At BankMarketingCenter.com, we’re always on the lookout for how other segments of the economy – beyond the financial sector – market their products.
Grab a plate and let’s talk about one of the hot trends in the restaurant business known as farm- to- table.
Put simply, farm-to-table – or farm-to-fork, is the idea that local restaurateurs fill their menus with items grown or raised by local farmers, or caught by local anglers. For example, a friend recently visited a restaurant in Pensacola, Fla., The Blue Marlin, where he feasted on a snapper filet caught only a few hours before on a local boat.
Or consider the Springville, (Ala.), Café with its slogan, “Where Springville Meets to Eat.” Its owners have embraced the notion of farm to table in a big way. For example, the summer brings tomatoes grown in the rich soil of nearby Chandler Mountain, where some of the South’s biggest, juiciest, most delicious tomatoes are grown.
At Springville Café, where the buffet menu changes daily, farm-to-table means that when Chandler Mountain tomatoes are in season, the buffet may serve a tomato pie, or the menu a creative tomato sandwich or BLT.
The lesson of these eateries, in a bite, is that they market local culinary treasures that make their communities unique.
It could be said that they are marketing their Mayberry.
There was a lot to market about the fictional TV town of Mayberry. Kind people looked out for their neighbors. Virtually no crime, save some outsider’s nefarious efforts, or Ernest T. Bass breaking a window. Folks went to church and believed wholeheartedly in “The Golden Rule”: Treat folks as you would want to be treated.
Market your community’s treasured values, treasured landmarks and cherished history, while at the same time marketing your institution.
Here’s a thought: How about a marketing campaign –print, broadcast and online of “Main Street Minutes,” celebrating the many things – large and small that make your community special. Tell the story of that town treasure, with a simple tagline: “This Main Street Minute was brought to you by First Community Bank. At First Community, we believe in our community and we believe in you. Come by today and let us help you.”
It’s a simple way to warm and win hearts and minds. And unlike farm-to-table, there are no dishes to wash.
Please Like, Share or Send me a Home Grown Apple Pie!
