8 minute read
Overcoming Marketing Mayhem
for The Stockman by B. Lynn Gordon
Utilize an integrated marketing campaign to reach your customers.
N o doubt with all the new technologies available today we feel like we are on information overload. It seems a new type of digital media or app becomes the hottest new option almost weekly. As seedstock producers, how can we cut through all this marketing mayhem and be sure we are best reaching our customers?
It all begins by focusing on the basics of marketing and developing a solid marketing campaign. These marketing basics include:
1) Telling your story
2) Identifying your target audience
3) Selecting marketing platforms, and:
4) Evaluating your return on investment
TELLING YOUR STORY
“As seedstock producers, it’s important that we tell our stories throughout the year, not just at sale time,” says Brett Spader, president of Angus Media, a division of the American Angus Association, St. Joseph, MO. “Telling your story begins by understanding your identity in the seedstock business. In order to be able to market your program, you need to be able to answer these two questions; ‘What makes your operation unique?’ and ‘What are your competitive advantages?’
This first step begins by making notes on what is unique about your operation. This may include ranch history, breeding philosophy, breeding program goals, and marketing protocol or approach to selling. Identifying key factors in these areas creates the foundation to building a marketing message. Having a clear picture of who you are and what you represent is critical in framing how to effectively transfer a message to your customers. The marketing message is further refined by identifying your competitive advantages. What sets your operation, breeding program, etc., apart from other breeders, or other breeds?
IDENTIFY TARGET AUDIENCE
One of the most basic principles in marketing focuses on identifying your target audience. Once you have begun to build a roadmap of who you are and what your message is, you need to focus on who needs to see or hear that message. Staying in business means cultivating customers and this begins with learning as much about your customers and potential customers as possible. The last thing you want to do is invest money into marketing efforts your target audience won’t see.
Ask yourself, “What do I know about my customers?”
• What are their demographics? (location, age, gender, etc.)
• Are they past customers?
• Who are your potential buyers?
• What is their operation size?
• What is their price point?
• What are their goals?
Doing this activity requires a similar focus and action as the first step, ‘Telling Your Story’. Work through these questions to help you gain a greater awareness of who your customer is. Data collection and recordkeeping are important to seedstock producers and provide you with the roadmap for sire selection, culling, selling options, etc. Data collection to learn more about your customers is as valuable as the data you collect for your cowherd.
“After identifying who your customers are, you need to identify how to reach these customers,” says Spader. “How do they receive their information? How can you reach them multiple times in multiple ways?”
Drafting a short survey and asking your customers to complete it will provide you with valuable information to factor into the development of your marketing campaign, especially the selection of which type of marketing media to utilize.
Example 1: Printed Survey - When: At time of purchase
Objective: Learn more about what media vehicles brought them to your sale and why they chose to do business with you.
Example 2: Email Survey - When: Annually, off-season
Objective: More in-depth survey to identify why your customers do business with you, what they find value in and how you can increase their customer loyalty.
Potential Customer Survey Questions:
1) What did you purchase and why?
2) How did you hear about us?
3) What ways did we reach you that were meaningful?
4) How long have you known about our operation?
5) How do you prefer to review our sale offering?
6) What is important to you moving forward?
SELECTING MARKETING PLAT- FORMS
The days of promoting your bull sale in a regional livestock newspaper or your breed publication as the only outlet to reach your customers is no longer viable. Technology has both enhanced and added more complexity to the implementation of a marketing campaign. Seedstock producers can now utilize print, digital or social media to deliver a marketing message. Multiple marketing media are being utilized by your customers and should, therefore, be considered in your marketing mix as well.
Planning Your Pathway
An example of using integrated marketing platforms throughout the year.
“Today we can use the application of consistent brand messaging across both traditional (e.g. direct mail) and nontraditional (e.g. social media) marketing channels and using different promotional methods to reinforce each other,” Spader says. “Overlapping the multiple media outlets will bring you the best results.” Each of the main media types (print, digital and social) have their own strengths and weaknesses. By overlapping your message across one or more of these platforms you can create a stronger, integrated marketing plan,” reiterates marketing specialist, Spader.
