Developing Your Marketing Skills Martha Goodsell Fallow Hollow Deer Farm Candor, NY

The Marketing Process 1.Establish market goals and plan 2.Identify market opportunities 3.Select a specific target market (Who is your customer?) 4.Decide your marketing mix (4 Ps) 5.Position yourself 6.Manage the marketing effort

Step 1: Market Planning Goals Where are you going to go (goal) and how are you going to get there (plan)? Mission statements are best viewed as a process of satisfying customer needs.  Maximize consumer consumption  Maximize consumer satisfaction  Maximize consumer choice  Maximize consumer’s quality of life

What’s YOUR Mission?

Step 2: Identify Market Opportunities The environment of the company contains threats and opportunities. The MACRO environment represents uncontrollable forces such as economics, technology, political issues and culture. The MICRO environment directly affects a business including workers, suppliers, competitors, intermediaries and customers. What threatens YOUR business? Where does YOUR opportunity lie?

Growing Your Market Check a box then write your new product or new market on the line provided.  Market penetration (existing product, existing market) ________________  Product development (new product, existing market) ________________  Market development (existing product, new market) _____________________  Diversification (new product, new market) ________________________________

Products: What will you sell?  Live animals?  Meat?  Meat products?  By-products?  An “experience”?  Other?

Marketing Agricultural Products What are you selling today? Pretend you bumped into a potential customer. You have 2 minutes to tell him/her about yourself and your product. What will you say?

Your target market:  What are they like? (demographics)  Where are they located?  What will they buy?

Who are your targeted customers?  Other farmers?  Individuals?  Industrial consumers?  Resale customers?  International market?  Other? __________________________

TODAY’s Customers Customers are older and interested in learning about farmers, their families and how the food was grown/raised Spend an average of $12/purchase Learn about you by Word of Mouth Live within 40 miles Willing to shop 2x per month Have higher quality expectations 20% of customers lost each year

Targeted customers revised: Did the descriptions match the target? If not, you may need to rethink or revise.

Step 3: Finding New Markets Search for new markets by reading magazines, newspapers, journals; attending trade shows and looking at the competition. How will you find your markets?

Step 4: The 4 P’s of Marketing Product Price Promotion Placement

Market Mix– The PRODUCT  Quality: ________________________________  Features: ______________________________  Options: _______________________________  Sizes: _________________________________  Labeling  Packaging  Warranties  Customer service

Packaging  How long will my product be stored?  Under what conditions?  Freezer paper?  Trays and film?  Cryovac?

Labeling The following information must be on the label for those products sold in New York: –Product name –Inspection legend and establishment number –Net weight statement (includes price and DATE) –Address line –Handling statement (ex. Keep Frozen) –Ingredient statement –Nutrition facts –Country of Origin

SAFE HANDLING INSTRUCTIONS

Product Claims Can’t Use: –Antibiotic Free; Chemical Free; Hormone Free Can Use but Must Verify: –Free Ranging, Grass Fed, Humanely Raised, Naturally Raised Must Certify: –Organic For Finished Product Can Use: –Natural, No Animal By-Products, No Additives

Layout your label here:

Market Mix– PRICE  Cost based  Buyer based  Competition based Why?  Terms?

Market Mix– PROMOTION  Advertising: ________________________ List one place you will pay to have your product advertised.  Publicity: __________________________ List one local newspaper who can help with free publicity.  Promotions: _______________________ List one event where your product can be promoted.  Sales: ____________________________ List one company (or farm) that may be able to help you with sales.

Market Mix– PLACEMENT  Location: _______________________________  Coverage: ______________________________  Retail, wholesale: ________________________  Channels: ______________________________  Inventory plan: __________________________  Transportation plan: ______________________

Wholesale Marketing Channels  Packers?  Wholesalers?  Retailers?  Brokers?  Distributors?

Market channels for Selling Live Animals  Auctions  Livestock dealers, brokers, cooperatives  Live animal markets  On-farm slaughter  Freezer Trade (halves, quarters in advance of slaughter)  CSAs (per advanced agreement)  Contract Raising (per agreement)

Legal obligations if selling live animals  Unique ID (tag your animals)  Premise ID may be needed  Domestic Animal Health Permit (for trailering)  Health records and birth certificates  Other?

Retail Market Channels  Mail order (catalog or web based)  Store front  on farm (back porch, farmstand)  off farm (farmer’s market)  Door to door  Hotels, Restaurants, Institutions  CSA or other ownership-type option

What you must know if you are retailing meat:  Know the cuts, know where they come from and know how to cook them  Know your dressing percentages (grade)  Know your yields  Know how to set your price

Merchandising ARE YOU CUSTOMER FRIENDLY?  Displays- colorful, bountiful, changed often, highlight specials  Highest Quality- if it’s not don’t bother with it  Packaging- promote and protect product  Hospitable and Comforting- chairs, coffee  Sensual- see, hear, smell, taste, touch  Staffing- available, friendly, reliable, trustworthy

Wherever you sell  Friendliness  Cleanliness  Service  Value

Step 5: Positioning yourself.  Who is your competition?  Identify your competition’s product:

 Identify and differentiate your product –Attributes –Benefits –Usage –Users  Should you position yourself next to or away from this competitor?

Step 6: Managing the Mktg. Effort Implement your plan, then ask… What’s the competition doing now? How did your plan measure up?

Market Positioning What’s yours?  Leader  Challenger  Follower  Nicher How can you keep yourself in that position?

My Marketing is…  Targeted  Guerilla-like  Tactical  Capturing  Penetrating  Educational  Builds Trust  Offers Values  Experiential

Reminders to myself…