign

Target Group: Elementary School Children, Grades K-6

Goal: Improve the diets of students by increasing the consumption of fresh

fruits.

Instructions: Brain storm with your group and list at least three possible

answers or solutions to the questions relevant to developing a marketing

campaign.

A. Principle # 1: Product 1. What is the product that Bay Elementary School is marketing?

B. Principle # 2: Price 1. How can Bay Elementary cover the costs of offering more fresh fruit?

C. Principle # 3: Place 1. How can the placement influence the student’s “just-in-time” decision

making?

D. Principle # 4: Promotion

1. What types of promotion should Bay Elementary School use?

2. How can the school nutrition program determine the current demand

among the elementary students for increasing fresh fruits in their diets?

Module 5 8 Marketing, Merchandising, and Customer Service Participant Workbook

Handout 4 P’s Marketing Checklist

The marketing checklist tells what the 4 P’s are all about. The checklist can

be used to help plan the school nutrition program marketing strategy.

Check each item you include in the marketing plan and refer to this checklist

during the school year.

Product

_____ 1. Offer fresh and/or colorful fruits and vegetables in an appealing manner.

_____ 2. Offer a variety of food choices daily.

_____ 3. Provide nutritional information about foods served in school meals.

_____ 4. Prepare food that tastes good.

Price

_____ 1. Help students and parents see value for price.

_____ 2. Encourage students to select and eat all five food components.

_____ 3. Provide price comparisons of school meals with competitors.

Place

_____ 1. Create a cafeteria image as the place where students want to eat.

_____ 2. Treat students like customers.

_____ 3. Encourage employees to look neat and have happy faces.

_____ 4. Make sure the service line moves to prevent long lines of waiting

students.

_____ 5. Place food on the serving line in the most appealing manner possible.

Module 5 9 Marketing, Merchandising, and Customer Service Participant Workbook

Promotion

_____ 1. To help students identify reimbursable meals, display information about

breakfast and lunch meal patterns where it can be easily seen.

_____ 2. Publish menus in an attractive form on the school website.

_____ 3. Use promotional coupons and contests.

_____ 4. Place garnishes on the service line.

_____ 5. Listen to the customers’ suggestions.

_____ 6. Host one special event each month.

_____ 7. Use flyers or posters that have eye appeal.

_____ 8. Provide nutritional information in appealing displays, posters, and on the

school website.

Notes

Module 5 10 Marketing, Merchandising, and Customer Service Participant Workbook

Group Activity

Host Special Events throughout the School Year

Use the handout, USDA’s Tactics for Successful Marketing School Nutrition, on the

next page, to plan at least one special event each month on the calendar provided.

You may discuss your ideas with your group.

Special Events Calendar

What Ideas Do You Have for Themes for Special Events

August

September October

November

December January

February

March April

May

June Ideas for Any Time

Module 5 11 Marketing, Merchandising, and Customer Service Participant Workbook

Handout

USDA Tactics for Successful Marketing

Celebrate National School Lunch and School Breakfast Week

• Provide nutrition education sessions at special school events.

• Sponsor School Lunch/Breakfast poster contests.

• Work with teachers to have taste tests when trying new products.

• Give special coupons to get a free breakfast or lunch.

Be creative and choose events that are suitable for your school environment

and the age of the students you are serving!

Invite Parents to Lunch or Breakfast

• Celebrate Parents’ Day by inviting parents for lunch or breakfast.

• Offer parents samples of the same food items that are regularly served

to students so that parents can taste the food their children enjoy at

school.

• Provide parents with nutritional information to show how school meals

contribute to their children’s daily nutritional needs.

Contests

Contests can build awareness of your products and services, as well as

generate excitement about giveaways or prizes. Consider details such as

how you would like students to enter the contests you are sponsoring, how

staff will evaluate entries, and the types of prizes available. . Be sure to check

school policies on contests and prizes.

Milk Contest

• Have students create a milk mustache photo gallery. Give each

student the opportunity to have his or her picture taken with a milk

moustache and display each grade's results in hallways or the

cafeteria.

• Select judges to choose which grade level's pictures are the most

creative.

• Give prize to the grade with the most participants.

Poster Contest

Invite classes/students to create and display a poster on topics such as those listed.

Ask teachers to judge posters and give a small prize for the best poster.

Module 5 12 Marketing, Merchandising, and Customer Service Participant Workbook

• Create a poster to answer “Why eat breakfast at school?”

