"If you can successfully promote sloppy joe sandwiches you can do marketing for anything!" That was my motto, early in my career, as marketing director for a food service company. We were hired to manage the school district's food program. The school district could then focus on teaching children.

Chicken nuggets, tater tots and a carton of milk served in a sectional tray taught me a key marketing lesson: Understand and satisfy your customers. All of them.

At first...

That's how many of us have perceived marketing challenges... as a simple arithmetic equation. A-P=S The (A) Audience, minus their (P) Problem = equals (S) Solution/Success.

Reality is, we all have multiple audiences. And all need to be considered with each program or project we approach.

My audiences are illustrated in this pizza diagram* below. Each slice of USDA-inspected pepperoni represents a different audience I needed to think about, be considerate of, and include in my marketing equation.

Like the cafeteria tray...

• Kids - Our "customer." While mom and dad may provide money, ultimately the child chooses to buy or not.
• School Board - We're under contract with them, they're our client. Keeping all the other groups happy keeps the board happy. Saving them money makes them even happier.
• School Principal - The boss of the school. They have to manage complaints from kids, parents and teachers. They report to the School Board.
• Cafeteria Team (i.e., "lunch ladies") - The front line workers. They make it all happen. While the school district employed them, we hired/let-go, trained, managed, and rewarded.
• Parents - If the parents are uncomfortable and/or they get complaints from their child - we're doing something wrong.
• Teachers - Teachers themselves get tired of the same lunchroom food. They're customers as well.
• US Government - Constant oversight and reporting to/from the government to ensure quality for the kids.
• Local Media - A slow news week often leads to a pop-in visit to report, "What they are actually serving our town's youth."
• Community - Unless you have kids of your own and join them once in a while in the lunchroom, you probably assume what's served today is exactly what was served when you were in school. As does the rest of the community.
• My Employer - Of course, I needed to keep my boss happy and manage with the resources provided by the company.

If one group is upset, news spreads to the rest... quickly.

So the lesson I learned was to always include these ten groups in all of my planning. If we launched a new program... Or re-worked the menu for healthier options... I had to consider how to best reach and communicate this information to a broad and skeptical group.

Quick realization of the simultaneous needs of all your audiences will lead to success.

This lesson has stuck and helped all through my career. So yes, promoting sloppy joes is a recipe for marketing success.

What experiences do you have to share?