MN Fruit & Vegetable IPM News - Vol. 1, No. 10

Are you optimistic about the future of your business? A recent quote from Jeffery Immelt, Chairman and CEO, General Electric, sheds some light on this question: “Cynics don’t create wealth; this is a world for optimists.”

Mr. Immelt goes on to talk about GE’s strategy regarding business investments. They look for technologies with multiple revenue streams. They like technologies that have service streams and financing streams which multiply the revenue from one product. How might we apply this concept to our businesses, specifically vegetable and fruit production? Are there new dimensions that you can add, based on your present product line? If you sell apples for pies, are there pie plates that contribute to a superior pie? Are there any new technologies in peeling, coring, or crust-making that make the pie-making process easier? If there are, can you incorporate these products into your business profitably? Can you provide a total solution not a partial one?

How many products do you sell? Do you know which ones are profitable and which are not? Do you have loss leaders, meaning you are expected to sell this product because it pulls people to your establishment, but it is not overly profitable? Do you know what products you should drop, and what new ones you should consider introducing?

How about using your customers to help you decide what the new products should be? One challenge in innovation is to help people break away from thinking what presently exists or what is currently available. This process is sometimes aided by a good facilitator who can set the right atmosphere to help them expand their vision. One approach is to think not about what the customer wants, but rather why they need it. Athletes want a drink after a sweaty performance. What they need is a substance that not only satisfies the thirst but also replenishes lost electrolytes and carbohydrates; thus Gatorade. People who travel say they want a rental car. What they need is to get from place to place efficiently, effectively and safely. A rental car is not always the best way.

We have evolved from an emphasis on products to an emphasis on service. The next step in this evolution is an emphasis on solving the customer’s need or issue. This solution focused approach is often a combination of products and services (Thompson 2004).

References and Recommended Reading

Immelt, J. 2003. Technology Review’s Emerging Technologies Symposium, Keynote Speaker, September 25 th.

Thompson, H. 2004. Who Stole My Customer?? – Winning Strategies for Creating and Sustaining Customer Loyalty. Pearson Education, Inc.

Editor’s Note: Karl Foord, Ph.D., MBA, has considerable experience with horticultural crop production and marketing. Karl is publishing a series of articles on marketing and business management that we believe will be useful to many of our readers, particularly fresh-market growers. Please send your feedback and questions to Karl at: foord001@umn.edu

Return to index

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Co-Editors: Bill Hutchison, Department of Entomology, University of Minnesota, hutch002@umn.edu
Jeanne Ciborowski, Minnesota Department of Agriculture, Ag. Resources Division,jeanne.ciborowski@state.mn.us
Suzanne Wold-Burkness, Department of Entomology, University of Minnesota, woldx018@umn.edu

The Newsletter is published weekly from May through August, cooperatively, by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) and the University of Minnesota (U of MN). Reports are posted on the U of MN and MDA web sites on Fridays. If you have suggestions and/or comments, please send your contributions by 4 p.m., Tuesday to Jeanne Ciborowski, 651-297-3217, jeanne.ciborowski@state.mn.us , MDA, 90 W. Plato Blvd., St. Paul, MN 55107-2094. You can access the Newsletter at the U of MN web site in htm. format at: www.vegedge.umn.edu/MNFruit&VegNews/mnindex.htm and at the MDA web site in pdf. format at: www.mda.state.mn.us/biocon/fruitreports/default.htm

Partial funding for this publication is provided through partnership agreements with the Minnesota Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association and the United States Department of Agriculture – Risk Management Agency (RMA) and the RMA Community Outreach and Assistance Partnership Program. These institutions are equal opportunity providers.

DISCLAIMER

References to products in this publication is not intended to be an endorsement to the exclusion of others which may have similar uses. Any person using products listed in this publication assumes full responsibility for their use in accordance with current manufacturer directions.

Last Revised July 15, 2004.
The University, including the Minnesota Extension Service, is an equal opportunity educator and employer. ©1999-2004 Minnesota Extension Service, University of Minnesota. All rights reserved. Contact copyright@extension.umn.edu for information on reproduction or use of this material.