Issue 012: Innovate or Perish?
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“Business only has two functions—marketing and innovation.”
– Peter Drucker
Learning to shift is a key ingredient when it comes to resilience, bouncing-up™ and business. With the movement of world events and the economy, shifting becomes vital. For most businesses, it isn’t always easy. For family-owned farms, at the mercy of the climate, they can get hit twofold.
Being able to improvise, shift, diversify and scale are key ingredients. This week’s Bounce-Up story is about Soegels, a Wexford, PA family farm with 150+ years in business.
Imagine perishables, such as fruits, vegetables, milk, eggs, cheese, deli meats, chicken, and bread rotting on the shelves without customers. Imagine locals who need the groceries behind the locked doors and Soegels needing to get those perishables into the hands of those families.
A problem that required a solution.
At the end of March, Soegels kicks of the solution, introducing the daily Essentials Boxes. Simply named as what’s packaged includes the everyday essentials. With upwards of 200 employees, the staff does the shopping and fills the Essentials Box with produce and staples, plus ingredients for a few lunches and dinner meals—all with no contact, curbside pickup.
The Box ingredients are listed on the website, so you know what you’re getting. With a limited supply, the Boxes, especially the themed ones, sell out fast—sometimes within minutes. I know. My daughter, her neighbor, and I would have our finger on the Essentials registration button ready to hit at noon—the time registration opened. Sometimes, one would get in, and sometimes not.
Taking it a step further, the family farm includes a link to purchase add-on items from frozen foods to goodies to hard cider and wine.
The Essentials Boxes are so popular that the family-owned farm continues to offer them twice a week even though the Market re-opened in mid-June
What makes the Essential Boxes a success?
Soegels created a scalable product with a repeatable system.
The owners shifted their business to an online ordering system with a safe pickup method. They eliminated the fear factor surrounding the pandemic.
They created “buy now” urgency because of the limited supply of Essentials Boxes with a “first come, first serve” mindset.
They had a list and digital newsletter in place making the marketing easier and effective.
With an enthusiastic customer in “buy mood,” add-on items created an upsell for their additional departments and on-site for partners.
Economy upheavals can make us dig deeper to improvise and innovate and take us in a new direction that advances our success path.
How can you diversify your offerings?
What can you do now to scale for the future?
Who could be a good partner for you or what could be a good joint venture?
Until next time, have a Bounce-Up™ day.
Mj
P.S. Check out this Bounce-Up™ business book review from rock star Shannon J. Gregg, Ph.D. candidate
