Prosumers don’t ask, they expect.“So, effectively, these are consumers that are making very proactive choices in everything that they buy and specifically with respect to food they’re actually putting in their ethical values, their expectations and their aspirations onto their purchase,” Connolly said. “That means that environmental aspects are considered, how their data will be used. All of these things are being considered in their decisions and most interestingly they are then communicating when they’ve made a choice on social media.”
Prosumers don’t ask, they expect.
“So, effectively, these are consumers that are making very proactive choices in everything that they buy and specifically with respect to food they’re actually putting in their ethical values, their expectations and their aspirations onto their purchase,” Connolly said. “That means that environmental aspects are considered, how their data will be used. All of these things are being considered in their decisions and most interestingly they are then communicating when they’ve made a choice on social media.”
The voice of the prosumer is not just the voice of one person, it becomes the voice of tens, thousands, maybe even millions of people. The prosumer becomes an advocate for a brand or company; sometimes in a positive and sometimes in a negative light.
“When on your side they can be extremely powerful; when against you they can cause you a lot of problems,” the chief innovation officer and vice-president of corporate accounts at Alltech said. “Our response in Alltech is to improve feed efficiency. We audit our suppliers because when it becomes a problem, you don’t just have the damage of a recall but also the damage to your reputation.”
In order to engage with the prosumer and create a positive story about what farming does, Connolly encourages farmers to become more active on social media.
“I don’t know that I would tell you which is the best one; Facebook clearly in terms of numbers, Twitter and LinkedIn can be very effective,” Connolly said. “But I think standing back and letting someone else define the agenda for agriculture is a mistake. Prosumers are looking for someone to engage with them in a very personal way.”
Listen to an interview with Aidan Connolly below:
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