An integrated marketing plan will offer a larger reach from multiple touchpoints. Customers may see the message in more than one location reinforcing your promotion and goal. In addition, we know that individuals have their own preference for how they get their information (as the survey most likely indicated). Some prefer to hold a magazine in their hand or have it available on the coffee table when they have a few minutes to flip through it and others find themselves on the computer often and like the elements of interaction and enhancements that can come from infographics, videos, or computerized images not as achievable in a hard copy platform.
An integrated marketing campaign can also allow you to guide potential buyers and customers through a timeline or journey of information you want to present. Over the course of a year from one sale to the next, you have the opportunity to connect and inform your customer in multiple and timely ways to reinforce your marketing message.
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-Brett Spader President Angus Media, American Angus Assn.
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RETURN ON INVESTMENT
Just as you track the production of your cow herd, it is important to make sure you are measuring the success of your marketing plan. The survey you conduct with your customer’s is a good first step to learn if the dollars you are investing is paying off. “Your focus should be on maximizing your return on investment (ROI) on the dollars you spent, by conducting an analysis of each of the marketing platforms utilized.”
Each marketing platform offers ways to conduct analysis to determine if your marketing campaign goals are achieved. New digital and social platforms allow us to gather much more information and do so more efficiently than we could before.
A) WEBSITE ANALYSIS
Analytic measurements available to you from Google Analytics or your website provider will allow you to track things such as top volume pages, audience behaviors, which content was most viewed, etc.
Methods to enhance Website:
• Interactive and interesting content
• Frequent content updates
• Highlight your website in your sale book
• Include website URL in all advertising efforts.
• Link website in Facebook (social media) outlets
• Include a contact form
where customer can gain more information
• Make sure site is mobile friendly (accessible on cell phones)
• Utilize Google Maps to locate your ranch/business site
• Utilize Google Analytics for ongoing monitoring
B) FACEBOOK ANALYSIS
Social media such as Facebook is a great way to get to know your audience as it is very interactive. You can easily follow who is your best or most engaging followers and posts gets the most attention (e.g. Likes or Shares). Social media is also very timely, allowing you to remind customers of sale dates, video postings, etc.; that might be on your website.
Methods to enhance Facebook Presence:
• Post frequently
• Map out a calendar/timeline of posts that can be prepared in advance.
• Identify creative postings associated with timeline. (e.g. Tuesday Trivia).
• Should be a reflection of everything you do throughout the year.
• Use your ranch watermark/ logo on posts or other consistent branding.
• Ensure page information is updated (sidebar section)
• Update your “Action” button on Facebook.
• Utilize Facebook ‘Events’ as another method to invite people to your sale, field, etc.
“Determine what a successful marketing campaign means for you (e.g. repeat buyers, customer survey feedback, increase in Facebook followers, more sale catalog requests, etc.) and use the results and analysis you gather to execute your marketing campaign for the next year,” emphasizes Spader.
Where did we get our information?
Angus Media, a division of the American Angus Association, recently received responses from 1,142 commercial cattlemen who completed a survey about where they get their information and their use or preferences of marketing platforms such as print, digital or social media. The following results are from the survey.
Marketing Platform Preferences:
• 94% utilize print media to make bull purchase decisions
• 38% use websites
• 34% use digital publications
• 18% use social media
(multiple answers were allowed in order to understand how all tools are used)
Online usage:
• 59% spent 0-1 hour online each day
• 31% spent 1-2 hours online each day
When shopping for cattle:
• 44% do not shop online
• 31% use a mobile phone
• 24% use a computer
• 50% view sale books online
• 45% view 2-3 sale books online monthly
• 55% found videos helpful
Digital Information preferences:
• 32% use Facebook for beef industry info
• 62% don’t use any social media
