Slide 1

INTRODUCTION TO FOOD
MARKETING
3116
Steven C Seideman
Extension Food Processing Specialist
Cooperative Extension Service
1

INTRODUCTION
• To many people, “MARKETING” means either
selling or advertising of your business.
• Jay Levinson in his book “ Guerilla Marketing”
defines marketing as “everything you do to
promote your business from the moment you think
of the idea until the customers buy and begin to do
so on a regular basis”.

2

THE GOAL OF BUSINESS
• Two theories on what the goal of business is;
1) The goal of business is profit, and profit means
the firm survives and has a chance to grow.
2) The goal of business is to get and keep a
customer. Profit is implied because if you don’t
make a profit, you will not be around to keep
your customer.
You choose which goal you want to accept. The
bottom line is that a profit must be made.
3

SELLING vs MARKETING
• SELLING asks the question “ How do I get the
customer to buy my product?”
• MARKETING takes a broader view and asks
“What does the customer want to buy ?” The
business owner needs to attract new audiences,
study the competition and develop his or her
product or service so that it appeals to a highly
discriminating audience.
4

MARKETING AS A PROCESS

5

MARKETING AS A PROCESS
• The successful marketing process includes;
1)Determining what the customer needs and wants.
2)Developing a product or service to meet those
needs or wants.
3)Understanding the competition and what they
offer.
4)Linking with the customer as a source for fulfilling
his or her needs and wants.
5)Doing all of this at a price that provides a profit so
that the business can continue to grow.
6

Determining What the Customer
Needs or Wants
• A successful business owner analyzes the
market. He or she defines the particular
market segment most likely to purchase
their product or service. The owner then
determines the specific benefits desired by
the customer.

7

Developing a Product or Service
to Meet those Needs or Wants
• Upon understanding what benefits are wanted, the
owner develops a product or service, the features
of which provide the customer with the requested
benefits. Marketing is selling these benefits rather
than the features.
• A feature is any prominent or distinctive aspect,
quality or characteristic. A benefit is what that
feature gives the customer.
• An example would be a reclosable package. The
feature is reclosable: The benefit to the customer
is that it can be reclosed and stored for later use. 8

Understanding the Competition
and What They Offer
• Customers face a large marketplace. A
successful business owner is able to define a
target market and distinguish his or her
business from the competition.
• Walk down an aisle in any food store, look
at all the different brands of a particular
type of product and see how each brand
tries to provide benefits to the customer.
9

10

Linking the Customer as a Source
for Fulfilling His or Her Needs
and Wants
• The successful business owner must let the
customer know he or she is in business. The owner
must also tell the customer how they can meet
their needs, a function known as advertising.
• Types of advertising include radio, TV, newspaper
and magazines, flyers, billboards, web-advertising,
etc.
• The business owner must figure out the most cost
effective way of getting to the target audience.
11

Doing All of this at a Price that
Provides a Profit so the Business
can Continue
• This implies a price of products or services
that allows both the customer and the owner
to feel good about the transaction.
• The business owner must make a profit so
that he or she can stay in business to
continue providing that product or service.
12

MARKETING ACTIVITIES

13

Marketing Activities
• There are basically 4 major categories of
marketing activities known as the 4 P’s:
1)Positioning
2)Production
3)Pricing
4)Promotion
14

Positioning
• Positioning is defining the purpose of your
product or service as it benefits a potential
customer. Positioning is finding a market niche. It
creates a perception of special value and benefits
in your product or service. Developing one’s
position is one of the major goals of the marketing
process.
• An example of positioning is the fast food chain’s
hamburger businesses positioning themselves as
low cost versus another that features customer
choice (“Have it your way” ).
15

Positioning
• Place (where the goods or services are
marketed) and packaging (how the goods or
services are displayed ) are extremely
important. If a product or service appeals to
walk-in traffic, your location must be where
such traffic occurs, not in a limited traffic
area. If you are developing a product for an
upscale market, the packaging must reflect
the image you are trying to attain.
16

Production
• Successful marketing achieves business
growth. The owner must have anticipated
and planned for this growth in the
production process. The inability to fill
orders can quickly strangle a firm’s growth
and even cause the firm to go out of
business.
17

Courtesy of USDA

18

Pricing
• Pricing is a key factor to business success.
• Pricing can be done as a “wild guess”, based on
what the competition charges or as a cost-buildup
process.
• I strongly prefer the cost buildup model whereby
you list all your costs (raw materials, processing
costs, packaging, promotion, salaries, distribution,
etc.) and then add a profit margin.
• Go to another module to learn the cost buildup
details.
19

Pricing
• Look at what the competition charges as compared
to your cost. How can you do it cheaper or better
than the competition?
• Are people willing to pay that price for your
product or service?.
• How about running promotions on your product or
services so people will try it - buy one, get one
free, coupons with a certain amount off ?
• Most new entrepreneurs tend to underprice their
products and services.
20

Promotion
• This addresses the question “How will people
know about my product or service ?”
• Promotions include paid advertising such as radio,
TV, newspaper, etc, and unpaid publicity such as
press releases, etc. Promotions may also include
trade shows, mailings, internet, in-store demos,
etc.
• Promotional efforts must occur in the media that
your perspective customers use.
• Successful promotional efforts focus on the
benefits of your product or service
• Benefits can be convenience (precooked,
21
reclosable packaging), fun, good health, etc.

22

Promotion
• Customers do not buy a product or service for its
features.They buy it for what it can do for them.
• Learn to romanticize your product. Watch TV ads–
wearing certain brands of trousers make you more
appealing to the opposite sex. Laugh? It works.
Watch some TV ads- what is the message they are
sending?
• Brand loyalty; brand-conscious society
• Develop sales literature- price list, catalog sheet,
product information sheet, point of purchase info.
23

Your Company IMAGE
• Although not traditionally thought of as
marketing, I am a believer in how customers
perceive your company’s image.
• Your letters and correspondence- Professional. Are
your telephones answered professionally ?
• Are your salespersons ethical? Is your receptionist
cheerful, optimistic, properly attired ?
• What about your business facility- people like to
work with professional organizations and your
office and facilities tell them about your
professionalism.
24

Your Company IMAGE
• Business owners must remain aware of the
customer’s perception of the business and move
quickly to correct any negative images.
• Do you contribute to the community or show any
concern for the environment.
• Do the people within your organization project the
image of the company in a favorable way?

25

Service After the Sales
• Effective Marketing must continue with the
product or service after the final sale.
• This support includes service, assistance,
warranties, returns and refunds.

26

Service
• Advertising is expensive. It gets the
customer to try your product or service. It is
a good start but remember, the goal is to
have customer’s repeat business.
• Over time, you will notice that 80% of your
sales will come from just 20% of your total
customers.
27

MARKET RESEARCH

28

Market Research
• Before one starts a business and even periodically
while in business, one should conduct market
research.
• Market research is an organized process to gather,
analyze, interpret and utilize relevant information
about the business environment for the purposes
of making accurate business decisions.
• Market research focuses on potential customers,
existing customers, the competition and the
business environment .
29

Market Research
• The ultimate goal of market research is business
success.
• The objective of market research is to;
1)Identify potential target markets.
2)Identify customer needs and wants.
3)Determine if the product or service meets customer
needs.
4)Determine the best promotion technique for each
market.
5)Examine the competition.
30

Market Research
• The purpose of market research data is to help the
business owner make better decisions.
• Using market research, the business owner can
develop an accurate understanding of the potential
customer.
• The goal of market research is to reveal unfilled
needs in the form of a market niche, customer’s
needs, a competitor’s weakness or an unused
marketing strategy. The ultimate goal is to
increase the business’ sales and profits.
31

Doing Market Research
• Anyone can do market research to some
extent.
• Basically, you want to gather information
about;
1)Your customers or potential customers
2)Your competition
3)General market information
Let’s go through each in greater detail.
32

About your Customers or
Potential Customers
• General demographic information such as – age,
where they live, where they work, race, gender,
marital status, income, number of children,
education, home ownership, lifestyle
• Needs, wants and desired benefits
• Past and future purchases (What, when, why,
where, how much)
• Products and services that compliment or
substitute
• Use of various media (radio, TV, newspaper,
magazines, etc.)
33

Warranty Cards
• Whenever you buy any appliance and certain
goods, you are requested to fill out a warranty
card. If you fill out the warranty card, the product
you bought will be under warranty for some
specified period of time. Note how much the
information on the warranty card parallels the
demographic information on the previous page.
• Warranty cards serve as a prime method of
collecting marketing information.
34

About the Competition
•
•
•
•
•
•

•
•

Who are they?
What products and/or services do they offer?
What is the price range of products and services?
What are their policies on returns, credit,
warranties, etc.?
Are there any special services?
If they are a store-type business, what is their staff
like (experience, customer respect, customer
focus)?
What kinds of promotions/ advertising do they do?
What is their company image like to the average
customer?
35

General Market Information
• The physical/geographical area (traffic flow,
development plans, history, growth pattern).
• The industry as a whole.
• The economy as a whole.

36

Analyzing Market Research Data
• Once you have collected as much data as
you reasonably can, you need to organize it
by the SWOT format;
• S = Strengths
• W= Weaknesses
• O= Opportunities
• T= Threats
37

SWOT Grid
My Business

Its Environment

Strengths

Opportunities

Weaknesses

Threats

38

The SWOT Grid
• In the grid, you evaluate your business or
business potentials and its weaknesses.
• When you evaluate the environment, where
do you see chances for growth and what
might slow your business ?.

39

Marketing Research
• Where we can get market information;
-The Internet brings information to your finger
tips.
-Visit a food store and just look around not only in
the area that you want to enter but other food
groups ( e.g. what are the dairy foods people doing
that I can adopt?).
-Talk to people in the business from entrepreneurs
to store owners, brokers, sales representatives, etc.
Most people like to help others and will tell you
more than you ever dreamed.
40

Market Research
• Market research identifies the available
market, discovers the best method to reach
the target market and asks what the
customer needs and wants. Market research
is a simple, structured, objective way of
learning about people- the people who will
buy your product or service.
41

RESOURCES
• There are 2 keys sources of information
1)A book entitled From Kitchen to Market by
Stephan F Hall. Sold via Amazon.com for about
$20- A complete, easy to understand book on
taking a food product to market.
2)The Arkansas Small Business Development Center
in Little Rock (501/324-9043) has a resource
library that contains many references and a
brochure entitled Market Designs that will help.
42

43

44

CONCLUSIONS
• This module should have made you think about
the purpose and goals of marketing and how to do
market research.
• Marketing is probably the single most important
aspect in starting and maintaining a food business.
• Whether you are starting a new food business or
maintaining an existing business, it is important
that you constantly monitor your marketing
efforts.
45

46


Slide 2

INTRODUCTION TO FOOD
MARKETING
3116
Steven C Seideman
Extension Food Processing Specialist
Cooperative Extension Service
1

INTRODUCTION
• To many people, “MARKETING” means either
selling or advertising of your business.
• Jay Levinson in his book “ Guerilla Marketing”
defines marketing as “everything you do to
promote your business from the moment you think
of the idea until the customers buy and begin to do
so on a regular basis”.

2

THE GOAL OF BUSINESS
• Two theories on what the goal of business is;
1) The goal of business is profit, and profit means
the firm survives and has a chance to grow.
2) The goal of business is to get and keep a
customer. Profit is implied because if you don’t
make a profit, you will not be around to keep
your customer.
You choose which goal you want to accept. The
bottom line is that a profit must be made.
3

SELLING vs MARKETING
• SELLING asks the question “ How do I get the
customer to buy my product?”
• MARKETING takes a broader view and asks
“What does the customer want to buy ?” The
business owner needs to attract new audiences,
study the competition and develop his or her
product or service so that it appeals to a highly
discriminating audience.
4

MARKETING AS A PROCESS

5

MARKETING AS A PROCESS
• The successful marketing process includes;
1)Determining what the customer needs and wants.
2)Developing a product or service to meet those
needs or wants.
3)Understanding the competition and what they
offer.
4)Linking with the customer as a source for fulfilling
his or her needs and wants.
5)Doing all of this at a price that provides a profit so
that the business can continue to grow.
6

Determining What the Customer
Needs or Wants
• A successful business owner analyzes the
market. He or she defines the particular
market segment most likely to purchase
their product or service. The owner then
determines the specific benefits desired by
the customer.

7

Developing a Product or Service
to Meet those Needs or Wants
• Upon understanding what benefits are wanted, the
owner develops a product or service, the features
of which provide the customer with the requested
benefits. Marketing is selling these benefits rather
than the features.
• A feature is any prominent or distinctive aspect,
quality or characteristic. A benefit is what that
feature gives the customer.
• An example would be a reclosable package. The
feature is reclosable: The benefit to the customer
is that it can be reclosed and stored for later use. 8

Understanding the Competition
and What They Offer
• Customers face a large marketplace. A
successful business owner is able to define a
target market and distinguish his or her
business from the competition.
• Walk down an aisle in any food store, look
at all the different brands of a particular
type of product and see how each brand
tries to provide benefits to the customer.
9

10

Linking the Customer as a Source
for Fulfilling His or Her Needs
and Wants
• The successful business owner must let the
customer know he or she is in business. The owner
must also tell the customer how they can meet
their needs, a function known as advertising.
• Types of advertising include radio, TV, newspaper
and magazines, flyers, billboards, web-advertising,
etc.
• The business owner must figure out the most cost
effective way of getting to the target audience.
11

Doing All of this at a Price that
Provides a Profit so the Business
can Continue
• This implies a price of products or services
that allows both the customer and the owner
to feel good about the transaction.
• The business owner must make a profit so
that he or she can stay in business to
continue providing that product or service.
12

MARKETING ACTIVITIES

13

Marketing Activities
• There are basically 4 major categories of
marketing activities known as the 4 P’s:
1)Positioning
2)Production
3)Pricing
4)Promotion
14

Positioning
• Positioning is defining the purpose of your
product or service as it benefits a potential
customer. Positioning is finding a market niche. It
creates a perception of special value and benefits
in your product or service. Developing one’s
position is one of the major goals of the marketing
process.
• An example of positioning is the fast food chain’s
hamburger businesses positioning themselves as
low cost versus another that features customer
choice (“Have it your way” ).
15

Positioning
• Place (where the goods or services are
marketed) and packaging (how the goods or
services are displayed ) are extremely
important. If a product or service appeals to
walk-in traffic, your location must be where
such traffic occurs, not in a limited traffic
area. If you are developing a product for an
upscale market, the packaging must reflect
the image you are trying to attain.
16

Production
• Successful marketing achieves business
growth. The owner must have anticipated
and planned for this growth in the
production process. The inability to fill
orders can quickly strangle a firm’s growth
and even cause the firm to go out of
business.
17

Courtesy of USDA

18

Pricing
• Pricing is a key factor to business success.
• Pricing can be done as a “wild guess”, based on
what the competition charges or as a cost-buildup
process.
• I strongly prefer the cost buildup model whereby
you list all your costs (raw materials, processing
costs, packaging, promotion, salaries, distribution,
etc.) and then add a profit margin.
• Go to another module to learn the cost buildup
details.
19

Pricing
• Look at what the competition charges as compared
to your cost. How can you do it cheaper or better
than the competition?
• Are people willing to pay that price for your
product or service?.
• How about running promotions on your product or
services so people will try it - buy one, get one
free, coupons with a certain amount off ?
• Most new entrepreneurs tend to underprice their
products and services.
20

Promotion
• This addresses the question “How will people
know about my product or service ?”
• Promotions include paid advertising such as radio,
TV, newspaper, etc, and unpaid publicity such as
press releases, etc. Promotions may also include
trade shows, mailings, internet, in-store demos,
etc.
• Promotional efforts must occur in the media that
your perspective customers use.
• Successful promotional efforts focus on the
benefits of your product or service
• Benefits can be convenience (precooked,
21
reclosable packaging), fun, good health, etc.

22

Promotion
• Customers do not buy a product or service for its
features.They buy it for what it can do for them.
• Learn to romanticize your product. Watch TV ads–
wearing certain brands of trousers make you more
appealing to the opposite sex. Laugh? It works.
Watch some TV ads- what is the message they are
sending?
• Brand loyalty; brand-conscious society
• Develop sales literature- price list, catalog sheet,
product information sheet, point of purchase info.
23

Your Company IMAGE
• Although not traditionally thought of as
marketing, I am a believer in how customers
perceive your company’s image.
• Your letters and correspondence- Professional. Are
your telephones answered professionally ?
• Are your salespersons ethical? Is your receptionist
cheerful, optimistic, properly attired ?
• What about your business facility- people like to
work with professional organizations and your
office and facilities tell them about your
professionalism.
24

Your Company IMAGE
• Business owners must remain aware of the
customer’s perception of the business and move
quickly to correct any negative images.
• Do you contribute to the community or show any
concern for the environment.
• Do the people within your organization project the
image of the company in a favorable way?

25

Service After the Sales
• Effective Marketing must continue with the
product or service after the final sale.
• This support includes service, assistance,
warranties, returns and refunds.

26

Service
• Advertising is expensive. It gets the
customer to try your product or service. It is
a good start but remember, the goal is to
have customer’s repeat business.
• Over time, you will notice that 80% of your
sales will come from just 20% of your total
customers.
27

MARKET RESEARCH

28

Market Research
• Before one starts a business and even periodically
while in business, one should conduct market
research.
• Market research is an organized process to gather,
analyze, interpret and utilize relevant information
about the business environment for the purposes
of making accurate business decisions.
• Market research focuses on potential customers,
existing customers, the competition and the
business environment .
29

Market Research
• The ultimate goal of market research is business
success.
• The objective of market research is to;
1)Identify potential target markets.
2)Identify customer needs and wants.
3)Determine if the product or service meets customer
needs.
4)Determine the best promotion technique for each
market.
5)Examine the competition.
30

Market Research
• The purpose of market research data is to help the
business owner make better decisions.
• Using market research, the business owner can
develop an accurate understanding of the potential
customer.
• The goal of market research is to reveal unfilled
needs in the form of a market niche, customer’s
needs, a competitor’s weakness or an unused
marketing strategy. The ultimate goal is to
increase the business’ sales and profits.
31

Doing Market Research
• Anyone can do market research to some
extent.
• Basically, you want to gather information
about;
1)Your customers or potential customers
2)Your competition
3)General market information
Let’s go through each in greater detail.
32

About your Customers or
Potential Customers
• General demographic information such as – age,
where they live, where they work, race, gender,
marital status, income, number of children,
education, home ownership, lifestyle
• Needs, wants and desired benefits
• Past and future purchases (What, when, why,
where, how much)
• Products and services that compliment or
substitute
• Use of various media (radio, TV, newspaper,
magazines, etc.)
33

Warranty Cards
• Whenever you buy any appliance and certain
goods, you are requested to fill out a warranty
card. If you fill out the warranty card, the product
you bought will be under warranty for some
specified period of time. Note how much the
information on the warranty card parallels the
demographic information on the previous page.
• Warranty cards serve as a prime method of
collecting marketing information.
34

About the Competition
•
•
•
•
•
•

•
•

Who are they?
What products and/or services do they offer?
What is the price range of products and services?
What are their policies on returns, credit,
warranties, etc.?
Are there any special services?
If they are a store-type business, what is their staff
like (experience, customer respect, customer
focus)?
What kinds of promotions/ advertising do they do?
What is their company image like to the average
customer?
35

General Market Information
• The physical/geographical area (traffic flow,
development plans, history, growth pattern).
• The industry as a whole.
• The economy as a whole.

36

Analyzing Market Research Data
• Once you have collected as much data as
you reasonably can, you need to organize it
by the SWOT format;
• S = Strengths
• W= Weaknesses
• O= Opportunities
• T= Threats
37

SWOT Grid
My Business

Its Environment

Strengths

Opportunities

Weaknesses

Threats

38

The SWOT Grid
• In the grid, you evaluate your business or
business potentials and its weaknesses.
• When you evaluate the environment, where
do you see chances for growth and what
might slow your business ?.

39

Marketing Research
• Where we can get market information;
-The Internet brings information to your finger
tips.
-Visit a food store and just look around not only in
the area that you want to enter but other food
groups ( e.g. what are the dairy foods people doing
that I can adopt?).
-Talk to people in the business from entrepreneurs
to store owners, brokers, sales representatives, etc.
Most people like to help others and will tell you
more than you ever dreamed.
40

Market Research
• Market research identifies the available
market, discovers the best method to reach
the target market and asks what the
customer needs and wants. Market research
is a simple, structured, objective way of
learning about people- the people who will
buy your product or service.
41

RESOURCES
• There are 2 keys sources of information
1)A book entitled From Kitchen to Market by
Stephan F Hall. Sold via Amazon.com for about
$20- A complete, easy to understand book on
taking a food product to market.
2)The Arkansas Small Business Development Center
in Little Rock (501/324-9043) has a resource
library that contains many references and a
brochure entitled Market Designs that will help.
42

43

44

CONCLUSIONS
• This module should have made you think about
the purpose and goals of marketing and how to do
market research.
• Marketing is probably the single most important
aspect in starting and maintaining a food business.
• Whether you are starting a new food business or
maintaining an existing business, it is important
that you constantly monitor your marketing
efforts.
45

46


Slide 3

INTRODUCTION TO FOOD
MARKETING
3116
Steven C Seideman
Extension Food Processing Specialist
Cooperative Extension Service
1

INTRODUCTION
• To many people, “MARKETING” means either
selling or advertising of your business.
• Jay Levinson in his book “ Guerilla Marketing”
defines marketing as “everything you do to
promote your business from the moment you think
of the idea until the customers buy and begin to do
so on a regular basis”.

2

THE GOAL OF BUSINESS
• Two theories on what the goal of business is;
1) The goal of business is profit, and profit means
the firm survives and has a chance to grow.
2) The goal of business is to get and keep a
customer. Profit is implied because if you don’t
make a profit, you will not be around to keep
your customer.
You choose which goal you want to accept. The
bottom line is that a profit must be made.
3

SELLING vs MARKETING
• SELLING asks the question “ How do I get the
customer to buy my product?”
• MARKETING takes a broader view and asks
“What does the customer want to buy ?” The
business owner needs to attract new audiences,
study the competition and develop his or her
product or service so that it appeals to a highly
discriminating audience.
4

MARKETING AS A PROCESS

5

MARKETING AS A PROCESS
• The successful marketing process includes;
1)Determining what the customer needs and wants.
2)Developing a product or service to meet those
needs or wants.
3)Understanding the competition and what they
offer.
4)Linking with the customer as a source for fulfilling
his or her needs and wants.
5)Doing all of this at a price that provides a profit so
that the business can continue to grow.
6

Determining What the Customer
Needs or Wants
• A successful business owner analyzes the
market. He or she defines the particular
market segment most likely to purchase
their product or service. The owner then
determines the specific benefits desired by
the customer.

