Farmers Markets Must Cater to the Consumer
Posted on | June 9, 2010 | No Comments
Local food is cool. It’s a trend seen everywhere these days … on TV, in newspapers, online. Yet even with the expansion of many markets catering to food that is grown and produced locally, there are many more farmers markets who struggle to remain open.
Why? Poor or no market management is typically one reason. But perhaps a larger reason is that some markets are simply riding the trend and taking consumers for granted.
I love local food … and I go out of my way (especially when travelling or on vacation) to visit different markets. And while most of my experiences have been positive, those that haven’t were due to uninspiring service, display, quality and diversity issues … in short, those things that speak directly to the consumer.
I’m not overly difficult to impress … I’ll take eight enthusiastic farmers at a small market over a multitude of indifferent ones any day of the week. But all farmers/vendors need to realize that they need to keep working to impress us … or they risk losing out.
INFORMATION
Where are the prices and product information? Vendors can’t assume customers like asking about price. I don’t. Do you? I remember one sign at a BC market saying ‘WE LET OUR LAMBS RUN FREE’ along with the usual market signs stating ‘WE DO NOT USE PESTICIDES’ and ‘GRASS-FED BEEF.’ It doesn’t need to be fancy, but every farmer must post signs and prices for every item.
CUSTOMER SERVICE
If the sales personnel are not the original farmers, it’s vital that they are at least personable and knowledgeable. Too often, sales staff are bored and uninformed, especially if the vendor is attending multiple markets. Poor service, however, just isn’t smart as the typical consumer now knows and cares about their food quality. And for those consumers who don’t, there’s a prime opportunity to inform, connect and create a customer for life.
DIVERSITY
While I love fruit and veggies, more farmers markets need good quality meat, poultry, fish and dairy. This is where location comes into play, as the ability to provide electricity would allow farmers to sell chilled and frozen foods more attractively and conveniently. We’re fortunate to get the bulk of our meat straight from the farm, but I’d love to be able to buy simple, fresh dairy products (such as yogurt, butter or cottage cheese) from a local dairy … well, that and good, fresh fish is hard to find on the prairies.
COMPETITION
A little healthy competition is a good thing. Although competition between markets is clearly on the rise, fear of competition within a market ultimately works against the farmers … and the consumers. For instance, I know of a market which has one farmer supplying (fairly expensive) meat and sausage products. Yet the market manager doesn’t encourage other producers to bring meat products for fear of upsetting The Meat Man. So, who wins? Nobody, really. Customers source their meat elsewhere … which is traffic and dollars that could be flowing into that local economy.
Farmers markets are rightly receiving a revival and ‘local food’ is now mainstream. It’s okay to be discerning when buying food at a farmers market … the best ones know they can’t take consumers for granted.
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Community development, growth and communication in the rural-urban fringe landscape.
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