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Subject: Market Farming

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  • From: "Elizabeth Pike" <pike AT always-online.com>
  • To: "market farming" <market-farming AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
  • Subject: Slow list today-fm customer perceptions
  • Date: Wed, 16 Feb 2000 18:04:57 -0500


This is a post I made to another list on the subject of organic
produce costing more & why. But I often wonder if the perception of
fm customers is that all fm produce should be cheap-whether
conventional, sustainable, organic & natural!

>As far as pricing--alot has to do with perception, which is very
common in business. >Give the customer the perception of quality, or
quickness, or health, or beauty, or >whatever-and they will open their
wallets. You would not believe the research that >goes into even
deciding the colors of the walls of a restaurant, or the dish you eat
off >of, or the layout of a grocery store, or the positioning of
fragrance mists (ever noticed >that vanilla in the baking isle??),
etc. It's called guerrilla marketing & shrewdly >practiced by anyone
& everyone, & should be by market farmers/market growers. >And to
tell the truth--even if you don't sell your produce. Ever find
yourself arranging >that very first salad with every single ingredient
from your garden just so--visual >appeal-we sell to ourselves-see, all
that hard work was worth it!!

>Delann, you should try charging more than grocery store prices.
Those prices are >often loss leaders to get customers in the store.
There is very little, if any, profit >margin figured into their
prices. Think of yourself as a restaurant--the grocery store is >fast
food-quick cheap. You are the little French bistro--simple, elegant,
priced higher, >sold out every night. Just try 10% higher. And
point out how your produce didn't sit >on a truck for thousands of
miles. Keep raising the price until you reach a point >sales drop
off dramatically-you've reached your market set point. Back it down
a bit, >and enjoy the extra sales. Yes, you may not sell as much, but
you'll make more >money.

>And I am so sick of people thinking farmers should sell wholesale.
Why?? I'm with >you--wholesalers don't pick tomatoes by headlights at
4 am!!

Liz Pike
Morningstar Gardens
Pollocksville NC
ICQ 46954468





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