• Create a poster to celebrate a special theme day (Johnny

Appleseed Day).

• Create a poster with nutritional information (National Nutrition

Month, National School Lunch Week, and School Breakfast

Week).

• Create celebration posters for National Holidays (Valentine,

President’s Day, St. Patrick, Easter, Labor Day, Thanksgiving,

and Christmas).

• Use special celebrations (Super Bowl Day, Mardi Gras, Dr.

Seuss’s Birthday) to create posters.

Posters can also be used to create a new image for breakfast at your school.

For example, let students design names for certain menu items and apply

the winner's idea to the items after the contest.

Cereal Box Design Contest

• Have students create a cereal box for their favorite cereal and have

celebrities, teachers, or local high school art students judge the

boxes.

• Offer a new breakfast food and have students create advertising

and promotional materials for the item.

• Use student artwork in the school newspaper or in promotional

materials sent home to parents.

Breakfast Participation Challenge

• Organize this contest for individual classes, homerooms, or grades.

Students are challenged to participate in the School Breakfast

Program every day. Designate a period of time, such as a week,

month, or semester over which the contest will run, and during that

time, track participation for each group of students. At the end of

the contest period, the group with the highest overall participation

rate is named the winner

• Announce the winners and create publicity by taking pictures.

Celebrity Day

Host an event at which local celebrities join your students for a school meal.

These local celebrities are role models for students of any age. They can be

mascots from sports teams, members from a university (or even

Module 5 13 Marketing, Merchandising, and Customer Service Participant Workbook

professional) sports team, news reporters, a familiar local face, the mayor,

or a city councilperson. Seek out people who are familiar to the children and

bring about a positive image.

Theme Days

Theme days spark interest in checking out “what's new” and provide the

opportunity to serve new types of foods. Choose different themes for the

cafeteria and serve food that supports that theme.

• For example, turn the cafeteria into a tropical paradise with a Hawaiian

Day Celebration using cut out palm trees and grass skirts to decorate

the serving counter; have staff wear Hawaiian shirts and leis. Serve

Hawaiian bagel pizza (pizza with ham and pineapple) or luau muffins

or serve pineapple as the fruit of the day.

• Showcase menus based on a holiday, culture or sports team to make

school meals fun. Keep in mind the ethnic or cultural backgrounds that

make up your school's population.

Menu Ideas

Menus are powerful tools that can help you to market school meal programs.

Not only do they provide information for students, parents and faculty, but

they also help to entice students to enjoy eating school meals.

• Showcase menus that offer a wide variety of popular, healthy choices

and display the information in a creative way.

• Encourage students to read the menu daily and keep it in a convenient

place at home. Reading the menus provides students with the

information they need to make better food choices.

• Display menus in the cafeteria or where meals are served.

• Advertise your menus in locations throughout the school. Encourage

teachers to post menus in class.

• Use an easel or menu board with large letters to help remind students

about the day's choices.

• Merchandise your meals by displaying a sample plate so that students

can see what's offered that day. Identify the types of foods students

want to eat. Adapted from Energize Your Day! Eat School Breakfast, USDA

Marketing Tool Kit You can find a wide assortment of marketing ideas on the USDA FNS

website: http://www.fns.usda.gov/sbp/toolkit_marketingresources

Module 5 14 Marketing, Merchandising, and Customer Service Participant Workbook

Section 2: Merchandising School Nutrition Programs

Objective: Use established techniques of merchandising to sell nutritious

meals to students and other customers.

Group Activity

Using the service line to merchandise

Ms. Yen is a first year manager at Green Tree Elementary School. She is working

hard to merchandise the food in her cafeteria. Two employees serve the children

food from a service line. Ms. Yen plans to serve the following menu.

Baked Chicken

Tacos (Ground Beef/Shredded Cheese/Taco Shells)

Shredded Lettuce and Chopped Tomato (Portion Cups)

Steamed Broccoli********Herbed Rice********Mexican Corn

Whole Grain-Rich Roll

Fresh Apples********Cake Square with Strawberry Topping

Service Line

Students Enter Here Students Leave Here

1. Draw in the types of pans you would use to serve the foods on the menu.

2. Write the name of the food items that will be placed in each pan you have

on the service line diagram.

