Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
what was coming next. She had just accepted a summer internship that would begin in a few
weeks, but she had no idea of what her assignment would be at Valley Producers Co-op.
“Do you know anything about marketing, Leslie?” asked the manager.
“A little. I have studied marketing in some of my classes,” answered Leslie nervously,
still not sure what she was in for.
The manager continued, “Well, we'd like you to prepare an analysis of our petroleum
marketing program this summer. As you know, we have three divisions: animal nutrition,
crop inputs, and petroleum products—all managed out of our headquarters here. Although
we want you to spend some time working in each division this summer, we'd like you to
spend two days each week talking to people, looking at our records, or whatever else you
feel would be helpful, to give us a good idea of where we stand in the petroleum market. Our
petroleum sales have leveled off lately, and I think it's because our equipment is getting old
and our service is poor.
“The board of directors is considering expanding our petroleum business with a new fuel
depot/retail station and some expanded delivery routes, but we just aren't sure right now.
There are a lot of cost factors that I'm working on, but I'd like you to take a look at the
market side. Then we'd like you to make a report on what you fi nd at our August board meet-
ing. It's a big job, but we'd like to know what you can come up with.”
Leslie swallowed hard. She wanted to make a good impression—and it did seem like a
great opportunity to learn a lot about the business. Yet she wasn't sure she was up to it. She
wasn't even sure how to begin. She began to think about some of the ideas they had dis-
cussed in her agribusiness management course…
Questions
1.
What kinds of information do you think Leslie needs to fi nd before she can complete
this assignment successfully? How might she get this information?
2.
What market analysis tools should Leslie consider using to collect the data she will need
for her report?
3.
Outline a procedure that Leslie might use to make her analysis and report.
References and additional reading
Kaplan , Robert S. and David P. Norton .
Strategy Maps: Converting Intangible Assets into Tangible
Outcomes
. Boston, MA : Harvard Business School , 2004 .
Liamputtong , Pranee .
Focus Group Methodology: Principle and Practice
. London : Sage , 2010 .
Parmerlee , David .
Auditing Markets, Products, and Marketing Plans
. Lincolnwood, IL : NTC Business ,
2000 .
Safko , Lon and David K. Brake .
The Social Media Bible: Tactics, Tools, and Strategies for Business
Success
. Hoboken, NJ : John Wiley & Sons , 2009 .
Wilson , Aubrey .
The Marketing Audit Handbook: Tools, Techniques & Checklists to Exploit Your
Marketing Resources
. London : Kogan Page , 2002 .
