Low-Hanging Fruit

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21 Aug, 2024

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In business, one uses the term low-hanging fruit to describe projects or tasks that a single or group of employees can complete easily before moving on to more challenging work. Low-hanging fruit principle should help identify such tasks and complete them before focusing on long-term, sustainable business goals to achieve growth quickly.

The low-hanging fruit principle applies to various business-related aspects, such as marketing, sales, and growth. For example, organizations might want to reinvest in selling already popular products instead of introducing new ones. This approach can help boost sales, make faster decisions, and ensure a steady flow of leads. Resultantly, organizations can achieve significant growth in a short period.

Low-Hanging Fruit Meaning

Low-hanging fruit definition in business refers to a metaphor describing easy-to-complete tasks that employees can complete quickly in a straightforward manner before beginning other challenging work.
Experts believe organizations might miss out on sustainable organizational goals if they focus on the low-hanging fruit.
Individuals and organizations must understand three things to take advantage of the low-hanging fruit concept — business triggers, conversion funnel, and crucial microeconomic principles.
Focusing on the high-hanging fruit first may not be ideal for all companies. When companies have resources, focusing on simpler projects and goals makes sense.

Low-Hanging Fruit In Business Explained

Low-hanging fruit refers to easily achievable tasks that employees can complete quickly before starting to work on more challenging assignments. Much like low-priority items on one’s to-do list, these tasks are easy to complete.

These are the readily accessible, often obvious, and uncomplicated initiatives that can be seized upon for quick wins or improvements. Identifying and capitalizing on low-hanging fruit is a strategic approach to garnering early success and momentum in a business setting.

For instance, suppose a smartphone manufacturing company completed a survey concerning customer satisfaction. This survey showed that customers were not happy with their online support service. The company can set two objectives designed to resolve the issues reported. The first goal will require the organization to answer all inbound calls within a specific duration. On the other hand, the second goal will need the organization to resolve 80% of the issues on the first call.

Moreover, the low-hanging fruit theory can extend to customer engagement strategies. Implementing simple yet effective customer service enhancements or refining marketing tactics based on readily available data are instances where businesses can quickly boost customer satisfaction and loyalty.

To fulfil the first goal, the organization has to recruit new team members and purchase additional equipment, which would require some capital.

Nevertheless, one can still consider this task a low-hanging fruit as the second objective is relatively more challenging. After all, accomplishing the second objective would require the organization to train, assess, and give feedback to employees. Moreover, it might require companies to hire new employees and terminate a few existing ones.

Examples

Now that we understand the basics and intricate details of the low-hanging fruit principle, let us understand the practicality of the concept through the examples below.

Example #1

U.S. President Joe Biden and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen pledged to reduce methane emissions by a minimum of 30% by 2030. They urged other countries to unite with them to tackle the low-hanging fruit and combat climate change. Besides reducing the global warming rate, the reduced methane emissions can enhance agricultural output and improve public health.

Example #2

Suppose ABC Co. has its headquarters in New York City, USA, and sells its products only at one brick-and-mortar store. However, it wants to sell its products in every U.S. state. For that, it can open similar brick-and-mortar stores in different states. Alternatively, it can go online and sell via its website. The second one will be an easier task as the capital requirement would be low. Hence, the second one is the low-hanging fruit.

How To Use?

With all the technical and practical knowledge at our disposal, let us also touch upon how to use the low-hanging fruit theory to our advantage through the points below.

Key Microeconomic Principles
Although multiple aspects influence organizational decisions, individuals must know these three essential microeconomic principles:
The law of diminishing returns: The law of diminishing returns states that if investment increases in a specific area, the returns or profit cannot continue to rise after a certain point if all variables remain the same.
Opportunity Cost: Opportunity cost is the benefit entities give up when they select a particular action over another.
Cost-Benefit Analysis: This is a systematic process that organizations utilize to compare the costs and profits of a project or proposal. In other words, cost-benefit analysis is a tool that helps companies decide which projects to choose.
Business Triggers
This involves discovering a successful methodology that works for a business and replicating it to make future decisions. For instance, when prospecting leads, an organization might fund that a specific set of customers works best for their business. It might be because a particular business feature is suitable for them. Understanding such triggers will help businesses strengthen their position when replicating the results.
Conversion Funnel
Only getting people through the door or website is not enough. Businesses must turn them into paying customers. For that, organizations must understand their sales or conversion funnel.

Low-Hanging Fruit vs High-Hanging Fruit

Highly experienced fruit pickers typically start with high-hanging fruits first instead of the fruits hung low owing to the higher exposure to the sun. Moreover, they resist the temptation of low-hanging fruits first as they are likely to be damaged by bugs.

Likewise, simple tasks might tempt businesses. However, they won’t benefit the organization in the long run. Although the more complicated tasks or projects might require employees to put in greater effort, the work, when completed, can yield exceptional rewards. Hence, many experts believe businesses should focus on these bigger targets to accelerate growth.

This practice of focusing on higher-hanging fruit and then the lower one doesn’t always generate the desired results. It makes sense for organizations with limited resources to follow the low-hanging fruit approach. The simple tasks are easy to achieve, and completing them first can give businesses the necessary momentum to expand and scale. Let us understand the major differences between them through the bullet comparison below.

Low-Hanging Fruits

Easily reachable opportunities or tasks that require minimal effort.
Swiftly achievable with immediate, visible benefits.
Often entails low resource or time investment.
Focuses on short-term gains and efficiency.

High-Hanging Fruits

Involves more challenging, intricate opportunities or goals.
Achieving results may take time, with benefits realized over an extended period.
Typically requires significant resources, effort, or investment.
Emphasizes long-term planning and comprehensive strategies for sustainable growth.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. Where did the term low hanging fruit come from?

The term first appeared in the 17^th century. Multiple poets and authors used it as a vivid metaphor.

2. What is low-hanging fruit in marketing?

It refers to an organization’s core target audience that has already engaged with its brand and does not require much convincing to become a paying customer. Businesses can maximize their marketing campaign’s effectiveness by focusing on such an audience.

3. How do you identify low-hanging fruit in business?

Businesses can identify it by asking customers for feedback, interacting with experts, etc.

4. How do you identify low-hanging fruit in business?

Follow these steps to identify it:
1. Let a team brainstorm several potential projects.
2. Assign a number to each of these projects.
3. Create a matrix with four boxes on a sheet.
4. Place the number of each project on the matrix based on the estimated effort required to develop and execute the change (high/low), a the project’s possible impact on the company (low/high)
5. Ask all team members to grade the tasks based on impact and effort.
6. Discuss, evaluate, and adjust results.
Projects with high impact and low effort are considered low-hanging fruit.