CHIMES
EDUCATING CONSUMERS: A MISALIGNED FOCUS? by California CattleWomen, Inc., President Julie Barnett California’s CattleWomen (CCW) have a longstanding mission: to promote beef and the ranching industry. There are so many good reasons to continually evaluate and adjust our focus on the “how” we conduct our mission. Often by listening to each other within the industry, we lose focus, and we may be drifting away from the ultimate goal – encouraging more consumers to purchase our products and we start speaking only to those within the industry. I was recently hit between the eyes by an article written by Prime Future that should challenge us all. In the article, it discussed that we need to be aware when we are developing education narratives that amount to a version of “kidding ourselves” by drinking and continually sharing our own version of “Kool Aid,” by continually circling around the idea that consumers need to be “educated.” We often do this by speaking in terms that are, in reality, speaking to the choir of those already in the industry to say things we like to hear. But the consumer is often left out of the process. That mindset of “educating” consumers can develop some unforeseen mindsets for us within the industry. It may be time for some self evaluation: 1) Are we burdening the consumer with being required to learn something that they may not be interested in learning? Are we dumping over a century of research on them without realizing it? 2) Are we dealing with their issue, want or concern? Often, the consumer is just looking for some reason to feel better about buying beef, and we think we need to have them agree with us through “education” and see things our way in order to purchase. 3) Are we limiting the ability to hear the consumer in front of us because we are so focused on our objectives of providing the “education” information? 4) Are we treating all consumers alike? That is not the reality of the consumer world. So how can we communicate that beef is a great choice? What if we shift our focus to marketing to our consumers instead of educating? Marketing is the backbone of the free enterprise system. It puts the power of decision into the hands of the consumer for their choices, and when a consumer is empowered they can feel better and more assured about purchasing, including purchasing beef. Marketing works with connection and emotions, not just head knowledge. No consumer owes us an obligation of what they need to do for us, or the obligation to agree with us. Focusing on marketing is about how we make our business about 28 California Cattleman April 2022
the consumer, and how we are working for them. It shifts our mindset and narrative of what we share. As the article from Prime Future stated, it’s really about, “What have I done lately for my customers?” Sharing all the good we do for our customers, our communities, our land, our cattle is marketing, is not educating, but marketing. Our tone changes. The “why” for so many consumers is not about being in agreement with us, consumers often need to be feeling good about themselves being a beef consumer. We are pretty good at what we do, let’s learn to market the aspects of what we do well and continue to grow to become even better. Educating, often, without realizing it, becomes a lecture to the person hearing the information. Our customers are every person that walks into a grocery store or restaurant to purchase food to nourish themselves or their family. It is every customer that is celebrating a great achievement or special occasion. It is every person looking to improve their nutrition. It is a variety of people with a variety of reasons and a variety of concerns and a variety of focus. Let’s market ourselves to be the source to meet those desires and needs! We don’t need mountains of research to dump on every consumer we meet. As of this writing, our CCW Spring Meeting will be taking place in March at Hotel Winters where we will be working on beef promotion, learning from the new team members of the California Beef Council, who develop a variety of materials to help our variety of consumers. One of our focuses will be about marketing beef, giving good reasons to buy because of the benefits to the customer! As a nearly 1,800-member organization, the California CattleWomen are a great force in being the good voice for beef. Growing our membership and educating our team to be better at marketing will increase our impact and voice. Continuing to grow in how we do what we do is important to us all. So, have you evaluated how you promote beef? Take some time to do that soon. You never know when it will come in handy at the meat case while talking to a fellow human and your beef consumer! **If you would like to read the article from Prime Future, the newsletter for innovators in livestock, meat and dairy, check out primefuture.substack.com, look for newsletter 86.
