Goals of the Farmers’ Market Movement

by Tom Roberts

We won’t be talking here about the specifics of how to accomplish any of these goals, since the high granularity of how to go about this for any particular market is up to that market’s members to determine. What is hoped for is for market members to consider these relationship-building goals, which may be more complex goals than what pops to the top of many market discussions. Goals are things to reach for, things to direct your planning, not things on today’s to do list.

First, let’s consider some false goals that a market and its members might adopt.

“Increase our sales!”

Of course an increase in sales is desirable, but if that’s as far as our thinking goes, we’re in big trouble. It is reductionist, since it reduces the goals of the market and its vendors merely to the sales transactions. Sales should no more be the primary goal in a market than sex is the primary goal in a marriage. Often when you want something to happen, it’s best not to see it as your primary mission, but rather as a desirable part of a larger and far more complex mission.

“Increase our profits!”

This is somewhat akin to the previous false goal. Economists will tell you to add up your costs of production, and add a profit margin to arrive at your price. This is another fool’s errand, since it entirely ignores the real world economic and social factors that will, on your ride home, determine whether your pockets are full of cash or your truck is still full of vegetables. Loss leaders, bulk pricing, end-of-day deals, vendor competition, perishability, the weather, impending harvests, and other factors are all in the mix of how we determine our prices and hence our profits. Don’t think of the profit on an item, but on your market year.

So, what are some of the ways markets can help members increase sales and profits without obsessively focusing on those as our goals? We need to step back for a moment and think about how to tailor a market so it does market better.

1. 1. Adopting a longer season; opening earlier in the year and closing later, if at all.
      1. Allows year-round producers to sell at the market.
      2. Provides better service to the market’s shoppers.
      3. Provides seasonal producers with an ongoing market when they begin to sell again in the spring.
      4. Perhaps opening another day and/or in another location.
      5. Your market’s presence is its best promotion. A longer season promotes it longer.
   2. Getting more local people to shop at the market.
      1. Most markets serve from 1-5% of the people within the market’s local living and working community.
      2. This suggests a great expansion potential.
      3. Without becoming a circus, markets need to emphasize the experience and meaning of shopping at the local farmers’ market insteads of just product. Everybody sells “product”.
      4. Emphasis on a market’s products is a dead end once all the local foodies are reached.
      5. Adds stability and viability to the market beyond the seasonal shoppers, tourists, and summer people.
      6. Be cautious about how your message could be received. Emphasize “Get to know your farmer” over “Support the local economy”; although both are important the former sounds like a carrot (something you’d “want to do”), while the latter sounds more like a stick (something you “should do”).
   3. Get the market members to work together on the market as a common project.
      1. Sometimes getting members to meet is like getting citizens to vote—difficult but important.
      2. This makes the market run more smoothly since many hands make light work.
      3. Requires some “people management” energy to be expended, but the rewards are many.
      4. This enhances the “cooperation” side of every market’s cooperation/competition dynamic.
      5. Shoppers note a calmer, friendlier, more relaxed atmosphere at market, so they like being there and look forward to shopping there.
      6. Market members like being at market knowing that others there have helped make it all happen.
   4. Monitor your vendor mix.
      1. A mix of products at market is essential; more variety leads to more shoppers.
      2. Learn to determine when your market is ready for multiple vendors of similar products.
      3. It is appropriate to have a single vendor for some products, and a half dozen or more  vendors for others.
      4. Vet and jury your new vendors. Don’t accept just anyone into the market. What does your market need in terms of product and people?
      5. Involve the entire market in approving new applicants into membership at a general meeting.
      6. A market is ideally made up of vendors with a mix of genders, cultures, ages, and ethnicities, as well as a mix of products. You can never tell who any particular shopper might be most comfortable buying from.

 

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