I am an independent coffee farmer in the Central American country of Guatemala. My family has been farming coffee for generations, but I am no longer able to keep up with my duties.
We used to grow several varieties of coffee plants, but now we only grow one variety, which is called Typica. The harvest from our farm goes into a warehouse where it sits until someone buys it.
Source
A few years ago, I heard of an opportunity to sell our old coffee beans to a company that was looking to buy them. They would be sold as instant coffee at $1 per pound, which is a great price considering the quality of the coffee. But, unfortunately, there were not enough buyers interested in buying them.
A friend of mine told me about a marketing firm he knew who could help get the word out and bring in more customers. He introduced me to this company, and they promised to market the coffee and increase sales. They set up an online store where people could order the coffee, and they also started running ads on TV. After a couple of months, the ads stopped appearing, and I never saw any results. It became clear that the company wasn't going to do anything to help us.
So I decided to find another marketing firm. This time, I asked around for recommendations, and my friend again referred me to a company called Wunderman. They were supposed to be the best in the business.
The first thing they did was send over a team of account reps to go through the warehouse and select the coffee that would be most attractive to customers. They then came back and suggested that we package these beans in special bags and put labels on them.
The idea was that the coffee could be easily mixed with other brands of coffee when it was ground, so it wouldn't look like we were selling bad coffee. They also suggested that we add some fancy labels with pictures of coffee grounds, and maybe even a picture of the coffee plant itself. I agreed to their suggestions, and soon after, the marketing campaign started.
At first, the ads appeared regularly on television. Then they stopped showing up entirely. At the same time, they added a section to our website where people could order the coffee, but nothing happened. I tried calling the office several times, but no one ever answered. I emailed them, but no reply came. Eventually, I went to visit the office myself, but they weren't there.
I left a note saying that I wanted to speak with someone about the status of my business, and I received a phone call from a man named Miguel. He said that he was the new head of the company and that he was very sorry about all the trouble. He explained that they had hired a whole new staff of employees and that things were finally coming together. He assured me that he would take care of everything and that I shouldn't worry about the situation.
After a couple of weeks, the ads started appearing again, and the special bags began selling well. A month later, the company announced that they were expanding into Europe. They had decided to open a branch office in London, England, to make the coffee available to a large percentage of people.
What started as a hopeless situation owing to the quality of the coffee beans became good business. I was happy that I didn't lose hope, and I continued to sell the coffee and grow my business.
