Customers Aren’t Always Right, But They’re The Ones With The Money (Part 6)
August 25th, 2010 at 12:30 pm by Nathan Griffith, EditorMarketing Seeks & Fulfills Customer’s Needs
Marketing flock products literally means matching a screened, probable customer to the exact product or service he or she needs. That requires three things:
- Identify key characteristics of steady, high-paying buyers of flock products, whether live stock, chilled or frozen meat, fiber, pelts, dairy products, sheep manure, or property enhancement (grazing) services.
- Identify the special product traits that the identifiable segments of this group prefer—and the things they most avoid
- Supply the goods and services that meet the largest number of needs at the best profit margins.
Recently, promoters have been racially profiling in order to try to sell lamb. The groups generally targeted are people of African and Levantine extraction, Asians, Latinos, and folks of southern European origin. In fact, about the only group being ignored are so-called “whites,” who made up 80+% of the buying pool in days when America sold many times more lamb and wool.
Personally, I think racial profiling is a half-baked way to market lamb. People’s race doesn’t make them any more likely to buy products of unreliably variable character.
Instead, let’s ask ourselves who needs breeding stock, and why? Hint: It’s not just show people; every breed has (or should have) at least one unique trait that makes it “the boss” of a special growing environment or consumer desire.
What business, age group, economic class, landowner type or community facility would benefit from lamb, mutton or wool in any form, pelts, cheese, manure, or property enhancement? What breeds could satisfy all or most local market sectors’ requirements and still adapt to local environmental conditions?
Suppose a prospect says, “But I don’t like lamb,” or “I don’t like wool,” or “I don’t want my land fenced….” It doesn’t hurt to ask them why; and whatever their answer is you can then ask, “Suppose that problem were solved, would the other benefits be attractive to you?” We then select, produce and supply products that solve the problems.
We need not be pushy to win long-term business relationships. We just need to recognize (as we’ve seen numerous times now) that customers aren’t always right. They’re just the ones with the money.
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