* Credibility - You are a known, local entity. You have

the opportunity to earn credibility by being known in

the community for operating a respected business.

* Responsiveness - By interacting directly with

consumers, you are most able to directly identify

customer needs, desires, and unfulfilled expectations.

This knowledge lets you be the first to develop

potential cost-effective solutions.

However, just because you do transactions with your customer, does not mean that you meaningfully interact with them. Such interactions sometimes occur spontaneously, but often require a concerted effort to find what your customers really think and want. Every farm should have a consistent disciplined means of taking the pulse of their customer base. A customer survey is one tool to accomplish this.

The Minnesota Department of Agriculture in cooperation with 16 PYO berry farms, carried out surveys in ‘97- ‘98.

Their analysis from the data discovered the following results:

Berry customers are more likely to be female, more likely to be married, more likely to have children at home, and more likely to be college graduates.

More than any other factor, customers choose a farm because its location is convenient. Make sure customers can get in and out of the fields as quickly as possible!

Personal recommendations are important for bringing customers to your farm. 60% of customers indicated they heard a recommendation before coming to the farm.

Newspapers and signs remain the most effective forms of advertising. 65% of customers encountered newspaper ads, and 63% encountered signs before going to the farm. These serve as good reminders that the season has started.

Price does not appear to be too significant to PYO berry customers. Some growers raised prices and received few negative comments from customers, others felt customers often don’t seem to remember prices from year to year". PYO berries cost less than berries from the supermarket and

While customers visited a farm 2.54 times a year, they only visit other farms 0.15 times a year. This means 94% of visits occur at the one farm. In most cases growers won’t be in price competition with each other, therefore continued communication is vital to ensure that all growers set the most profitable price possible.

Regular and veteran customers may be more sensitive to price changes then new customers. Gradual price increases may be preferable to avoid upsetting them.

C. Returners (have visited this farm 2 or 3 years)

17% of all customers were new to berry picking. This group mostly falls into two age groups. The biggest group is made up of young families: 67.6% are 20-39 years old. The 2nd group is retirees: 15% are 60+. Advertising targeted at new berry customers should focus on young families and recent retirees.

Customers new to berry picking want many services and amenities. They are more interested in having a pleasant day out at the farm than picking a lot of berries, and additional farm attractions help to draw these customers. They are the group most likely to go to a farm where children can pick. While children’s services will bring more customers out to the farm, offering picnic and children’s play areas will cause customers to stay longer, which could jam parking areas and discourage other customers. New pickers also want recipes. Recipes are an inexpensive way to please them, and it can also give them a reason to pick a few more berries than they otherwise would.