Download Innovation and our Industry - National Christmas Tree Association

Innovation and our Industry
by Dustin McKissen, NCTA Executive Director
Innovation has become a buzzword in business today, with large corporations appointing Chief
Innovation Officers and countless business management articles being published that focus on the
subject. Despite its increased use, innovation is not a new concept. Innovation has existed as long as
people have been producing items to trade and sell. Innovation occurs at a different pace and in different
ways depending on the industry, and for those in the Christmas Tree business it may be harder to spot
innovation. That said, innovation does exist, and those in the industry that are looking at new ways of
doing things are seeing success—and the rest of the industry, as well as NCTA and our partner state and
regional associations should be following their lead.
The NCTA Board has made it a priority for me to visit state and regional associations to help
strengthen the relationship between the national association and our partner associations. As a result of
this effort I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Christmas Tree producers in different regions throughout the
country. While many in our industry are facing challenges, it was exciting to hear from those farms that
are applying new technology, new management principles, and new marketing strategies to grow their
businesses. One presentation I attended included a successful choose and cut operation demonstrating
how they’ve grown their business by expanding their services to include paintball, a haunted house, and
a variety of other experiences. This farm also pre-sold trees using Ticketbud, an online event management
and registration service, and improved their efficiency by processing sales in the field using iPads. The
result was dramatic growth in their business, which this year is expected to exceed 60,000 customers.
While the tree remains the same—for the most part—the business around it has adapted, changed, and
innovated, and the result is a tremendously successful farm.
Examples of innovation aren’t just restricted to those in the industry providing a full-scale
agritainment experience. At this year’s NCTA Pre-Season Clinic, keynote speaker Stanley Pohmer
suggested placing a tag on Real Christmas Trees that linked to a video showing the progress of the tree
from the farm to the consumer. His belief was that this could show consumers purchasing trees at retail
outlets what went in to producing their tree, and allow them access to some of the information regarding
agricultural production that is so important to today’s buyer. Whether or not this is practical, it is an
innovative idea worth exploring.
The associations that do so much good work for the industry, NCTA included, also need to be
innovative. It is no secret that NCTA and many of the state and regional associations I’ve visited are facing
challenges. Aging members, declining membership, and decreased meeting attendance are all making it
harder for Christmas Tree associations to continue to provide services that are more essential than ever.
These challenges are shared by many associations, and the subject of innovation for associations is also
one that has been written about extensively. Innovating within associations is hard, for a variety of
reasons, including intra-industry politics, tradition, and limited resources.
While change is hard, going out of business is harder. Despite the challenges, NCTA has decided
to embrace innovation, and that process has already begun. This summer we offered a $99 trial
membership, which led to the largest two month increase in new members the association had in nearly
a decade. The 2014 event will look very different, with NCTA partnering with the Michigan Christmas Tree
Association to provide high quality content and conduct the National Tree and Wreath Contests at their
host farm. It is a new format and a new way of doing things that we hope will help educate the industry
at a lower cost as well as strengthen relationships with state and regional partners. Like any innovation
the first version of this event will have bumps, and a learning curve, but ultimately we believe the industry
will be better served by this approach.
The definition of innovation is “an introduction of something new”. Every year this industry sees
new consumers, as families make their first purchase of a Real Christmas tree. It only makes sense that
the most successful producers, and the associations that serve those producers, will need to innovate to
keep up with a changing consumer base.