Farmers don’t want tricks; they just want to be treated fairly.

I am beginning to suspect that I may be getting more curmudgeonly. There’s a fellow at church I find to be a true curmudgeon. He has a sharp retort for every comment – a perspective worthy of Scrooge – and can find a dark cloud in every silver lining. Yet, people think that underneath it all, he’s a nice guy. He takes care of his wife in her time of sickness, shows up when people are needed, and perhaps does a lot that others don’t see. It’s really hard to tell if his cantankerousness is an act to conceal the nice guy or if that’s really who he is.

But enough about Steve. I’ve started to sense that I have become a bit surly myself these days because I get tired of wading through all the noise and fluff to get to the meat of what I am looking for on the internet. I’m tired of receiving five emails a day from a website I visited one time or not at all. I’m tired of texts telling me who to vote for, and how to lose 30 pounds in 10 days, and how this one seminar is going to show me how to get 30 years of stock market returns in 30 days.

Why Farmers Are Turning Off the Internet for Shopping

Marketers wonder why farmers are turning off the internet for shopping – for buying products. That’s why.

Farmers, more than most people, don’t have time for internet marketing tricks. They have no patience to begin with and they have even less time. Trick them once, good for you. But that’s the last you’ll see of them.

And farmers have really long memories. They’ll go out of their way to make sure they never use your product again. They’ll tell others, not to convince them, but “just saying.”

Tricks or Treats?

So how about instead of using marketing tricks, we start using marketing treats? A web page you can read without ads cluttering up the experience. A straightforward product description and offer. Product support staff who truly know the ins and outs of their products.

Few things upset a farmer more than discovering that they know more about a product than the “experts” do, after calling the company salesperson or technical support team. Companies like Home Depot have found this out. Have you noticed how much more informed the staff is now than they were 5 or 10 years ago? (Of course, you still have to find one.)

What Farmers – and All Consumers – Want

People want help, guidance, a straight shooters. No tricks. Just fair treatment.

So happy Halloween everyone! May your bag be full of treats. No tricks tonight!


The 2023 Farmer Speaks Report Will Be Available Soon!


To request a copy of the 2023 Farmer Speaks Report research study, contact your
J.L. Farmakis, Inc. representative or request a copy from Bill Farmakis at bill@jlfarmakis.com.

If you’d like to learn more about how custom research can help your business, 
please let me know.