7

Developing a Product or Service
to Meet those Needs or Wants
• Upon understanding what benefits are wanted, the
owner develops a product or service, the features
of which provide the customer with the requested
benefits. Marketing is selling these benefits rather
than the features.
• A feature is any prominent or distinctive aspect,
quality or characteristic. A benefit is what that
feature gives the customer.
• An example would be a reclosable package. The
feature is reclosable: The benefit to the customer
is that it can be reclosed and stored for later use. 8

Understanding the Competition
and What They Offer
• Customers face a large marketplace. A
successful business owner is able to define a
target market and distinguish his or her
business from the competition.
• Walk down an aisle in any food store, look
at all the different brands of a particular
type of product and see how each brand
tries to provide benefits to the customer.
9

10

Linking the Customer as a Source
for Fulfilling His or Her Needs
and Wants
• The successful business owner must let the
customer know he or she is in business. The owner
must also tell the customer how they can meet
their needs, a function known as advertising.
• Types of advertising include radio, TV, newspaper
and magazines, flyers, billboards, web-advertising,
etc.
• The business owner must figure out the most cost
effective way of getting to the target audience.
11

Doing All of this at a Price that
Provides a Profit so the Business
can Continue
• This implies a price of products or services
that allows both the customer and the owner
to feel good about the transaction.
• The business owner must make a profit so
that he or she can stay in business to
continue providing that product or service.
12

MARKETING ACTIVITIES

13

Marketing Activities
• There are basically 4 major categories of
marketing activities known as the 4 P’s:
1)Positioning
2)Production
3)Pricing
4)Promotion
14

Positioning
• Positioning is defining the purpose of your
product or service as it benefits a potential
customer. Positioning is finding a market niche. It
creates a perception of special value and benefits
in your product or service. Developing one’s
position is one of the major goals of the marketing
process.
• An example of positioning is the fast food chain’s
hamburger businesses positioning themselves as
low cost versus another that features customer
choice (“Have it your way” ).
15

Positioning
• Place (where the goods or services are
marketed) and packaging (how the goods or
services are displayed ) are extremely
important. If a product or service appeals to
walk-in traffic, your location must be where
such traffic occurs, not in a limited traffic
area. If you are developing a product for an
upscale market, the packaging must reflect
the image you are trying to attain.
16

Production
• Successful marketing achieves business
growth. The owner must have anticipated
and planned for this growth in the
production process. The inability to fill
orders can quickly strangle a firm’s growth
and even cause the firm to go out of
business.
17

Courtesy of USDA

18

Pricing
• Pricing is a key factor to business success.
• Pricing can be done as a “wild guess”, based on
what the competition charges or as a cost-buildup
process.
• I strongly prefer the cost buildup model whereby
you list all your costs (raw materials, processing
costs, packaging, promotion, salaries, distribution,
etc.) and then add a profit margin.
• Go to another module to learn the cost buildup
details.
19

Pricing
• Look at what the competition charges as compared
to your cost. How can you do it cheaper or better
than the competition?
• Are people willing to pay that price for your
product or service?.
• How about running promotions on your product or
services so people will try it - buy one, get one
free, coupons with a certain amount off ?
• Most new entrepreneurs tend to underprice their
products and services.
20

Promotion
• This addresses the question “How will people
know about my product or service ?”
• Promotions include paid advertising such as radio,
TV, newspaper, etc, and unpaid publicity such as
press releases, etc. Promotions may also include
trade shows, mailings, internet, in-store demos,
etc.
• Promotional efforts must occur in the media that
your perspective customers use.
• Successful promotional efforts focus on the
benefits of your product or service
• Benefits can be convenience (precooked,
21
reclosable packaging), fun, good health, etc.

22

Promotion
• Customers do not buy a product or service for its
features.They buy it for what it can do for them.
• Learn to romanticize your product. Watch TV ads–
wearing certain brands of trousers make you more
appealing to the opposite sex. Laugh? It works.
Watch some TV ads- what is the message they are
sending?
• Brand loyalty; brand-conscious society
• Develop sales literature- price list, catalog sheet,
product information sheet, point of purchase info.
23

Your Company IMAGE
• Although not traditionally thought of as
marketing, I am a believer in how customers
perceive your company’s image.
• Your letters and correspondence- Professional. Are
your telephones answered professionally ?
• Are your salespersons ethical? Is your receptionist
cheerful, optimistic, properly attired ?
• What about your business facility- people like to
work with professional organizations and your
office and facilities tell them about your
professionalism.
24

Your Company IMAGE
• Business owners must remain aware of the
customer’s perception of the business and move
quickly to correct any negative images.
• Do you contribute to the community or show any
concern for the environment.
• Do the people within your organization project the
image of the company in a favorable way?

25

Service After the Sales
• Effective Marketing must continue with the
product or service after the final sale.
• This support includes service, assistance,
warranties, returns and refunds.

26

Service
• Advertising is expensive. It gets the
customer to try your product or service. It is
a good start but remember, the goal is to
have customer’s repeat business.
• Over time, you will notice that 80% of your
sales will come from just 20% of your total
customers.
27

MARKET RESEARCH

28

Market Research
• Before one starts a business and even periodically
while in business, one should conduct market
research.
• Market research is an organized process to gather,
analyze, interpret and utilize relevant information
about the business environment for the purposes
of making accurate business decisions.
• Market research focuses on potential customers,
existing customers, the competition and the
business environment .
29

Market Research
• The ultimate goal of market research is business
success.
• The objective of market research is to;
1)Identify potential target markets.
2)Identify customer needs and wants.
3)Determine if the product or service meets customer
needs.
4)Determine the best promotion technique for each
market.
5)Examine the competition.
30

Market Research
• The purpose of market research data is to help the
business owner make better decisions.
• Using market research, the business owner can
develop an accurate understanding of the potential
customer.
• The goal of market research is to reveal unfilled
needs in the form of a market niche, customer’s
needs, a competitor’s weakness or an unused
marketing strategy. The ultimate goal is to
increase the business’ sales and profits.
31

Doing Market Research
• Anyone can do market research to some
extent.
• Basically, you want to gather information
about;
1)Your customers or potential customers
2)Your competition
3)General market information
Let’s go through each in greater detail.
32

About your Customers or
Potential Customers
• General demographic information such as – age,
where they live, where they work, race, gender,
marital status, income, number of children,
education, home ownership, lifestyle
• Needs, wants and desired benefits
• Past and future purchases (What, when, why,
where, how much)
• Products and services that compliment or
substitute
• Use of various media (radio, TV, newspaper,
magazines, etc.)
33

Warranty Cards
• Whenever you buy any appliance and certain
goods, you are requested to fill out a warranty
card. If you fill out the warranty card, the product
you bought will be under warranty for some
specified period of time. Note how much the
information on the warranty card parallels the
demographic information on the previous page.
• Warranty cards serve as a prime method of
collecting marketing information.
34

About the Competition
•
•
•
•
•
•

•
•

Who are they?
What products and/or services do they offer?
What is the price range of products and services?
What are their policies on returns, credit,
warranties, etc.?
Are there any special services?
If they are a store-type business, what is their staff
like (experience, customer respect, customer
focus)?
What kinds of promotions/ advertising do they do?
What is their company image like to the average
customer?
35

General Market Information
• The physical/geographical area (traffic flow,
development plans, history, growth pattern).
• The industry as a whole.
• The economy as a whole.

36

Analyzing Market Research Data
• Once you have collected as much data as
you reasonably can, you need to organize it
by the SWOT format;
• S = Strengths
• W= Weaknesses
• O= Opportunities
• T= Threats
37

SWOT Grid
My Business

Its Environment

Strengths

Opportunities

Weaknesses

Threats

38

The SWOT Grid
• In the grid, you evaluate your business or
business potentials and its weaknesses.
• When you evaluate the environment, where
do you see chances for growth and what
might slow your business ?.

39

Marketing Research
• Where we can get market information;
-The Internet brings information to your finger
tips.
-Visit a food store and just look around not only in
the area that you want to enter but other food
groups ( e.g. what are the dairy foods people doing
that I can adopt?).
-Talk to people in the business from entrepreneurs
to store owners, brokers, sales representatives, etc.
Most people like to help others and will tell you
more than you ever dreamed.
40

Market Research
• Market research identifies the available
market, discovers the best method to reach
the target market and asks what the
customer needs and wants. Market research
is a simple, structured, objective way of
learning about people- the people who will
buy your product or service.
41

RESOURCES
• There are 2 keys sources of information
1)A book entitled From Kitchen to Market by
Stephan F Hall. Sold via Amazon.com for about
$20- A complete, easy to understand book on
taking a food product to market.
2)The Arkansas Small Business Development Center
in Little Rock (501/324-9043) has a resource
library that contains many references and a
brochure entitled Market Designs that will help.
42

43

44

CONCLUSIONS
• This module should have made you think about
the purpose and goals of marketing and how to do
market research.
• Marketing is probably the single most important
aspect in starting and maintaining a food business.
• Whether you are starting a new food business or
maintaining an existing business, it is important
that you constantly monitor your marketing
efforts.
45

46


Slide 4

INTRODUCTION TO FOOD
MARKETING
3116
Steven C Seideman
Extension Food Processing Specialist
Cooperative Extension Service
1

INTRODUCTION
• To many people, “MARKETING” means either
selling or advertising of your business.
• Jay Levinson in his book “ Guerilla Marketing”
defines marketing as “everything you do to
promote your business from the moment you think
of the idea until the customers buy and begin to do
so on a regular basis”.

2

THE GOAL OF BUSINESS
• Two theories on what the goal of business is;
1) The goal of business is profit, and profit means
the firm survives and has a chance to grow.
2) The goal of business is to get and keep a
customer. Profit is implied because if you don’t
make a profit, you will not be around to keep
your customer.
You choose which goal you want to accept. The
bottom line is that a profit must be made.
3

SELLING vs MARKETING
• SELLING asks the question “ How do I get the
customer to buy my product?”
• MARKETING takes a broader view and asks
“What does the customer want to buy ?” The
business owner needs to attract new audiences,
study the competition and develop his or her
product or service so that it appeals to a highly
discriminating audience.
4

MARKETING AS A PROCESS

5

MARKETING AS A PROCESS
• The successful marketing process includes;
1)Determining what the customer needs and wants.
2)Developing a product or service to meet those
needs or wants.
3)Understanding the competition and what they
offer.
4)Linking with the customer as a source for fulfilling
his or her needs and wants.
5)Doing all of this at a price that provides a profit so
that the business can continue to grow.
6

Determining What the Customer
Needs or Wants
• A successful business owner analyzes the
market. He or she defines the particular
market segment most likely to purchase
their product or service. The owner then
determines the specific benefits desired by
the customer.

7

Developing a Product or Service
to Meet those Needs or Wants
• Upon understanding what benefits are wanted, the
owner develops a product or service, the features
of which provide the customer with the requested
benefits. Marketing is selling these benefits rather
than the features.
• A feature is any prominent or distinctive aspect,
quality or characteristic. A benefit is what that
feature gives the customer.
• An example would be a reclosable package. The
feature is reclosable: The benefit to the customer
is that it can be reclosed and stored for later use. 8

Understanding the Competition
and What They Offer
• Customers face a large marketplace. A
successful business owner is able to define a
target market and distinguish his or her
business from the competition.
• Walk down an aisle in any food store, look
at all the different brands of a particular
type of product and see how each brand
tries to provide benefits to the customer.
9

10

Linking the Customer as a Source
for Fulfilling His or Her Needs
and Wants
• The successful business owner must let the
customer know he or she is in business. The owner
must also tell the customer how they can meet
their needs, a function known as advertising.
• Types of advertising include radio, TV, newspaper
and magazines, flyers, billboards, web-advertising,
etc.
• The business owner must figure out the most cost
effective way of getting to the target audience.
11

Doing All of this at a Price that
Provides a Profit so the Business
can Continue
• This implies a price of products or services
that allows both the customer and the owner
to feel good about the transaction.
• The business owner must make a profit so
that he or she can stay in business to
continue providing that product or service.
12

MARKETING ACTIVITIES

13

Marketing Activities
• There are basically 4 major categories of
marketing activities known as the 4 P’s:
1)Positioning
2)Production
3)Pricing
4)Promotion
14

Positioning
• Positioning is defining the purpose of your
product or service as it benefits a potential
customer. Positioning is finding a market niche. It
creates a perception of special value and benefits
in your product or service. Developing one’s
position is one of the major goals of the marketing
process.
• An example of positioning is the fast food chain’s
hamburger businesses positioning themselves as
low cost versus another that features customer
choice (“Have it your way” ).
15

Positioning
• Place (where the goods or services are
marketed) and packaging (how the goods or
services are displayed ) are extremely
important. If a product or service appeals to
walk-in traffic, your location must be where
such traffic occurs, not in a limited traffic
area. If you are developing a product for an
upscale market, the packaging must reflect
the image you are trying to attain.
16

Production
• Successful marketing achieves business
growth. The owner must have anticipated
and planned for this growth in the
production process. The inability to fill
orders can quickly strangle a firm’s growth
and even cause the firm to go out of
business.
17

Courtesy of USDA

18

Pricing
• Pricing is a key factor to business success.
• Pricing can be done as a “wild guess”, based on
what the competition charges or as a cost-buildup
process.
• I strongly prefer the cost buildup model whereby
you list all your costs (raw materials, processing
costs, packaging, promotion, salaries, distribution,
etc.) and then add a profit margin.
• Go to another module to learn the cost buildup
details.
19

Pricing
• Look at what the competition charges as compared
to your cost. How can you do it cheaper or better
than the competition?
• Are people willing to pay that price for your
product or service?.
• How about running promotions on your product or
services so people will try it - buy one, get one
free, coupons with a certain amount off ?
• Most new entrepreneurs tend to underprice their
products and services.
20

Promotion
• This addresses the question “How will people
know about my product or service ?”
• Promotions include paid advertising such as radio,
TV, newspaper, etc, and unpaid publicity such as
press releases, etc. Promotions may also include
trade shows, mailings, internet, in-store demos,
etc.
• Promotional efforts must occur in the media that
your perspective customers use.
• Successful promotional efforts focus on the
benefits of your product or service
• Benefits can be convenience (precooked,
21
reclosable packaging), fun, good health, etc.

22

Promotion
• Customers do not buy a product or service for its
features.They buy it for what it can do for them.
• Learn to romanticize your product. Watch TV ads–
wearing certain brands of trousers make you more
appealing to the opposite sex. Laugh? It works.
Watch some TV ads- what is the message they are
sending?
• Brand loyalty; brand-conscious society
• Develop sales literature- price list, catalog sheet,
product information sheet, point of purchase info.
23

Your Company IMAGE
• Although not traditionally thought of as
marketing, I am a believer in how customers
perceive your company’s image.
• Your letters and correspondence- Professional. Are
your telephones answered professionally ?
• Are your salespersons ethical? Is your receptionist
cheerful, optimistic, properly attired ?
• What about your business facility- people like to
work with professional organizations and your
office and facilities tell them about your
professionalism.
24

Your Company IMAGE
• Business owners must remain aware of the
customer’s perception of the business and move
quickly to correct any negative images.
• Do you contribute to the community or show any
concern for the environment.
• Do the people within your organization project the
image of the company in a favorable way?

25

Service After the Sales
• Effective Marketing must continue with the
product or service after the final sale.
• This support includes service, assistance,
warranties, returns and refunds.

26

Service
• Advertising is expensive. It gets the
customer to try your product or service. It is
a good start but remember, the goal is to
have customer’s repeat business.
• Over time, you will notice that 80% of your
sales will come from just 20% of your total
customers.
27

MARKET RESEARCH

28

Market Research
• Before one starts a business and even periodically
while in business, one should conduct market
research.
• Market research is an organized process to gather,
analyze, interpret and utilize relevant information
about the business environment for the purposes
of making accurate business decisions.
• Market research focuses on potential customers,
existing customers, the competition and the
business environment .
29

Market Research
• The ultimate goal of market research is business
success.
• The objective of market research is to;
1)Identify potential target markets.
2)Identify customer needs and wants.
3)Determine if the product or service meets customer
needs.
4)Determine the best promotion technique for each
market.
5)Examine the competition.
30

Market Research
• The purpose of market research data is to help the
business owner make better decisions.
• Using market research, the business owner can
develop an accurate understanding of the potential
customer.
• The goal of market research is to reveal unfilled
needs in the form of a market niche, customer’s
needs, a competitor’s weakness or an unused
marketing strategy. The ultimate goal is to
increase the business’ sales and profits.
31

Doing Market Research
• Anyone can do market research to some
extent.
• Basically, you want to gather information
about;
1)Your customers or potential customers
2)Your competition
3)General market information
Let’s go through each in greater detail.
32

About your Customers or
Potential Customers
• General demographic information such as – age,
where they live, where they work, race, gender,
marital status, income, number of children,
education, home ownership, lifestyle
• Needs, wants and desired benefits
• Past and future purchases (What, when, why,
where, how much)
• Products and services that compliment or
substitute
• Use of various media (radio, TV, newspaper,
magazines, etc.)
33

Warranty Cards
• Whenever you buy any appliance and certain
goods, you are requested to fill out a warranty
card. If you fill out the warranty card, the product
you bought will be under warranty for some
specified period of time. Note how much the
information on the warranty card parallels the
demographic information on the previous page.
• Warranty cards serve as a prime method of
collecting marketing information.
34

About the Competition
•
•
•
•
•
•

•
•

Who are they?
What products and/or services do they offer?
What is the price range of products and services?
What are their policies on returns, credit,
warranties, etc.?
Are there any special services?
If they are a store-type business, what is their staff
like (experience, customer respect, customer
focus)?
What kinds of promotions/ advertising do they do?
What is their company image like to the average
customer?
35

General Market Information
• The physical/geographical area (traffic flow,
development plans, history, growth pattern).
• The industry as a whole.
• The economy as a whole.

36

Analyzing Market Research Data
• Once you have collected as much data as
you reasonably can, you need to organize it
by the SWOT format;
• S = Strengths
• W= Weaknesses
• O= Opportunities
• T= Threats
37

SWOT Grid
My Business

Its Environment

Strengths

Opportunities

Weaknesses

Threats

38

The SWOT Grid
• In the grid, you evaluate your business or
business potentials and its weaknesses.
• When you evaluate the environment, where
do you see chances for growth and what
might slow your business ?.

39

Marketing Research
• Where we can get market information;
-The Internet brings information to your finger
tips.
-Visit a food store and just look around not only in
the area that you want to enter but other food
groups ( e.g. what are the dairy foods people doing
that I can adopt?).
-Talk to people in the business from entrepreneurs
to store owners, brokers, sales representatives, etc.
Most people like to help others and will tell you
more than you ever dreamed.
40

Market Research
• Market research identifies the available
market, discovers the best method to reach
the target market and asks what the
customer needs and wants. Market research
is a simple, structured, objective way of
learning about people- the people who will
buy your product or service.
41

RESOURCES
• There are 2 keys sources of information
1)A book entitled From Kitchen to Market by
Stephan F Hall. Sold via Amazon.com for about
$20- A complete, easy to understand book on
taking a food product to market.
2)The Arkansas Small Business Development Center
in Little Rock (501/324-9043) has a resource
library that contains many references and a
brochure entitled Market Designs that will help.
42

43

44

CONCLUSIONS
• This module should have made you think about
the purpose and goals of marketing and how to do
market research.
• Marketing is probably the single most important
aspect in starting and maintaining a food business.
• Whether you are starting a new food business or
maintaining an existing business, it is important
that you constantly monitor your marketing
efforts.
45

46


Slide 5

INTRODUCTION TO FOOD
MARKETING
3116
Steven C Seideman
Extension Food Processing Specialist
Cooperative Extension Service
1

INTRODUCTION
• To many people, “MARKETING” means either
selling or advertising of your business.
• Jay Levinson in his book “ Guerilla Marketing”
defines marketing as “everything you do to
promote your business from the moment you think
of the idea until the customers buy and begin to do
so on a regular basis”.

2

THE GOAL OF BUSINESS
• Two theories on what the goal of business is;
1) The goal of business is profit, and profit means
the firm survives and has a chance to grow.
2) The goal of business is to get and keep a
customer. Profit is implied because if you don’t
make a profit, you will not be around to keep
your customer.
You choose which goal you want to accept. The
bottom line is that a profit must be made.
3

SELLING vs MARKETING
• SELLING asks the question “ How do I get the
customer to buy my product?”
• MARKETING takes a broader view and asks
“What does the customer want to buy ?” The
business owner needs to attract new audiences,
study the competition and develop his or her
product or service so that it appeals to a highly
discriminating audience.
4

MARKETING AS A PROCESS

5

MARKETING AS A PROCESS
• The successful marketing process includes;
1)Determining what the customer needs and wants.
2)Developing a product or service to meet those
needs or wants.
3)Understanding the competition and what they
offer.
4)Linking with the customer as a source for fulfilling
his or her needs and wants.
5)Doing all of this at a price that provides a profit so
that the business can continue to grow.
6

Determining What the Customer
Needs or Wants
• A successful business owner analyzes the
market. He or she defines the particular
market segment most likely to purchase
their product or service. The owner then
determines the specific benefits desired by
the customer.

7

Developing a Product or Service
to Meet those Needs or Wants
• Upon understanding what benefits are wanted, the
owner develops a product or service, the features
of which provide the customer with the requested
benefits. Marketing is selling these benefits rather
than the features.
• A feature is any prominent or distinctive aspect,
quality or characteristic. A benefit is what that
feature gives the customer.
• An example would be a reclosable package. The
feature is reclosable: The benefit to the customer
is that it can be reclosed and stored for later use. 8

Understanding the Competition
and What They Offer
• Customers face a large marketplace. A
successful business owner is able to define a
target market and distinguish his or her
business from the competition.
• Walk down an aisle in any food store, look
at all the different brands of a particular
type of product and see how each brand
tries to provide benefits to the customer.
9

10

Linking the Customer as a Source
for Fulfilling His or Her Needs
and Wants
• The successful business owner must let the
customer know he or she is in business. The owner
must also tell the customer how they can meet
their needs, a function known as advertising.
• Types of advertising include radio, TV, newspaper
and magazines, flyers, billboards, web-advertising,
etc.
• The business owner must figure out the most cost
effective way of getting to the target audience.
11

Doing All of this at a Price that
Provides a Profit so the Business
can Continue
• This implies a price of products or services
that allows both the customer and the owner
to feel good about the transaction.
• The business owner must make a profit so
that he or she can stay in business to
continue providing that product or service.
12

MARKETING ACTIVITIES

13

Marketing Activities
• There are basically 4 major categories of
marketing activities known as the 4 P’s:
1)Positioning
2)Production
3)Pricing
4)Promotion
14

Positioning
• Positioning is defining the purpose of your
product or service as it benefits a potential
customer. Positioning is finding a market niche. It
creates a perception of special value and benefits
in your product or service. Developing one’s
position is one of the major goals of the marketing
process.
• An example of positioning is the fast food chain’s
hamburger businesses positioning themselves as
low cost versus another that features customer
choice (“Have it your way” ).
15

Positioning
• Place (where the goods or services are
marketed) and packaging (how the goods or
services are displayed ) are extremely
important. If a product or service appeals to
walk-in traffic, your location must be where
such traffic occurs, not in a limited traffic
area. If you are developing a product for an
upscale market, the packaging must reflect
the image you are trying to attain.
16

Production
• Successful marketing achieves business
growth. The owner must have anticipated
and planned for this growth in the
production process. The inability to fill
orders can quickly strangle a firm’s growth
and even cause the firm to go out of
business.
17

Courtesy of USDA

18

Pricing
• Pricing is a key factor to business success.
• Pricing can be done as a “wild guess”, based on
what the competition charges or as a cost-buildup
process.
• I strongly prefer the cost buildup model whereby
you list all your costs (raw materials, processing
costs, packaging, promotion, salaries, distribution,
etc.) and then add a profit margin.
• Go to another module to learn the cost buildup
details.
19

Pricing
• Look at what the competition charges as compared
to your cost. How can you do it cheaper or better
than the competition?
• Are people willing to pay that price for your
product or service?.
• How about running promotions on your product or
services so people will try it - buy one, get one
free, coupons with a certain amount off ?
• Most new entrepreneurs tend to underprice their
products and services.
20

Promotion
• This addresses the question “How will people
know about my product or service ?”
• Promotions include paid advertising such as radio,
TV, newspaper, etc, and unpaid publicity such as
press releases, etc. Promotions may also include
trade shows, mailings, internet, in-store demos,
etc.
• Promotional efforts must occur in the media that
your perspective customers use.
• Successful promotional efforts focus on the
benefits of your product or service
• Benefits can be convenience (precooked,
21
reclosable packaging), fun, good health, etc.

22

Promotion
• Customers do not buy a product or service for its
features.They buy it for what it can do for them.
• Learn to romanticize your product. Watch TV ads–
wearing certain brands of trousers make you more
appealing to the opposite sex. Laugh? It works.
Watch some TV ads- what is the message they are
sending?
• Brand loyalty; brand-conscious society
• Develop sales literature- price list, catalog sheet,
product information sheet, point of purchase info.
23

Your Company IMAGE
• Although not traditionally thought of as
marketing, I am a believer in how customers
perceive your company’s image.
• Your letters and correspondence- Professional. Are
your telephones answered professionally ?
• Are your salespersons ethical? Is your receptionist
cheerful, optimistic, properly attired ?
• What about your business facility- people like to
work with professional organizations and your
office and facilities tell them about your
professionalism.
24

Your Company IMAGE
• Business owners must remain aware of the
customer’s perception of the business and move
quickly to correct any negative images.
• Do you contribute to the community or show any
concern for the environment.
• Do the people within your organization project the
image of the company in a favorable way?

25

Service After the Sales
• Effective Marketing must continue with the
product or service after the final sale.
• This support includes service, assistance,
warranties, returns and refunds.

