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After more than 100 years of canning goods and more than 20 years as a national brand, Bush Brothers & Co. has perfected its secret family recipe—in food products and marketing strategy. Scott Daniel, marketing director at Bush Brothers & Co., shared his company’s philosophy on giving customers what they want and doing it successfully at the April KAMA luncheon.

Add two cups of consumer research …

The “secret family recipe” that Bush Brothers & Co. uses as its marketing strategy starts with the consumer. The company’s immediate approach is to find something people want and find a way to make it in a great tasting and affordable way. How does Bush Brothers do that? Through millions of dollars spent on research each year. However, Daniel noted, “You do not need to have a million dollar budget to learn about your consumer.” He explained by mentioning several low budget ways to research a target audience including social media, surveys, ethnographies or even just talking to them—all methods marketers have at their fingertips.

Three tablespoons of open-mindedness …

“Avoid the marketer’s bias by looking outside your own lens when developing products,” said Daniel. Taking advantage of opportunities for engagement with your customers can prevent personal bias from affecting your marketing activities. Instead of doing what just works, do what your consumer wants. An example Daniel used was that if you talk to someone about baby food who doesn’t have kids, he or she is going to have a different opinion about how to reach the audience from what actually may be the correct way. We are all doing something in our business today that reflects our own personal ideas, and Daniel recommends we take a step back, look at research and visualize how the consumer wants to see a message.

A dash of promotion …

Most marketers struggle with promotion versus marketing. Daniel set a parameter that Bush Brothers follows and that the KAMA audience should follow, too. He said, “Promotion should be an element of your marketing plan, not how you go to market.” Since a promotion strategy just gets engagement, lift up a product or service that reflects your target’s needs and wants.

And sprinkle in fulfilling relationships.

Finally, make your customers proud of your relationship with them. If your brand delivers a fulfilling experience for your target audience, they will purchase your product no matter the price. An example given by Daniel was that, more often than not, Folgers will beat Starbucks in a blind taste test setting. However, when picking a  brand, consumers will most often choose Starbucks because of the relationship the brand has formed.

Mix and serve immediately.

When cultivated, these elements can result in a marketing strategy that will really stand out. KAMA luncheon attendees all learned valuable lessons from Daniel this month, and we didn’t even need Duke, the iconic Bush Beans dog, there to spill the beans.

 

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