It's the Three Whys, Man!

~ This article first appeared in The Leader Vindicator Newspaper. ~

When I don’t think about my intentions, I end up doing stupid things.

In his book Selling the Invisible: A Field Guide to Modern Marketing, Harry Beckwith warns against doing things bigger or better than ‘the competition’.  Customers won’t notice the incremental advantages you’ve achieved over similar businesses.  You’ll end up going nowhere, and working hard to get there.

I notice this trend in small agriculture.  On eatwild.com every single farm profile reads the same, as if some lazy website manager simply attaches a new member’s name to the root code, and the root code is derived from some major company’s national marketing campaign.  Nobody can make an informed food purchase with so little information.

We get into this rut because farmers aren’t asking why they’re doing something before they do it.  When someone wants to sell beef, for example, they look at every other beef farm in the area to catch the lingo, and then they set about doing anything possible to sell a steak to a customer.  That’s backwards thinking with disastrous results.

Here’s why:

First, you’ll lose your identity.  The barrier to entry is too low; all someone needs to sell beef is a steak and a price tag.  Entering the beef market immediately suppresses the unique characteristics of a farm because beef shoppers look at price and convenience, period.

Second, advertising becomes ineffective.  Customers buying beef will be highly scrutinizing if they perceive alternatives.  Think about meat shop commercials on the radio: Every single one has the freshest cuts around at the best prices.  Do you become legitimately intrigued after hearing one of those ads?  Doubtful, because it sounds like all the rest.  That was a lot of money and effort on the part of the company, and it barely registers your attention.

Third, with too narrow a focus, integrity goes out the window.  Producers will do anything possible to sell more beef, regardless of the methods required to get there.  GMO-free claims are often false, and the world of pastured beef is totally corrupt.  Rigid focus on the end product leads to dubious methods of production.

Entrepreneurs are able to sort through the noise and find the heart of their business by asking ‘why?’ three times.  Completing this exercise reveals what a business is actually selling to customers.

For example:

I have grassfed beef for sale.  Why?

I want to be a farmer, but I’m horrified by the monotony represented in crop production.  An ache creeps into my gut when I ponder the implications of barren, eroding soil, which causes me to want to cover the scarred landscape with thick grass that can begin the healing process.  This aversion to grain nudged me into a form of agriculture that doesn’t require a vicious plant / spray / harvest cycle: Grassfed Beef.

Why?

There is extraordinary vulnerability in associating with such a massive marketplace as the grain game.  Prices fluctuate for farmers based on global conditions, and when the price is going against you, there is absolutely nothing to be done.  Many family farms have been completely wiped out of existence because of a few fluctuations of one commodity price.  I cannot fathom why a farmer, once considered to be a citizen poised at the apex of independence, knowledge, and skill, would disembark from those freedoms in favor of an existence hinging on someone else’s decisions.  My aversion to helplessness nudged me towards a form of agriculture that cannot be affected by commodity prices: Grassfed Beef.

Why?

People are attracted to unique skills and knowledge.  It is skill and local knowledge that enable a farmer to work with proximate resources and create a valuable product that provides a stable living.  In other words, by learning skills that insulate a farm business from the nervousness of commodity agriculture, a farmer can at the same time yield a product that is highly desirable to consumers.  When I started seeking an agricultural challenge that would test my stockmanship abilities and intrigue customers, I discovered Grassfed Beef.

Now, let’s evaluate:  Do I sell steak? 

No.

I sell a living environment to old hippies, young families, outdoor enthusiasts, birdwatchers, hunters, city folk, rural survivalists, photographers, sunbathers, foragers, herbalists, and everyone else who enjoys a good soak in the outdoors.

A steak is the vehicle that enables them to participate.

I sell stability for everyone who is sick of feeling like a disposable pawn in a crazy economy.

A steak is the vehicle that enables them to participate.

I sell knowledge instead of information, skill instead of routine, ideas instead of instruction manuals, and a story for every human being who longs for sustenance that is so much more than just food.

You guessed it: A steak is the vehicle that enables them to participate.

When I start worrying about beef sales, I get stupid. I don’t even want to sell beef; the requirements to do so lead me down the wrong path to the wrong customers. I need to remember the three ‘whys’ that got the ball rolling for me, and pursue the methods that align with that vision. Doing so takes me out of a crowded marketplace and gives me freedom to be what I was made to be. The results are much better than beef.