Understanding Your Market Base: Strategic Surveys to Make...
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Understanding Your Market Base: Strategic Surveys to Make More Shoppers Core Shoppers January 15, 2014
Transcript of Understanding Your Market Base: Strategic Surveys to Make...
Understanding Your Market
Base: Strategic Surveys to
Make More Shoppers Core
Shoppers
January 15, 2014
An introduction to the series
Help farmers markets strengthen their position in the marketplace by understanding the characteristics of their customer base; building a brand worthy of community support; and staying competitive in a rapidly evolving local food scene.
Welcome
Moderator: Stacy Miller, Project Director
Farmers Market Coalition
Presenters: Anne Freeman, Project Coordinator
Greenbelt Farmers' Market Network
Hélène St. Jacques, M. Ed., President
Informa Market Research Co. Ltd.
Understanding your Customer
Demographics: Strategic Surveys to Make
More Shoppers Core Shoppers
Anne Freeman, Greenbelt Farmers’ Market Network Hélène St. Jacques, Informa
The Greenbelt Farmers’ Market Network
The 2010 Shopper Study
Aimed to: • Better understand farmers’ market customers
• Strengthen relationships with the local community and the people who shop at the markets,
• Provide benchmarks for future comparison
How Research Helps Managers: • Captures what makes a market distinct to
inform retail strategies and marketing
• Can be used to tell the story about a market to others: funders, board members, town council, prospective vendors
Why do research on farmers’ market customers?
Leads to more effective management to respond to needs, attract new customers and solidify the existing customer base
- Understand different types of shoppers, what their motivations are and how to attract them
- Understand how management efforts can be used most effectively to ensure positive outcomes for vendors and customers
Findings
Typical Shopper The 2010 Shopper Study found that the typical shopper is female, aged 50-60, born in Canada, university educated, professionally employed, and in a household of two adults.
Types of customers Different Types of Shoppers
“Big” Shoppers “Small” Shoppers
Majority (63%) Minority (20%)
Visit to buy regular grocery items, attracted by the range of products (augmented by specific items)
Visit for a specific item/market events
Spend more than $40 Spend less than $40
Shop weekly Shop less frequently
Small size household (1-2 members) Larger size household
More likely to purchase vegetables, fruit and meat
Likely to purchase prepared food
Live in areas close several markets
Longer history of shopping at markets
Where should managers invest their efforts?
• The largest category of customers have been shopping at markets for more than 10 years
• How can this inform how managers invest resources?
Reasons for spending less than $20 • Found what I wanted/didn’t need
anything else (35%)
• Prices higher than I wanted to spend (26%)
• Couldn’t find what I wanted (13%)
• Not enough money/no cash (7%)
• Not enough time (7%)
• Weather conditions not conducive to shopping (4%)
• Too hard to carry it home (2%)
Barriers to Shopping at Markets
How can farmers’ markets be improved?
Expand opening hours/days More product choices (esp.
important for small shoppers) Size and layout
Better prices More advertising
More vendors For farmers only
More markets Parking
Entertainment/events More accessibility
More info: vendors/products Benefits for vendors
More food education
What additions would enhance markets?
1. Benches and picnic tables
2. Education about local,
seasonal food
3. Vendor signage
4. Market website featuring
vendor/farmer information
5. Access to washrooms
6. Broad range of products
Using the Findings
• Desire for more prepared food, organic food and a longer market season– led to New Products Program
• Market shoppers say their shopping habit has health impacts – led to Healthy Habits study
Further Projects and Research
Knowing the types of shoppers can inform how you communicate
• Email and websites were preferred communication option
• Older vs. younger shoppers: print ads vs. online media
• Facebook: preferred option for infrequent shoppers
Communication and Marketing
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Preferred Communication Method
Communication and Marketing
• Use information about customer motivation to inform messaging • Use a range of approaches and address a spectrum of people
Process:
How to do research at markets
2010 Shopper Survey:
• Invitations to participate distributed at farmers’ markets
• Online survey
• Incentive: draw for market dollars
• Limitation: based on shoppers who made the effort to log on to the survey
Doing Research at Markets
Doing research at your market
• What type of information are you interested in?
• Designing a survey
• Analyzing results
Doing Research at Markets
Conclusion
• Learning about customers has a large impact on market success: – Helps make strategic management decisions
– Helps respond to customer interests
– Helps tell the story of your market
• Research projects should be based on your capacity and what you want to find out
• As the farmers’ market sector matures, being able to respond to customer preferences will continue to be important
Questions?
farmersmarketcoalition.org
pasafarming.org
Anne Freeman [email protected] Greenbelt Farmers’ Market Network Hélène St. Jacques, M. Ed. [email protected] Informa Research
