San Jamar Customer Service Manager Barb Heath, Senior Channel Marketing Coordinator Kristin Witzack, and Channel Marketing Manager Tim Battisti visited our offices recently for an AQ Content Review Workshop (CRW). The two-day CRW gives manufacturers an opportunity to meet with our Content, Customer Support and Product Management departments. They discuss AQ features, best practices, new capabilities and latest releases with the goal of optimizing their products’ presence in the AQ Catalog. San Jamar offers products and accessories for food safety, counter service, personal safety and washrooms.
Kristin, an 11-year veteran of San Jamar, began her career there in customer care and sales before moving into marketing. “Being in customer care really helped me learn our products and know our customers,” says Kristin. “It was valuable experience to bring to marketing.” Kristin works closely with AutoQuotes content manager Yvette Hoover to publish San Jamar’s product lines in AQ. What has Kristin taken away from the CRW? “It’s been useful to see AQ from the user’s (subscriber’s) point-of-view,” says Kristin. “It’s helped me understand the need to provide richer content and media for our products, beyond our catalog.”
(l to r) Barb Heath, Kristin Witzack and Tim Battisti
Barb has been with San Jamar for a year, after a long tenure with a B2B/B2C company that transitioned into all e-commerce. Along the way she picked up both front-of-the-house and back-of-the-house food industry experience with a convenience store. While not a direct AQ user, she sees the benefit of the technology. “I see it as a sales and marketing tool to get our products in front of smaller dealers, especially internationally,” says Barb. “It also helps our sales team stay consistent with their quotes of the same or similar products into different divisions of the same large company.”
Tim has also only been with San Jamar a short time. He is a “jack-of-all-trades” with experience in account management, retail, sales and marketing, all acquired over many years at different companies. “In working with Kristin I see the importance of AQ and the relationships its use promotes with our customers,” says Tim.
What trends in the FES industry has San Jamar seen recently? “Allergens are a big topic,” says Tim. “We’re able to provide products and systems to help.”
“Customers are very image conscious,” says Kristin. “We’re seeing a lot of call for ‘sleek’ product designs and personalized colors and options, even for smaller accessories like tissue holders.”
“Much of it has to do with younger people who consistently look for a special, unique restaurant experience,” says Barb. “Everything in the front-of-house needs to project a certain image and brand.”
Thank you, Barb, Kristin and Tim, for coming to our offices. If you’re a manufacturer and would like more information on our Content Review Workshops, please contact your Content Manager for dates and details.