Agricultural Marketing

SELLING FARM PRODUCE AND AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS ONLY SUCCEEDS WHEN THE MARKETING IS RIGHT - THERE IS MORE TO IT THAN LUCK!

This is why it is important for anyone involved in selling farm products to have a good understanding of agricultural marketing.

A successful rural manager needs to understand the unique markets and how to capitalize on market forces to maximize business profit.

Agricultural businesses experience continual changes and variations -

• the impact of the climate
• the impact of the weather
• changes in consumer requirements
• the need for sustainable produce

All of this means that the rural manager and marketer has to continually consider, evaluate, assess and reassess the way in which they market farm products.

To be successful in agricultural marketing, you need to -

• understand the unique markets of agricultural marketing
• know how to capitalize on market forces to maximize business profit

This course specialises in agricultural marketing, developing your ability to analyze and manage marketing problems in an agricultural enterprise. Topics covered include -

• handling produce
• promotions
• farm marketing strategies
• customer relations
• and much more

Lesson Structure

There are 8 lessons in this course:

1. Agricultural Marketing Concepts
   • Marketing
   • Goods and Services
   • The Marketing Concept
   • Managing the Marketing Process
   • The Role of Marketing
   • Approaches to Marketing
   • The Goals of Marketing
   • Organising, analysing, selecting target markets
   • Developing the Marketing Mix
   • Managing the Market Effort
2. Farm Marketing Objectives and Strategies
   • Supply and Demand
   • Developing the Farm Marketing Plan
   • Organising the Planning process
   • Reviewing the Business's Situation
   • Establishing Marketing Objectives
   • Developing Strategies
   • Market Penetration
   • Price Advantages
3. Target Marketing
   • Preliminary Research
   • Target Markets in Agriculture
   • Defining the Target
   • Resources
   • Analysing Market Opportunities
   • External Influences
   • General Economic Conditions
   • Government Policy and Regulations
   • Overseas influences
   • Demographic Patterns
   • Technological Change
   • Customer Values and Attitudes
   • Alternative Marketing Methods
   • Internal Influences
   • Selecting Target Markets
   • Market Segmentation
4. Handling Produce
   • Developing the Marketing Mix
   • The "Product" element of the Marketing Mix
   • Logos, packaging, positioning and image etc
   • The "Price" Element of the Marketing Mix
   • Pricing objectives and methods
   • The "Promotion" element of the marketing Mix
   • Publicity and Public Relations
   • Advertising, sales and personal selling
   • The "Place" element of the Marketing Mix
   • Market coverage
   • Determining Emphasis with the Marketing Mix
   • Impact of Product Life-cycle
5. Customer Relations
   • Customer Care Policy
   • Levels of Involvement
   • Effective Communication
   • Becoming an effective communicator
   • Dealing with complaints
   • Self-evaluation
   • Maximising customer service
6. Market Research
   • The Importance Of Market Research
   • What to Research
   • The Research Process
   • Analysing Costs and Benefits
7. Promotions
   • Promoting Product
   • Creating customer awareness
   • Promotional Campaign Strategy
   • The Promotional Message
   • Promotional Material
   • Making Promotions Cost Effective
   • Channels of Communication
   • Publicity Marketing
   • Advertising
   • Structuring an Advertisement or Promotion
8. Managing Marketing
   • Market Retention
   • Balancing Strategy
   • Market Development
   • Market Growth
   • Managing the Marketing Plan
   • Sales and the Market

Aims

• Explain the role of marketing in business and the importance of marketing in the business plan.
• Assess the relative importance of marketing planning and to determine marketing strategies in relation to farming.
• Identify target markets to select suitable marketing methods.
• Explain the physical handling of products in the marketing process, including packaging, labelling, presentation and transportation.
• Plan to maintain sound customer relations in an agricultural business.
• Conduct market research into a product or service in the agricultural industry.
• Plan to manage the promotional program for an agricultural business.
• Develop strategies to manage the marketing of an agricultural enterprise.