26

Service
• Advertising is expensive. It gets the
customer to try your product or service. It is
a good start but remember, the goal is to
have customer’s repeat business.
• Over time, you will notice that 80% of your
sales will come from just 20% of your total
customers.
27

MARKET RESEARCH

28

Market Research
• Before one starts a business and even periodically
while in business, one should conduct market
research.
• Market research is an organized process to gather,
analyze, interpret and utilize relevant information
about the business environment for the purposes
of making accurate business decisions.
• Market research focuses on potential customers,
existing customers, the competition and the
business environment .
29

Market Research
• The ultimate goal of market research is business
success.
• The objective of market research is to;
1)Identify potential target markets.
2)Identify customer needs and wants.
3)Determine if the product or service meets customer
needs.
4)Determine the best promotion technique for each
market.
5)Examine the competition.
30

Market Research
• The purpose of market research data is to help the
business owner make better decisions.
• Using market research, the business owner can
develop an accurate understanding of the potential
customer.
• The goal of market research is to reveal unfilled
needs in the form of a market niche, customer’s
needs, a competitor’s weakness or an unused
marketing strategy. The ultimate goal is to
increase the business’ sales and profits.
31

Doing Market Research
• Anyone can do market research to some
extent.
• Basically, you want to gather information
about;
1)Your customers or potential customers
2)Your competition
3)General market information
Let’s go through each in greater detail.
32

About your Customers or
Potential Customers
• General demographic information such as – age,
where they live, where they work, race, gender,
marital status, income, number of children,
education, home ownership, lifestyle
• Needs, wants and desired benefits
• Past and future purchases (What, when, why,
where, how much)
• Products and services that compliment or
substitute
• Use of various media (radio, TV, newspaper,
magazines, etc.)
33

Warranty Cards
• Whenever you buy any appliance and certain
goods, you are requested to fill out a warranty
card. If you fill out the warranty card, the product
you bought will be under warranty for some
specified period of time. Note how much the
information on the warranty card parallels the
demographic information on the previous page.
• Warranty cards serve as a prime method of
collecting marketing information.
34

About the Competition
•
•
•
•
•
•

•
•

Who are they?
What products and/or services do they offer?
What is the price range of products and services?
What are their policies on returns, credit,
warranties, etc.?
Are there any special services?
If they are a store-type business, what is their staff
like (experience, customer respect, customer
focus)?
What kinds of promotions/ advertising do they do?
What is their company image like to the average
customer?
35

General Market Information
• The physical/geographical area (traffic flow,
development plans, history, growth pattern).
• The industry as a whole.
• The economy as a whole.

36

Analyzing Market Research Data
• Once you have collected as much data as
you reasonably can, you need to organize it
by the SWOT format;
• S = Strengths
• W= Weaknesses
• O= Opportunities
• T= Threats
37

SWOT Grid
My Business

Its Environment

Strengths

Opportunities

Weaknesses

Threats

38

The SWOT Grid
• In the grid, you evaluate your business or
business potentials and its weaknesses.
• When you evaluate the environment, where
do you see chances for growth and what
might slow your business ?.

39

Marketing Research
• Where we can get market information;
-The Internet brings information to your finger
tips.
-Visit a food store and just look around not only in
the area that you want to enter but other food
groups ( e.g. what are the dairy foods people doing
that I can adopt?).
-Talk to people in the business from entrepreneurs
to store owners, brokers, sales representatives, etc.
Most people like to help others and will tell you
more than you ever dreamed.
40

Market Research
• Market research identifies the available
market, discovers the best method to reach
the target market and asks what the
customer needs and wants. Market research
is a simple, structured, objective way of
learning about people- the people who will
buy your product or service.
41

RESOURCES
• There are 2 keys sources of information
1)A book entitled From Kitchen to Market by
Stephan F Hall. Sold via Amazon.com for about
$20- A complete, easy to understand book on
taking a food product to market.
2)The Arkansas Small Business Development Center
in Little Rock (501/324-9043) has a resource
library that contains many references and a
brochure entitled Market Designs that will help.
42

43

44

CONCLUSIONS
• This module should have made you think about
the purpose and goals of marketing and how to do
market research.
• Marketing is probably the single most important
aspect in starting and maintaining a food business.
• Whether you are starting a new food business or
maintaining an existing business, it is important
that you constantly monitor your marketing
efforts.
45

46


Slide 6

INTRODUCTION TO FOOD
MARKETING
3116
Steven C Seideman
Extension Food Processing Specialist
Cooperative Extension Service
1

INTRODUCTION
• To many people, “MARKETING” means either
selling or advertising of your business.
• Jay Levinson in his book “ Guerilla Marketing”
defines marketing as “everything you do to
promote your business from the moment you think
of the idea until the customers buy and begin to do
so on a regular basis”.

2

THE GOAL OF BUSINESS
• Two theories on what the goal of business is;
1) The goal of business is profit, and profit means
the firm survives and has a chance to grow.
2) The goal of business is to get and keep a
customer. Profit is implied because if you don’t
make a profit, you will not be around to keep
your customer.
You choose which goal you want to accept. The
bottom line is that a profit must be made.
3

SELLING vs MARKETING
• SELLING asks the question “ How do I get the
customer to buy my product?”
• MARKETING takes a broader view and asks
“What does the customer want to buy ?” The
business owner needs to attract new audiences,
study the competition and develop his or her
product or service so that it appeals to a highly
discriminating audience.
4

MARKETING AS A PROCESS

5

MARKETING AS A PROCESS
• The successful marketing process includes;
1)Determining what the customer needs and wants.
2)Developing a product or service to meet those
needs or wants.
3)Understanding the competition and what they
offer.
4)Linking with the customer as a source for fulfilling
his or her needs and wants.
5)Doing all of this at a price that provides a profit so
that the business can continue to grow.
6

Determining What the Customer
Needs or Wants
• A successful business owner analyzes the
market. He or she defines the particular
market segment most likely to purchase
their product or service. The owner then
determines the specific benefits desired by
the customer.

7

Developing a Product or Service
to Meet those Needs or Wants
• Upon understanding what benefits are wanted, the
owner develops a product or service, the features
of which provide the customer with the requested
benefits. Marketing is selling these benefits rather
than the features.
• A feature is any prominent or distinctive aspect,
quality or characteristic. A benefit is what that
feature gives the customer.
• An example would be a reclosable package. The
feature is reclosable: The benefit to the customer
is that it can be reclosed and stored for later use. 8

Understanding the Competition
and What They Offer
• Customers face a large marketplace. A
successful business owner is able to define a
target market and distinguish his or her
business from the competition.
• Walk down an aisle in any food store, look
at all the different brands of a particular
type of product and see how each brand
tries to provide benefits to the customer.
9

10

Linking the Customer as a Source
for Fulfilling His or Her Needs
and Wants
• The successful business owner must let the
customer know he or she is in business. The owner
must also tell the customer how they can meet
their needs, a function known as advertising.
• Types of advertising include radio, TV, newspaper
and magazines, flyers, billboards, web-advertising,
etc.
• The business owner must figure out the most cost
effective way of getting to the target audience.
11

Doing All of this at a Price that
Provides a Profit so the Business
can Continue
• This implies a price of products or services
that allows both the customer and the owner
to feel good about the transaction.
• The business owner must make a profit so
that he or she can stay in business to
continue providing that product or service.
12

MARKETING ACTIVITIES

13

Marketing Activities
• There are basically 4 major categories of
marketing activities known as the 4 P’s:
1)Positioning
2)Production
3)Pricing
4)Promotion
14

Positioning
• Positioning is defining the purpose of your
product or service as it benefits a potential
customer. Positioning is finding a market niche. It
creates a perception of special value and benefits
in your product or service. Developing one’s
position is one of the major goals of the marketing
process.
• An example of positioning is the fast food chain’s
hamburger businesses positioning themselves as
low cost versus another that features customer
choice (“Have it your way” ).
15

Positioning
• Place (where the goods or services are
marketed) and packaging (how the goods or
services are displayed ) are extremely
important. If a product or service appeals to
walk-in traffic, your location must be where
such traffic occurs, not in a limited traffic
area. If you are developing a product for an
upscale market, the packaging must reflect
the image you are trying to attain.
16

Production
• Successful marketing achieves business
growth. The owner must have anticipated
and planned for this growth in the
production process. The inability to fill
orders can quickly strangle a firm’s growth
and even cause the firm to go out of
business.
17

Courtesy of USDA

18

Pricing
• Pricing is a key factor to business success.
• Pricing can be done as a “wild guess”, based on
what the competition charges or as a cost-buildup
process.
• I strongly prefer the cost buildup model whereby
you list all your costs (raw materials, processing
costs, packaging, promotion, salaries, distribution,
etc.) and then add a profit margin.
• Go to another module to learn the cost buildup
details.
19

Pricing
• Look at what the competition charges as compared
to your cost. How can you do it cheaper or better
than the competition?
• Are people willing to pay that price for your
product or service?.
• How about running promotions on your product or
services so people will try it - buy one, get one
free, coupons with a certain amount off ?
• Most new entrepreneurs tend to underprice their
products and services.
20

Promotion
• This addresses the question “How will people
know about my product or service ?”
• Promotions include paid advertising such as radio,
TV, newspaper, etc, and unpaid publicity such as
press releases, etc. Promotions may also include
trade shows, mailings, internet, in-store demos,
etc.
• Promotional efforts must occur in the media that
your perspective customers use.
• Successful promotional efforts focus on the
benefits of your product or service
• Benefits can be convenience (precooked,
21
reclosable packaging), fun, good health, etc.

22

Promotion
• Customers do not buy a product or service for its
features.They buy it for what it can do for them.
• Learn to romanticize your product. Watch TV ads–
wearing certain brands of trousers make you more
appealing to the opposite sex. Laugh? It works.
Watch some TV ads- what is the message they are
sending?
• Brand loyalty; brand-conscious society
• Develop sales literature- price list, catalog sheet,
product information sheet, point of purchase info.
23

Your Company IMAGE
• Although not traditionally thought of as
marketing, I am a believer in how customers
perceive your company’s image.
• Your letters and correspondence- Professional. Are
your telephones answered professionally ?
• Are your salespersons ethical? Is your receptionist
cheerful, optimistic, properly attired ?
• What about your business facility- people like to
work with professional organizations and your
office and facilities tell them about your
professionalism.
24

Your Company IMAGE
• Business owners must remain aware of the
customer’s perception of the business and move
quickly to correct any negative images.
• Do you contribute to the community or show any
concern for the environment.
• Do the people within your organization project the
image of the company in a favorable way?

25

Service After the Sales
• Effective Marketing must continue with the
product or service after the final sale.
• This support includes service, assistance,
warranties, returns and refunds.

26

Service
• Advertising is expensive. It gets the
customer to try your product or service. It is
a good start but remember, the goal is to
have customer’s repeat business.
• Over time, you will notice that 80% of your
sales will come from just 20% of your total
customers.
27

MARKET RESEARCH

28

Market Research
• Before one starts a business and even periodically
while in business, one should conduct market
research.
• Market research is an organized process to gather,
analyze, interpret and utilize relevant information
about the business environment for the purposes
of making accurate business decisions.
• Market research focuses on potential customers,
existing customers, the competition and the
business environment .
29

Market Research
• The ultimate goal of market research is business
success.
• The objective of market research is to;
1)Identify potential target markets.
2)Identify customer needs and wants.
3)Determine if the product or service meets customer
needs.
4)Determine the best promotion technique for each
market.
5)Examine the competition.
30

Market Research
• The purpose of market research data is to help the
business owner make better decisions.
• Using market research, the business owner can
develop an accurate understanding of the potential
customer.
• The goal of market research is to reveal unfilled
needs in the form of a market niche, customer’s
needs, a competitor’s weakness or an unused
marketing strategy. The ultimate goal is to
increase the business’ sales and profits.
31

Doing Market Research
• Anyone can do market research to some
extent.
• Basically, you want to gather information
about;
1)Your customers or potential customers
2)Your competition
3)General market information
Let’s go through each in greater detail.
32

About your Customers or
Potential Customers
• General demographic information such as – age,
where they live, where they work, race, gender,
marital status, income, number of children,
education, home ownership, lifestyle
• Needs, wants and desired benefits
• Past and future purchases (What, when, why,
where, how much)
• Products and services that compliment or
substitute
• Use of various media (radio, TV, newspaper,
magazines, etc.)
33

Warranty Cards
• Whenever you buy any appliance and certain
goods, you are requested to fill out a warranty
card. If you fill out the warranty card, the product
you bought will be under warranty for some
specified period of time. Note how much the
information on the warranty card parallels the
demographic information on the previous page.
• Warranty cards serve as a prime method of
collecting marketing information.
34

About the Competition
•
•
•
•
•
•

•
•

Who are they?
What products and/or services do they offer?
What is the price range of products and services?
What are their policies on returns, credit,
warranties, etc.?
Are there any special services?
If they are a store-type business, what is their staff
like (experience, customer respect, customer
focus)?
What kinds of promotions/ advertising do they do?
What is their company image like to the average
customer?
35

General Market Information
• The physical/geographical area (traffic flow,
development plans, history, growth pattern).
• The industry as a whole.
• The economy as a whole.

36

Analyzing Market Research Data
• Once you have collected as much data as
you reasonably can, you need to organize it
by the SWOT format;
• S = Strengths
• W= Weaknesses
• O= Opportunities
• T= Threats
37

SWOT Grid
My Business

Its Environment

Strengths

Opportunities

Weaknesses

Threats

38

The SWOT Grid
• In the grid, you evaluate your business or
business potentials and its weaknesses.
• When you evaluate the environment, where
do you see chances for growth and what
might slow your business ?.

39

Marketing Research
• Where we can get market information;
-The Internet brings information to your finger
tips.
-Visit a food store and just look around not only in
the area that you want to enter but other food
groups ( e.g. what are the dairy foods people doing
that I can adopt?).
-Talk to people in the business from entrepreneurs
to store owners, brokers, sales representatives, etc.
Most people like to help others and will tell you
more than you ever dreamed.
40

Market Research
• Market research identifies the available
market, discovers the best method to reach
the target market and asks what the
customer needs and wants. Market research
is a simple, structured, objective way of
learning about people- the people who will
buy your product or service.
41

RESOURCES
• There are 2 keys sources of information
1)A book entitled From Kitchen to Market by
Stephan F Hall. Sold via Amazon.com for about
$20- A complete, easy to understand book on
taking a food product to market.
2)The Arkansas Small Business Development Center
in Little Rock (501/324-9043) has a resource
library that contains many references and a
brochure entitled Market Designs that will help.
42

43

44

CONCLUSIONS
• This module should have made you think about
the purpose and goals of marketing and how to do
market research.
• Marketing is probably the single most important
aspect in starting and maintaining a food business.
• Whether you are starting a new food business or
maintaining an existing business, it is important
that you constantly monitor your marketing
efforts.
45

46


Slide 7

INTRODUCTION TO FOOD
MARKETING
3116
Steven C Seideman
Extension Food Processing Specialist
Cooperative Extension Service
1

INTRODUCTION
• To many people, “MARKETING” means either
selling or advertising of your business.
• Jay Levinson in his book “ Guerilla Marketing”
defines marketing as “everything you do to
promote your business from the moment you think
of the idea until the customers buy and begin to do
so on a regular basis”.

2

THE GOAL OF BUSINESS
• Two theories on what the goal of business is;
1) The goal of business is profit, and profit means
the firm survives and has a chance to grow.
2) The goal of business is to get and keep a
customer. Profit is implied because if you don’t
make a profit, you will not be around to keep
your customer.
You choose which goal you want to accept. The
bottom line is that a profit must be made.
3

SELLING vs MARKETING
• SELLING asks the question “ How do I get the
customer to buy my product?”
• MARKETING takes a broader view and asks
“What does the customer want to buy ?” The
business owner needs to attract new audiences,
study the competition and develop his or her
product or service so that it appeals to a highly
discriminating audience.
4

MARKETING AS A PROCESS

5

MARKETING AS A PROCESS
• The successful marketing process includes;
1)Determining what the customer needs and wants.
2)Developing a product or service to meet those
needs or wants.
3)Understanding the competition and what they
offer.
4)Linking with the customer as a source for fulfilling
his or her needs and wants.
5)Doing all of this at a price that provides a profit so
that the business can continue to grow.
6

Determining What the Customer
Needs or Wants
• A successful business owner analyzes the
market. He or she defines the particular
market segment most likely to purchase
their product or service. The owner then
determines the specific benefits desired by
the customer.

7

Developing a Product or Service
to Meet those Needs or Wants
• Upon understanding what benefits are wanted, the
owner develops a product or service, the features
of which provide the customer with the requested
benefits. Marketing is selling these benefits rather
than the features.
• A feature is any prominent or distinctive aspect,
quality or characteristic. A benefit is what that
feature gives the customer.
• An example would be a reclosable package. The
feature is reclosable: The benefit to the customer
is that it can be reclosed and stored for later use. 8

Understanding the Competition
and What They Offer
• Customers face a large marketplace. A
successful business owner is able to define a
target market and distinguish his or her
business from the competition.
• Walk down an aisle in any food store, look
at all the different brands of a particular
type of product and see how each brand
tries to provide benefits to the customer.
9

10

Linking the Customer as a Source
for Fulfilling His or Her Needs
and Wants
• The successful business owner must let the
customer know he or she is in business. The owner
must also tell the customer how they can meet
their needs, a function known as advertising.
• Types of advertising include radio, TV, newspaper
and magazines, flyers, billboards, web-advertising,
etc.
• The business owner must figure out the most cost
effective way of getting to the target audience.
11

Doing All of this at a Price that
Provides a Profit so the Business
can Continue
• This implies a price of products or services
that allows both the customer and the owner
to feel good about the transaction.
• The business owner must make a profit so
that he or she can stay in business to
continue providing that product or service.
12

MARKETING ACTIVITIES

13

Marketing Activities
• There are basically 4 major categories of
marketing activities known as the 4 P’s:
1)Positioning
2)Production
3)Pricing
4)Promotion
14

Positioning
• Positioning is defining the purpose of your
product or service as it benefits a potential
customer. Positioning is finding a market niche. It
creates a perception of special value and benefits
in your product or service. Developing one’s
position is one of the major goals of the marketing
process.
• An example of positioning is the fast food chain’s
hamburger businesses positioning themselves as
low cost versus another that features customer
choice (“Have it your way” ).
15

Positioning
• Place (where the goods or services are
marketed) and packaging (how the goods or
services are displayed ) are extremely
important. If a product or service appeals to
walk-in traffic, your location must be where
such traffic occurs, not in a limited traffic
area. If you are developing a product for an
upscale market, the packaging must reflect
the image you are trying to attain.
16

Production
• Successful marketing achieves business
growth. The owner must have anticipated
and planned for this growth in the
production process. The inability to fill
orders can quickly strangle a firm’s growth
and even cause the firm to go out of
business.
17

Courtesy of USDA

18

Pricing
• Pricing is a key factor to business success.
• Pricing can be done as a “wild guess”, based on
what the competition charges or as a cost-buildup
process.
• I strongly prefer the cost buildup model whereby
you list all your costs (raw materials, processing
costs, packaging, promotion, salaries, distribution,
etc.) and then add a profit margin.
• Go to another module to learn the cost buildup
details.
19

Pricing
• Look at what the competition charges as compared
to your cost. How can you do it cheaper or better
than the competition?
• Are people willing to pay that price for your
product or service?.
• How about running promotions on your product or
services so people will try it - buy one, get one
free, coupons with a certain amount off ?
• Most new entrepreneurs tend to underprice their
products and services.
20

Promotion
• This addresses the question “How will people
know about my product or service ?”
• Promotions include paid advertising such as radio,
TV, newspaper, etc, and unpaid publicity such as
press releases, etc. Promotions may also include
trade shows, mailings, internet, in-store demos,
etc.
• Promotional efforts must occur in the media that
your perspective customers use.
• Successful promotional efforts focus on the
benefits of your product or service
• Benefits can be convenience (precooked,
21
reclosable packaging), fun, good health, etc.

22

Promotion
• Customers do not buy a product or service for its
features.They buy it for what it can do for them.
• Learn to romanticize your product. Watch TV ads–
wearing certain brands of trousers make you more
appealing to the opposite sex. Laugh? It works.
Watch some TV ads- what is the message they are
sending?
• Brand loyalty; brand-conscious society
• Develop sales literature- price list, catalog sheet,
product information sheet, point of purchase info.
23

Your Company IMAGE
• Although not traditionally thought of as
marketing, I am a believer in how customers
perceive your company’s image.
• Your letters and correspondence- Professional. Are
your telephones answered professionally ?
• Are your salespersons ethical? Is your receptionist
cheerful, optimistic, properly attired ?
• What about your business facility- people like to
work with professional organizations and your
office and facilities tell them about your
professionalism.
24

Your Company IMAGE
• Business owners must remain aware of the
customer’s perception of the business and move
quickly to correct any negative images.
• Do you contribute to the community or show any
concern for the environment.
• Do the people within your organization project the
image of the company in a favorable way?

25

Service After the Sales
• Effective Marketing must continue with the
product or service after the final sale.
• This support includes service, assistance,
warranties, returns and refunds.

26

Service
• Advertising is expensive. It gets the
customer to try your product or service. It is
a good start but remember, the goal is to
have customer’s repeat business.
• Over time, you will notice that 80% of your
sales will come from just 20% of your total
customers.
27

MARKET RESEARCH

28

Market Research
• Before one starts a business and even periodically
while in business, one should conduct market
research.
• Market research is an organized process to gather,
analyze, interpret and utilize relevant information
about the business environment for the purposes
of making accurate business decisions.
• Market research focuses on potential customers,
existing customers, the competition and the
business environment .
29

Market Research
• The ultimate goal of market research is business
success.
• The objective of market research is to;
1)Identify potential target markets.
2)Identify customer needs and wants.
3)Determine if the product or service meets customer
needs.
4)Determine the best promotion technique for each
market.
5)Examine the competition.
30

Market Research
• The purpose of market research data is to help the
business owner make better decisions.
• Using market research, the business owner can
develop an accurate understanding of the potential
customer.
• The goal of market research is to reveal unfilled
needs in the form of a market niche, customer’s
needs, a competitor’s weakness or an unused
marketing strategy. The ultimate goal is to
increase the business’ sales and profits.
31

Doing Market Research
• Anyone can do market research to some
extent.
• Basically, you want to gather information
about;
1)Your customers or potential customers
2)Your competition
3)General market information
Let’s go through each in greater detail.
32

About your Customers or
Potential Customers
• General demographic information such as – age,
where they live, where they work, race, gender,
marital status, income, number of children,
education, home ownership, lifestyle
• Needs, wants and desired benefits
• Past and future purchases (What, when, why,
where, how much)
• Products and services that compliment or
substitute
• Use of various media (radio, TV, newspaper,
magazines, etc.)
33

Warranty Cards
• Whenever you buy any appliance and certain
goods, you are requested to fill out a warranty
card. If you fill out the warranty card, the product
you bought will be under warranty for some
specified period of time. Note how much the
information on the warranty card parallels the
demographic information on the previous page.
• Warranty cards serve as a prime method of
collecting marketing information.
34

About the Competition
•
•
•
•
•
•

•
•

Who are they?
What products and/or services do they offer?
What is the price range of products and services?
What are their policies on returns, credit,
warranties, etc.?
Are there any special services?
If they are a store-type business, what is their staff
like (experience, customer respect, customer
focus)?
What kinds of promotions/ advertising do they do?
What is their company image like to the average
customer?
35

General Market Information
• The physical/geographical area (traffic flow,
development plans, history, growth pattern).
• The industry as a whole.
• The economy as a whole.

36

Analyzing Market Research Data
• Once you have collected as much data as
you reasonably can, you need to organize it
by the SWOT format;
• S = Strengths
• W= Weaknesses
• O= Opportunities
• T= Threats
37

SWOT Grid
My Business

Its Environment

Strengths

Opportunities

Weaknesses

Threats

38

The SWOT Grid
• In the grid, you evaluate your business or
business potentials and its weaknesses.
• When you evaluate the environment, where
do you see chances for growth and what
might slow your business ?.

39

Marketing Research
• Where we can get market information;
-The Internet brings information to your finger
tips.
-Visit a food store and just look around not only in
the area that you want to enter but other food
groups ( e.g. what are the dairy foods people doing
that I can adopt?).
-Talk to people in the business from entrepreneurs
to store owners, brokers, sales representatives, etc.
Most people like to help others and will tell you
more than you ever dreamed.
40

Market Research
• Market research identifies the available
market, discovers the best method to reach
the target market and asks what the
customer needs and wants. Market research
is a simple, structured, objective way of
learning about people- the people who will
buy your product or service.
41

RESOURCES
• There are 2 keys sources of information
1)A book entitled From Kitchen to Market by
Stephan F Hall. Sold via Amazon.com for about
$20- A complete, easy to understand book on
taking a food product to market.
2)The Arkansas Small Business Development Center
in Little Rock (501/324-9043) has a resource
library that contains many references and a
brochure entitled Market Designs that will help.
42

43

44

CONCLUSIONS
• This module should have made you think about
the purpose and goals of marketing and how to do
market research.
• Marketing is probably the single most important
aspect in starting and maintaining a food business.
• Whether you are starting a new food business or
maintaining an existing business, it is important
that you constantly monitor your marketing
efforts.
45

46


Slide 8

INTRODUCTION TO FOOD
MARKETING
3116
Steven C Seideman
Extension Food Processing Specialist
Cooperative Extension Service
1

INTRODUCTION
• To many people, “MARKETING” means either
selling or advertising of your business.
• Jay Levinson in his book “ Guerilla Marketing”
defines marketing as “everything you do to
promote your business from the moment you think
of the idea until the customers buy and begin to do
so on a regular basis”.

