Download Response Form Marketing: How can we do it better? 2014 JUNE

cag
COMMUNITY
ACTION GROUPS
Response Form
2014
JUNE
A monthly resource for the Community Action Groups of Michigan Farm Bureau
Marketing: How can we do it better?
Marketing a product has always depended on the value any given consumer attaches to it, but these days, value marketing
has taken a twist that makes it more like a helix.
Many marketers, in an attempt to promote their product as different or superior to other similar products, sell moral values instead of the product. It's rampant in food marketing. Certain restaurants and niche marketers attempt to convince
consumers that buying their product lends them moral superiority, since their product was raised "sustainably" or "without
antibiotics" or "humanely." In order to convince people to buy into this kind of moral values marketing, one important thing
needs to precede it. Consumers must be confused about what is right or wrong. That's easy in food marketing, since few
people really understand what "humane" and "sustainable" really means. And if consumers are to attach value, for example, to antibiotic-free claims, they first must be convinced that there's something sinister or dangerous or, by insinuation,
morally wrong with antibiotic use.
The deception in such advertising is obvious once people know what to look for, but like most propaganda campaigns, truth
is often revealed too late. The catch-phrase or jingle has by then been embedded into consumer brains, and it's nearly
impossible to clarify their confusion with facts or truth. The problem is, facts and truth don't sell products. Deception does.
Still, every now and then we'll find someone who does it right. In late April, we learned that Jerald Horrocks, owner of a
Lansing-based "chain" of three grocery stores, died at age 91. He started the Lansing Horrocks Farm Market way before
things built up around him (including the Farm Bureau Center), and patiently built a clientele of customers loyal to him
because he paid attention to quality. He treated customers like they really mattered to him, and he mentored young entrepreneurs. He wasn't threatened by newer stores or fancier displays. Instead, he added value. He placed a grand piano in
the Lansing store to soothe and entertain customers. He gave flowers to customers and offered them free coffee. He didn't
have to claim that his store was better than the competition, because it was up to his customers to decide that.
Bob Boehm, manager of Michigan Farm Bureau's Commodity and Marketing Department, sold produce to Mr. Horrocks
as a young grower fresh out of high school, and remembers that Mr. Horrocks offered him and his business partner opportunities to succeed. "He really got us started," Boehm said. "He was ahead of his time in the local produce movement,
and he rode that wave into a very successful business." Mr. Horrocks' success, at least in the minds of people with whom
he interacted, was not dependent on his wealth or how many stores he owned. He was successful in human relationships,
and by all accounts, he exuded honesty, integrity and caring.
QUESTIONS
1. What can your county Farm Bureau do to promote locally produced farm products with honesty and
integrity? (Please explain)
2. What can you do about deceptive moral values advertising? Is it enough to just not buy the product? (Give
an Action Plan)
3. Would you pay more for a product to support a local business? If so, examine the long-term implications of that
decision, and of the opposite decision.
Please submit your Discussion Topic responses online at: http://www2.michfb.com/cag “Submit
Response” or directly to Michigan Farm Bureau OR your county Farm Bureau office.