Module 5 15 Marketing, Merchandising, and Customer Service Participant Workbook

3. What garnish would you use for each of the following items?

Tacos ___________________________________________________

Baked Chicken ____________________________________________

Steamed Broccoli __________________________________________

Mexican Corn _____________________________________________

4. Put an “X” on the diagram to tell where you would place the garnishes.

5. How can you add height to the cake with strawberry topping?

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

6. What two suggestions about influencing students’ healthy food choices

should Ms. Yen give her employees.

Module 5 16 Marketing, Merchandising, and Customer Service Participant Workbook

Group Activity

Discuss Creative Garnishes

Instructions: Take a minute to read the rules on the attached handout, and then as

a group, discuss how you use garnishes and describe your best garnish. Decide as

a group which garnish to share with the class. Make notes.

1. How do you use garnishes?

2. What is your school’s best garnish?

3. Which garnish do we want to share with the group?

Module 5 17 Marketing, Merchandising, and Customer Service Participant Workbook

Activity Handout

Use Garnishes to Make the Service Line Look More Attractive

Garnishes can make the service line more attractive and encourage students to

select foods that are good for them. There are five rules for using garnishes in the

school nutrition program. They are

1. Use only food that can be eaten as garnishes.

2. Make sure students can recognize the food item used to make the garnish.

3. Plan garnishes that go with the color and flavor of the menu item.

4. Use a garnish that will be fresh and attractive throughout the service period.

5. When garnishing a steamtable pan, put the garnish in the upper corner

toward the students as they come through the service line.

*Adapted from School Recipe Portfolio

Creative Garnishes for the Service Line*

Citrus Cartwheels and Twists. Use a lemon, line or an orange that has been thinly

sliced to create a cartwheel, cut V-shaped notches in rind at evenly spaced

intervals. For twist, cut from outer edge of fruit slice to center and twist ends in

opposite directions. Use on meat, fish, poultry, or vegetable dishes.

Onion Fans. Use a long green spring onion. Cut off root end. Remove most of the

top portion. Make long slashes at both ends to make a fringe-like effect. Place in

ice water for about 2 hours to curl ends back. Use as a garnish for any salad item.

Module 5 18 Marketing, Merchandising, and Customer Service Participant Workbook

Radish Accordions. Trim ends of long narrow radishes. In

each radish cut 8 to 10 narrow crosswise cuts 1/8 inch wide, cutting partially

through the radish. Place in ice water for at least 2 hours so slices fan out.

Carrot Curls/Zip Zags. Make thin, lengthwise strips of carrots

using a vegetable peeler. For curls, roll the strips and secure with a wooden

toothpick. For zigzags, thread on a wooden toothpick accordion style. Place in a

bowl of ice water for at least 2 hours. Remove toothpick and use for garnish on

meat or vegetable dishes.

Create your own garnishes using common food items used in schools.

Pickles Maraschino Cherries Lemons Slices

Red Leaf Lettuce Cucumber Orange Slices

Parsley (fresh/dried) Endive Tomato

Red Apple Rings Onion Rings Pimiento

Sliced Hard Cooked Egg Paprika Spiced Crabapple

Coconut Grated Cheese Peach Halves *Source: The University of the State of New York, The State Department of Education,

Bureau of School Food Management and Nutrition, Merchandising Training for School Food

Service Personnel.

Module 5 19 Marketing, Merchandising, and Customer Service Participant Workbook

Section 3: Customer Service

Objective: Recognize key factors that contribute to customer satisfaction of

students who participate or could participate in the school nutrition program.

Group Activity

Identify Your Customer

Instructions: Discuss the questions with your group and then write the

answers in the space provided.

Question 1: Who are the primary customers and who are the secondary customers?

Question 2: What influences the needs and wants of school nutrition customers?

Question 3: What factors or groups influence our customers’ eating habits?

Module 5 20 Marketing, Merchandising, and Customer Service Participant Workbook

Group Activity

Compile a list of common phrases

Instructions: Work together as a group to compile two lists using the

comments from the note cards. The first list will be a combined list of what

the staff hears from students. The second list will be what students hear

from the cafeteria staff. Select two of your group members to share your

ideas. (One reporter for each list)

What the staff hears from students

____________________________ _________________________________

____________________________ _________________________________

____________________________ _________________________________

____________________________ _________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

What the students hear from staff

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

Module 5 21 Marketing, Merchandising, and Customer Service Participant Workbook

Individual Activity

Self-Assessment: Quality Food Service Survey Think about how your school district is currently engaged in improving quality meal service to provide excellence in customer service. Check each item either as accomplished, in progress, or needs attention. If you don’t know which term is applicable, then write the word “unsure.”

