Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
A standard marketing adage is that prospects must see or hear your marketing message
an average of seven times before taking action to purchase a product or service from a
company. An advertising strategy, combined with some or many of the tactics mentioned
above can go long way in extending the value and repeating the message to reinforce
customer awareness and their ultimate action toward purchasing products or services from
your company.
Sales promotions
Sales promotions
are programs and special offerings designed to encourage interested
customers and prospects into making a positive buying decision. There is an almost
infi nite variety of such tools, and many are used extensively by agribusinesses to
support personal selling and advertising activities. These tools range from the very
expensive to the very inexpensive, but are felt by many to strongly infl uence customer
decisions.
Some of these programs are aimed directly at the fi nal consumer or the farmer. Giving
prospects and customers hats, caps, jackets, belt buckles, pens, fl ash drives, and myriad other
“freebies,” all imprinted with the company logo, has become so common that farmers and
ranchers have come to expect it. Often, larger producers are being “entertained” over a meal
by marketing people as a means of getting their undivided attention. Food shoppers are the
focus of a vast array of promotional activities including free samples, coupons, special offers
(buy one, get one free), contests, games, incentive programs (accumulating “purchase points”
to redeem for prizes, for example), and rebates. Loyalty programs, which encourage
repeat buying by offering various rewards based on accumulated purchases, have become an
important form of retail sales promotion.
Such sales promotion programs are an integral part of agribusiness marketing strategies.
However, many of these sales promotions are easily copied which can reduce their effective-
ness. As a result, some suppliers and retailers feel trapped by such promotions, but because
of competitive pressures, are afraid to cut back on them. Thus expensive promotions and
incentives should be entered into carefully with a clear objective in mind, and not simply
as a quick reaction to a competitor's offering.
Other promotional programs include educational sales meetings sponsored by suppliers
and retailers for farmers, ranchers, and growers. Evening meetings and day-long seminars,
often including a complimentary meal, as well as webinars or teleconferences provide
producers with a great deal of important technical information while subtly promoting the
use of the manufacturer's products. Field days where farmers see products and services
demonstrated in action are highly popular and effective. Regional trade shows where large
numbers of suppliers attract thousands of farmers are also common. Farmer meetings and
shows are an important communication and educational link between suppliers and produc-
ers. Similar activities are sometimes sponsored for food consumers. Cooking classes,
wine tasting parties, and educational seminars on new foods can all encourage sales and
build the fi rm's image.
The variety of sales promotions used in selling to dealers and distributors is even
more elaborate. Sales contests and incentive vacation trips are common. Some especially
productive agribusiness managers may “earn” trips to an exotic resort for themselves and
their spouses in the slack season, at the expense of their supplier. Dealer and distributor
meetings during the winter months are usually well planned, educational, and often elabo-
rate and entertaining. Some suppliers develop educational and technical training programs
