It seems as if every magazine or newspaper these days has an article dealing with marketing your product to the so-called “millennial” generation.
All the experts tell us that manufacturers, processors, service providers, and, yes, even farmers, cannot continue the same old marketing techniques to this new generation of hip, cool and savvy young people.
Some studies conclude that millennials are much more concerned about quality, safety and environmental friendliness than they are about price. Therefore, those of us involved in food production have to make sure this new generation understands that we farmers are most assuredly producing their food under the strictest of standards while being aware of, and caring for, the soil, water, air, and welfare of animals. The study then suggests that once we have convinced them of our lofty morality, we can pretty much name our price.
I was at the peak of optimism after reading that article until the next day, when I read another story in another magazine that concluded that the millennial generation would always choose the lowest priced product once most of the above mentioned criteria had been met. Now, we have a conundrum.
It was about this time when I received a call from my old friend down in Georgia. Randy travels across the country quite frequently in his line of business and one of his favorite things to do during his down-time is to visit a national retail chain in whatever town he happens to be spending the night and simply watch and listen to people. He happened to be in north Florida that night and was picking up a few necessities at said store when he happened to overhear two young women that would seemingly fit into the millennial category.
Randy’s favorite soft drink was on sale for $9 for a 36-pack case. As he grabbed one of the bargain cases, he heard the one lady shrieking to the other, “I can’t believe this is on sale for this low price. Let’s get two or three cases!”
“Wait just a minute,” cautioned the second lady, “the market down the street has the same soft drinks on sale, too, and they are only $3 for a 12-pack. That’s a better deal.”
My friend shuffled over to the side of the aisle, pretending to be interested in another product, while listening to the two women debate for the better part of five minutes before reaching a mutually-agreed conclusion that the three 12-packs were, in fact, the better deal. Then, they moved on, pushing their empty carts on down to the next aisle, presumably searching for other high-quality, nutritious and environmentally-friendly products at the cheapest price.
In the meantime, I have just posted an online advertisement for my most recently harvested hay crop: Excellent quality alfalfa hay for your backyard sheep, goats, or horses. Non GMO forage produced without pesticides, herbicides, or chemical fertilizer. Tied with green strings. Ten dollars per bale or opt for the volume discount of $100 for 10 bales. You load.
