A Marketing Lesson From Farmer Fred
Isn’t it great to meet new people, and find yourself unexpectedly inspired?
Fred Flemming of Shepherd’s Grain
My friend Tom McArthur is co-host of Business Talks, a radio program I “produce” here in Spokane. (Scare quotes intentional; more on Business Talks in a future post.)
A few days ago, Tom invited me to join him for coffee with his friend Fred Flemming. Farmer Fred, as Tom calls him, is one of a nearly disappearing breed: the family farmer. Nearly, because they’ll never disappear if Fred has anything to do with it.
How’s Farmer Fred helping to save the family farm?
In the broadest sense: marketing.
Fred is a wheat farmer. He learned a long time ago that farmers can be cruelly tied to commodity prices completely beyond anyone’s control. So Fred and his partner Karl Kupers took matters into their own hands.
Fred said (and I paraphrase liberally):
If a farmer is simply a source of raw material, he has to depend on a lot of luck. But if he creates a more direct line to the end user, he’s got a whole lot more control.
In order to own more of what management types call “the value chain,” Fred and Karl created Shepherd’s Grain.
In a nutshell: 43 local farms, dedicated to sustainable farming practices, have banded together to produce and market a special brand of flour that stands out in the marketplace. Chefs and retailers can tell their customers precisely where the wheat came from. It’s guaranteed to be farmed with sustainable techniques. And Fred says it tastes great. I believe him—some of the best restaurants in our region use Shepherd’s Grains.
Varieties are distributed through wholesalers and are used at locations across Washington, Idaho and Oregon in restaurants, bakeries and pizzerias. Profits that might have gone to huge multinationals now go to local producers.
Everyone wins, except the multinationals.
Marketing once was mainly about promotion.
Promotion is still important. But today marketing is evolving more towards strategy—figuring out how you can serve customers better, and how to win in an increasingly complex marketplace. Can you identify customers who aren’t being well served? How can you use your imagination and energy to create extra value? How can you differentiate?
Convincing someone that your commodity is sexier than the other guy’s isn’t enough.
The global marketplace continues to change.
Like Farmer Fred and Shepherd’s Grain, we all need to change with it. How is your business, and your marketing strategy, changing? Please comment below.
February 8th, 2013 at 4:40 pm
Barrett, you are to be commended for not succumbing to the temptation of liberally using bad farmer puns in the writing of this post (i.e., ‘And oh how Shephaed’s Grains have harvested success!’).
Nice post.
February 8th, 2013 at 4:42 pm
You know, it never occurred to me… but next time, why not?
barrett recently posted..Marketing Your Startup Business: A Quick Guide
February 8th, 2013 at 4:49 pm
It’s ethos, it’s philosophy as much as strategy. What is your brand about, what’s the role of your company beyond giving people jobs and selling stuff, how why you grow, adapt, evolve? It’s Apple seeing digital as a consumer and enterprise revolution, not limited to computer but expanded – and connected – to music, images, content, consumption, creation giving us all these wonderful iToys.
My business is changing. Doesn’t matter my ‘experience’ or social status, I know I’m worth more and am shifting my model to go after it, get paid that – find the clients or job that’ll take me where I want to be in my career. I’ve got a lot of learning to do this year, even more work – but here’s to making it count. FWIW.
Davina K. Brewer recently posted..What is YOUR Super Bowl?
February 8th, 2013 at 5:23 pm
I don’t disagree Davina. I tend to wrap philosophical aspects into strategy — “strategy” can be such a big all-encompassing word that it can lose meaning. Or mean different things to different people.
And I hear you on the “experience” part. Paraphrasing from Lord of The Rings: “Change is upon us, whether you would have it, or not!”
February 12th, 2013 at 6:36 am
Hi Barrett.
What an awesome idea. It always makes me feel good when I hear stories like this. If a group of farmers can innovate in a market that is so controlled then it should inspire us all to wake up to new realities.
I loved your mis-step in the post……”some of the best restaurants in our restaurants” I think I get your point tho. Hahahaha…..cheers!
Ralph recently posted..QOTW 2013: Week 7: Everyone needs a little help to be productive, including you!
February 12th, 2013 at 8:37 am
LOL! Ralph, how about this: I’ll proof for you if you proof for me. Thanks so much for pointing out the typo. Who knows how much business I’ve lost in the last couple days because of it?
The story (not the typo) is pretty inspiring, isn’t it?
barrett recently posted..Marketing Your Startup Business: A Quick Guide
February 12th, 2013 at 11:51 pm
Hey Barrett
In these hard times, farmers definitely need to adapt to survive as we all do.
I’ve broadened the subject matter I talk about on my blog mainly because I want to do more story-telling, conversational pieces. That’s what I enjoy doing.
I’m trying not to go too far from the tag line of my blog though, although I am adapting and moving on from that more and more so I may need a rethink at some point on that!
Tim Bonner recently posted..Insomnia Is My Nemesis
February 12th, 2013 at 11:57 pm
Thanks for visiting Tim. You’ve been on quite a journey over the past couple of years, haven’t you? Change is your thing. Paraphrasing from Lord of the Rings: Change is upon you, whether you would have it or not!
In my new role as a producer of a business-oriented radio program, I get to talk to lots of successful business people. Change is what they thrive on.
February 15th, 2013 at 9:02 am
Hi Barrett,
It’s great to see that conscious awareness has risen in the farming industry as well as in other industries.
I won’t go to a place if I consistently receive poor customer service. If someone wants to do business with me then I need their complete and undivided attention.
Justin recently posted..Pralaya – A Period of Transition Part1 – by Elizabeth Ayres Escher
February 15th, 2013 at 12:29 pm
Justin, it seems that the ag community is learning that their customer is not just Monsanto and other gigantic corporations, but also the end user. It’s a nice trend, isn’t it?
February 23rd, 2013 at 9:47 pm
Absolutely! Yes, I think that customer service is very important now for businesses. Not that it wasn’t, but the 24 hour social cycle has really brought into the a place where we can observe customer service. There is still a lot to learn, but we can make a lot of gains by being observant and serving markets that have been overlooked.
Susan Silver recently posted..How to Speak the Same Language as Your Customers with Keywords
February 25th, 2013 at 9:19 pm
Susan, thank you for visiting and leaving a comment. You’re absolutely right about how customer service has been put in the spotlight. If you can’t compete in service, you sure better compete on price. Not too many of us can afford to do that. Look at Amazon, they compete both on price AND on service.
Please come by again!
March 14th, 2013 at 8:51 am
Great story about Shepard’s Grain!! This is a perfect example of how a grassroots effort can turn into something impactful!
March 14th, 2013 at 9:01 am
Ryan, I really appreciate your coming by and commenting. Fred has a special and inspiring story, which as we heard yesterday on Business Talks, is just getting started.
March 20th, 2013 at 5:51 pm
[...] this program, we first booked Fred Flemming, a wheat farmer from Reardan, Washington, as well as co-founder of Shepherd’s Grain. We have [...]