The second annual United Fresh Retail Produce Marketing & Merchandising Conference took place on Friday, June 13, 2014 and hosted approximately 150 fresh produce marketers seeking to be inspired by the expert presenters and fellow produce industry panelists in attendance.

The day was complete with content aimed to give marketers information and insights into branding, packaging, point-of-sale and even the post-buying/consumer communication process.

Below we compiled ten key take-aways that we found helpful and think you should know as you plan for your upcoming marketing activities.

1. Branding is essential to differentiation.

If using the word “commodity” to describe your products to internal and external audiences isn’t already a “no-no” within your organization, it should be. Branding and de-commoditizing your company’s products and brand starts with you and your diligence to defining and protecting it. If you stray away from branding on your packaging or even from your labeling strategy, reconsider this as you will likely be left behind in the branding dust as fresh produce marketers, now more than ever; strive to be THE RESOURCE for the products that they offer to consumers on retail shelves.

2. Descriptive words matter.

There is no question that “words matter” at the point of sale, particularly when a consumer is faced with choosing your product over another. Using words to describe the way your product tastes and smells along with presenting clever ways to use the product, will help your retail buyers’ sales and spirits lift.
3. Consumers are online – are you?

A common theme that surfaced throughout the day was validation that consumers are seeking information from brands in online spaces. In fact, one presenter stated that people spend an average of eight hours each day seeking information online (that is half of the day!). If this isn’t validation enough for a strong and well-rounded presence for your company and brand on digital touch points where consumers are seeking information, I don’t know what is!

4. Budget conscious marketing is smart marketing.

As fresh produce marketers, we really don’t have millions of dollars tucked away for the production of a television advertisement to run during next year’s Super Bowl. Instead, we can be using our budgeting savvy to develop effective and creative promotions that reach broad audiences on our packaging and online.

5. Millennials buy non-traditionally.

With a gaggle of millennial employees on board at DMA Solutions, this tidbit came as no surprise to us. According to information shared by King Retail Solutions, we see that the millennial generation is comfortable shopping at convenience stores, pharmacies and other non-traditional venues when purchasing groceries, presenting a new opportunity for fresh produce companies and marketers alike.

6. Measure your marketing.

Some say that the eyes are the gateway to the soul and others, primarily the DMA Solutions team, believe that analytics are the gateway to your next marketing initiative. By understanding where your marketing has performed in the past, you can use the data to develop marketing strategies and tactics for the future by re-applying what worked and re-tooling what didn’t for future success.

7. Know more about your buyer.

To be successful with your marketing efforts before, during and after the sale, you must first know details about your target buyer, whether identifying the consumer or trade buyer. By understanding what barriers your buyers are up against, you can develop solutions that directly meet their needs and tailor your marketing to solve the customer’s problems. Software platforms like HubSpot, make measuring your marketing and identifying their pain points easy for marketers like us.

8. Inbound marketing can fuel consumption.

Dan Tyre from Hubspot presented the high level methodology behind Inbound marketing and ways that fresh produce companies, like California Giant Berry Farms, is successfully practicing inbound to help them achieve and exceed their marketing goals. The take-away? Inbound marketing is a feasible way for fresh produce marketers to sink their teeth into a marketing practice that is affordable and measurable when reaching target audiences, either trade or consumer.

9. Take a deep dive into your analytics.

As a panelist on the consumer post-purchase reaction panel, I encouraged each marketer in the room to take a deep dive into their marketing analytics upon returning home from Chicago. Why? By taking a deep dive into analytics, marketers can identify the areas of marketing where we are strong and weak. We can identify the sources of our traffic and work to capitalize on the areas that are working best and fix the areas that aren’t. Insights give us the power to pave the way to our marketing success in the future by providing us with data to support decisions that we will make.

10. Address your buyer’s pain points with your marketing.

Take a look at your website through the eyes of your buyer. If your home page distinctly presents solutions to problems of your typical or ideal customer and guides them to helpful information and resources within your website, odds are that you are addressing pain points well. While you’re taking inventory, consider other marketing assets that may require attention from a content perspective to help you address pain points from your company’s sell sheets to your sales presentations. This is a great way to improve your marketing cycle from branding to consumer by presenting solutions all the way through the buying cycle.