A Fair Trade certification on a product
tells a consumer that the farmers who grew and harvested it were treated
justly and were fairly compensated. The most common goods certified as
Fair Trade are teas, coffees and chocolates sourced directly from
farmers in countries across South America, Central America, Africa and
Asia. Last year, a record amount of Fair Trade certified coffee was
imported into the U.S. and Canada.
Fair Trade faces stiff competition from
lower-priced alternatives in each of the food categories it specializes
in. In an instant, the Fair Trade stamp on a product needs to
communicate to a consumer that he or she ought to choose a product that
typically costs more. That’s a tall order for a logo. “My job is to meet
you where you are, which is standing in a grocery store, two kids in
the cart, with 10 seconds to decide what kind of coffee to buy,” says
Mary Jo Cook, chief impact officer at Oakland, Calif.-based Fair Trade.
Here are three core strategies employed by Fair Trade to strengthen the power of its brand.
1. Find your customer sweet spot.
No matter what your product or service
is, it is not going to appeal to everyone. In order to sharpen your
brand, you first have to identify exactly who you are going after. In
its earlier days, Fair Trade was trying to appeal to everyone, says
Katie Barrow, communications manager for the certifier. While the Fair
Trade logo is recognized by 38 percent of all U.S. adults, it was found
to resonate with 62 percent who say they care about their health and
environmental sustainability, according to a study by research group
Natural Marketing Institute last year. Now, the certifier focuses its
marketing efforts on those customers who identify as being concerned
with health and sustainability and who have room in their budgets for
luxury items.
2. Put the customer’s needs ahead of your ego.
Oftentimes, entrepreneurs are so excited
about their product or service that the branding strategy becomes
focused on the entrepreneur’s ingenuity, not the customer’s needs, says
Cook. When defining your brand strategy, Cook says an entrepreneur
should instead ask: What problem are we trying to solve, and for whom?
“If you can’t answer that question, you really won’t be able to do too
good a job at marketing,” she says. Once you know what problem you are
solving, shape your brand around that answer.
3. Use social media to inspire and build support.
Content on your company’s Facebook or
Twitter pages will only reach the customers already following you. If
you have a limited marketing budget and are trying to expand your reach,
create content for your social media streams that your customers will
want to share with their friends, says Cook. Fair Trade’s strategy is to
post stories about the farmers it positively impacts and inspirational
quotes with universal appeal. People want to share content that makes
them feel empowered, says Barrow.
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