Is the world beating a path to your farm business? One way of encouraging at least a visit from the world and maybe even a purchase of your farm products is to include the World Wide Web as one of the tools in your marketing strategy. In January 2001 the Angus Reid Group released an Internet usage study that predicted that 475 million people will be using the web by the end of 2001, in comparison to 275 million in 2000 and 40 million in 1996. There is no doubt people are continuing to use the web with more signing on all the time. This factsheet presents the benefits and costs of using the web in your communications strategy, Internet communication ideas, listing of select direct marketers' website, and web resources for the direct farm marketer.
Benefits of Using the Web in Your Communication Strategy
: Your audience for sales, education and awareness is very large.
- Market access
Competitiveness : Your fellow competitors are on the web and so should you be.Targetted audience : Your access to regional, provincial, & worldwide audience.Modern : Your business will look up to date.Inexpensive : Relatively low cost form of promotion .Easy Development : Relatively quick and easy marketing tool to develop.Flexible : Easy to change or update web content unlike publication or brochures.Multimedia : Combined colour graphics, sound and text can give a stronger picture of your business, product, or service.
Costs of Using the Web in Your Communication Strategy
You will need to take some time to dedicate to the web site development (See article: Building Your Farm Business Web Page found in the Using Internet Technology in Your Farm Business: A Handbook for Farm Business Managers).
- Time:
Money: Financial cost to web site space and setup.Effort: Need to make the effort to keep the site current & promote the web site.
Internet Communication Ideas
Association
& Group Communications
The web can be a great place for your marketing group or association to centralize their communications. Meeting details, executive contacts, elections, minutes, discussion forums, planning ideas and directories can all be posted on the web for members of your group to view or download. This can decrease the time and cost required to keep association members up to date and may even increase communication between members. Example: United Flower Growers Co-operative Association http://www.ufgca.com or BC Horse Council http://www.horsecouncilbc.com.
Education
and Technical Support
Got a product that is a little bit different? You can find a home on the web. A web page can be a good place to present pictures of the product as well as educational information such as production, recipes, storage, health preparation and benefits information. For example, if your are a marketer of edible flowers you could provide information on the cost, storage and use of these plants. Another example is exotic meat product such as buffalo. A web site may be the place to explain the health benefits and provide some interesting & tasty recipes that will bring out the best of the meat. Example: Cdn. Ostrich Assoc. http://www.ostrich.ca.
Maps,
Coupons, Sales Flyers, Catalogue and Brochures.
All five of these promotion tools belong in a strong
marketing strategy. However, the cost of copying and
distributing these materials to a large amount of potential
clients can be high. You could consider adding these item to
your web page making it viewable online and printable if the
user would like a copy. This can serve to decrease costs and
may open up a whole new target for your products. Also, you
may want to consider developing an email customer list (
always asking if the customer would like to be on the email
list as a courtesy) allowing you to reach your target
regarding a sale or special product promotion efficiently and
at a low cost. (Example: Farm Fresh Guide-Fraser Valley Farm
Direct Marketing Association http://www.bcfarmfresh.com).
Information Gathering
The web is also a good place to obtain information to develop business management & communication strategies. The role of library is one the Internet plays quite well. Therefore, direct farm marketers can use the Internet to expand their own business communication and management skills by reviewing online business courses, labour information, food inspection rules, farm safety topics, regulations & zoning requirements, demographic statistics as well as business planning and expansion ideas.
Listing of Select Direct Farm Marketers' Web Sites
Farm Fresh Guide-Fraser Valley
http://www.bcfarmfresh.com/
Ontario Wine Route
http://winesofontario.org/
Quail's Gate Estate Winery
http://www.quailsgate.com
Sumac Ridge Estate Winery
http://www.sumacridge.com/
Summerhill Estate Winery
http://www.summerhill.bc.ca
Internet Farmers Reap Profits On The Web - CNN On-Line
Article
http://edition.cnn.com/TECH/9704/02/internet.farming/index.html
Web Resources for the Direct Farm Marketer
Direct Farm Marketing & Tourism Handbook
http://ag.arizona.edu/arec/pubs/dmkt/dmkt.html
Direct Marketing Of Farm Produce And Home Goods-University
Of Wisconsin Extension
http://cecommerce.uwex.edu/pdfs/A3602.PDF
Establishing And Operating A Community Farmer's Market
http://www.ca.uky.edu/agc/pubs/aec/aec77/aec77.pdf
Farmer Direct Marketing - USDA
http://www.AMS.USDA.gov/directmarketing/
Cornell University Horticulture & Business Management
Smart Marketing Series
http://aesop.rutgers.edu/~agecon/agmkt.htm
North American Farmers' Direct Marketing Association
http://www.nafdma.com/
USDA Direct Farm Marketing Information
http://www.ams.usda.gov/farmersmarkets/