2

THE GOAL OF BUSINESS
• Two theories on what the goal of business is;
1) The goal of business is profit, and profit means
the firm survives and has a chance to grow.
2) The goal of business is to get and keep a
customer. Profit is implied because if you don’t
make a profit, you will not be around to keep
your customer.
You choose which goal you want to accept. The
bottom line is that a profit must be made.
3

SELLING vs MARKETING
• SELLING asks the question “ How do I get the
customer to buy my product?”
• MARKETING takes a broader view and asks
“What does the customer want to buy ?” The
business owner needs to attract new audiences,
study the competition and develop his or her
product or service so that it appeals to a highly
discriminating audience.
4

MARKETING AS A PROCESS

5

MARKETING AS A PROCESS
• The successful marketing process includes;
1)Determining what the customer needs and wants.
2)Developing a product or service to meet those
needs or wants.
3)Understanding the competition and what they
offer.
4)Linking with the customer as a source for fulfilling
his or her needs and wants.
5)Doing all of this at a price that provides a profit so
that the business can continue to grow.
6

Determining What the Customer
Needs or Wants
• A successful business owner analyzes the
market. He or she defines the particular
market segment most likely to purchase
their product or service. The owner then
determines the specific benefits desired by
the customer.

7

Developing a Product or Service
to Meet those Needs or Wants
• Upon understanding what benefits are wanted, the
owner develops a product or service, the features
of which provide the customer with the requested
benefits. Marketing is selling these benefits rather
than the features.
• A feature is any prominent or distinctive aspect,
quality or characteristic. A benefit is what that
feature gives the customer.
• An example would be a reclosable package. The
feature is reclosable: The benefit to the customer
is that it can be reclosed and stored for later use. 8

Understanding the Competition
and What They Offer
• Customers face a large marketplace. A
successful business owner is able to define a
target market and distinguish his or her
business from the competition.
• Walk down an aisle in any food store, look
at all the different brands of a particular
type of product and see how each brand
tries to provide benefits to the customer.
9

10

Linking the Customer as a Source
for Fulfilling His or Her Needs
and Wants
• The successful business owner must let the
customer know he or she is in business. The owner
must also tell the customer how they can meet
their needs, a function known as advertising.
• Types of advertising include radio, TV, newspaper
and magazines, flyers, billboards, web-advertising,
etc.
• The business owner must figure out the most cost
effective way of getting to the target audience.
11

Doing All of this at a Price that
Provides a Profit so the Business
can Continue
• This implies a price of products or services
that allows both the customer and the owner
to feel good about the transaction.
• The business owner must make a profit so
that he or she can stay in business to
continue providing that product or service.
12

MARKETING ACTIVITIES

13

Marketing Activities
• There are basically 4 major categories of
marketing activities known as the 4 P’s:
1)Positioning
2)Production
3)Pricing
4)Promotion
14

Positioning
• Positioning is defining the purpose of your
product or service as it benefits a potential
customer. Positioning is finding a market niche. It
creates a perception of special value and benefits
in your product or service. Developing one’s
position is one of the major goals of the marketing
process.
• An example of positioning is the fast food chain’s
hamburger businesses positioning themselves as
low cost versus another that features customer
choice (“Have it your way” ).
15

Positioning
• Place (where the goods or services are
marketed) and packaging (how the goods or
services are displayed ) are extremely
important. If a product or service appeals to
walk-in traffic, your location must be where
such traffic occurs, not in a limited traffic
area. If you are developing a product for an
upscale market, the packaging must reflect
the image you are trying to attain.
16

Production
• Successful marketing achieves business
growth. The owner must have anticipated
and planned for this growth in the
production process. The inability to fill
orders can quickly strangle a firm’s growth
and even cause the firm to go out of
business.
17

Courtesy of USDA

18

Pricing
• Pricing is a key factor to business success.
• Pricing can be done as a “wild guess”, based on
what the competition charges or as a cost-buildup
process.
• I strongly prefer the cost buildup model whereby
you list all your costs (raw materials, processing
costs, packaging, promotion, salaries, distribution,
etc.) and then add a profit margin.
• Go to another module to learn the cost buildup
details.
19

Pricing
• Look at what the competition charges as compared
to your cost. How can you do it cheaper or better
than the competition?
• Are people willing to pay that price for your
product or service?.
• How about running promotions on your product or
services so people will try it - buy one, get one
free, coupons with a certain amount off ?
• Most new entrepreneurs tend to underprice their
products and services.
20

Promotion
• This addresses the question “How will people
know about my product or service ?”
• Promotions include paid advertising such as radio,
TV, newspaper, etc, and unpaid publicity such as
press releases, etc. Promotions may also include
trade shows, mailings, internet, in-store demos,
etc.
• Promotional efforts must occur in the media that
your perspective customers use.
• Successful promotional efforts focus on the
benefits of your product or service
• Benefits can be convenience (precooked,
21
reclosable packaging), fun, good health, etc.

22

Promotion
• Customers do not buy a product or service for its
features.They buy it for what it can do for them.
• Learn to romanticize your product. Watch TV ads–
wearing certain brands of trousers make you more
appealing to the opposite sex. Laugh? It works.
Watch some TV ads- what is the message they are
sending?
• Brand loyalty; brand-conscious society
• Develop sales literature- price list, catalog sheet,
product information sheet, point of purchase info.
23

Your Company IMAGE
• Although not traditionally thought of as
marketing, I am a believer in how customers
perceive your company’s image.
• Your letters and correspondence- Professional. Are
your telephones answered professionally ?
• Are your salespersons ethical? Is your receptionist
cheerful, optimistic, properly attired ?
• What about your business facility- people like to
work with professional organizations and your
office and facilities tell them about your
professionalism.
24

Your Company IMAGE
• Business owners must remain aware of the
customer’s perception of the business and move
quickly to correct any negative images.
• Do you contribute to the community or show any
concern for the environment.
• Do the people within your organization project the
image of the company in a favorable way?

25

Service After the Sales
• Effective Marketing must continue with the
product or service after the final sale.
• This support includes service, assistance,
warranties, returns and refunds.

26

Service
• Advertising is expensive. It gets the
customer to try your product or service. It is
a good start but remember, the goal is to
have customer’s repeat business.
• Over time, you will notice that 80% of your
sales will come from just 20% of your total
customers.
27

MARKET RESEARCH

28

Market Research
• Before one starts a business and even periodically
while in business, one should conduct market
research.
• Market research is an organized process to gather,
analyze, interpret and utilize relevant information
about the business environment for the purposes
of making accurate business decisions.
• Market research focuses on potential customers,
existing customers, the competition and the
business environment .
29

Market Research
• The ultimate goal of market research is business
success.
• The objective of market research is to;
1)Identify potential target markets.
2)Identify customer needs and wants.
3)Determine if the product or service meets customer
needs.
4)Determine the best promotion technique for each
market.
5)Examine the competition.
30

Market Research
• The purpose of market research data is to help the
business owner make better decisions.
• Using market research, the business owner can
develop an accurate understanding of the potential
customer.
• The goal of market research is to reveal unfilled
needs in the form of a market niche, customer’s
needs, a competitor’s weakness or an unused
marketing strategy. The ultimate goal is to
increase the business’ sales and profits.
31

Doing Market Research
• Anyone can do market research to some
extent.
• Basically, you want to gather information
about;
1)Your customers or potential customers
2)Your competition
3)General market information
Let’s go through each in greater detail.
32

About your Customers or
Potential Customers
• General demographic information such as – age,
where they live, where they work, race, gender,
marital status, income, number of children,
education, home ownership, lifestyle
• Needs, wants and desired benefits
• Past and future purchases (What, when, why,
where, how much)
• Products and services that compliment or
substitute
• Use of various media (radio, TV, newspaper,
magazines, etc.)
33

Warranty Cards
• Whenever you buy any appliance and certain
goods, you are requested to fill out a warranty
card. If you fill out the warranty card, the product
you bought will be under warranty for some
specified period of time. Note how much the
information on the warranty card parallels the
demographic information on the previous page.
• Warranty cards serve as a prime method of
collecting marketing information.
34

About the Competition
•
•
•
•
•
•

•
•

Who are they?
What products and/or services do they offer?
What is the price range of products and services?
What are their policies on returns, credit,
warranties, etc.?
Are there any special services?
If they are a store-type business, what is their staff
like (experience, customer respect, customer
focus)?
What kinds of promotions/ advertising do they do?
What is their company image like to the average
customer?
35

General Market Information
• The physical/geographical area (traffic flow,
development plans, history, growth pattern).
• The industry as a whole.
• The economy as a whole.

36

Analyzing Market Research Data
• Once you have collected as much data as
you reasonably can, you need to organize it
by the SWOT format;
• S = Strengths
• W= Weaknesses
• O= Opportunities
• T= Threats
37

SWOT Grid
My Business

Its Environment

Strengths

Opportunities

Weaknesses

Threats

38

The SWOT Grid
• In the grid, you evaluate your business or
business potentials and its weaknesses.
• When you evaluate the environment, where
do you see chances for growth and what
might slow your business ?.

39

Marketing Research
• Where we can get market information;
-The Internet brings information to your finger
tips.
-Visit a food store and just look around not only in
the area that you want to enter but other food
groups ( e.g. what are the dairy foods people doing
that I can adopt?).
-Talk to people in the business from entrepreneurs
to store owners, brokers, sales representatives, etc.
Most people like to help others and will tell you
more than you ever dreamed.
40

Market Research
• Market research identifies the available
market, discovers the best method to reach
the target market and asks what the
customer needs and wants. Market research
is a simple, structured, objective way of
learning about people- the people who will
buy your product or service.
41

RESOURCES
• There are 2 keys sources of information
1)A book entitled From Kitchen to Market by
Stephan F Hall. Sold via Amazon.com for about
$20- A complete, easy to understand book on
taking a food product to market.
2)The Arkansas Small Business Development Center
in Little Rock (501/324-9043) has a resource
library that contains many references and a
brochure entitled Market Designs that will help.
42

43

44

CONCLUSIONS
• This module should have made you think about
the purpose and goals of marketing and how to do
market research.
• Marketing is probably the single most important
aspect in starting and maintaining a food business.
• Whether you are starting a new food business or
maintaining an existing business, it is important
that you constantly monitor your marketing
efforts.
45

46


Slide 9

INTRODUCTION TO FOOD
MARKETING
3116
Steven C Seideman
Extension Food Processing Specialist
Cooperative Extension Service
1

INTRODUCTION
• To many people, “MARKETING” means either
selling or advertising of your business.
• Jay Levinson in his book “ Guerilla Marketing”
defines marketing as “everything you do to
promote your business from the moment you think
of the idea until the customers buy and begin to do
so on a regular basis”.

2

THE GOAL OF BUSINESS
• Two theories on what the goal of business is;
1) The goal of business is profit, and profit means
the firm survives and has a chance to grow.
2) The goal of business is to get and keep a
customer. Profit is implied because if you don’t
make a profit, you will not be around to keep
your customer.
You choose which goal you want to accept. The
bottom line is that a profit must be made.
3

SELLING vs MARKETING
• SELLING asks the question “ How do I get the
customer to buy my product?”
• MARKETING takes a broader view and asks
“What does the customer want to buy ?” The
business owner needs to attract new audiences,
study the competition and develop his or her
product or service so that it appeals to a highly
discriminating audience.
4

MARKETING AS A PROCESS

5

MARKETING AS A PROCESS
• The successful marketing process includes;
1)Determining what the customer needs and wants.
2)Developing a product or service to meet those
needs or wants.
3)Understanding the competition and what they
offer.
4)Linking with the customer as a source for fulfilling
his or her needs and wants.
5)Doing all of this at a price that provides a profit so
that the business can continue to grow.
6

Determining What the Customer
Needs or Wants
• A successful business owner analyzes the
market. He or she defines the particular
market segment most likely to purchase
their product or service. The owner then
determines the specific benefits desired by
the customer.

7

Developing a Product or Service
to Meet those Needs or Wants
• Upon understanding what benefits are wanted, the
owner develops a product or service, the features
of which provide the customer with the requested
benefits. Marketing is selling these benefits rather
than the features.
• A feature is any prominent or distinctive aspect,
quality or characteristic. A benefit is what that
feature gives the customer.
• An example would be a reclosable package. The
feature is reclosable: The benefit to the customer
is that it can be reclosed and stored for later use. 8

Understanding the Competition
and What They Offer
• Customers face a large marketplace. A
successful business owner is able to define a
target market and distinguish his or her
business from the competition.
• Walk down an aisle in any food store, look
at all the different brands of a particular
type of product and see how each brand
tries to provide benefits to the customer.
9

10

Linking the Customer as a Source
for Fulfilling His or Her Needs
and Wants
• The successful business owner must let the
customer know he or she is in business. The owner
must also tell the customer how they can meet
their needs, a function known as advertising.
• Types of advertising include radio, TV, newspaper
and magazines, flyers, billboards, web-advertising,
etc.
• The business owner must figure out the most cost
effective way of getting to the target audience.
11

Doing All of this at a Price that
Provides a Profit so the Business
can Continue
• This implies a price of products or services
that allows both the customer and the owner
to feel good about the transaction.
• The business owner must make a profit so
that he or she can stay in business to
continue providing that product or service.
12

MARKETING ACTIVITIES

13

Marketing Activities
• There are basically 4 major categories of
marketing activities known as the 4 P’s:
1)Positioning
2)Production
3)Pricing
4)Promotion
14

Positioning
• Positioning is defining the purpose of your
product or service as it benefits a potential
customer. Positioning is finding a market niche. It
creates a perception of special value and benefits
in your product or service. Developing one’s
position is one of the major goals of the marketing
process.
• An example of positioning is the fast food chain’s
hamburger businesses positioning themselves as
low cost versus another that features customer
choice (“Have it your way” ).
15

Positioning
• Place (where the goods or services are
marketed) and packaging (how the goods or
services are displayed ) are extremely
important. If a product or service appeals to
walk-in traffic, your location must be where
such traffic occurs, not in a limited traffic
area. If you are developing a product for an
upscale market, the packaging must reflect
the image you are trying to attain.
16

Production
• Successful marketing achieves business
growth. The owner must have anticipated
and planned for this growth in the
production process. The inability to fill
orders can quickly strangle a firm’s growth
and even cause the firm to go out of
business.
17

Courtesy of USDA

18

Pricing
• Pricing is a key factor to business success.
• Pricing can be done as a “wild guess”, based on
what the competition charges or as a cost-buildup
process.
• I strongly prefer the cost buildup model whereby
you list all your costs (raw materials, processing
costs, packaging, promotion, salaries, distribution,
etc.) and then add a profit margin.
• Go to another module to learn the cost buildup
details.
19

Pricing
• Look at what the competition charges as compared
to your cost. How can you do it cheaper or better
than the competition?
• Are people willing to pay that price for your
product or service?.
• How about running promotions on your product or
services so people will try it - buy one, get one
free, coupons with a certain amount off ?
• Most new entrepreneurs tend to underprice their
products and services.
20

Promotion
• This addresses the question “How will people
know about my product or service ?”
• Promotions include paid advertising such as radio,
TV, newspaper, etc, and unpaid publicity such as
press releases, etc. Promotions may also include
trade shows, mailings, internet, in-store demos,
etc.
• Promotional efforts must occur in the media that
your perspective customers use.
• Successful promotional efforts focus on the
benefits of your product or service
• Benefits can be convenience (precooked,
21
reclosable packaging), fun, good health, etc.

22

Promotion
• Customers do not buy a product or service for its
features.They buy it for what it can do for them.
• Learn to romanticize your product. Watch TV ads–
wearing certain brands of trousers make you more
appealing to the opposite sex. Laugh? It works.
Watch some TV ads- what is the message they are
sending?
• Brand loyalty; brand-conscious society
• Develop sales literature- price list, catalog sheet,
product information sheet, point of purchase info.
23

Your Company IMAGE
• Although not traditionally thought of as
marketing, I am a believer in how customers
perceive your company’s image.
• Your letters and correspondence- Professional. Are
your telephones answered professionally ?
• Are your salespersons ethical? Is your receptionist
cheerful, optimistic, properly attired ?
• What about your business facility- people like to
work with professional organizations and your
office and facilities tell them about your
professionalism.
24

Your Company IMAGE
• Business owners must remain aware of the
customer’s perception of the business and move
quickly to correct any negative images.
• Do you contribute to the community or show any
concern for the environment.
• Do the people within your organization project the
image of the company in a favorable way?

25

Service After the Sales
• Effective Marketing must continue with the
product or service after the final sale.
• This support includes service, assistance,
warranties, returns and refunds.

26

Service
• Advertising is expensive. It gets the
customer to try your product or service. It is
a good start but remember, the goal is to
have customer’s repeat business.
• Over time, you will notice that 80% of your
sales will come from just 20% of your total
customers.
27

MARKET RESEARCH

28

Market Research
• Before one starts a business and even periodically
while in business, one should conduct market
research.
• Market research is an organized process to gather,
analyze, interpret and utilize relevant information
about the business environment for the purposes
of making accurate business decisions.
• Market research focuses on potential customers,
existing customers, the competition and the
business environment .
29

Market Research
• The ultimate goal of market research is business
success.
• The objective of market research is to;
1)Identify potential target markets.
2)Identify customer needs and wants.
3)Determine if the product or service meets customer
needs.
4)Determine the best promotion technique for each
market.
5)Examine the competition.
30

Market Research
• The purpose of market research data is to help the
business owner make better decisions.
• Using market research, the business owner can
develop an accurate understanding of the potential
customer.
• The goal of market research is to reveal unfilled
needs in the form of a market niche, customer’s
needs, a competitor’s weakness or an unused
marketing strategy. The ultimate goal is to
increase the business’ sales and profits.
31

Doing Market Research
• Anyone can do market research to some
extent.
• Basically, you want to gather information
about;
1)Your customers or potential customers
2)Your competition
3)General market information
Let’s go through each in greater detail.
32

About your Customers or
Potential Customers
• General demographic information such as – age,
where they live, where they work, race, gender,
marital status, income, number of children,
education, home ownership, lifestyle
• Needs, wants and desired benefits
• Past and future purchases (What, when, why,
where, how much)
• Products and services that compliment or
substitute
• Use of various media (radio, TV, newspaper,
magazines, etc.)
33

Warranty Cards
• Whenever you buy any appliance and certain
goods, you are requested to fill out a warranty
card. If you fill out the warranty card, the product
you bought will be under warranty for some
specified period of time. Note how much the
information on the warranty card parallels the
demographic information on the previous page.
• Warranty cards serve as a prime method of
collecting marketing information.
34

About the Competition
•
•
•
•
•
•

•
•

Who are they?
What products and/or services do they offer?
What is the price range of products and services?
What are their policies on returns, credit,
warranties, etc.?
Are there any special services?
If they are a store-type business, what is their staff
like (experience, customer respect, customer
focus)?
What kinds of promotions/ advertising do they do?
What is their company image like to the average
customer?
35

General Market Information
• The physical/geographical area (traffic flow,
development plans, history, growth pattern).
• The industry as a whole.
• The economy as a whole.

36

Analyzing Market Research Data
• Once you have collected as much data as
you reasonably can, you need to organize it
by the SWOT format;
• S = Strengths
• W= Weaknesses
• O= Opportunities
• T= Threats
37

SWOT Grid
My Business

Its Environment

Strengths

Opportunities

Weaknesses

Threats

38

The SWOT Grid
• In the grid, you evaluate your business or
business potentials and its weaknesses.
• When you evaluate the environment, where
do you see chances for growth and what
might slow your business ?.

39

Marketing Research
• Where we can get market information;
-The Internet brings information to your finger
tips.
-Visit a food store and just look around not only in
the area that you want to enter but other food
groups ( e.g. what are the dairy foods people doing
that I can adopt?).
-Talk to people in the business from entrepreneurs
to store owners, brokers, sales representatives, etc.
Most people like to help others and will tell you
more than you ever dreamed.
40

Market Research
• Market research identifies the available
market, discovers the best method to reach
the target market and asks what the
customer needs and wants. Market research
is a simple, structured, objective way of
learning about people- the people who will
buy your product or service.
41

RESOURCES
• There are 2 keys sources of information
1)A book entitled From Kitchen to Market by
Stephan F Hall. Sold via Amazon.com for about
$20- A complete, easy to understand book on
taking a food product to market.
2)The Arkansas Small Business Development Center
in Little Rock (501/324-9043) has a resource
library that contains many references and a
brochure entitled Market Designs that will help.
42

43

44

CONCLUSIONS
• This module should have made you think about
the purpose and goals of marketing and how to do
market research.
• Marketing is probably the single most important
aspect in starting and maintaining a food business.
• Whether you are starting a new food business or
maintaining an existing business, it is important
that you constantly monitor your marketing
efforts.
45

46


Slide 10

INTRODUCTION TO FOOD
MARKETING
3116
Steven C Seideman
Extension Food Processing Specialist
Cooperative Extension Service
1

INTRODUCTION
• To many people, “MARKETING” means either
selling or advertising of your business.
• Jay Levinson in his book “ Guerilla Marketing”
defines marketing as “everything you do to
promote your business from the moment you think
of the idea until the customers buy and begin to do
so on a regular basis”.

2

THE GOAL OF BUSINESS
• Two theories on what the goal of business is;
1) The goal of business is profit, and profit means
the firm survives and has a chance to grow.
2) The goal of business is to get and keep a
customer. Profit is implied because if you don’t
make a profit, you will not be around to keep
your customer.
You choose which goal you want to accept. The
bottom line is that a profit must be made.
3

SELLING vs MARKETING
• SELLING asks the question “ How do I get the
customer to buy my product?”
• MARKETING takes a broader view and asks
“What does the customer want to buy ?” The
business owner needs to attract new audiences,
study the competition and develop his or her
product or service so that it appeals to a highly
discriminating audience.
4

MARKETING AS A PROCESS

5

MARKETING AS A PROCESS
• The successful marketing process includes;
1)Determining what the customer needs and wants.
2)Developing a product or service to meet those
needs or wants.
3)Understanding the competition and what they
offer.
4)Linking with the customer as a source for fulfilling
his or her needs and wants.
5)Doing all of this at a price that provides a profit so
that the business can continue to grow.
6

Determining What the Customer
Needs or Wants
• A successful business owner analyzes the
market. He or she defines the particular
market segment most likely to purchase
their product or service. The owner then
determines the specific benefits desired by
the customer.

