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What Is Low-Hanging Fruit?

Definition: Low-hanging fruit is a metaphor for tasks and goals that are well within reach and demand little time, effort, and resources for completion.

In orchards, it’s the fruit on lower branches; in business, low-hanging fruit refers to tried-and-true and safe strategies, albeit less valuable and impactful. 

Examples of Low-Hanging Fruit

Here are examples of excellent low-hanging fruits in marketing and sales:

  • Reusing previous holiday-specific eCommerce strategies, such as Black Friday deals;
  • Targeting low-hanging, but specific SEO keywords with less competition;
  • Content repurposing, updating, and resharing.

Pros and Cons of Focusing on the Low-Hanging Fruit

Going for the low-hanging fruit first is attractive for several reasons:

  • It requires little effort;
  • The results are fast and visible;
  • It is a low-risk endeavor with less impact on the budget.

However, picking the low-hanging fruit is not a standalone, sustainable business model. Eventually, you will run out of the low-hanging fruit, so use it to supplement your other, more complex business plans.

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Article FAQs

Where did the term low-hanging fruit come from?
The term was first used in a George Eliot novel Adam Bede, but the first recorded use of low-hanging fruit as a metaphor was in 1909.
How do you identify low-hanging fruit in business?
Here are the two easy ways to discover low-hanging fruit in any business: 1) Existing and repeat customers are the best sources of low-hanging fruit. They’re easier to market and upsell to, as you’ve already earned their trust; 2) Analyse the data and brainstorm with different departments. By working with diverse teams, it will be easier to come up with small changes that bring good payoffs.

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