Accomplished In

Progress Needs

Attention

Quality Meal Service Tasty food served at the peak of freshness and at the appropriate temperature

Foods served have a variety of color, texture, height, and flavor

Servings placed neatly on the plate or tray without spills

Food served according to menu description.

Standardized recipes are used.

Correct food portions are consistently used.

Safe Food

Temperature of foods are checked often

Safety food rules followed during preparation

Spills cleaned promptly

Serving and eating utensils clean

A clean place to sit after being served

Staff wears hair restraints and clean aprons.

Dining Environment

Service line moves smoothly with few backups

Attractive dining area, appropriately decorated

Attractive arrangement of table and chairs that support social interaction

Merchandising Efforts

Menus are provided to students.

Food is displayed in a pleasing manner on the serving line.

The school uses special event days to promote the nutritional value of school meals.

The staff greets customers with a smile and shows a willingness to answer questions.

Module 5 22 Marketing, Merchandising, and Customer Service Participant Workbook

Accountability: Marketing, Merchandising, and Customer Service

Instructions: Use the following check list to assess accountability performance in

your school related to marketing, merchandising, and customer service.

Accountability Performance Indicator

Score = 5 Score = 3 Score = 1 Score Full Implementation

Considerable

Implementation

Limited

Implementation

School meals are promoted as the meal of choice to all students.

Targets are set for achieving and maintaining high participation as part of customer service standards.

Staff is sufficiently trained on marketing and promotion of school meals.

Manages serving lines for clean and efficient operation

Food items are served to maintain quality and appearance standards

School nutrition program maintains a healthy nutrition environment as part of customer service.

Responds immediately to customer complaints and works to resolve issues.

Works with principal and faculty to promote special theme days as part of marketing and customer service efforts.

Total Score: 40 total points: 70% = 28 points; 80% = 32 points; 90% = 36 points; 100% = 40 points

If you scored 100%, that is excellent - keep up the good work. A score of

36 to 39 points is great – you are almost there. A Score of 32 to 37 is good,

but you should look at the areas of lower scores and decide on a plan of

improvement. If you have a score of 28 or less, work with your director to

develop an action plan to improve the accountability performance for those

indicators that have less than a score of 5.

Module 5 23 Marketing, Merchandising, and Customer Service Participant Workbook

Case Study Assessment 5 Marketing, Merchandising, and Customer Service

Jennifer Walker is starting her second year as a manager at Pleasant Valley Middle

School. During the last year she observed several problems that occurred in her

school. As each problem arose, she made notes about the problems and recorded

ideas about how the problems could be approached. The following concerns were

listed in Jennifer’s notes.

While participation was low in the entire school district, it was especially low at the

Pleasant Valley Middle School where the participation rate was only 38 percent for

lunch and 21 percent for breakfast.

Jennifer’s notes also indicated that the students complained regularly and loudly

about the menu choices and food items served. A student survey that asked

student opinions on various menu choices, nutrition, and food quality such as

temperature, taste, appearance, and variety of food served revealed that students

thought the milk was too warm. Some students had written “Milk doesn’t taste

right or milk tastes sour” on the survey. Other students said foods that were

supposed to be served hot were cold. Some students said the menu choices were

poor, and they especially complained about the grain products. The most

significant finding was that students did not think “the food looked good.” Some

students even wrote a note that the “food looks nasty.” On the positive side, the

students thought the dining room was clean and the staff friendly. They also said

the servings sizes were “about right.”

After reviewing her notes, Jennifer gathered the staff for a meeting and presented

the results of the survey. The staff was asked to brainstorm possible solutions and

come up with any and all ideas to improve student dissatisfaction and to increase

participation. Help the staff by providing the answers to the following questions.

Module 5 24 Marketing, Merchandising, and Customer Service Participant Workbook

1. How do most students deicide if they are willing to try a new food or

one that is prepared a different way than they are used to eating?

2. What can the staff do to ensure the elimination of student complaints

about the milk?

3. List ways the staff can make sure hot foods are always served hot.

Module 5 25 Marketing, Merchandising, and Customer Service Participant Workbook

4. Locate the handout in your workbook: 4 P’s Checklist. Select one item

from each of 4 P’s (Product, Price, Place, and Promotion) that could be

used in a marketing strategy to increase acceptance of grain products

in school meals.

5. List 3 promotional ideas Pleasant Valley Middle School can use to

increase participation in both the lunch and breakfast program.