7

Developing a Product or Service
to Meet those Needs or Wants
• Upon understanding what benefits are wanted, the
owner develops a product or service, the features
of which provide the customer with the requested
benefits. Marketing is selling these benefits rather
than the features.
• A feature is any prominent or distinctive aspect,
quality or characteristic. A benefit is what that
feature gives the customer.
• An example would be a reclosable package. The
feature is reclosable: The benefit to the customer
is that it can be reclosed and stored for later use. 8

Understanding the Competition
and What They Offer
• Customers face a large marketplace. A
successful business owner is able to define a
target market and distinguish his or her
business from the competition.
• Walk down an aisle in any food store, look
at all the different brands of a particular
type of product and see how each brand
tries to provide benefits to the customer.
9

10

Linking the Customer as a Source
for Fulfilling His or Her Needs
and Wants
• The successful business owner must let the
customer know he or she is in business. The owner
must also tell the customer how they can meet
their needs, a function known as advertising.
• Types of advertising include radio, TV, newspaper
and magazines, flyers, billboards, web-advertising,
etc.
• The business owner must figure out the most cost
effective way of getting to the target audience.
11

Doing All of this at a Price that
Provides a Profit so the Business
can Continue
• This implies a price of products or services
that allows both the customer and the owner
to feel good about the transaction.
• The business owner must make a profit so
that he or she can stay in business to
continue providing that product or service.
12

MARKETING ACTIVITIES

13

Marketing Activities
• There are basically 4 major categories of
marketing activities known as the 4 P’s:
1)Positioning
2)Production
3)Pricing
4)Promotion
14

Positioning
• Positioning is defining the purpose of your
product or service as it benefits a potential
customer. Positioning is finding a market niche. It
creates a perception of special value and benefits
in your product or service. Developing one’s
position is one of the major goals of the marketing
process.
• An example of positioning is the fast food chain’s
hamburger businesses positioning themselves as
low cost versus another that features customer
choice (“Have it your way” ).
15

Positioning
• Place (where the goods or services are
marketed) and packaging (how the goods or
services are displayed ) are extremely
important. If a product or service appeals to
walk-in traffic, your location must be where
such traffic occurs, not in a limited traffic
area. If you are developing a product for an
upscale market, the packaging must reflect
the image you are trying to attain.
16

Production
• Successful marketing achieves business
growth. The owner must have anticipated
and planned for this growth in the
production process. The inability to fill
orders can quickly strangle a firm’s growth
and even cause the firm to go out of
business.
17

Courtesy of USDA

18

Pricing
• Pricing is a key factor to business success.
• Pricing can be done as a “wild guess”, based on
what the competition charges or as a cost-buildup
process.
• I strongly prefer the cost buildup model whereby
you list all your costs (raw materials, processing
costs, packaging, promotion, salaries, distribution,
etc.) and then add a profit margin.
• Go to another module to learn the cost buildup
details.
19

Pricing
• Look at what the competition charges as compared
to your cost. How can you do it cheaper or better
than the competition?
• Are people willing to pay that price for your
product or service?.
• How about running promotions on your product or
services so people will try it - buy one, get one
free, coupons with a certain amount off ?
• Most new entrepreneurs tend to underprice their
products and services.
20

Promotion
• This addresses the question “How will people
know about my product or service ?”
• Promotions include paid advertising such as radio,
TV, newspaper, etc, and unpaid publicity such as
press releases, etc. Promotions may also include
trade shows, mailings, internet, in-store demos,
etc.
• Promotional efforts must occur in the media that
your perspective customers use.
• Successful promotional efforts focus on the
benefits of your product or service
• Benefits can be convenience (precooked,
21
reclosable packaging), fun, good health, etc.

22

Promotion
• Customers do not buy a product or service for its
features.They buy it for what it can do for them.
• Learn to romanticize your product. Watch TV ads–
wearing certain brands of trousers make you more
appealing to the opposite sex. Laugh? It works.
Watch some TV ads- what is the message they are
sending?
• Brand loyalty; brand-conscious society
• Develop sales literature- price list, catalog sheet,
product information sheet, point of purchase info.
23

Your Company IMAGE
• Although not traditionally thought of as
marketing, I am a believer in how customers
perceive your company’s image.
• Your letters and correspondence- Professional. Are
your telephones answered professionally ?
• Are your salespersons ethical? Is your receptionist
cheerful, optimistic, properly attired ?
• What about your business facility- people like to
work with professional organizations and your
office and facilities tell them about your
professionalism.
24

Your Company IMAGE
• Business owners must remain aware of the
customer’s perception of the business and move
quickly to correct any negative images.
• Do you contribute to the community or show any
concern for the environment.
• Do the people within your organization project the
image of the company in a favorable way?

25

Service After the Sales
• Effective Marketing must continue with the
product or service after the final sale.
• This support includes service, assistance,
warranties, returns and refunds.

26

Service
• Advertising is expensive. It gets the
customer to try your product or service. It is
a good start but remember, the goal is to
have customer’s repeat business.
• Over time, you will notice that 80% of your
sales will come from just 20% of your total
customers.
27

MARKET RESEARCH

28

Market Research
• Before one starts a business and even periodically
while in business, one should conduct market
research.
• Market research is an organized process to gather,
analyze, interpret and utilize relevant information
about the business environment for the purposes
of making accurate business decisions.
• Market research focuses on potential customers,
existing customers, the competition and the
business environment .
29

Market Research
• The ultimate goal of market research is business
success.
• The objective of market research is to;
1)Identify potential target markets.
2)Identify customer needs and wants.
3)Determine if the product or service meets customer
needs.
4)Determine the best promotion technique for each
market.
5)Examine the competition.
30

Market Research
• The purpose of market research data is to help the
business owner make better decisions.
• Using market research, the business owner can
develop an accurate understanding of the potential
customer.
• The goal of market research is to reveal unfilled
needs in the form of a market niche, customer’s
needs, a competitor’s weakness or an unused
marketing strategy. The ultimate goal is to
increase the business’ sales and profits.
31

Doing Market Research
• Anyone can do market research to some
extent.
• Basically, you want to gather information
about;
1)Your customers or potential customers
2)Your competition
3)General market information
Let’s go through each in greater detail.
32

About your Customers or
Potential Customers
• General demographic information such as – age,
where they live, where they work, race, gender,
marital status, income, number of children,
education, home ownership, lifestyle
• Needs, wants and desired benefits
• Past and future purchases (What, when, why,
where, how much)
• Products and services that compliment or
substitute
• Use of various media (radio, TV, newspaper,
magazines, etc.)
33

Warranty Cards
• Whenever you buy any appliance and certain
goods, you are requested to fill out a warranty
card. If you fill out the warranty card, the product
you bought will be under warranty for some
specified period of time. Note how much the
information on the warranty card parallels the
demographic information on the previous page.
• Warranty cards serve as a prime method of
collecting marketing information.
34

About the Competition
•
•
•
•
•
•

•
•

Who are they?
What products and/or services do they offer?
What is the price range of products and services?
What are their policies on returns, credit,
warranties, etc.?
Are there any special services?
If they are a store-type business, what is their staff
like (experience, customer respect, customer
focus)?
What kinds of promotions/ advertising do they do?
What is their company image like to the average
customer?
35

General Market Information
• The physical/geographical area (traffic flow,
development plans, history, growth pattern).
• The industry as a whole.
• The economy as a whole.

36

Analyzing Market Research Data
• Once you have collected as much data as
you reasonably can, you need to organize it
by the SWOT format;
• S = Strengths
• W= Weaknesses
• O= Opportunities
• T= Threats
37

SWOT Grid
My Business

Its Environment

Strengths

Opportunities

Weaknesses

Threats

38

The SWOT Grid
• In the grid, you evaluate your business or
business potentials and its weaknesses.
• When you evaluate the environment, where
do you see chances for growth and what
might slow your business ?.

39

Marketing Research
• Where we can get market information;
-The Internet brings information to your finger
tips.
-Visit a food store and just look around not only in
the area that you want to enter but other food
groups ( e.g. what are the dairy foods people doing
that I can adopt?).
-Talk to people in the business from entrepreneurs
to store owners, brokers, sales representatives, etc.
Most people like to help others and will tell you
more than you ever dreamed.
40

Market Research
• Market research identifies the available
market, discovers the best method to reach
the target market and asks what the
customer needs and wants. Market research
is a simple, structured, objective way of
learning about people- the people who will
buy your product or service.
41

RESOURCES
• There are 2 keys sources of information
1)A book entitled From Kitchen to Market by
Stephan F Hall. Sold via Amazon.com for about
$20- A complete, easy to understand book on
taking a food product to market.
2)The Arkansas Small Business Development Center
in Little Rock (501/324-9043) has a resource
library that contains many references and a
brochure entitled Market Designs that will help.
42

43

44

CONCLUSIONS
• This module should have made you think about
the purpose and goals of marketing and how to do
market research.
• Marketing is probably the single most important
aspect in starting and maintaining a food business.
• Whether you are starting a new food business or
maintaining an existing business, it is important
that you constantly monitor your marketing
efforts.
45

46


Slide 11

INTRODUCTION TO FOOD
MARKETING
3116
Steven C Seideman
Extension Food Processing Specialist
Cooperative Extension Service
1

INTRODUCTION
• To many people, “MARKETING” means either
selling or advertising of your business.
• Jay Levinson in his book “ Guerilla Marketing”
defines marketing as “everything you do to
promote your business from the moment you think
of the idea until the customers buy and begin to do
so on a regular basis”.

2

THE GOAL OF BUSINESS
• Two theories on what the goal of business is;
1) The goal of business is profit, and profit means
the firm survives and has a chance to grow.
2) The goal of business is to get and keep a
customer. Profit is implied because if you don’t
make a profit, you will not be around to keep
your customer.
You choose which goal you want to accept. The
bottom line is that a profit must be made.
3

SELLING vs MARKETING
• SELLING asks the question “ How do I get the
customer to buy my product?”
• MARKETING takes a broader view and asks
“What does the customer want to buy ?” The
business owner needs to attract new audiences,
study the competition and develop his or her
product or service so that it appeals to a highly
discriminating audience.
4

MARKETING AS A PROCESS

5

MARKETING AS A PROCESS
• The successful marketing process includes;
1)Determining what the customer needs and wants.
2)Developing a product or service to meet those
needs or wants.
3)Understanding the competition and what they
offer.
4)Linking with the customer as a source for fulfilling
his or her needs and wants.
5)Doing all of this at a price that provides a profit so
that the business can continue to grow.
6

Determining What the Customer
Needs or Wants
• A successful business owner analyzes the
market. He or she defines the particular
market segment most likely to purchase
their product or service. The owner then
determines the specific benefits desired by
the customer.

7

Developing a Product or Service
to Meet those Needs or Wants
• Upon understanding what benefits are wanted, the
owner develops a product or service, the features
of which provide the customer with the requested
benefits. Marketing is selling these benefits rather
than the features.
• A feature is any prominent or distinctive aspect,
quality or characteristic. A benefit is what that
feature gives the customer.
• An example would be a reclosable package. The
feature is reclosable: The benefit to the customer
is that it can be reclosed and stored for later use. 8

Understanding the Competition
and What They Offer
• Customers face a large marketplace. A
successful business owner is able to define a
target market and distinguish his or her
business from the competition.
• Walk down an aisle in any food store, look
at all the different brands of a particular
type of product and see how each brand
tries to provide benefits to the customer.
9

10

Linking the Customer as a Source
for Fulfilling His or Her Needs
and Wants
• The successful business owner must let the
customer know he or she is in business. The owner
must also tell the customer how they can meet
their needs, a function known as advertising.
• Types of advertising include radio, TV, newspaper
and magazines, flyers, billboards, web-advertising,
etc.
• The business owner must figure out the most cost
effective way of getting to the target audience.
11

Doing All of this at a Price that
Provides a Profit so the Business
can Continue
• This implies a price of products or services
that allows both the customer and the owner
to feel good about the transaction.
• The business owner must make a profit so
that he or she can stay in business to
continue providing that product or service.
12

MARKETING ACTIVITIES

13

Marketing Activities
• There are basically 4 major categories of
marketing activities known as the 4 P’s:
1)Positioning
2)Production
3)Pricing
4)Promotion
14

Positioning
• Positioning is defining the purpose of your
product or service as it benefits a potential
customer. Positioning is finding a market niche. It
creates a perception of special value and benefits
in your product or service. Developing one’s
position is one of the major goals of the marketing
process.
• An example of positioning is the fast food chain’s
hamburger businesses positioning themselves as
low cost versus another that features customer
choice (“Have it your way” ).
15

Positioning
• Place (where the goods or services are
marketed) and packaging (how the goods or
services are displayed ) are extremely
important. If a product or service appeals to
walk-in traffic, your location must be where
such traffic occurs, not in a limited traffic
area. If you are developing a product for an
upscale market, the packaging must reflect
the image you are trying to attain.
16

Production
• Successful marketing achieves business
growth. The owner must have anticipated
and planned for this growth in the
production process. The inability to fill
orders can quickly strangle a firm’s growth
and even cause the firm to go out of
business.
17

Courtesy of USDA

18

Pricing
• Pricing is a key factor to business success.
• Pricing can be done as a “wild guess”, based on
what the competition charges or as a cost-buildup
process.
• I strongly prefer the cost buildup model whereby
you list all your costs (raw materials, processing
costs, packaging, promotion, salaries, distribution,
etc.) and then add a profit margin.
• Go to another module to learn the cost buildup
details.
19

Pricing
• Look at what the competition charges as compared
to your cost. How can you do it cheaper or better
than the competition?
• Are people willing to pay that price for your
product or service?.
• How about running promotions on your product or
services so people will try it - buy one, get one
free, coupons with a certain amount off ?
• Most new entrepreneurs tend to underprice their
products and services.
20

Promotion
• This addresses the question “How will people
know about my product or service ?”
• Promotions include paid advertising such as radio,
TV, newspaper, etc, and unpaid publicity such as
press releases, etc. Promotions may also include
trade shows, mailings, internet, in-store demos,
etc.
• Promotional efforts must occur in the media that
your perspective customers use.
• Successful promotional efforts focus on the
benefits of your product or service
• Benefits can be convenience (precooked,
21
reclosable packaging), fun, good health, etc.

22

Promotion
• Customers do not buy a product or service for its
features.They buy it for what it can do for them.
• Learn to romanticize your product. Watch TV ads–
wearing certain brands of trousers make you more
appealing to the opposite sex. Laugh? It works.
Watch some TV ads- what is the message they are
sending?
• Brand loyalty; brand-conscious society
• Develop sales literature- price list, catalog sheet,
product information sheet, point of purchase info.
23

Your Company IMAGE
• Although not traditionally thought of as
marketing, I am a believer in how customers
perceive your company’s image.
• Your letters and correspondence- Professional. Are
your telephones answered professionally ?
• Are your salespersons ethical? Is your receptionist
cheerful, optimistic, properly attired ?
• What about your business facility- people like to
work with professional organizations and your
office and facilities tell them about your
professionalism.
24

Your Company IMAGE
• Business owners must remain aware of the
customer’s perception of the business and move
quickly to correct any negative images.
• Do you contribute to the community or show any
concern for the environment.
• Do the people within your organization project the
image of the company in a favorable way?

25

Service After the Sales
• Effective Marketing must continue with the
product or service after the final sale.
• This support includes service, assistance,
warranties, returns and refunds.

26

Service
• Advertising is expensive. It gets the
customer to try your product or service. It is
a good start but remember, the goal is to
have customer’s repeat business.
• Over time, you will notice that 80% of your
sales will come from just 20% of your total
customers.
27

MARKET RESEARCH

28

Market Research
• Before one starts a business and even periodically
while in business, one should conduct market
research.
• Market research is an organized process to gather,
analyze, interpret and utilize relevant information
about the business environment for the purposes
of making accurate business decisions.
• Market research focuses on potential customers,
existing customers, the competition and the
business environment .
29

Market Research
• The ultimate goal of market research is business
success.
• The objective of market research is to;
1)Identify potential target markets.
2)Identify customer needs and wants.
3)Determine if the product or service meets customer
needs.
4)Determine the best promotion technique for each
market.
5)Examine the competition.
30

Market Research
• The purpose of market research data is to help the
business owner make better decisions.
• Using market research, the business owner can
develop an accurate understanding of the potential
customer.
• The goal of market research is to reveal unfilled
needs in the form of a market niche, customer’s
needs, a competitor’s weakness or an unused
marketing strategy. The ultimate goal is to
increase the business’ sales and profits.
31

Doing Market Research
• Anyone can do market research to some
extent.
• Basically, you want to gather information
about;
1)Your customers or potential customers
2)Your competition
3)General market information
Let’s go through each in greater detail.
32

About your Customers or
Potential Customers
• General demographic information such as – age,
where they live, where they work, race, gender,
marital status, income, number of children,
education, home ownership, lifestyle
• Needs, wants and desired benefits
• Past and future purchases (What, when, why,
where, how much)
• Products and services that compliment or
substitute
• Use of various media (radio, TV, newspaper,
magazines, etc.)
33

Warranty Cards
• Whenever you buy any appliance and certain
goods, you are requested to fill out a warranty
card. If you fill out the warranty card, the product
you bought will be under warranty for some
specified period of time. Note how much the
information on the warranty card parallels the
demographic information on the previous page.
• Warranty cards serve as a prime method of
collecting marketing information.
34

About the Competition
•
•
•
•
•
•

•
•

Who are they?
What products and/or services do they offer?
What is the price range of products and services?
What are their policies on returns, credit,
warranties, etc.?
Are there any special services?
If they are a store-type business, what is their staff
like (experience, customer respect, customer
focus)?
What kinds of promotions/ advertising do they do?
What is their company image like to the average
customer?
35

General Market Information
• The physical/geographical area (traffic flow,
development plans, history, growth pattern).
• The industry as a whole.
• The economy as a whole.

36

Analyzing Market Research Data
• Once you have collected as much data as
you reasonably can, you need to organize it
by the SWOT format;
• S = Strengths
• W= Weaknesses
• O= Opportunities
• T= Threats
37

SWOT Grid
My Business

Its Environment

Strengths

Opportunities

Weaknesses

Threats

38

The SWOT Grid
• In the grid, you evaluate your business or
business potentials and its weaknesses.
• When you evaluate the environment, where
do you see chances for growth and what
might slow your business ?.

39

Marketing Research
• Where we can get market information;
-The Internet brings information to your finger
tips.
-Visit a food store and just look around not only in
the area that you want to enter but other food
groups ( e.g. what are the dairy foods people doing
that I can adopt?).
-Talk to people in the business from entrepreneurs
to store owners, brokers, sales representatives, etc.
Most people like to help others and will tell you
more than you ever dreamed.
40

Market Research
• Market research identifies the available
market, discovers the best method to reach
the target market and asks what the
customer needs and wants. Market research
is a simple, structured, objective way of
learning about people- the people who will
buy your product or service.
41

RESOURCES
• There are 2 keys sources of information
1)A book entitled From Kitchen to Market by
Stephan F Hall. Sold via Amazon.com for about
$20- A complete, easy to understand book on
taking a food product to market.
2)The Arkansas Small Business Development Center
in Little Rock (501/324-9043) has a resource
library that contains many references and a
brochure entitled Market Designs that will help.
42

43

44

CONCLUSIONS
• This module should have made you think about
the purpose and goals of marketing and how to do
market research.
• Marketing is probably the single most important
aspect in starting and maintaining a food business.
• Whether you are starting a new food business or
maintaining an existing business, it is important
that you constantly monitor your marketing
efforts.
45

46


Slide 12

INTRODUCTION TO FOOD
MARKETING
3116
Steven C Seideman
Extension Food Processing Specialist
Cooperative Extension Service
1

INTRODUCTION
• To many people, “MARKETING” means either
selling or advertising of your business.
• Jay Levinson in his book “ Guerilla Marketing”
defines marketing as “everything you do to
promote your business from the moment you think
of the idea until the customers buy and begin to do
so on a regular basis”.

2

THE GOAL OF BUSINESS
• Two theories on what the goal of business is;
1) The goal of business is profit, and profit means
the firm survives and has a chance to grow.
2) The goal of business is to get and keep a
customer. Profit is implied because if you don’t
make a profit, you will not be around to keep
your customer.
You choose which goal you want to accept. The
bottom line is that a profit must be made.
3

SELLING vs MARKETING
• SELLING asks the question “ How do I get the
customer to buy my product?”
• MARKETING takes a broader view and asks
“What does the customer want to buy ?” The
business owner needs to attract new audiences,
study the competition and develop his or her
product or service so that it appeals to a highly
discriminating audience.
4

MARKETING AS A PROCESS

5

MARKETING AS A PROCESS
• The successful marketing process includes;
1)Determining what the customer needs and wants.
2)Developing a product or service to meet those
needs or wants.
3)Understanding the competition and what they
offer.
4)Linking with the customer as a source for fulfilling
his or her needs and wants.
5)Doing all of this at a price that provides a profit so
that the business can continue to grow.
6

Determining What the Customer
Needs or Wants
• A successful business owner analyzes the
market. He or she defines the particular
market segment most likely to purchase
their product or service. The owner then
determines the specific benefits desired by
the customer.

7

Developing a Product or Service
to Meet those Needs or Wants
• Upon understanding what benefits are wanted, the
owner develops a product or service, the features
of which provide the customer with the requested
benefits. Marketing is selling these benefits rather
than the features.
• A feature is any prominent or distinctive aspect,
quality or characteristic. A benefit is what that
feature gives the customer.
• An example would be a reclosable package. The
feature is reclosable: The benefit to the customer
is that it can be reclosed and stored for later use. 8

Understanding the Competition
and What They Offer
• Customers face a large marketplace. A
successful business owner is able to define a
target market and distinguish his or her
business from the competition.
• Walk down an aisle in any food store, look
at all the different brands of a particular
type of product and see how each brand
tries to provide benefits to the customer.
9

10

Linking the Customer as a Source
for Fulfilling His or Her Needs
and Wants
• The successful business owner must let the
customer know he or she is in business. The owner
must also tell the customer how they can meet
their needs, a function known as advertising.
• Types of advertising include radio, TV, newspaper
and magazines, flyers, billboards, web-advertising,
etc.
• The business owner must figure out the most cost
effective way of getting to the target audience.
11

Doing All of this at a Price that
Provides a Profit so the Business
can Continue
• This implies a price of products or services
that allows both the customer and the owner
to feel good about the transaction.
• The business owner must make a profit so
that he or she can stay in business to
continue providing that product or service.
12

MARKETING ACTIVITIES

13

Marketing Activities
• There are basically 4 major categories of
marketing activities known as the 4 P’s:
1)Positioning
2)Production
3)Pricing
4)Promotion
14

Positioning
• Positioning is defining the purpose of your
product or service as it benefits a potential
customer. Positioning is finding a market niche. It
creates a perception of special value and benefits
in your product or service. Developing one’s
position is one of the major goals of the marketing
process.
• An example of positioning is the fast food chain’s
hamburger businesses positioning themselves as
low cost versus another that features customer
choice (“Have it your way” ).
15

Positioning
• Place (where the goods or services are
marketed) and packaging (how the goods or
services are displayed ) are extremely
important. If a product or service appeals to
walk-in traffic, your location must be where
such traffic occurs, not in a limited traffic
area. If you are developing a product for an
upscale market, the packaging must reflect
the image you are trying to attain.
16

Production
• Successful marketing achieves business
growth. The owner must have anticipated
and planned for this growth in the
production process. The inability to fill
orders can quickly strangle a firm’s growth
and even cause the firm to go out of
business.
17

Courtesy of USDA

18

Pricing
• Pricing is a key factor to business success.
• Pricing can be done as a “wild guess”, based on
what the competition charges or as a cost-buildup
process.
• I strongly prefer the cost buildup model whereby
you list all your costs (raw materials, processing
costs, packaging, promotion, salaries, distribution,
etc.) and then add a profit margin.
• Go to another module to learn the cost buildup
details.
19

Pricing
• Look at what the competition charges as compared
to your cost. How can you do it cheaper or better
than the competition?
• Are people willing to pay that price for your
product or service?.
• How about running promotions on your product or
services so people will try it - buy one, get one
free, coupons with a certain amount off ?
• Most new entrepreneurs tend to underprice their
products and services.
20

Promotion
• This addresses the question “How will people
know about my product or service ?”
• Promotions include paid advertising such as radio,
TV, newspaper, etc, and unpaid publicity such as
press releases, etc. Promotions may also include
trade shows, mailings, internet, in-store demos,
etc.
• Promotional efforts must occur in the media that
your perspective customers use.
• Successful promotional efforts focus on the
benefits of your product or service
• Benefits can be convenience (precooked,
21
reclosable packaging), fun, good health, etc.

22

Promotion
• Customers do not buy a product or service for its
features.They buy it for what it can do for them.
• Learn to romanticize your product. Watch TV ads–
wearing certain brands of trousers make you more
appealing to the opposite sex. Laugh? It works.
Watch some TV ads- what is the message they are
sending?
• Brand loyalty; brand-conscious society
• Develop sales literature- price list, catalog sheet,
product information sheet, point of purchase info.
23

Your Company IMAGE
• Although not traditionally thought of as
marketing, I am a believer in how customers
perceive your company’s image.
• Your letters and correspondence- Professional. Are
your telephones answered professionally ?
• Are your salespersons ethical? Is your receptionist
cheerful, optimistic, properly attired ?
• What about your business facility- people like to
work with professional organizations and your
office and facilities tell them about your
professionalism.
24

Your Company IMAGE
• Business owners must remain aware of the
customer’s perception of the business and move
quickly to correct any negative images.
• Do you contribute to the community or show any
concern for the environment.
• Do the people within your organization project the
image of the company in a favorable way?

25

Service After the Sales
• Effective Marketing must continue with the
product or service after the final sale.
• This support includes service, assistance,
warranties, returns and refunds.

