Benchmarking Peer Groups: Tools to Improve Your Business
By Brian Cummings and Rich Shoen

Are you ready to improve your business? Streamline your operation? Generate more revenue? Cut your costs?

You’ve come to the right place. Over the next several weeks, we’ll be posting a series of articles about Benchmarking Peer Groups and how being part of one can help you improve your food business.

Whether to raise food, grow it or make it, we can show you how to use benchmarking–a technique that’s been used for years by major corporation–to improve your business. We can show you how to tap the wisdom of your peers–others who do what you do, sell what you sell, make what you make, or grow what you grow.

They are the ones who’ve already asked the questions and tested the answers. They’ve figured out what works and what doesn’t.

You’ve heard the expressions before. “Two heads are better than one.” “Let’s not reinvent the wheel.” “Let’s put our heads together.” The expressions may differ but the principal stays the same: Put a group of people together who share a wide range of knowledge and experience and you will get more creative and better solutions to problems than any individual can achieve on his or her own.

Benchmarking Peer Groups do just that. Business decision makers come together regularly to share detailed information, knowledge and experience – to share what works and what doesn’t work. But it’s more than just sharing. Peers mentor and coach one another. They ask for and get feedback, ideas, suggestions, recommendations, and solutions that they can use to improve their business.

Bottom line, a benchmarking peer group could be the best tool you have for improving your business! Here’s how to make it work for you. First we’ll look at benchmarking and what is involved with collecting useful data and information about your business. Then we’ll look at the peer group and how to make it work for you.

Stay tuned for more.