Agricultural Marketing

Very few non-rural businesses are presented with the continuing changes and variations that confront a rural business.

The impact of climate and the environment requires the rural manager has to continually consider, evaluate, and reassess (often on a daily or even hourly basis,) the numerous changes and types of information that affect his or her business. The successful rural manager understands his or her unique markets, and how to capitalise on market forces to maximise business profit.

This course develops your ability to analyse and manage marketing problems in an agricultural enterprise. Topics covered include: market research, management of your marketing, promotions, handling produce, packaging, distribution, customer relations and 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

Each lesson culminates in an assignment which is submitted to the school, marked by the school's tutors and returned to you with any relevant suggestions, comments, and if necessary, extra reading.

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, labeling, 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

• Agricultural Marketing Concepts
  • The Role of Marketing
  • Approaches to Marketing
• The Production Approach: 1820sto 1910s
  • The Sales Approach: 1920s to 1960s
  • The Marketing Approach: Stage One 1960s to 1980s
  • The Marketing Approach: Stage Two 1980s to Present
• The Goals of Marketing
  • Managing the Marketing Process
  • Marketing An Evolutionary Process
• Farm Marketing Objectives and Strategies
  • Supply And Demand
  • The Marketing Mix
  • Developing a Farm Marketing Plan
  • Organising the Planning Process
• Target Marketing
  • Preliminary Research
  • Analysing Market Opportunities
  • External Influences
  • Overseas Influences
  • Internal Influences
  • Analysis of Business Resources
  • Analysis of Market Share
  • Analysis of Product Characteristics
  • Analysis of Advertising
  • Analysis of Price
  • Financial Capacity
  • Analysis of Innovative Potential
  • Selecting Target Markets Market Segmentation
  • Physical Basis for Segmenting the Market
  • Behavioural Basis for Segmenting the Market
• Handling Produce
  • Developing the Marketing Mix
  • The ‘Product’ Element
  • The ‘Price’ Element
  • The ‘Promotion’ Element
  • The ‘Place’ Element
  • Product Life Cycle
• Customer Relations
  • Customer Service
  • Customer Care Policy
  • Customer Care - Levels of Involvement
  • Effective Communication
  • Dealing with Complaints
  • Maximising Customer Service
• Market Research
  • The Importance of Market Research
  • The Research Process
  • Analysing Costs and Benefits
• Promotions
  • Promoting Products
  • Channels of Communication
  • Publicity Marketing
  • Advertising
  • Structuring an Advertisement or Promotion
  • Copywriting in Advertising
• Managing Marketing
  • Managing the Marketing Plan
  • Sales and the Market

Extract from the course:

"Generic brands are products with no brand name at all. They carry only the product name and are in plain packaging. Examples can be found in supermarkets – No Frills (Franklins), Farmland (Coles) and Home Brand (Woolworths).

To guard against other businesses using its brand name or symbol, businesses can apply to have their name registered. This gives the business exclusive rights to use the name or symbol and protect it from infringement. The symbols TM or R at the end of a brand name signify that the name or symbol is a registered trademark.

Branding is beneficial to both the business and the consumer. It assists consumers in identifying the products they like or dislike. It helps a business to make its products stand out against those of its competitors. If the brand name becomes well recognised, the business will also enjoy a carry-over effect when new products are introduced. This gives it a distinct competitive advantage.

The Importance of Packaging

Packaging is more than simply putting the product in a container or wrapping it up. Packaging involves the development of a container and the graphic design for a product.

Packaging can be just as important as the product itself, when deciding what to choose. Well designed packaging can give a positive impression of the product and can encourage first-time consumers. As well as helping to preserve, inform, protect and promote a product, packaging can also create an image of luxury, sensuality and exclusiveness.

When developing new packaging, a business needs to take into account a number of factors. Cost in one major consideration. Good quality packaging is another. Consumers are prepared to pay more for quality packaging however there is a limit as to how much consumers will pay. Nowadays, with increasing community awareness of the environment and pollution, marketers need to be sensitive to the problems caused by throw-away packaging. Recyclable and biodegradable packaging is the go!

Product Positioning and Image

Product positioning refers to the development of a product image as compared with the image of competing products. For example, No Frills, Porsche, Rolex and NOW brand names can immediately evoke an image of the product’s quality. This automatically gives the product its position with the market.

RECOMMENDED BOOKS:   All by our founder & principal, John Mason