26

Service
• Advertising is expensive. It gets the
customer to try your product or service. It is
a good start but remember, the goal is to
have customer’s repeat business.
• Over time, you will notice that 80% of your
sales will come from just 20% of your total
customers.
27

MARKET RESEARCH

28

Market Research
• Before one starts a business and even periodically
while in business, one should conduct market
research.
• Market research is an organized process to gather,
analyze, interpret and utilize relevant information
about the business environment for the purposes
of making accurate business decisions.
• Market research focuses on potential customers,
existing customers, the competition and the
business environment .
29

Market Research
• The ultimate goal of market research is business
success.
• The objective of market research is to;
1)Identify potential target markets.
2)Identify customer needs and wants.
3)Determine if the product or service meets customer
needs.
4)Determine the best promotion technique for each
market.
5)Examine the competition.
30

Market Research
• The purpose of market research data is to help the
business owner make better decisions.
• Using market research, the business owner can
develop an accurate understanding of the potential
customer.
• The goal of market research is to reveal unfilled
needs in the form of a market niche, customer’s
needs, a competitor’s weakness or an unused
marketing strategy. The ultimate goal is to
increase the business’ sales and profits.
31

Doing Market Research
• Anyone can do market research to some
extent.
• Basically, you want to gather information
about;
1)Your customers or potential customers
2)Your competition
3)General market information
Let’s go through each in greater detail.
32

About your Customers or
Potential Customers
• General demographic information such as – age,
where they live, where they work, race, gender,
marital status, income, number of children,
education, home ownership, lifestyle
• Needs, wants and desired benefits
• Past and future purchases (What, when, why,
where, how much)
• Products and services that compliment or
substitute
• Use of various media (radio, TV, newspaper,
magazines, etc.)
33

Warranty Cards
• Whenever you buy any appliance and certain
goods, you are requested to fill out a warranty
card. If you fill out the warranty card, the product
you bought will be under warranty for some
specified period of time. Note how much the
information on the warranty card parallels the
demographic information on the previous page.
• Warranty cards serve as a prime method of
collecting marketing information.
34

About the Competition
•
•
•
•
•
•

•
•

Who are they?
What products and/or services do they offer?
What is the price range of products and services?
What are their policies on returns, credit,
warranties, etc.?
Are there any special services?
If they are a store-type business, what is their staff
like (experience, customer respect, customer
focus)?
What kinds of promotions/ advertising do they do?
What is their company image like to the average
customer?
35

General Market Information
• The physical/geographical area (traffic flow,
development plans, history, growth pattern).
• The industry as a whole.
• The economy as a whole.

36

Analyzing Market Research Data
• Once you have collected as much data as
you reasonably can, you need to organize it
by the SWOT format;
• S = Strengths
• W= Weaknesses
• O= Opportunities
• T= Threats
37

SWOT Grid
My Business

Its Environment

Strengths

Opportunities

Weaknesses

Threats

38

The SWOT Grid
• In the grid, you evaluate your business or
business potentials and its weaknesses.
• When you evaluate the environment, where
do you see chances for growth and what
might slow your business ?.

39

Marketing Research
• Where we can get market information;
-The Internet brings information to your finger
tips.
-Visit a food store and just look around not only in
the area that you want to enter but other food
groups ( e.g. what are the dairy foods people doing
that I can adopt?).
-Talk to people in the business from entrepreneurs
to store owners, brokers, sales representatives, etc.
Most people like to help others and will tell you
more than you ever dreamed.
40

Market Research
• Market research identifies the available
market, discovers the best method to reach
the target market and asks what the
customer needs and wants. Market research
is a simple, structured, objective way of
learning about people- the people who will
buy your product or service.
41

RESOURCES
• There are 2 keys sources of information
1)A book entitled From Kitchen to Market by
Stephan F Hall. Sold via Amazon.com for about
$20- A complete, easy to understand book on
taking a food product to market.
2)The Arkansas Small Business Development Center
in Little Rock (501/324-9043) has a resource
library that contains many references and a
brochure entitled Market Designs that will help.
42

43

44

CONCLUSIONS
• This module should have made you think about
the purpose and goals of marketing and how to do
market research.
• Marketing is probably the single most important
aspect in starting and maintaining a food business.
• Whether you are starting a new food business or
maintaining an existing business, it is important
that you constantly monitor your marketing
efforts.
45

46


Slide 13

INTRODUCTION TO FOOD
MARKETING
3116
Steven C Seideman
Extension Food Processing Specialist
Cooperative Extension Service
1

INTRODUCTION
• To many people, “MARKETING” means either
selling or advertising of your business.
• Jay Levinson in his book “ Guerilla Marketing”
defines marketing as “everything you do to
promote your business from the moment you think
of the idea until the customers buy and begin to do
so on a regular basis”.

2

THE GOAL OF BUSINESS
• Two theories on what the goal of business is;
1) The goal of business is profit, and profit means
the firm survives and has a chance to grow.
2) The goal of business is to get and keep a
customer. Profit is implied because if you don’t
make a profit, you will not be around to keep
your customer.
You choose which goal you want to accept. The
bottom line is that a profit must be made.
3

SELLING vs MARKETING
• SELLING asks the question “ How do I get the
customer to buy my product?”
• MARKETING takes a broader view and asks
“What does the customer want to buy ?” The
business owner needs to attract new audiences,
study the competition and develop his or her
product or service so that it appeals to a highly
discriminating audience.
4

MARKETING AS A PROCESS

5

MARKETING AS A PROCESS
• The successful marketing process includes;
1)Determining what the customer needs and wants.
2)Developing a product or service to meet those
needs or wants.
3)Understanding the competition and what they
offer.
4)Linking with the customer as a source for fulfilling
his or her needs and wants.
5)Doing all of this at a price that provides a profit so
that the business can continue to grow.
6

Determining What the Customer
Needs or Wants
• A successful business owner analyzes the
market. He or she defines the particular
market segment most likely to purchase
their product or service. The owner then
determines the specific benefits desired by
the customer.

7

Developing a Product or Service
to Meet those Needs or Wants
• Upon understanding what benefits are wanted, the
owner develops a product or service, the features
of which provide the customer with the requested
benefits. Marketing is selling these benefits rather
than the features.
• A feature is any prominent or distinctive aspect,
quality or characteristic. A benefit is what that
feature gives the customer.
• An example would be a reclosable package. The
feature is reclosable: The benefit to the customer
is that it can be reclosed and stored for later use. 8

Understanding the Competition
and What They Offer
• Customers face a large marketplace. A
successful business owner is able to define a
target market and distinguish his or her
business from the competition.
• Walk down an aisle in any food store, look
at all the different brands of a particular
type of product and see how each brand
tries to provide benefits to the customer.
9

10

Linking the Customer as a Source
for Fulfilling His or Her Needs
and Wants
• The successful business owner must let the
customer know he or she is in business. The owner
must also tell the customer how they can meet
their needs, a function known as advertising.
• Types of advertising include radio, TV, newspaper
and magazines, flyers, billboards, web-advertising,
etc.
• The business owner must figure out the most cost
effective way of getting to the target audience.
11

Doing All of this at a Price that
Provides a Profit so the Business
can Continue
• This implies a price of products or services
that allows both the customer and the owner
to feel good about the transaction.
• The business owner must make a profit so
that he or she can stay in business to
continue providing that product or service.
12

MARKETING ACTIVITIES

13

Marketing Activities
• There are basically 4 major categories of
marketing activities known as the 4 P’s:
1)Positioning
2)Production
3)Pricing
4)Promotion
14

Positioning
• Positioning is defining the purpose of your
product or service as it benefits a potential
customer. Positioning is finding a market niche. It
creates a perception of special value and benefits
in your product or service. Developing one’s
position is one of the major goals of the marketing
process.
• An example of positioning is the fast food chain’s
hamburger businesses positioning themselves as
low cost versus another that features customer
choice (“Have it your way” ).
15

Positioning
• Place (where the goods or services are
marketed) and packaging (how the goods or
services are displayed ) are extremely
important. If a product or service appeals to
walk-in traffic, your location must be where
such traffic occurs, not in a limited traffic
area. If you are developing a product for an
upscale market, the packaging must reflect
the image you are trying to attain.
16

Production
• Successful marketing achieves business
growth. The owner must have anticipated
and planned for this growth in the
production process. The inability to fill
orders can quickly strangle a firm’s growth
and even cause the firm to go out of
business.
17

Courtesy of USDA

18

Pricing
• Pricing is a key factor to business success.
• Pricing can be done as a “wild guess”, based on
what the competition charges or as a cost-buildup
process.
• I strongly prefer the cost buildup model whereby
you list all your costs (raw materials, processing
costs, packaging, promotion, salaries, distribution,
etc.) and then add a profit margin.
• Go to another module to learn the cost buildup
details.
19

Pricing
• Look at what the competition charges as compared
to your cost. How can you do it cheaper or better
than the competition?
• Are people willing to pay that price for your
product or service?.
• How about running promotions on your product or
services so people will try it - buy one, get one
free, coupons with a certain amount off ?
• Most new entrepreneurs tend to underprice their
products and services.
20

Promotion
• This addresses the question “How will people
know about my product or service ?”
• Promotions include paid advertising such as radio,
TV, newspaper, etc, and unpaid publicity such as
press releases, etc. Promotions may also include
trade shows, mailings, internet, in-store demos,
etc.
• Promotional efforts must occur in the media that
your perspective customers use.
• Successful promotional efforts focus on the
benefits of your product or service
• Benefits can be convenience (precooked,
21
reclosable packaging), fun, good health, etc.

22

Promotion
• Customers do not buy a product or service for its
features.They buy it for what it can do for them.
• Learn to romanticize your product. Watch TV ads–
wearing certain brands of trousers make you more
appealing to the opposite sex. Laugh? It works.
Watch some TV ads- what is the message they are
sending?
• Brand loyalty; brand-conscious society
• Develop sales literature- price list, catalog sheet,
product information sheet, point of purchase info.
23

Your Company IMAGE
• Although not traditionally thought of as
marketing, I am a believer in how customers
perceive your company’s image.
• Your letters and correspondence- Professional. Are
your telephones answered professionally ?
• Are your salespersons ethical? Is your receptionist
cheerful, optimistic, properly attired ?
• What about your business facility- people like to
work with professional organizations and your
office and facilities tell them about your
professionalism.
24

Your Company IMAGE
• Business owners must remain aware of the
customer’s perception of the business and move
quickly to correct any negative images.
• Do you contribute to the community or show any
concern for the environment.
• Do the people within your organization project the
image of the company in a favorable way?

25

Service After the Sales
• Effective Marketing must continue with the
product or service after the final sale.
• This support includes service, assistance,
warranties, returns and refunds.

26

Service
• Advertising is expensive. It gets the
customer to try your product or service. It is
a good start but remember, the goal is to
have customer’s repeat business.
• Over time, you will notice that 80% of your
sales will come from just 20% of your total
customers.
27

MARKET RESEARCH

28

Market Research
• Before one starts a business and even periodically
while in business, one should conduct market
research.
• Market research is an organized process to gather,
analyze, interpret and utilize relevant information
about the business environment for the purposes
of making accurate business decisions.
• Market research focuses on potential customers,
existing customers, the competition and the
business environment .
29

Market Research
• The ultimate goal of market research is business
success.
• The objective of market research is to;
1)Identify potential target markets.
2)Identify customer needs and wants.
3)Determine if the product or service meets customer
needs.
4)Determine the best promotion technique for each
market.
5)Examine the competition.
30

Market Research
• The purpose of market research data is to help the
business owner make better decisions.
• Using market research, the business owner can
develop an accurate understanding of the potential
customer.
• The goal of market research is to reveal unfilled
needs in the form of a market niche, customer’s
needs, a competitor’s weakness or an unused
marketing strategy. The ultimate goal is to
increase the business’ sales and profits.
31

Doing Market Research
• Anyone can do market research to some
extent.
• Basically, you want to gather information
about;
1)Your customers or potential customers
2)Your competition
3)General market information
Let’s go through each in greater detail.
32

About your Customers or
Potential Customers
• General demographic information such as – age,
where they live, where they work, race, gender,
marital status, income, number of children,
education, home ownership, lifestyle
• Needs, wants and desired benefits
• Past and future purchases (What, when, why,
where, how much)
• Products and services that compliment or
substitute
• Use of various media (radio, TV, newspaper,
magazines, etc.)
33

Warranty Cards
• Whenever you buy any appliance and certain
goods, you are requested to fill out a warranty
card. If you fill out the warranty card, the product
you bought will be under warranty for some
specified period of time. Note how much the
information on the warranty card parallels the
demographic information on the previous page.
• Warranty cards serve as a prime method of
collecting marketing information.
34

About the Competition
•
•
•
•
•
•

•
•

Who are they?
What products and/or services do they offer?
What is the price range of products and services?
What are their policies on returns, credit,
warranties, etc.?
Are there any special services?
If they are a store-type business, what is their staff
like (experience, customer respect, customer
focus)?
What kinds of promotions/ advertising do they do?
What is their company image like to the average
customer?
35

General Market Information
• The physical/geographical area (traffic flow,
development plans, history, growth pattern).
• The industry as a whole.
• The economy as a whole.

36

Analyzing Market Research Data
• Once you have collected as much data as
you reasonably can, you need to organize it
by the SWOT format;
• S = Strengths
• W= Weaknesses
• O= Opportunities
• T= Threats
37

SWOT Grid
My Business

Its Environment

Strengths

Opportunities

Weaknesses

Threats

38

The SWOT Grid
• In the grid, you evaluate your business or
business potentials and its weaknesses.
• When you evaluate the environment, where
do you see chances for growth and what
might slow your business ?.

39

Marketing Research
• Where we can get market information;
-The Internet brings information to your finger
tips.
-Visit a food store and just look around not only in
the area that you want to enter but other food
groups ( e.g. what are the dairy foods people doing
that I can adopt?).
-Talk to people in the business from entrepreneurs
to store owners, brokers, sales representatives, etc.
Most people like to help others and will tell you
more than you ever dreamed.
40

Market Research
• Market research identifies the available
market, discovers the best method to reach
the target market and asks what the
customer needs and wants. Market research
is a simple, structured, objective way of
learning about people- the people who will
buy your product or service.
41

RESOURCES
• There are 2 keys sources of information
1)A book entitled From Kitchen to Market by
Stephan F Hall. Sold via Amazon.com for about
$20- A complete, easy to understand book on
taking a food product to market.
2)The Arkansas Small Business Development Center
in Little Rock (501/324-9043) has a resource
library that contains many references and a
brochure entitled Market Designs that will help.
42

43

44

CONCLUSIONS
• This module should have made you think about
the purpose and goals of marketing and how to do
market research.
• Marketing is probably the single most important
aspect in starting and maintaining a food business.
• Whether you are starting a new food business or
maintaining an existing business, it is important
that you constantly monitor your marketing
efforts.
45

46


Slide 14

INTRODUCTION TO FOOD
MARKETING
3116
Steven C Seideman
Extension Food Processing Specialist
Cooperative Extension Service
1

INTRODUCTION
• To many people, “MARKETING” means either
selling or advertising of your business.
• Jay Levinson in his book “ Guerilla Marketing”
defines marketing as “everything you do to
promote your business from the moment you think
of the idea until the customers buy and begin to do
so on a regular basis”.

2

THE GOAL OF BUSINESS
• Two theories on what the goal of business is;
1) The goal of business is profit, and profit means
the firm survives and has a chance to grow.
2) The goal of business is to get and keep a
customer. Profit is implied because if you don’t
make a profit, you will not be around to keep
your customer.
You choose which goal you want to accept. The
bottom line is that a profit must be made.
3

SELLING vs MARKETING
• SELLING asks the question “ How do I get the
customer to buy my product?”
• MARKETING takes a broader view and asks
“What does the customer want to buy ?” The
business owner needs to attract new audiences,
study the competition and develop his or her
product or service so that it appeals to a highly
discriminating audience.
4

MARKETING AS A PROCESS

5

MARKETING AS A PROCESS
• The successful marketing process includes;
1)Determining what the customer needs and wants.
2)Developing a product or service to meet those
needs or wants.
3)Understanding the competition and what they
offer.
4)Linking with the customer as a source for fulfilling
his or her needs and wants.
5)Doing all of this at a price that provides a profit so
that the business can continue to grow.
6

Determining What the Customer
Needs or Wants
• A successful business owner analyzes the
market. He or she defines the particular
market segment most likely to purchase
their product or service. The owner then
determines the specific benefits desired by
the customer.

7

Developing a Product or Service
to Meet those Needs or Wants
• Upon understanding what benefits are wanted, the
owner develops a product or service, the features
of which provide the customer with the requested
benefits. Marketing is selling these benefits rather
than the features.
• A feature is any prominent or distinctive aspect,
quality or characteristic. A benefit is what that
feature gives the customer.
• An example would be a reclosable package. The
feature is reclosable: The benefit to the customer
is that it can be reclosed and stored for later use. 8

Understanding the Competition
and What They Offer
• Customers face a large marketplace. A
successful business owner is able to define a
target market and distinguish his or her
business from the competition.
• Walk down an aisle in any food store, look
at all the different brands of a particular
type of product and see how each brand
tries to provide benefits to the customer.
9

10

Linking the Customer as a Source
for Fulfilling His or Her Needs
and Wants
• The successful business owner must let the
customer know he or she is in business. The owner
must also tell the customer how they can meet
their needs, a function known as advertising.
• Types of advertising include radio, TV, newspaper
and magazines, flyers, billboards, web-advertising,
etc.
• The business owner must figure out the most cost
effective way of getting to the target audience.
11

Doing All of this at a Price that
Provides a Profit so the Business
can Continue
• This implies a price of products or services
that allows both the customer and the owner
to feel good about the transaction.
• The business owner must make a profit so
that he or she can stay in business to
continue providing that product or service.
12

MARKETING ACTIVITIES

13

Marketing Activities
• There are basically 4 major categories of
marketing activities known as the 4 P’s:
1)Positioning
2)Production
3)Pricing
4)Promotion
14

Positioning
• Positioning is defining the purpose of your
product or service as it benefits a potential
customer. Positioning is finding a market niche. It
creates a perception of special value and benefits
in your product or service. Developing one’s
position is one of the major goals of the marketing
process.
• An example of positioning is the fast food chain’s
hamburger businesses positioning themselves as
low cost versus another that features customer
choice (“Have it your way” ).
15

Positioning
• Place (where the goods or services are
marketed) and packaging (how the goods or
services are displayed ) are extremely
important. If a product or service appeals to
walk-in traffic, your location must be where
such traffic occurs, not in a limited traffic
area. If you are developing a product for an
upscale market, the packaging must reflect
the image you are trying to attain.
16

Production
• Successful marketing achieves business
growth. The owner must have anticipated
and planned for this growth in the
production process. The inability to fill
orders can quickly strangle a firm’s growth
and even cause the firm to go out of
business.
17

Courtesy of USDA

18

Pricing
• Pricing is a key factor to business success.
• Pricing can be done as a “wild guess”, based on
what the competition charges or as a cost-buildup
process.
• I strongly prefer the cost buildup model whereby
you list all your costs (raw materials, processing
costs, packaging, promotion, salaries, distribution,
etc.) and then add a profit margin.
• Go to another module to learn the cost buildup
details.
19

Pricing
• Look at what the competition charges as compared
to your cost. How can you do it cheaper or better
than the competition?
• Are people willing to pay that price for your
product or service?.
• How about running promotions on your product or
services so people will try it - buy one, get one
free, coupons with a certain amount off ?
• Most new entrepreneurs tend to underprice their
products and services.
20

Promotion
• This addresses the question “How will people
know about my product or service ?”
• Promotions include paid advertising such as radio,
TV, newspaper, etc, and unpaid publicity such as
press releases, etc. Promotions may also include
trade shows, mailings, internet, in-store demos,
etc.
• Promotional efforts must occur in the media that
your perspective customers use.
• Successful promotional efforts focus on the
benefits of your product or service
• Benefits can be convenience (precooked,
21
reclosable packaging), fun, good health, etc.

22

Promotion
• Customers do not buy a product or service for its
features.They buy it for what it can do for them.
• Learn to romanticize your product. Watch TV ads–
wearing certain brands of trousers make you more
appealing to the opposite sex. Laugh? It works.
Watch some TV ads- what is the message they are
sending?
• Brand loyalty; brand-conscious society
• Develop sales literature- price list, catalog sheet,
product information sheet, point of purchase info.
23

Your Company IMAGE
• Although not traditionally thought of as
marketing, I am a believer in how customers
perceive your company’s image.
• Your letters and correspondence- Professional. Are
your telephones answered professionally ?
• Are your salespersons ethical? Is your receptionist
cheerful, optimistic, properly attired ?
• What about your business facility- people like to
work with professional organizations and your
office and facilities tell them about your
professionalism.
24

Your Company IMAGE
• Business owners must remain aware of the
customer’s perception of the business and move
quickly to correct any negative images.
• Do you contribute to the community or show any
concern for the environment.
• Do the people within your organization project the
image of the company in a favorable way?

25

Service After the Sales
• Effective Marketing must continue with the
product or service after the final sale.
• This support includes service, assistance,
warranties, returns and refunds.

26

Service
• Advertising is expensive. It gets the
customer to try your product or service. It is
a good start but remember, the goal is to
have customer’s repeat business.
• Over time, you will notice that 80% of your
sales will come from just 20% of your total
customers.
27

MARKET RESEARCH

28

Market Research
• Before one starts a business and even periodically
while in business, one should conduct market
research.
• Market research is an organized process to gather,
analyze, interpret and utilize relevant information
about the business environment for the purposes
of making accurate business decisions.
• Market research focuses on potential customers,
existing customers, the competition and the
business environment .
29

Market Research
• The ultimate goal of market research is business
success.
• The objective of market research is to;
1)Identify potential target markets.
2)Identify customer needs and wants.
3)Determine if the product or service meets customer
needs.
4)Determine the best promotion technique for each
market.
5)Examine the competition.
30

Market Research
• The purpose of market research data is to help the
business owner make better decisions.
• Using market research, the business owner can
develop an accurate understanding of the potential
customer.
• The goal of market research is to reveal unfilled
needs in the form of a market niche, customer’s
needs, a competitor’s weakness or an unused
marketing strategy. The ultimate goal is to
increase the business’ sales and profits.
31

Doing Market Research
• Anyone can do market research to some
extent.
• Basically, you want to gather information
about;
1)Your customers or potential customers
2)Your competition
3)General market information
Let’s go through each in greater detail.
32

About your Customers or
Potential Customers
• General demographic information such as – age,
where they live, where they work, race, gender,
marital status, income, number of children,
education, home ownership, lifestyle
• Needs, wants and desired benefits
• Past and future purchases (What, when, why,
where, how much)
• Products and services that compliment or
substitute
• Use of various media (radio, TV, newspaper,
magazines, etc.)
33

Warranty Cards
• Whenever you buy any appliance and certain
goods, you are requested to fill out a warranty
card. If you fill out the warranty card, the product
you bought will be under warranty for some
specified period of time. Note how much the
information on the warranty card parallels the
demographic information on the previous page.
• Warranty cards serve as a prime method of
collecting marketing information.
34

About the Competition
•
•
•
•
•
•

•
•

Who are they?
What products and/or services do they offer?
What is the price range of products and services?
What are their policies on returns, credit,
warranties, etc.?
Are there any special services?
If they are a store-type business, what is their staff
like (experience, customer respect, customer
focus)?
What kinds of promotions/ advertising do they do?
What is their company image like to the average
customer?
35

General Market Information
• The physical/geographical area (traffic flow,
development plans, history, growth pattern).
• The industry as a whole.
• The economy as a whole.

36

Analyzing Market Research Data
• Once you have collected as much data as
you reasonably can, you need to organize it
by the SWOT format;
• S = Strengths
• W= Weaknesses
• O= Opportunities
• T= Threats
37

SWOT Grid
My Business

Its Environment

Strengths

Opportunities

Weaknesses

Threats

38

The SWOT Grid
• In the grid, you evaluate your business or
business potentials and its weaknesses.
• When you evaluate the environment, where
do you see chances for growth and what
might slow your business ?.

