May 25, 2015

Earthworm Buyer's Profile

I am profiling my clients based on WHY they bought African Nightcrawler (ANC) earthworms because I have reached a milestone, my 100th customer. 

I classified customers into four profiles based on their reasons for buying worms.
  1. Those wishing to start their home vermicomposting projects and edible gardens.  Eighty three (83) of my customers (out of 100, making it 83%) want to reduce their carbon footprint by recycling their kitchen wastes into organic fertilizer.  Also, they want to grow their own food in recycled containers.    
  2. Those who have a school Biology project.  Eight (8) out of 100 (or 8% of total) comprise of mothers of high school students.  This is usually a desperate lot I get to deal with due to time constraints. I have turned down a lot of orders because they want their orders served on the same day or delivered the next day to the school of their kids.  I patiently explain to frustrated mothers that I only get to serve orders on weekends because I have work and worming is just a hobby.  I can only imagine the predicament of their children after the end of the call.
  3. Those who are starting a farm.  There were seven (7) guys who wanted to buy in bulk which I discouraged at the beginning.  I told them to first get used to culturing worms before buying in bulk.  This group was also the most inquisitive when it comes to asking information.  Of course, I answered all their questions and I sent a follow-up email for links to sites I have read on organic farming and beneficial microorganisms.
  4. Those who want fishing bait.  I had two guys purchasing worms as fish bait.  These guys were very specific with the sizes of the earthworms they want.  In fact, they prefer the local earthworms to African Nightcrawlers since the locals worms are much bigger.  I had to eventually turn them down after several repeat orders because my earthworm population drastically declined.  I had to re-seed my worm bed to regain biomass for efficient vermicomposting.
It has been a learning experience for me and hopefully, for my customers as well.  Fortunately, there are only a few clients coming back to purchase again due to their earthworms dying out. 

To all my customers and readers of this blog, thank you!  May your tribe increase!

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