Market Farming

["Elizabeth Pike" <pike AT always-online.com>]

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