Agribusiness marketing encompasses many different aspects depending mostly on the size and needs of the business. Small retail localized agribusinesses have limited marketing needs compared to large commercial farms which serve different areas groups of people.
Whichever the case, it is very important for any business to promote / put their products and services in front of the right people such that they can generate sales and grow.
Agricultural products are very perishable so they can go bad if not sold as soon as possible which can result in catastrophic losses for the farm business.
For traditional farmers who don’t use modern urban farming techniques like indoor vertical farming and smart agriculture, perishability can be very disastrous because their costs of production are very high.
Factors like cost of tilling the land, weeding, harvesting, planting, labor all increase the price of production and lower the profits from the produce as compared to indoor urban farming.
On top of that weather factors also come in, pests and disease prevalence also affect the yields from the crops.
On the other hand, modern commercial urban farms may have much surplus which can go to waste and may need to sell more produce so that they can break even and get back the money they invested in the business and also get to run their daily management operations.
Other types of agribusinesses types like those providing inputs, and services also face severe competition from other sectors so they need to scour the market thoroughly and acquire more customers if they are to grow, expand and survive.
That being said, it is very important for any agribusiness to have a solid marketing plan with which they can sell their goods to customers and also promote their goods to new people so that they can grow.
Marketing involves promotion and putting of goods and services in front of the business’ customers so that they get to buy them.
These are the four Ps which constitute marketing;
1.Product; This is what the business offers to its customers. Does the business offer goods or services? The products are in what form; raw or processed? Are they packaged or not? Are they branded or not? In what amount are they sold? Is the quality good? Do they meet the demand of the target customers?
2.Price; This is the final cost at which the end customer purchases the goods or services of the business. Price is majorly affected by the forces of demand and supply.
When the demand is high and supply is low, the prices will be high but when demand is low and supply is high, the prices will be low.
However, it is very important to check the prevailing market prices before you can set the prices for your goods and services. If you over price your vegetables while other farms are selling at lower prices, no one will buy them and they’ll go rancid resulting in huge loses.
3.Place; These are channels where the agribusiness sells its goods and services. They can be; marketplaces, online stores, a chain of retail stores like supermarkets, personal business shops or any other customer point of sale contact. The agribusiness distributes its goods to these places for sale.
4.Promotion; these are actual means by which the business gets to put its goods and services in front of its customers. It encompasses processes by which customers get to know about the products and how they will help them, and finally influencing their decisions to buy.
The following are the agribusiness marketing promotion strategies you can employ today so that you can profit, grow and expand.
Contents
10 easy agribusiness marketing promotion strategies that actually work
1.Have an online presence
The world is very digital today and first way for any agribusiness to promote themselves before even bothering to go out and look for customers is to have an online presence. It is very important for a business to build a business website, have a listing in yellow pages and online directories like Google my business, do email marketing, and have social media pages to promote products and engage with business customers online.
With this, a business can reach its customers wherever they are, answer customer queries, sell online, ask for reviews, handle orders, and even acquire new customers.
2. Advertisements
Advertisements can be done on local media; television, radios and online using paid web ads or social media ads like those of Facebook, and Instagram. The can be visually appealing images or videos that tell people about the goods or services of the business. It can be an Instagram image of the organic fresh vegetables a farm offers or a video showing a farm consultant giving expertise at a local farm.
Text image combo advertisements can also be put in newspapers, agricultural magazines and leaflets to inform people about the goods or services.
3.Partnerships
Partnerships can be made with small businesses and stores like supermarkets, mini groceries, shops so that the farm can supply them with their farm fresh produce. Partnerships can help agribusinesses to become sole suppliers of target customers which helps maintain them and generate regular sales.
4.Public speaking
Doing public speaking and presentations about the business and what it offers at conferences, organization meetings and concerts can help create product awareness. Guest posting on blogs and online platforms with a staunch audience about content related to the business can also be another way to get people to know about the business. The speaker or guest poster can then give business details to the audience like the address, product fliers and coupons or product freebies.
5. Business branding
A branded business is easy to promote as compared to a brand less one. A branded agribusiness has its own unique name, logo, and business colors which separates it from other businesses in the market. These can further be put on business cards, letter heads, websites, social media and branded equipment to enable people differentiate your business from others on the market.
After branding, a business can then provide exceptional products or services that so that people can associate them with quality and tag them as great so that they can continuously buy the business’ branded goods.
6. Value addition
Value added goods are easy to promote because they are packaged, labelled, branded and processed. They are therefore of high quality.
People like good things and they spend on them. Having products in attractive packages, processing and adding flavors to produce can entice people to buy and this eases promotion.
7. Exhibitions
Agricultural trade shows and events are a great way for any agribusiness to promote their products or services by exhibiting them to people that come. The good thing is that these are the very target audience that the business needs that will become customers in due time. Fliers can also be given out to people that visit the exhibition stands so that they get the business contact information for future reference.
8. Hand out samples and freebies
For new launching agribusinesses, this is very important. Product tasting helps people get affiliated with your products and give recommendations where need be. After using the free product, the people can then buy to continue using if the product matches their taste and needs and above all if it is better than similar products on the market.
9. Offer discounts
Everyone wants to have that extra money in their pockets. Offering discounts can be a very great agribusiness marketing promotion strategy for those that want more sales or doing a clearance sale for their perishable produce.
On top of offering more for less, free transportation can be arranged for those buying in bulk to their places.
10. Network with people in your field
A network can take a business places unfathomed. With a strong network, a business can easily promote its goods and services far and wide. The contacts can be used to ease distribution and make deals that result in more sales and growth for the business.
Bottom line
With these agribusiness marketing promotion strategies, it should be very easy to promote your agribusiness to reach more people and get more sales in order to grow and expand.