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market-farming - Re: [Market-farming] Advertising

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  • From: Leigh Hauter <lh AT pressroom.com>
  • To: market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Advertising
  • Date: Tue, 11 Feb 2003 18:23:03 -0500



If your ad testing proves that assumption true, you may have
been right. However, if you don't test your advertising in a
variety of media to reach a large cross section of the local
population, you may be passing up an awful lot of sales,
profits and opportunities to make customers happy, therefore,
more willing to pay higher prices.


But Jay, that's the problem, market-farmers don't have the money for test marketing (or advertising). That's why I said marketing for us wasn't rocket science (or I meant to say that). Maybe an ad campaign you have does have the money to make it rocket science.

We can only observe who buys from us and try to figure out who they are, why they buy what they do, and find out how they came to do it. From the low cost, admittedly imperfect market survey we might have a sense of where to advertise (more likely, where to put our fliers). We are not talking millions of dollars in sales here with advertising budgets. For some of us we are talking several hundred thousand of net sales but for most its in the tens of thousands or less.

What we need is advertising campaigns for the farm version of the mom and pop store.

And your thoughts about higher prices. yes, one time I did charge $195 for the same thing I charge $330 this year. This version might be better (in quality) and there hasa been a degree of inflation over the decade. But my ability to charge the higher price is more dependent on non-ad type of changes in society. More articles in magazines and newspapers about food safety, food health. cooking and CSA's makes my product more valuable. If all of the CSA operators in the DC area got together and pitched in for an ad campaign, there wouldn't be much money, and we couldn't reach many people, not in this market. We have to think outside the box as far as how to publicize what we do.

And yes, what we sell is gourmet. The average stuff is what you get at Food Lion. We sell vegetables and meat for people with discerning taste. People that are satisfied with corporate vegetables do not buy at farmers markets. People who buy chicken from KFC usually don't go out and pay more for a pasture raised, hand plucked chicken. People who buy hamburger that has been irradiated do not go to the farmer and also buy fresh grass fed beef. At least not in my experience.

And I think this thread is getting a little too long and worn. I'll stop.




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