BusinessWeek recently ran an article titled An Amish Entrepreneur’s Old-Fashioned Approach. It’s a feel-good story about an Amish farmer and his dad who figured out several years ago that everyone was going organic. While that might sound good to some, their point was that they wouldn’t be able to differentiate themselves in the organic food world for very long.

What to do?

Amos (the son) and Jacob (the dad) got even more niche by focusing on Nutrient-dense foods, which “are more nutritious than conventionally produced products and may help consumers strengthen their immune systems.” Doing so allowed them to more than double their sales in 4 years.

But how did they know?

“Amos says he and his dad concluded in 2000, based on conversations they had with customers and representatives of organizations that promote nutrient-dense foods, that interest was about to grow significantly.

That, in a nutshell, is what every entrepreneur needs to remember. In the Free Marketing Made Easy course we are always talking about using Internet Marketing tools to create conversations and listen. The Amish still understand that. So here’s hoping that, amidst our sea of wonderful social media tools, we remember it too.