What is low hanging fruit?
Low hanging fruit refers to the fruit on lower parts of a tree that’s easier to grab. In business, this phrase is used as a metaphor to describe tasks or projects that a team or employee can easily and quickly complete before moving onon more challenging work.
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Where and when to look for low hanging fruit
The low hanging fruit at your business will depend on the type of industry. Here are some examples which apply to many businesses and can help almost any company boost sales or efficiency:
- Reach out to former customers
- Attract people walking by your store
- Look at your analytics
- Become a consultant
Reach out to former customers
Former customers are low hanging fruit because they’re familiar with your products and services and it can be less challenging to get them to buy again if they had a great experience in the past. If you have an online business, reachout to these customers via email. If you have a brick-and-mortar store, contact customers and:
- Send them an email with a special, return-buyer discount or suggest items related to recent searches and purchases
- Ask them to refer a friend in exchange for a discount
Attract people walking by your store
Offer these potential customers ample parking space, special discounts or a sign advertising a huge sale.
Look at your analytics
Identifywebsites you didn’t even realize were bringing quality customers to your online store or your business’s website.In order to do this, log in to your analytics account and click on the referral traffic page. Determine your biggest traffic referral sources as these sources could be used in your next campaign to inform potential customers of new products, to urge email sign-ups and other important promotional campaigns.
Become a consultant
Consulting can help you access potential business partnerships and new customers or markets. If you are an expert in your field, share your expertise and:
- Increase awareness of your business in your industry
- Establish yourself as an authority in the field
- Network and meet other entrepreneurs who can positively impact your business
- Gain access to new technologies, ideas and sources
Ways of finding low hanging fruit
Seek low hanging fruit by approaching:
- Fellow industry members:Network at industry events or conferences. You may learn about business opportunities or suppliers that can increase your profits, savings or efficiency.
- Ask employees. Employees are good sources of information and can give you insights onproduction, customers or other aspects of the business.Bring employees together tobrainstorm or send out surveys to find areas to improve quickly.
- Customers:Review customer feedback, suggestions and complaints to identify opportunities.
Related:How to Reduce Employee Turnover
Low hanging fruit FAQs
The following are some frequently asked questions about low hanging fruit:
Where doesthe term "low hanging fruit"come from?
The term comes from the task of picking fruit off of a tree. Low hanging fruit is easier for a harvester to gather instead of fruit higher up on tree which would require a ladder to pick.
What are some other examples of low hanging fruit in business?
Some other examples include:
- Sending out reminders to repeat customers who buy the same products regularly
- Offering discounts to customers who purchase goods in bulk
- Simplifying the process for returned goods if reduced time processing is more beneficial to the business than the costs saved with returning goods to the manufacturer
How do you determine the right type of low hanging fruit opportunity for your business?
The key to yielding the benefits of low hanging fruit is finding determining which easier taskscan bring quick gains to the business. For example, while the challenge of bringing in new customers maybe worth the time and effort, you must also appreciate return customers who are already familiar with your product and may be easier to compel to purchase again.