What You Will Do

• Investigate the marketing operations of an agricultural enterprise in your locality. This may be any enterprise involved in agriculture, such as a primary producer or a supplier of goods or services to primary producers. Learn all you can about three different agricultural products or services, and the way they are marketed by that enterprise. Visit the enterprise. Make observations and ask questions of staff and/or management.
• Investigate two different but similar farm enterprises operating in your locality/region. These should be enterprises which are producing a similar product (e.g. meat, or milk or wool, or grain), but which have at least some differences in their marketing (e.g. one might operate a farm shop with direct sales to the public while the other does not). Determine the marketing strategies being used by each.
• Research into an agricultural enterprise you have or still work in or one you aspire to to work in. Find out: How the owners determined that there was a demand for product; If and how a target market was identified and; If the target market or product has changed since the business began.
• Visit at least two poultry product outlets (e.g. Farms, shops, markets). If you cannot visit these in real life, undertake virtual visits on the web (e.g. Search for egg/chicken farms, retailers, wholesalers). Find out all that you can about how they market the different products they sell (e.g. free range eggs to a local outlet, wholesale to a marketing board, fresh meat to a butcher or processor).
• Speak to a business that manufactures agricultural produce, and find out how they price and distribute their products. Also, find out what they believe are the most important factors in making a sale, and in what selling situations they experience the greatest sales (e.g. through magazines, off the back of a truck, through agents, face-to-face, salespeople).
• Investigate a marketing program for an agricultural product. This may be a product you work with, which a friend or colleague works with, or for which you are able to obtain access to information for the purpose of this project. Evaluate the marketing program or strategy for this agricultural product or service by monitoring marketing activities and performance over a period of three months, and recording information in a log book.

WHAT ARE THE GOALS OF AGRICULTURAL MARKETING?

From the ‘marketing’ definition, we can determine that there is one major goal for most businesses: to increase the sales and profit while attempting to satisfy customers’ needs and wants.  Such a goal could be stated in very general terms – ‘to increase our market share’ or ‘to increase our profits’.  However, these statements are too generalized.  When deciding on market goals, it is better to be more specific.  E.g. the business wants to increase its market share by 5 percent.

To be able to achieve such goals, there are a number of minor goals that the marketing plan will need to achieve.  They are as follows:

1. Encourage brand loyalty which will lead to repeat sales
2. Emphasize the unique characteristics of the product – product differentiation – that cause customers to purchase your product(s) rather than the competitors’ product(s).
3. Develop a positive image of the product among customers.
4. Recognize any adverse customer reactions and respond accordingly.
5. Package, price and distribute the product.
6. Undertake promotional strategies to support the product.
7. Increase customer satisfaction through the provision of after-sales service.

Promote

Promotion is that part of your organization’s marketing mix that aims to inform, persuade or remind the marketplace about its products. It is an attempt to influence potential consumers to buy your product.

Promoting your product or service requires focus beyond just making immediate sales. Promotion involves building an attitude amongst potential customers that will lead some of them to buy from you not only now, but well into the future. Through promotion, the awareness of your product (and perhaps brand) will increase; and the inclination to buy this rather than something else will increase.

Agricultural promotions sometimes focus on a generic product, a brand or s specific product;

• A generic product could be a type of meat, all vegetables, fresh food in general or wine in general.  An example of this type of promotion could be a cooperative effort by a group of beef farmers might aim to promote beef; increasing the % of beef being eaten by a broad population
• A brand could be a wine company, a marketing authority or a retail chain which brands all it’s agricultural; products with the same name
• A specific product could be a type of wine (eg. Chardonnay) from a particular wine company; or a branded fruit or vegetable from a particular cooperative group of growers (eg. Tropic Coast Bananas).

HOW WILL THIS COURSE BENEFIT YOU?

• Understanding marketing improves your capacity to sell products and services
• One of the biggest reasons for the failure of agricultural enterprises is that they fail to sell enough, or sell at the right price
• Learn more about how to market correctly and effectively
• Improve your business, job and career prospects by ensuring your success with a greater understanding of marketing processes

This course will teach you so much more than just theory.

• Learn the principles of agricultural marketing
• Learn how to think outside the box to improve your marketing strategies
• Develop connections and network with other businesses, organisations and individuals
• Improve your ability to explore, research and find effective marketing solutions for today and the future - future proof your career

EMPLOYMENT PROSPECTS

Studying this course could lead to -

• Employment in marketing farm sales and produce
• Promotion within the agricultural marketing industry
• Starting or expanding your own business by knowing how to sell agricultural produce
• Add another string to your bow if you are already working in marketing by offering you a niche knowledge in agricultural marketing

DO YOU WANT TO WORK IN AGRICULTURAL MARKETING OR IMPROVE YOUR KNOWLEDGE OF AGRICULTURAL MARKETING?

If your answer is yes, then this is the course for you.

Future proof your career by developing skills in agricultural marketing that will work today, and in the future.

Learn online with this agricultural marketing course.

Start at any time to suit you and work through this self-paced course.

Enrol today and get started!