39

Marketing Research
• Where we can get market information;
-The Internet brings information to your finger
tips.
-Visit a food store and just look around not only in
the area that you want to enter but other food
groups ( e.g. what are the dairy foods people doing
that I can adopt?).
-Talk to people in the business from entrepreneurs
to store owners, brokers, sales representatives, etc.
Most people like to help others and will tell you
more than you ever dreamed.
40

Market Research
• Market research identifies the available
market, discovers the best method to reach
the target market and asks what the
customer needs and wants. Market research
is a simple, structured, objective way of
learning about people- the people who will
buy your product or service.
41

RESOURCES
• There are 2 keys sources of information
1)A book entitled From Kitchen to Market by
Stephan F Hall. Sold via Amazon.com for about
$20- A complete, easy to understand book on
taking a food product to market.
2)The Arkansas Small Business Development Center
in Little Rock (501/324-9043) has a resource
library that contains many references and a
brochure entitled Market Designs that will help.
42

43

44

CONCLUSIONS
• This module should have made you think about
the purpose and goals of marketing and how to do
market research.
• Marketing is probably the single most important
aspect in starting and maintaining a food business.
• Whether you are starting a new food business or
maintaining an existing business, it is important
that you constantly monitor your marketing
efforts.
45

46


Slide 15

INTRODUCTION TO FOOD
MARKETING
3116
Steven C Seideman
Extension Food Processing Specialist
Cooperative Extension Service
1

INTRODUCTION
• To many people, “MARKETING” means either
selling or advertising of your business.
• Jay Levinson in his book “ Guerilla Marketing”
defines marketing as “everything you do to
promote your business from the moment you think
of the idea until the customers buy and begin to do
so on a regular basis”.

2

THE GOAL OF BUSINESS
• Two theories on what the goal of business is;
1) The goal of business is profit, and profit means
the firm survives and has a chance to grow.
2) The goal of business is to get and keep a
customer. Profit is implied because if you don’t
make a profit, you will not be around to keep
your customer.
You choose which goal you want to accept. The
bottom line is that a profit must be made.
3

SELLING vs MARKETING
• SELLING asks the question “ How do I get the
customer to buy my product?”
• MARKETING takes a broader view and asks
“What does the customer want to buy ?” The
business owner needs to attract new audiences,
study the competition and develop his or her
product or service so that it appeals to a highly
discriminating audience.
4

MARKETING AS A PROCESS

5

MARKETING AS A PROCESS
• The successful marketing process includes;
1)Determining what the customer needs and wants.
2)Developing a product or service to meet those
needs or wants.
3)Understanding the competition and what they
offer.
4)Linking with the customer as a source for fulfilling
his or her needs and wants.
5)Doing all of this at a price that provides a profit so
that the business can continue to grow.
6

Determining What the Customer
Needs or Wants
• A successful business owner analyzes the
market. He or she defines the particular
market segment most likely to purchase
their product or service. The owner then
determines the specific benefits desired by
the customer.

7

Developing a Product or Service
to Meet those Needs or Wants
• Upon understanding what benefits are wanted, the
owner develops a product or service, the features
of which provide the customer with the requested
benefits. Marketing is selling these benefits rather
than the features.
• A feature is any prominent or distinctive aspect,
quality or characteristic. A benefit is what that
feature gives the customer.
• An example would be a reclosable package. The
feature is reclosable: The benefit to the customer
is that it can be reclosed and stored for later use. 8

Understanding the Competition
and What They Offer
• Customers face a large marketplace. A
successful business owner is able to define a
target market and distinguish his or her
business from the competition.
• Walk down an aisle in any food store, look
at all the different brands of a particular
type of product and see how each brand
tries to provide benefits to the customer.
9

10

Linking the Customer as a Source
for Fulfilling His or Her Needs
and Wants
• The successful business owner must let the
customer know he or she is in business. The owner
must also tell the customer how they can meet
their needs, a function known as advertising.
• Types of advertising include radio, TV, newspaper
and magazines, flyers, billboards, web-advertising,
etc.
• The business owner must figure out the most cost
effective way of getting to the target audience.
11

Doing All of this at a Price that
Provides a Profit so the Business
can Continue
• This implies a price of products or services
that allows both the customer and the owner
to feel good about the transaction.
• The business owner must make a profit so
that he or she can stay in business to
continue providing that product or service.
12

MARKETING ACTIVITIES

13

Marketing Activities
• There are basically 4 major categories of
marketing activities known as the 4 P’s:
1)Positioning
2)Production
3)Pricing
4)Promotion
14

Positioning
• Positioning is defining the purpose of your
product or service as it benefits a potential
customer. Positioning is finding a market niche. It
creates a perception of special value and benefits
in your product or service. Developing one’s
position is one of the major goals of the marketing
process.
• An example of positioning is the fast food chain’s
hamburger businesses positioning themselves as
low cost versus another that features customer
choice (“Have it your way” ).
15

Positioning
• Place (where the goods or services are
marketed) and packaging (how the goods or
services are displayed ) are extremely
important. If a product or service appeals to
walk-in traffic, your location must be where
such traffic occurs, not in a limited traffic
area. If you are developing a product for an
upscale market, the packaging must reflect
the image you are trying to attain.
16

Production
• Successful marketing achieves business
growth. The owner must have anticipated
and planned for this growth in the
production process. The inability to fill
orders can quickly strangle a firm’s growth
and even cause the firm to go out of
business.
17

Courtesy of USDA

18

Pricing
• Pricing is a key factor to business success.
• Pricing can be done as a “wild guess”, based on
what the competition charges or as a cost-buildup
process.
• I strongly prefer the cost buildup model whereby
you list all your costs (raw materials, processing
costs, packaging, promotion, salaries, distribution,
etc.) and then add a profit margin.
• Go to another module to learn the cost buildup
details.
19

Pricing
• Look at what the competition charges as compared
to your cost. How can you do it cheaper or better
than the competition?
• Are people willing to pay that price for your
product or service?.
• How about running promotions on your product or
services so people will try it - buy one, get one
free, coupons with a certain amount off ?
• Most new entrepreneurs tend to underprice their
products and services.
20

Promotion
• This addresses the question “How will people
know about my product or service ?”
• Promotions include paid advertising such as radio,
TV, newspaper, etc, and unpaid publicity such as
press releases, etc. Promotions may also include
trade shows, mailings, internet, in-store demos,
etc.
• Promotional efforts must occur in the media that
your perspective customers use.
• Successful promotional efforts focus on the
benefits of your product or service
• Benefits can be convenience (precooked,
21
reclosable packaging), fun, good health, etc.

22

Promotion
• Customers do not buy a product or service for its
features.They buy it for what it can do for them.
• Learn to romanticize your product. Watch TV ads–
wearing certain brands of trousers make you more
appealing to the opposite sex. Laugh? It works.
Watch some TV ads- what is the message they are
sending?
• Brand loyalty; brand-conscious society
• Develop sales literature- price list, catalog sheet,
product information sheet, point of purchase info.
23

Your Company IMAGE
• Although not traditionally thought of as
marketing, I am a believer in how customers
perceive your company’s image.
• Your letters and correspondence- Professional. Are
your telephones answered professionally ?
• Are your salespersons ethical? Is your receptionist
cheerful, optimistic, properly attired ?
• What about your business facility- people like to
work with professional organizations and your
office and facilities tell them about your
professionalism.
24

Your Company IMAGE
• Business owners must remain aware of the
customer’s perception of the business and move
quickly to correct any negative images.
• Do you contribute to the community or show any
concern for the environment.
• Do the people within your organization project the
image of the company in a favorable way?

25

Service After the Sales
• Effective Marketing must continue with the
product or service after the final sale.
• This support includes service, assistance,
warranties, returns and refunds.

26

Service
• Advertising is expensive. It gets the
customer to try your product or service. It is
a good start but remember, the goal is to
have customer’s repeat business.
• Over time, you will notice that 80% of your
sales will come from just 20% of your total
customers.
27

MARKET RESEARCH

28

Market Research
• Before one starts a business and even periodically
while in business, one should conduct market
research.
• Market research is an organized process to gather,
analyze, interpret and utilize relevant information
about the business environment for the purposes
of making accurate business decisions.
• Market research focuses on potential customers,
existing customers, the competition and the
business environment .
29

Market Research
• The ultimate goal of market research is business
success.
• The objective of market research is to;
1)Identify potential target markets.
2)Identify customer needs and wants.
3)Determine if the product or service meets customer
needs.
4)Determine the best promotion technique for each
market.
5)Examine the competition.
30

Market Research
• The purpose of market research data is to help the
business owner make better decisions.
• Using market research, the business owner can
develop an accurate understanding of the potential
customer.
• The goal of market research is to reveal unfilled
needs in the form of a market niche, customer’s
needs, a competitor’s weakness or an unused
marketing strategy. The ultimate goal is to
increase the business’ sales and profits.
31

Doing Market Research
• Anyone can do market research to some
extent.
• Basically, you want to gather information
about;
1)Your customers or potential customers
2)Your competition
3)General market information
Let’s go through each in greater detail.
32

About your Customers or
Potential Customers
• General demographic information such as – age,
where they live, where they work, race, gender,
marital status, income, number of children,
education, home ownership, lifestyle
• Needs, wants and desired benefits
• Past and future purchases (What, when, why,
where, how much)
• Products and services that compliment or
substitute
• Use of various media (radio, TV, newspaper,
magazines, etc.)
33

Warranty Cards
• Whenever you buy any appliance and certain
goods, you are requested to fill out a warranty
card. If you fill out the warranty card, the product
you bought will be under warranty for some
specified period of time. Note how much the
information on the warranty card parallels the
demographic information on the previous page.
• Warranty cards serve as a prime method of
collecting marketing information.
34

About the Competition
•
•
•
•
•
•

•
•

Who are they?
What products and/or services do they offer?
What is the price range of products and services?
What are their policies on returns, credit,
warranties, etc.?
Are there any special services?
If they are a store-type business, what is their staff
like (experience, customer respect, customer
focus)?
What kinds of promotions/ advertising do they do?
What is their company image like to the average
customer?
35

General Market Information
• The physical/geographical area (traffic flow,
development plans, history, growth pattern).
• The industry as a whole.
• The economy as a whole.

36

Analyzing Market Research Data
• Once you have collected as much data as
you reasonably can, you need to organize it
by the SWOT format;
• S = Strengths
• W= Weaknesses
• O= Opportunities
• T= Threats
37

SWOT Grid
My Business

Its Environment

Strengths

Opportunities

Weaknesses

Threats

38

The SWOT Grid
• In the grid, you evaluate your business or
business potentials and its weaknesses.
• When you evaluate the environment, where
do you see chances for growth and what
might slow your business ?.

39

Marketing Research
• Where we can get market information;
-The Internet brings information to your finger
tips.
-Visit a food store and just look around not only in
the area that you want to enter but other food
groups ( e.g. what are the dairy foods people doing
that I can adopt?).
-Talk to people in the business from entrepreneurs
to store owners, brokers, sales representatives, etc.
Most people like to help others and will tell you
more than you ever dreamed.
40

Market Research
• Market research identifies the available
market, discovers the best method to reach
the target market and asks what the
customer needs and wants. Market research
is a simple, structured, objective way of
learning about people- the people who will
buy your product or service.
41

RESOURCES
• There are 2 keys sources of information
1)A book entitled From Kitchen to Market by
Stephan F Hall. Sold via Amazon.com for about
$20- A complete, easy to understand book on
taking a food product to market.
2)The Arkansas Small Business Development Center
in Little Rock (501/324-9043) has a resource
library that contains many references and a
brochure entitled Market Designs that will help.
42

43

44

CONCLUSIONS
• This module should have made you think about
the purpose and goals of marketing and how to do
market research.
• Marketing is probably the single most important
aspect in starting and maintaining a food business.
• Whether you are starting a new food business or
maintaining an existing business, it is important
that you constantly monitor your marketing
efforts.
45

46


Slide 16

INTRODUCTION TO FOOD
MARKETING
3116
Steven C Seideman
Extension Food Processing Specialist
Cooperative Extension Service
1

INTRODUCTION
• To many people, “MARKETING” means either
selling or advertising of your business.
• Jay Levinson in his book “ Guerilla Marketing”
defines marketing as “everything you do to
promote your business from the moment you think
of the idea until the customers buy and begin to do
so on a regular basis”.

2

THE GOAL OF BUSINESS
• Two theories on what the goal of business is;
1) The goal of business is profit, and profit means
the firm survives and has a chance to grow.
2) The goal of business is to get and keep a
customer. Profit is implied because if you don’t
make a profit, you will not be around to keep
your customer.
You choose which goal you want to accept. The
bottom line is that a profit must be made.
3

SELLING vs MARKETING
• SELLING asks the question “ How do I get the
customer to buy my product?”
• MARKETING takes a broader view and asks
“What does the customer want to buy ?” The
business owner needs to attract new audiences,
study the competition and develop his or her
product or service so that it appeals to a highly
discriminating audience.
4

MARKETING AS A PROCESS

5

MARKETING AS A PROCESS
• The successful marketing process includes;
1)Determining what the customer needs and wants.
2)Developing a product or service to meet those
needs or wants.
3)Understanding the competition and what they
offer.
4)Linking with the customer as a source for fulfilling
his or her needs and wants.
5)Doing all of this at a price that provides a profit so
that the business can continue to grow.
6

Determining What the Customer
Needs or Wants
• A successful business owner analyzes the
market. He or she defines the particular
market segment most likely to purchase
their product or service. The owner then
determines the specific benefits desired by
the customer.

7

Developing a Product or Service
to Meet those Needs or Wants
• Upon understanding what benefits are wanted, the
owner develops a product or service, the features
of which provide the customer with the requested
benefits. Marketing is selling these benefits rather
than the features.
• A feature is any prominent or distinctive aspect,
quality or characteristic. A benefit is what that
feature gives the customer.
• An example would be a reclosable package. The
feature is reclosable: The benefit to the customer
is that it can be reclosed and stored for later use. 8

Understanding the Competition
and What They Offer
• Customers face a large marketplace. A
successful business owner is able to define a
target market and distinguish his or her
business from the competition.
• Walk down an aisle in any food store, look
at all the different brands of a particular
type of product and see how each brand
tries to provide benefits to the customer.
9

10

Linking the Customer as a Source
for Fulfilling His or Her Needs
and Wants
• The successful business owner must let the
customer know he or she is in business. The owner
must also tell the customer how they can meet
their needs, a function known as advertising.
• Types of advertising include radio, TV, newspaper
and magazines, flyers, billboards, web-advertising,
etc.
• The business owner must figure out the most cost
effective way of getting to the target audience.
11

Doing All of this at a Price that
Provides a Profit so the Business
can Continue
• This implies a price of products or services
that allows both the customer and the owner
to feel good about the transaction.
• The business owner must make a profit so
that he or she can stay in business to
continue providing that product or service.
12

MARKETING ACTIVITIES

13

Marketing Activities
• There are basically 4 major categories of
marketing activities known as the 4 P’s:
1)Positioning
2)Production
3)Pricing
4)Promotion
14

Positioning
• Positioning is defining the purpose of your
product or service as it benefits a potential
customer. Positioning is finding a market niche. It
creates a perception of special value and benefits
in your product or service. Developing one’s
position is one of the major goals of the marketing
process.
• An example of positioning is the fast food chain’s
hamburger businesses positioning themselves as
low cost versus another that features customer
choice (“Have it your way” ).
15

Positioning
• Place (where the goods or services are
marketed) and packaging (how the goods or
services are displayed ) are extremely
important. If a product or service appeals to
walk-in traffic, your location must be where
such traffic occurs, not in a limited traffic
area. If you are developing a product for an
upscale market, the packaging must reflect
the image you are trying to attain.
16

Production
• Successful marketing achieves business
growth. The owner must have anticipated
and planned for this growth in the
production process. The inability to fill
orders can quickly strangle a firm’s growth
and even cause the firm to go out of
business.
17

Courtesy of USDA

18

Pricing
• Pricing is a key factor to business success.
• Pricing can be done as a “wild guess”, based on
what the competition charges or as a cost-buildup
process.
• I strongly prefer the cost buildup model whereby
you list all your costs (raw materials, processing
costs, packaging, promotion, salaries, distribution,
etc.) and then add a profit margin.
• Go to another module to learn the cost buildup
details.
19

Pricing
• Look at what the competition charges as compared
to your cost. How can you do it cheaper or better
than the competition?
• Are people willing to pay that price for your
product or service?.
• How about running promotions on your product or
services so people will try it - buy one, get one
free, coupons with a certain amount off ?
• Most new entrepreneurs tend to underprice their
products and services.
20

Promotion
• This addresses the question “How will people
know about my product or service ?”
• Promotions include paid advertising such as radio,
TV, newspaper, etc, and unpaid publicity such as
press releases, etc. Promotions may also include
trade shows, mailings, internet, in-store demos,
etc.
• Promotional efforts must occur in the media that
your perspective customers use.
• Successful promotional efforts focus on the
benefits of your product or service
• Benefits can be convenience (precooked,
21
reclosable packaging), fun, good health, etc.

22

Promotion
• Customers do not buy a product or service for its
features.They buy it for what it can do for them.
• Learn to romanticize your product. Watch TV ads–
wearing certain brands of trousers make you more
appealing to the opposite sex. Laugh? It works.
Watch some TV ads- what is the message they are
sending?
• Brand loyalty; brand-conscious society
• Develop sales literature- price list, catalog sheet,
product information sheet, point of purchase info.
23

Your Company IMAGE
• Although not traditionally thought of as
marketing, I am a believer in how customers
perceive your company’s image.
• Your letters and correspondence- Professional. Are
your telephones answered professionally ?
• Are your salespersons ethical? Is your receptionist
cheerful, optimistic, properly attired ?
• What about your business facility- people like to
work with professional organizations and your
office and facilities tell them about your
professionalism.
24

Your Company IMAGE
• Business owners must remain aware of the
customer’s perception of the business and move
quickly to correct any negative images.
• Do you contribute to the community or show any
concern for the environment.
• Do the people within your organization project the
image of the company in a favorable way?

25

Service After the Sales
• Effective Marketing must continue with the
product or service after the final sale.
• This support includes service, assistance,
warranties, returns and refunds.

26

Service
• Advertising is expensive. It gets the
customer to try your product or service. It is
a good start but remember, the goal is to
have customer’s repeat business.
• Over time, you will notice that 80% of your
sales will come from just 20% of your total
customers.
27

MARKET RESEARCH

28

Market Research
• Before one starts a business and even periodically
while in business, one should conduct market
research.
• Market research is an organized process to gather,
analyze, interpret and utilize relevant information
about the business environment for the purposes
of making accurate business decisions.
• Market research focuses on potential customers,
existing customers, the competition and the
business environment .
29

Market Research
• The ultimate goal of market research is business
success.
• The objective of market research is to;
1)Identify potential target markets.
2)Identify customer needs and wants.
3)Determine if the product or service meets customer
needs.
4)Determine the best promotion technique for each
market.
5)Examine the competition.
30

Market Research
• The purpose of market research data is to help the
business owner make better decisions.
• Using market research, the business owner can
develop an accurate understanding of the potential
customer.
• The goal of market research is to reveal unfilled
needs in the form of a market niche, customer’s
needs, a competitor’s weakness or an unused
marketing strategy. The ultimate goal is to
increase the business’ sales and profits.
31

Doing Market Research
• Anyone can do market research to some
extent.
• Basically, you want to gather information
about;
1)Your customers or potential customers
2)Your competition
3)General market information
Let’s go through each in greater detail.
32

About your Customers or
Potential Customers
• General demographic information such as – age,
where they live, where they work, race, gender,
marital status, income, number of children,
education, home ownership, lifestyle
• Needs, wants and desired benefits
• Past and future purchases (What, when, why,
where, how much)
• Products and services that compliment or
substitute
• Use of various media (radio, TV, newspaper,
magazines, etc.)
33

Warranty Cards
• Whenever you buy any appliance and certain
goods, you are requested to fill out a warranty
card. If you fill out the warranty card, the product
you bought will be under warranty for some
specified period of time. Note how much the
information on the warranty card parallels the
demographic information on the previous page.
• Warranty cards serve as a prime method of
collecting marketing information.
34

About the Competition
•
•
•
•
•
•

•
•

Who are they?
What products and/or services do they offer?
What is the price range of products and services?
What are their policies on returns, credit,
warranties, etc.?
Are there any special services?
If they are a store-type business, what is their staff
like (experience, customer respect, customer
focus)?
What kinds of promotions/ advertising do they do?
What is their company image like to the average
customer?
35

General Market Information
• The physical/geographical area (traffic flow,
development plans, history, growth pattern).
• The industry as a whole.
• The economy as a whole.

36

Analyzing Market Research Data
• Once you have collected as much data as
you reasonably can, you need to organize it
by the SWOT format;
• S = Strengths
• W= Weaknesses
• O= Opportunities
• T= Threats
37

SWOT Grid
My Business

Its Environment

Strengths

Opportunities

Weaknesses

Threats

38

The SWOT Grid
• In the grid, you evaluate your business or
business potentials and its weaknesses.
• When you evaluate the environment, where
do you see chances for growth and what
might slow your business ?.

39

Marketing Research
• Where we can get market information;
-The Internet brings information to your finger
tips.
-Visit a food store and just look around not only in
the area that you want to enter but other food
groups ( e.g. what are the dairy foods people doing
that I can adopt?).
-Talk to people in the business from entrepreneurs
to store owners, brokers, sales representatives, etc.
Most people like to help others and will tell you
more than you ever dreamed.
40

Market Research
• Market research identifies the available
market, discovers the best method to reach
the target market and asks what the
customer needs and wants. Market research
is a simple, structured, objective way of
learning about people- the people who will
buy your product or service.
41

RESOURCES
• There are 2 keys sources of information
1)A book entitled From Kitchen to Market by
Stephan F Hall. Sold via Amazon.com for about
$20- A complete, easy to understand book on
taking a food product to market.
2)The Arkansas Small Business Development Center
in Little Rock (501/324-9043) has a resource
library that contains many references and a
brochure entitled Market Designs that will help.
42

43

44

CONCLUSIONS
• This module should have made you think about
the purpose and goals of marketing and how to do
market research.
• Marketing is probably the single most important
aspect in starting and maintaining a food business.
• Whether you are starting a new food business or
maintaining an existing business, it is important
that you constantly monitor your marketing
efforts.
45

46


Slide 17

INTRODUCTION TO FOOD
MARKETING
3116
Steven C Seideman
Extension Food Processing Specialist
Cooperative Extension Service
1

INTRODUCTION
• To many people, “MARKETING” means either
selling or advertising of your business.
• Jay Levinson in his book “ Guerilla Marketing”
defines marketing as “everything you do to
promote your business from the moment you think
of the idea until the customers buy and begin to do
so on a regular basis”.

2

THE GOAL OF BUSINESS
• Two theories on what the goal of business is;
1) The goal of business is profit, and profit means
the firm survives and has a chance to grow.
2) The goal of business is to get and keep a
customer. Profit is implied because if you don’t
make a profit, you will not be around to keep
your customer.
You choose which goal you want to accept. The
bottom line is that a profit must be made.
3

SELLING vs MARKETING
• SELLING asks the question “ How do I get the
customer to buy my product?”
• MARKETING takes a broader view and asks
“What does the customer want to buy ?” The
business owner needs to attract new audiences,
study the competition and develop his or her
product or service so that it appeals to a highly
discriminating audience.
4

MARKETING AS A PROCESS

5

MARKETING AS A PROCESS
• The successful marketing process includes;
1)Determining what the customer needs and wants.
2)Developing a product or service to meet those
needs or wants.
3)Understanding the competition and what they
offer.
4)Linking with the customer as a source for fulfilling
his or her needs and wants.
5)Doing all of this at a price that provides a profit so
that the business can continue to grow.
6

Determining What the Customer
Needs or Wants
• A successful business owner analyzes the
market. He or she defines the particular
market segment most likely to purchase
their product or service. The owner then
determines the specific benefits desired by
the customer.

