Apr 7, 2007

Aloha Marketing Is All About Putting Value First

Ali’i Kula Lavender Farm is one of those rare agritourism destinations that once you’ve been there you will never forget it. In January, I led a group tour of agritourism farms on four islands of Hawaii and found this stop, which is truly a marketing marvel.

In 2001, Alii Chang looked at a 3-acre piece of property sloping up the hillside on the island of Maui and wanted to do something different. He’d grown up on the islands as a produce farmer and was lured back to the land in a most unusual way. He tested growing a new crop, lavender, which is not indigenous to Hawaii. He found the crop was easy to grow and thrives at 4,000-foot elevation in the rich island soil.

After Alii established his first plantings, Marseu “Mars” Simpson, who had once stopped to pick up a lavender wreath, introduced him to Lani Weigert. Weigert, a marketing whiz, created a brand called Ali`i Kula Lavender, and Lani, Mars and Ali’i formed a partnership. Their company was named Maui’s retailer of the year and best new farm operation for the state of Hawaii in 2006. They had 300 people visit their farm the first year. Today, the farm covers about 10 acres, has more than 25,000 lavender plants in 45 varieties and has created more than 75 lavender-based products. Last year, more than 30,000 visited this colorful, scenic plot of land that transports your soul to a place of peace and tranquility.

“We didn’t really have money for marketing, so we created a ‘value centered’ marketing approach,” Lani said. “To establish our value, we looked at the Hawaiian culture.”

The Hawaiian culture maintains a strong sense of family, and new products and businesses are not easily accepted until the elder generation gives them a stamp of approval. Recognizing this, Lani focused their efforts on inviting senior citizens from senior centers all over Maui. Seniors were hosted for tea, and special efforts were made to assure they had a relaxing time visiting the unique lavender farm.

The seniors, impressed with their visit, spoke well of the new business, its “aloha” values and its refreshing products. Soon, their families and neighbors were visiting the Ali’i Kula Lavender Farm. With very few dollars, Lani used her knowledge of the culture for a most effective, word-of-mouth marketing plan.

In an enlightening discussion with our farm group, Lani shared her total concept of marketing, which she calls the “Aloha Experience.” This experience is described on their Web site, www.alikulalavender.com.

“Ali’i Kula Lavender’s business model is built on a ‘value centered’ philosophy, rather than ‘profit centered,'” according to the Web site. “At the center of the Hawaiian cultural values is aloha. Aloha means many things, but foremost it means love, trust and friendship. Aloha defines both our behavior and quality of relationships with people and the land. Aloha speaks to performance, to achievement and to excellence.”

Lani and Alii see that all 24 employees are trained in this philosophy, which exudes hospitality and friendship. She identified three major components to the Aloha Experience, and as she described them, the visitors recognized that these components are also applicable to agritourism farms on the mainland – if we take the time to contemplate and define them in the context of our own farms and offerings.

The first component in creating the Aloha Experience is to establish a “sense of place” for your farm business, providing the visitor with a special awareness of who you are and what you have to offer. Upon arrival at Ali’I Kula Lavender Farm, you are immediately embraced by beautiful gardens, peaceful surroundings, a sense of “returning to the source of the land” and a presence of calm and relaxation. It’s no wonder that brides want to have their weddings and receptions on the farm.

The second part of an Aloha Experience is “the hosts.” The hosts are what Lani calls her employees. Each is an emissary whose goal is to transport the visitor to this special sense of peace and beauty.

How does she do this? Lani shared with us an attractive, color-illustrated personnel manual she uses for training and review. The manual goes into great detail about the company philosophy, this “sense of place” that is so important and understanding their role to be hospitable and knowledgeable. Each host learns about all the plants grown on the farm, the healing and medicinal benefits of lavender, and the uses and benefits of the 70-plus value-added products the farm sells, including lavender tea, jelly, lotions, lip balm and even dog shampoo. The farm also provides guests a morning tea service at $30, a special lavender lunch for $55 and classes for wreath making. The hospitality hosts learn to enhance this experience and sense of place to provide a unique and delightful guest experience each and every time.

The third and very necessary part of the Aloha Experience is “the guest.” Lani never used the word customer – always “guest.” For all of our businesses to grow and thrive, we must focus on the guest.

So often, I see farms pay lip service to this part of understanding how to market their products. We must know who our guests are and how we can provide what they want. That’s “value-added” marketing.

Ali’i Kula Lavender Farm has clearly identified its primary target guests as females looking for relaxation and pampering in a unique surrounding. The training manual has a full section on “who is our guest,” “how do we treat the guest” and “why they are so important to us.”

The Aloha Experience is packaged with a dragonfly lavender floral logo. Called a Pinao, the native dragonfly symbolizes rebirth and renewal. More than 75 products are sold in lavender, upscale packaging and priced to reflect an item of value.

The two hours we spent with Alii, Lani and Mars – having tea, touring their gardens and shopping in their small retail store – gave us all a sense of calm and relaxation. If you ever travel to Maui, I’d certainly recommend you visit these wonderful people that have a grown a successful agritourism business in just five years – all based on real values and purpose.

Now, back home in the Midwest, I can still recall that special place. Lani gave each person on the tour a small cloth bag filled with lavender – what she called a lavender squeeze bag. She instructed us that whenever we were feeling tense or stressed by our daily life, just close our eyes and give the bag a few squeezes. The aroma would cradle us in a soothing blanket of comfort and peace. In that window of silence and serenity, we get transported to the beautiful place and recall our pleasurable moments at Ali’i Kula Lavender Farm. So for now, goodbye, I’m off to a special place. Aloha!

Jane Eckert, a national speaker, author and agritourism expert, is principal of Eckert AgriMarketing (www.eckertagrimarketing.com), a firm that helps farmers sell products directly to consumers and develop their operations into tourist destinations. She can be reached at (314) 862-6288 or at [email protected].