Artisan Farmers’ Markets: Who are the Green Consumers? (North Vancouver)

 

 

 

 

 

Project Summary

Purpose

Title: Who are the Green Consumers?

  • To develop customer loyalty programs, Artisan Farmers’ Markets needs to better understand its customer base and target market segments. Every week from May to October, approximately 2,000 to 6,000 customers are counted at markets organized by Artisan Farmers’ Markets in Burnaby, North Vancouver and West Vancouver. These customer numbers vary greatly due to weather. In dry times, over 150,000 people experience shopping at the markets in a season. Yet, in wet times, under 50,000 people are shopping.
  • Students will develop profiles of market customers to better target the markets’ new customer loyalty programs funded by #BuyBC. Using conversational interviews, phone interviews and surveys, students will have the opportunity to ask thousands of customers why they choose to shop at a farmers’ market.
  • The underlying goal will be to uncover what is important to these existing customers and how to appeal to new potential customers. The final step will be to create customer profiles to be used for marketing purposes.

Areas of Focus

  • Farmers markets
  • Market analysis

Skills

  • Market-based observation and analysis of individual and consumer behaviour

Location

  • Since the Burnaby Farmers’ Market in the Burnaby City Hall Parking lot is closed at this time of year, the project will take place at the Lonsdale Quay Pop-Up Farmers’ Market on Saturdays or Sundays, which has immediately adjacent transite.
  • Community partner meetings at UBC will occur on every flexible learning day.
  • Work will also be done on the phone, via email, and potentially farm and vendor visits.

Special Considerations

  • Students must be comfortable working outdoors in all weather conditions and capable of moderate physical activity

Organization Information

Name

Artisan Farmers’ Markets Society

Mission + Vision

Vision: To celebrate BC farmers, food and handmade items in vibrant, welcoming, community-connected markets. Mission: To connect consumers with local farmers, small food producers and artisanal makers in order to support the community’s financial, social and environmental objectives.

Guiding Principles + Values: To support local farmers and small business people who grow, make or bake their product in BC by creating strong sales channels

To expand the variety and quality of local produce and products for consumers, especially small scale agricultural and specialty farm products

To educate the buying public on how their food and other essential products are produced and used, including locally grown options, nutrition awareness, seasonal eating and the historical roots of farming in our community

Primary Contact

  • Contact Person(s): Tara Immell, General Manager
  • Email: tara@artisanmarkets.ca
  • Address: Burnaby, Lonsdale Quay, or Ambleside Farmers’ Markets
  • Phone: 604-357-4796
  • Website: www.artisanmarkets.ca
  • Best time(s) method(s) to contact: anytime via email

Project Description

To develop customer loyalty programs, Artisan Farmers’ Markets needs to better understand its customer base and target market segments. Every week from May to October, approximately 2,000 to 6,000 customers are counted at markets organized by Artisan Farmers’ Markets in Burnaby, North Vancouver and West Vancouver. These customer numbers vary greatly due to weather. In dry times, over 150,000 people experience shopping at the markets in a season. Yet, in wet times, under 50,000 people are shopping.

The last time a customer survey was completed was in 2013 and this project will update that data. Students will develop profiles of market customers to better target the markets’ new customer loyalty programs funded by #BuyBC. Using conversational interviews, phone interviews and surveys, students will have the opportunity to ask thousands of customers why they choose to shop at a farmers’ market.

Sources of customer lists include ~20 customers signed up as a “Friend of the Market”, ~2,000 customers signed up to receive a weekly newsletter, and many customer lists in-between. Much of this data is paper-base, so students will need to first move data to electronic form.

Artisan Farmers’ Markets wants to discover which aspects of the North Shore Farmers’ Market are most important to a customer when deciding to come to the market, as well as when deciding to skip the market. Uncovering exactly why a customer would want to buy products at a market, and looking at the products’ features and benefits will be the first phase of this project. Students will then segment the target market by identifying specific geographic, demographic, psychographic and behavioristic characteristics of market shoppers. The underlying goal will be to uncover what is important to these existing customers and how to appeal to new potential customers. The final step will be to create customer profiles to be used for marketing purposes.

The goal of the project is to identify why customers shop at the Burnaby Farmers’ Market. Having this information from customers will inform the Artisan Farmers’ Markets on how to best attract, retain, and better serve more Burnaby customers in 2018.

A wider outcome will be achieved by having the students use their knowledge of social media to follow up on Term 1 student recommendations to expand the market’s social media reach. The student report will be shared with over 145 markets through the BC Association of Farmers’ Markets.

Skills Preferred + To Be Developed

  • Strong verbal and written communication skills
  • MS Word and MS Excel/Google Sheets proficiency, including Tables & Charts
  • Eagerness to learn more about local economic, community and environmental impact of farmers’ markets – especially relating to consumers

Preferred Days of Week and Hours

  • Much of the project will be self-scheduled.
  • In person conversations with customers will need to take place on market days. On-site discussions, flexible with the students’ schedules, can occur on Saturdays and Sundays at Lonsdale Quay between 10AM and 3PM.
  • Students can also choose to arrange individual farm and vendor visits to speak with vendors about loyal customers, and visit other farmers’ markets most convenient for them.

Project/Partner Orientation

  • Students are requested to be familiar with the businesses selling at Artisan Market by the first meeting on Wednesday, Sep 20 in order to select which vendors they will be interviewing. 2016 and 2017 vendor profiles are at www.artisanmarkets.ca/vendor-profiles.
  • Students will spend four hours volunteering at a market, ideally by mid-February, to meet the vendors, count the customers passing by and pilot draft survey questions.

Expected Outcomes

Learning Outcomes

  • Students will learn about what is important to green consumers when choosing where to buy their products.
  • Students will develop interviewing and data analysis skills.
  • Students will come to appreciate how uncertain and variable a farmers’ market customer numbers can be depending upon weather and holiday weekends

Organizational Outcomes

  • Artisan Farmers’ Market will have segmented target markets.
  • Artisan Farmers’ Markets will categorize reasons customers choose to shop at the market.
  • Artisan Farmers’ Markets will further develop two new customer loyalty programs funded by #BuyBC to offer children and seniors targeted discounts.
source: https://wiki.ubc.ca/Course:LFS350/Projects/W2018/ArtisanMarketsGCB