7

Developing a Product or Service
to Meet those Needs or Wants
• Upon understanding what benefits are wanted, the
owner develops a product or service, the features
of which provide the customer with the requested
benefits. Marketing is selling these benefits rather
than the features.
• A feature is any prominent or distinctive aspect,
quality or characteristic. A benefit is what that
feature gives the customer.
• An example would be a reclosable package. The
feature is reclosable: The benefit to the customer
is that it can be reclosed and stored for later use. 8

Understanding the Competition
and What They Offer
• Customers face a large marketplace. A
successful business owner is able to define a
target market and distinguish his or her
business from the competition.
• Walk down an aisle in any food store, look
at all the different brands of a particular
type of product and see how each brand
tries to provide benefits to the customer.
9

10

Linking the Customer as a Source
for Fulfilling His or Her Needs
and Wants
• The successful business owner must let the
customer know he or she is in business. The owner
must also tell the customer how they can meet
their needs, a function known as advertising.
• Types of advertising include radio, TV, newspaper
and magazines, flyers, billboards, web-advertising,
etc.
• The business owner must figure out the most cost
effective way of getting to the target audience.
11

Doing All of this at a Price that
Provides a Profit so the Business
can Continue
• This implies a price of products or services
that allows both the customer and the owner
to feel good about the transaction.
• The business owner must make a profit so
that he or she can stay in business to
continue providing that product or service.
12

MARKETING ACTIVITIES

13

Marketing Activities
• There are basically 4 major categories of
marketing activities known as the 4 P’s:
1)Positioning
2)Production
3)Pricing
4)Promotion
14

Positioning
• Positioning is defining the purpose of your
product or service as it benefits a potential
customer. Positioning is finding a market niche. It
creates a perception of special value and benefits
in your product or service. Developing one’s
position is one of the major goals of the marketing
process.
• An example of positioning is the fast food chain’s
hamburger businesses positioning themselves as
low cost versus another that features customer
choice (“Have it your way” ).
15

Positioning
• Place (where the goods or services are
marketed) and packaging (how the goods or
services are displayed ) are extremely
important. If a product or service appeals to
walk-in traffic, your location must be where
such traffic occurs, not in a limited traffic
area. If you are developing a product for an
upscale market, the packaging must reflect
the image you are trying to attain.
16

Production
• Successful marketing achieves business
growth. The owner must have anticipated
and planned for this growth in the
production process. The inability to fill
orders can quickly strangle a firm’s growth
and even cause the firm to go out of
business.
17

Courtesy of USDA

18

Pricing
• Pricing is a key factor to business success.
• Pricing can be done as a “wild guess”, based on
what the competition charges or as a cost-buildup
process.
• I strongly prefer the cost buildup model whereby
you list all your costs (raw materials, processing
costs, packaging, promotion, salaries, distribution,
etc.) and then add a profit margin.
• Go to another module to learn the cost buildup
details.
19

Pricing
• Look at what the competition charges as compared
to your cost. How can you do it cheaper or better
than the competition?
• Are people willing to pay that price for your
product or service?.
• How about running promotions on your product or
services so people will try it - buy one, get one
free, coupons with a certain amount off ?
• Most new entrepreneurs tend to underprice their
products and services.
20

Promotion
• This addresses the question “How will people
know about my product or service ?”
• Promotions include paid advertising such as radio,
TV, newspaper, etc, and unpaid publicity such as
press releases, etc. Promotions may also include
trade shows, mailings, internet, in-store demos,
etc.
• Promotional efforts must occur in the media that
your perspective customers use.
• Successful promotional efforts focus on the
benefits of your product or service
• Benefits can be convenience (precooked,
21
reclosable packaging), fun, good health, etc.

22

Promotion
• Customers do not buy a product or service for its
features.They buy it for what it can do for them.
• Learn to romanticize your product. Watch TV ads–
wearing certain brands of trousers make you more
appealing to the opposite sex. Laugh? It works.
Watch some TV ads- what is the message they are
sending?
• Brand loyalty; brand-conscious society
• Develop sales literature- price list, catalog sheet,
product information sheet, point of purchase info.
23

Your Company IMAGE
• Although not traditionally thought of as
marketing, I am a believer in how customers
perceive your company’s image.
• Your letters and correspondence- Professional. Are
your telephones answered professionally ?
• Are your salespersons ethical? Is your receptionist
cheerful, optimistic, properly attired ?
• What about your business facility- people like to
work with professional organizations and your
office and facilities tell them about your
professionalism.
24

Your Company IMAGE
• Business owners must remain aware of the
customer’s perception of the business and move
quickly to correct any negative images.
• Do you contribute to the community or show any
concern for the environment.
• Do the people within your organization project the
image of the company in a favorable way?

25

Service After the Sales
• Effective Marketing must continue with the
product or service after the final sale.
• This support includes service, assistance,
warranties, returns and refunds.

26

Service
• Advertising is expensive. It gets the
customer to try your product or service. It is
a good start but remember, the goal is to
have customer’s repeat business.
• Over time, you will notice that 80% of your
sales will come from just 20% of your total
customers.
27

MARKET RESEARCH

28

Market Research
• Before one starts a business and even periodically
while in business, one should conduct market
research.
• Market research is an organized process to gather,
analyze, interpret and utilize relevant information
about the business environment for the purposes
of making accurate business decisions.
• Market research focuses on potential customers,
existing customers, the competition and the
business environment .
29

Market Research
• The ultimate goal of market research is business
success.
• The objective of market research is to;
1)Identify potential target markets.
2)Identify customer needs and wants.
3)Determine if the product or service meets customer
needs.
4)Determine the best promotion technique for each
market.
5)Examine the competition.
30

Market Research
• The purpose of market research data is to help the
business owner make better decisions.
• Using market research, the business owner can
develop an accurate understanding of the potential
customer.
• The goal of market research is to reveal unfilled
needs in the form of a market niche, customer’s
needs, a competitor’s weakness or an unused
marketing strategy. The ultimate goal is to
increase the business’ sales and profits.
31

Doing Market Research
• Anyone can do market research to some
extent.
• Basically, you want to gather information
about;
1)Your customers or potential customers
2)Your competition
3)General market information
Let’s go through each in greater detail.
32

About your Customers or
Potential Customers
• General demographic information such as – age,
where they live, where they work, race, gender,
marital status, income, number of children,
education, home ownership, lifestyle
• Needs, wants and desired benefits
• Past and future purchases (What, when, why,
where, how much)
• Products and services that compliment or
substitute
• Use of various media (radio, TV, newspaper,
magazines, etc.)
33

Warranty Cards
• Whenever you buy any appliance and certain
goods, you are requested to fill out a warranty
card. If you fill out the warranty card, the product
you bought will be under warranty for some
specified period of time. Note how much the
information on the warranty card parallels the
demographic information on the previous page.
• Warranty cards serve as a prime method of
collecting marketing information.
34

About the Competition
•
•
•
•
•
•

•
•

Who are they?
What products and/or services do they offer?
What is the price range of products and services?
What are their policies on returns, credit,
warranties, etc.?
Are there any special services?
If they are a store-type business, what is their staff
like (experience, customer respect, customer
focus)?
What kinds of promotions/ advertising do they do?
What is their company image like to the average
customer?
35

General Market Information
• The physical/geographical area (traffic flow,
development plans, history, growth pattern).
• The industry as a whole.
• The economy as a whole.

36

Analyzing Market Research Data
• Once you have collected as much data as
you reasonably can, you need to organize it
by the SWOT format;
• S = Strengths
• W= Weaknesses
• O= Opportunities
• T= Threats
37

SWOT Grid
My Business

Its Environment

Strengths

Opportunities

Weaknesses

Threats

38

The SWOT Grid
• In the grid, you evaluate your business or
business potentials and its weaknesses.
• When you evaluate the environment, where
do you see chances for growth and what
might slow your business ?.

39

Marketing Research
• Where we can get market information;
-The Internet brings information to your finger
tips.
-Visit a food store and just look around not only in
the area that you want to enter but other food
groups ( e.g. what are the dairy foods people doing
that I can adopt?).
-Talk to people in the business from entrepreneurs
to store owners, brokers, sales representatives, etc.
Most people like to help others and will tell you
more than you ever dreamed.
40

Market Research
• Market research identifies the available
market, discovers the best method to reach
the target market and asks what the
customer needs and wants. Market research
is a simple, structured, objective way of
learning about people- the people who will
buy your product or service.
41

RESOURCES
• There are 2 keys sources of information
1)A book entitled From Kitchen to Market by
Stephan F Hall. Sold via Amazon.com for about
$20- A complete, easy to understand book on
taking a food product to market.
2)The Arkansas Small Business Development Center
in Little Rock (501/324-9043) has a resource
library that contains many references and a
brochure entitled Market Designs that will help.
42

43

44

CONCLUSIONS
• This module should have made you think about
the purpose and goals of marketing and how to do
market research.
• Marketing is probably the single most important
aspect in starting and maintaining a food business.
• Whether you are starting a new food business or
maintaining an existing business, it is important
that you constantly monitor your marketing
efforts.
45

46


Slide 18

INTRODUCTION TO FOOD
MARKETING
3116
Steven C Seideman
Extension Food Processing Specialist
Cooperative Extension Service
1

INTRODUCTION
• To many people, “MARKETING” means either
selling or advertising of your business.
• Jay Levinson in his book “ Guerilla Marketing”
defines marketing as “everything you do to
promote your business from the moment you think
of the idea until the customers buy and begin to do
so on a regular basis”.

2

THE GOAL OF BUSINESS
• Two theories on what the goal of business is;
1) The goal of business is profit, and profit means
the firm survives and has a chance to grow.
2) The goal of business is to get and keep a
customer. Profit is implied because if you don’t
make a profit, you will not be around to keep
your customer.
You choose which goal you want to accept. The
bottom line is that a profit must be made.
3

SELLING vs MARKETING
• SELLING asks the question “ How do I get the
customer to buy my product?”
• MARKETING takes a broader view and asks
“What does the customer want to buy ?” The
business owner needs to attract new audiences,
study the competition and develop his or her
product or service so that it appeals to a highly
discriminating audience.
4

MARKETING AS A PROCESS

5

MARKETING AS A PROCESS
• The successful marketing process includes;
1)Determining what the customer needs and wants.
2)Developing a product or service to meet those
needs or wants.
3)Understanding the competition and what they
offer.
4)Linking with the customer as a source for fulfilling
his or her needs and wants.
5)Doing all of this at a price that provides a profit so
that the business can continue to grow.
6

Determining What the Customer
Needs or Wants
• A successful business owner analyzes the
market. He or she defines the particular
market segment most likely to purchase
their product or service. The owner then
determines the specific benefits desired by
the customer.

7

Developing a Product or Service
to Meet those Needs or Wants
• Upon understanding what benefits are wanted, the
owner develops a product or service, the features
of which provide the customer with the requested
benefits. Marketing is selling these benefits rather
than the features.
• A feature is any prominent or distinctive aspect,
quality or characteristic. A benefit is what that
feature gives the customer.
• An example would be a reclosable package. The
feature is reclosable: The benefit to the customer
is that it can be reclosed and stored for later use. 8

Understanding the Competition
and What They Offer
• Customers face a large marketplace. A
successful business owner is able to define a
target market and distinguish his or her
business from the competition.
• Walk down an aisle in any food store, look
at all the different brands of a particular
type of product and see how each brand
tries to provide benefits to the customer.
9

10

Linking the Customer as a Source
for Fulfilling His or Her Needs
and Wants
• The successful business owner must let the
customer know he or she is in business. The owner
must also tell the customer how they can meet
their needs, a function known as advertising.
• Types of advertising include radio, TV, newspaper
and magazines, flyers, billboards, web-advertising,
etc.
• The business owner must figure out the most cost
effective way of getting to the target audience.
11

Doing All of this at a Price that
Provides a Profit so the Business
can Continue
• This implies a price of products or services
that allows both the customer and the owner
to feel good about the transaction.
• The business owner must make a profit so
that he or she can stay in business to
continue providing that product or service.
12

MARKETING ACTIVITIES

13

Marketing Activities
• There are basically 4 major categories of
marketing activities known as the 4 P’s:
1)Positioning
2)Production
3)Pricing
4)Promotion
14

Positioning
• Positioning is defining the purpose of your
product or service as it benefits a potential
customer. Positioning is finding a market niche. It
creates a perception of special value and benefits
in your product or service. Developing one’s
position is one of the major goals of the marketing
process.
• An example of positioning is the fast food chain’s
hamburger businesses positioning themselves as
low cost versus another that features customer
choice (“Have it your way” ).
15

Positioning
• Place (where the goods or services are
marketed) and packaging (how the goods or
services are displayed ) are extremely
important. If a product or service appeals to
walk-in traffic, your location must be where
such traffic occurs, not in a limited traffic
area. If you are developing a product for an
upscale market, the packaging must reflect
the image you are trying to attain.
16

Production
• Successful marketing achieves business
growth. The owner must have anticipated
and planned for this growth in the
production process. The inability to fill
orders can quickly strangle a firm’s growth
and even cause the firm to go out of
business.
17

Courtesy of USDA

18

Pricing
• Pricing is a key factor to business success.
• Pricing can be done as a “wild guess”, based on
what the competition charges or as a cost-buildup
process.
• I strongly prefer the cost buildup model whereby
you list all your costs (raw materials, processing
costs, packaging, promotion, salaries, distribution,
etc.) and then add a profit margin.
• Go to another module to learn the cost buildup
details.
19

Pricing
• Look at what the competition charges as compared
to your cost. How can you do it cheaper or better
than the competition?
• Are people willing to pay that price for your
product or service?.
• How about running promotions on your product or
services so people will try it - buy one, get one
free, coupons with a certain amount off ?
• Most new entrepreneurs tend to underprice their
products and services.
20

Promotion
• This addresses the question “How will people
know about my product or service ?”
• Promotions include paid advertising such as radio,
TV, newspaper, etc, and unpaid publicity such as
press releases, etc. Promotions may also include
trade shows, mailings, internet, in-store demos,
etc.
• Promotional efforts must occur in the media that
your perspective customers use.
• Successful promotional efforts focus on the
benefits of your product or service
• Benefits can be convenience (precooked,
21
reclosable packaging), fun, good health, etc.

22

Promotion
• Customers do not buy a product or service for its
features.They buy it for what it can do for them.
• Learn to romanticize your product. Watch TV ads–
wearing certain brands of trousers make you more
appealing to the opposite sex. Laugh? It works.
Watch some TV ads- what is the message they are
sending?
• Brand loyalty; brand-conscious society
• Develop sales literature- price list, catalog sheet,
product information sheet, point of purchase info.
23

Your Company IMAGE
• Although not traditionally thought of as
marketing, I am a believer in how customers
perceive your company’s image.
• Your letters and correspondence- Professional. Are
your telephones answered professionally ?
• Are your salespersons ethical? Is your receptionist
cheerful, optimistic, properly attired ?
• What about your business facility- people like to
work with professional organizations and your
office and facilities tell them about your
professionalism.
24

Your Company IMAGE
• Business owners must remain aware of the
customer’s perception of the business and move
quickly to correct any negative images.
• Do you contribute to the community or show any
concern for the environment.
• Do the people within your organization project the
image of the company in a favorable way?

25

Service After the Sales
• Effective Marketing must continue with the
product or service after the final sale.
• This support includes service, assistance,
warranties, returns and refunds.

26

Service
• Advertising is expensive. It gets the
customer to try your product or service. It is
a good start but remember, the goal is to
have customer’s repeat business.
• Over time, you will notice that 80% of your
sales will come from just 20% of your total
customers.
27

MARKET RESEARCH

28

Market Research
• Before one starts a business and even periodically
while in business, one should conduct market
research.
• Market research is an organized process to gather,
analyze, interpret and utilize relevant information
about the business environment for the purposes
of making accurate business decisions.
• Market research focuses on potential customers,
existing customers, the competition and the
business environment .
29

Market Research
• The ultimate goal of market research is business
success.
• The objective of market research is to;
1)Identify potential target markets.
2)Identify customer needs and wants.
3)Determine if the product or service meets customer
needs.
4)Determine the best promotion technique for each
market.
5)Examine the competition.
30

Market Research
• The purpose of market research data is to help the
business owner make better decisions.
• Using market research, the business owner can
develop an accurate understanding of the potential
customer.
• The goal of market research is to reveal unfilled
needs in the form of a market niche, customer’s
needs, a competitor’s weakness or an unused
marketing strategy. The ultimate goal is to
increase the business’ sales and profits.
31

Doing Market Research
• Anyone can do market research to some
extent.
• Basically, you want to gather information
about;
1)Your customers or potential customers
2)Your competition
3)General market information
Let’s go through each in greater detail.
32

About your Customers or
Potential Customers
• General demographic information such as – age,
where they live, where they work, race, gender,
marital status, income, number of children,
education, home ownership, lifestyle
• Needs, wants and desired benefits
• Past and future purchases (What, when, why,
where, how much)
• Products and services that compliment or
substitute
• Use of various media (radio, TV, newspaper,
magazines, etc.)
33

Warranty Cards
• Whenever you buy any appliance and certain
goods, you are requested to fill out a warranty
card. If you fill out the warranty card, the product
you bought will be under warranty for some
specified period of time. Note how much the
information on the warranty card parallels the
demographic information on the previous page.
• Warranty cards serve as a prime method of
collecting marketing information.
34

About the Competition
•
•
•
•
•
•

•
•

Who are they?
What products and/or services do they offer?
What is the price range of products and services?
What are their policies on returns, credit,
warranties, etc.?
Are there any special services?
If they are a store-type business, what is their staff
like (experience, customer respect, customer
focus)?
What kinds of promotions/ advertising do they do?
What is their company image like to the average
customer?
35

General Market Information
• The physical/geographical area (traffic flow,
development plans, history, growth pattern).
• The industry as a whole.
• The economy as a whole.

36

Analyzing Market Research Data
• Once you have collected as much data as
you reasonably can, you need to organize it
by the SWOT format;
• S = Strengths
• W= Weaknesses
• O= Opportunities
• T= Threats
37

SWOT Grid
My Business

Its Environment

Strengths

Opportunities

Weaknesses

Threats

38

The SWOT Grid
• In the grid, you evaluate your business or
business potentials and its weaknesses.
• When you evaluate the environment, where
do you see chances for growth and what
might slow your business ?.

39

Marketing Research
• Where we can get market information;
-The Internet brings information to your finger
tips.
-Visit a food store and just look around not only in
the area that you want to enter but other food
groups ( e.g. what are the dairy foods people doing
that I can adopt?).
-Talk to people in the business from entrepreneurs
to store owners, brokers, sales representatives, etc.
Most people like to help others and will tell you
more than you ever dreamed.
40

Market Research
• Market research identifies the available
market, discovers the best method to reach
the target market and asks what the
customer needs and wants. Market research
is a simple, structured, objective way of
learning about people- the people who will
buy your product or service.
41

RESOURCES
• There are 2 keys sources of information
1)A book entitled From Kitchen to Market by
Stephan F Hall. Sold via Amazon.com for about
$20- A complete, easy to understand book on
taking a food product to market.
2)The Arkansas Small Business Development Center
in Little Rock (501/324-9043) has a resource
library that contains many references and a
brochure entitled Market Designs that will help.
42

43

44

CONCLUSIONS
• This module should have made you think about
the purpose and goals of marketing and how to do
market research.
• Marketing is probably the single most important
aspect in starting and maintaining a food business.
• Whether you are starting a new food business or
maintaining an existing business, it is important
that you constantly monitor your marketing
efforts.
45

46


Slide 19

INTRODUCTION TO FOOD
MARKETING
3116
Steven C Seideman
Extension Food Processing Specialist
Cooperative Extension Service
1

INTRODUCTION
• To many people, “MARKETING” means either
selling or advertising of your business.
• Jay Levinson in his book “ Guerilla Marketing”
defines marketing as “everything you do to
promote your business from the moment you think
of the idea until the customers buy and begin to do
so on a regular basis”.

2

THE GOAL OF BUSINESS
• Two theories on what the goal of business is;
1) The goal of business is profit, and profit means
the firm survives and has a chance to grow.
2) The goal of business is to get and keep a
customer. Profit is implied because if you don’t
make a profit, you will not be around to keep
your customer.
You choose which goal you want to accept. The
bottom line is that a profit must be made.
3

SELLING vs MARKETING
• SELLING asks the question “ How do I get the
customer to buy my product?”
• MARKETING takes a broader view and asks
“What does the customer want to buy ?” The
business owner needs to attract new audiences,
study the competition and develop his or her
product or service so that it appeals to a highly
discriminating audience.
4

MARKETING AS A PROCESS

5

MARKETING AS A PROCESS
• The successful marketing process includes;
1)Determining what the customer needs and wants.
2)Developing a product or service to meet those
needs or wants.
3)Understanding the competition and what they
offer.
4)Linking with the customer as a source for fulfilling
his or her needs and wants.
5)Doing all of this at a price that provides a profit so
that the business can continue to grow.
6

Determining What the Customer
Needs or Wants
• A successful business owner analyzes the
market. He or she defines the particular
market segment most likely to purchase
their product or service. The owner then
determines the specific benefits desired by
the customer.

7

Developing a Product or Service
to Meet those Needs or Wants
• Upon understanding what benefits are wanted, the
owner develops a product or service, the features
of which provide the customer with the requested
benefits. Marketing is selling these benefits rather
than the features.
• A feature is any prominent or distinctive aspect,
quality or characteristic. A benefit is what that
feature gives the customer.
• An example would be a reclosable package. The
feature is reclosable: The benefit to the customer
is that it can be reclosed and stored for later use. 8

Understanding the Competition
and What They Offer
• Customers face a large marketplace. A
successful business owner is able to define a
target market and distinguish his or her
business from the competition.
• Walk down an aisle in any food store, look
at all the different brands of a particular
type of product and see how each brand
tries to provide benefits to the customer.
9

10

Linking the Customer as a Source
for Fulfilling His or Her Needs
and Wants
• The successful business owner must let the
customer know he or she is in business. The owner
must also tell the customer how they can meet
their needs, a function known as advertising.
• Types of advertising include radio, TV, newspaper
and magazines, flyers, billboards, web-advertising,
etc.
• The business owner must figure out the most cost
effective way of getting to the target audience.
11

Doing All of this at a Price that
Provides a Profit so the Business
can Continue
• This implies a price of products or services
that allows both the customer and the owner
to feel good about the transaction.
• The business owner must make a profit so
that he or she can stay in business to
continue providing that product or service.
12

MARKETING ACTIVITIES

13

Marketing Activities
• There are basically 4 major categories of
marketing activities known as the 4 P’s:
1)Positioning
2)Production
3)Pricing
4)Promotion
14

Positioning
• Positioning is defining the purpose of your
product or service as it benefits a potential
customer. Positioning is finding a market niche. It
creates a perception of special value and benefits
in your product or service. Developing one’s
position is one of the major goals of the marketing
process.
• An example of positioning is the fast food chain’s
hamburger businesses positioning themselves as
low cost versus another that features customer
choice (“Have it your way” ).
15

Positioning
• Place (where the goods or services are
marketed) and packaging (how the goods or
services are displayed ) are extremely
important. If a product or service appeals to
walk-in traffic, your location must be where
such traffic occurs, not in a limited traffic
area. If you are developing a product for an
upscale market, the packaging must reflect
the image you are trying to attain.
16

Production
• Successful marketing achieves business
growth. The owner must have anticipated
and planned for this growth in the
production process. The inability to fill
orders can quickly strangle a firm’s growth
and even cause the firm to go out of
business.
17

Courtesy of USDA

18

Pricing
• Pricing is a key factor to business success.
• Pricing can be done as a “wild guess”, based on
what the competition charges or as a cost-buildup
process.
• I strongly prefer the cost buildup model whereby
you list all your costs (raw materials, processing
costs, packaging, promotion, salaries, distribution,
etc.) and then add a profit margin.
• Go to another module to learn the cost buildup
details.
19

Pricing
• Look at what the competition charges as compared
to your cost. How can you do it cheaper or better
than the competition?
• Are people willing to pay that price for your
product or service?.
• How about running promotions on your product or
services so people will try it - buy one, get one
free, coupons with a certain amount off ?
• Most new entrepreneurs tend to underprice their
products and services.
20

Promotion
• This addresses the question “How will people
know about my product or service ?”
• Promotions include paid advertising such as radio,
TV, newspaper, etc, and unpaid publicity such as
press releases, etc. Promotions may also include
trade shows, mailings, internet, in-store demos,
etc.
• Promotional efforts must occur in the media that
your perspective customers use.
• Successful promotional efforts focus on the
benefits of your product or service
• Benefits can be convenience (precooked,
21
reclosable packaging), fun, good health, etc.

22

Promotion
• Customers do not buy a product or service for its
features.They buy it for what it can do for them.
• Learn to romanticize your product. Watch TV ads–
wearing certain brands of trousers make you more
appealing to the opposite sex. Laugh? It works.
Watch some TV ads- what is the message they are
sending?
• Brand loyalty; brand-conscious society
• Develop sales literature- price list, catalog sheet,
product information sheet, point of purchase info.
23

Your Company IMAGE
• Although not traditionally thought of as
marketing, I am a believer in how customers
perceive your company’s image.
• Your letters and correspondence- Professional. Are
your telephones answered professionally ?
• Are your salespersons ethical? Is your receptionist
cheerful, optimistic, properly attired ?
• What about your business facility- people like to
work with professional organizations and your
office and facilities tell them about your
professionalism.
24

Your Company IMAGE
• Business owners must remain aware of the
customer’s perception of the business and move
quickly to correct any negative images.
• Do you contribute to the community or show any
concern for the environment.
• