one, but not very useful in many cases today. Tf you only built 

 a better mouse trap, what very well might happen is that, instead 

 of the world beating a pathway to your door, the pathway could 

 grow full of weeds. The reason is competition. In most situations 

 in the U.S. there is not just one mouse trap builder per area, 

 but instead several, perhaps many. That means that buyers have 

 a choice to make and, if all the mouse traps are of reasonably 

 good quality, that choice may be based upon something other than 

 the quality of the mouse trap (e.g. , convenience of availability, 

 price, nature of customer service, etc.); that is marketing. 



Mouse traps and fresh fruits and vegetables may have little 

 in common, but the basics of effective marketing programs for the 

 two products would be surprisingly similar. 



Important as the topic of marketing is, it is difficult to 

 be very specific to a group of growers because there is usually 

 no single, best solution for all. Individual situations are enough 

 different to call for som.ewhat different marketing programs in 

 each case. 



Many of the differences in the marketing programs of individual 

 growers are small or subtle, and might easily be overlooked - but 

 those fine differences are important. That "fine tuning" often 

 marks the difference between success and failure. As suggested 

 earlier, to be successful, each grower must be better than other 

 growers in some respect that consumers view as important; that is, 

 he must give customers some reason to come to his place of busi- 

 ness and buy his products, rather than to buy from another seller. 

 In marketing jargon, that is called a "differential advantage". 

 It is necessary because a business firm does not automatically get 

 some particular quota or amount of business just by its existence - 

 it has to be earned - over, and over and over again. The pres- 

 ident of a small food chain in Massachusetts says that doing busi- 

 ness with food shoppers is like a long romance - - you must romance 

 them, and romance them, and romance them -- continuously. A large 

 successful pick-your-own strawberry operator says you have to reach 

 out to customers; you can't sit back and wait for them to come 

 to you because of your superior product. 



Furthermore, no individual seller can expect to attract all 

 types of buyers. Some seldom ever buy from roadside stands, some 

 never pick their own, and so on. It is important to identify and 

 focus your attention upon that set of shoppers that represents the 

 best potential market for you - - your "target market". 



And so, a first recommendation might be - 



1. Get to know your customers and those in your target group - 

 who they are and what their needs and preferences are - 

 and then extend your business toward them by trying to 

 meet those needs and preferences. 



