Ag & Resource Economics Marketing Basics Written by Annette Dunlap, MBA Extension Associate Ag & Resource Economics NC State University

The Value-Added & Alternative Agriculture Start-up Toolkit Program Outline Understanding the meaning of marketing The “4 P’s” of the Marketing Mix Creating a product that sells Setting a competitive price Successfully promoting the product Getting the product to the customer Resources The Value-Added & Alternative Agriculture Start-up Toolkit

The Meaning of Marketing Marketing is: Identifying the needs of wants of your customer and developing a program that will satisfy those needs or wants Marketing is not: Selling Advertising A good price The Value-Added & Alternative Agriculture Start-up Toolkit

The ‘4 P’s’ of the Marketing Mix A successful marketing plan is designed around the identified needs of the customer. It is an interlocking program that addresses these four areas: Product Price Promotion Logistics (Place) The Value-Added & Alternative Agriculture Start-up Toolkit

Characteristics of Products Have both tangible and intangible parts The tangible part of the product is observed with one or more of the senses The intangible part of the product is often the reason people buy it: a good relationship with the seller perceived higher quality ease of access to the place of purchase The Value-Added & Alternative Agriculture Start-up Toolkit

Sellers tend to sell features, but buyers purchase benefits. The Value-Added & Alternative Agriculture Start-up Toolkit

The Value-Added & Alternative Agriculture Start-up Toolkit Pricing Strategy People choose on price when they cannot perceive a difference between your product and your competitor’s Price needs to reflect your costs plus a mark-up to give you a profit Price needs to be fair and appropriate to the market The Value-Added & Alternative Agriculture Start-up Toolkit

Successfully Promoting Your Product Promotion is a strategy designed to: Communicate information about your products Set you apart from your competitors Help people make a decision about what you have to offer The Value-Added & Alternative Agriculture Start-up Toolkit

Getting Your Product to the Customer Value-added and alternative agriculture enterprises depend upon being geographically close to their customers for success. Consumers consider the ease of buying as part of their decision process when looking for value-added and alternative products The Value-Added & Alternative Agriculture Start-up Toolkit

The Value-Added & Alternative Agriculture Start-up Toolkit Resources For an overview of marketing basics, visit: http://www.sba.gov/starting_business/marketing/basics.html For a review of how to create a marketing plan, visit: http://wsd.dli.mt.gov/local/kalispell/bdkv7/pdf/createmp.pdf For information on home-based marketing, visit: http://muextension.missouri.edu/explore/miscpubs/mp0596.htm For a review of different approaches to marketing, visit: http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/library/agec2/mf2272.pdf The Value-Added & Alternative Agriculture Start-up Toolkit