Shiny Red Berries - The Marketing Lessons of The Forest

Remember the last time you walked into a forest during spring? It is like walking through a market. Full of colour, smells, shapes and noise. The sounds of buyers and sellers wheeling and dealing. Lots of currency being traded. Value being exchanged. But not one single dollar. You see the currency of the forest is measured in units of lifeforce rather than money. The conversion and exchange rate between species is based on reciprocity and life sustainability. We can learn a lot about how to run our businesses and economies by observing the wisdom of the forest.

Let's look at marketing and selling. Rather than read huge clunky textbooks or sit inside boring lecture theatres, lets just imagine walking through a forest. Breathe in the fresh clean air. Suddenly something catches your eye. Lots and lots of shiny red berries on a green leafy tree. You watch as a red-beaked birds flap and flutter around. Eating and swallowing red berries. So what, you ask. Well, you have just learnt a number of key marketing and sales lessons right here in the forest.

Lesson 1. Attraction.
The shiny red berries attracted the attention of the red-beaked birds. They were easy to see against the shady green of the tree. So you must be able to attract specific customers. You must stand out from the shady boring competition. You must display shiny red berries. Not unripe blue berries. You also notice a smaller tree full of white flowers with bees buzzing around. Ok, you need to use various colours, scents, shapes and sizes to appeal to different customers. What works for the birds might not work for the bees.

Lesson 2. Conversion.
The tree wants the bird to distribute its seed. So it wraps the seed inside a nice red berry. Fills it with sweet juice and ripe flesh. Bingo, the bird is convinced. It swallows the berry. It will soon transport the seed and deposit it complete with own fertiliser. A new tree is born. Same with the white flowers. The lure of nectar convinces the bee to crawl inside the flower and leave traces of pollen. The flower gets fertilised. The bee gets nectar. Both are happy. So you need to think fair exchange. How to convince the customer to exchange his or her precious money for your product or service. You need to shine up your product. Sweeten up your service. Make up a nourishing meal. You must satisfy your customer's physical, emotional and spiritual hunger so they fly off happy. You know that they will return. They may bring back their family and friends.

Lesson 3. Consumption.
You remember that other animals eat these red berries as well. Possums, pigs and even humans. Yet there is only a limited supply of red berries on the one tree. You know that some clients are more preferred than others. For example, the humans consume the berries but they do not resow the seeds. Just chuck them in overflowing rubbish bins. Like most things in nature, the tree know it's a numbers game. Some seeds will make it. Some won't. Soon the red berries and white flowers will rot and wither as the seasons turn. Similarly you must be aware of buying cycles and seasonal trends. No point in selling bright red swimming trunks as part of your mid-winter sale. No one is buying swimwear that time of year.

Lesson 4. Regeneration.
Everything within nature operates to a cycle. The tree will replenish itself during the winter months. It will get rid of dead leaves, withered branches and old stock. It hibernates until spring arrives. Then the whole tree will be a mass of vibrant green again. The spring market is here. A hive of activity as Nature's sellers and buyers start wheeling and dealing again. Each year you need to upgrade your products and services. Replenish both yourself and your business. You also need to plan for your winter months when there are no buyers. Conserve energy while you plan for your next burst of growth. You might decide your current business is too old. Or you need to relocate to a more sunnier part of the forest and start anew. This is why it is so important to regenerate.

The Maori of New Zealand have a saying, the mind is a rich landscape of wonderful possibilities. So think like a tree. Or imagine you are a bird. You will then be able to market and sell your products and services using the wisdom of the forest. Knowing that your customers will flock to you like birds to a berry.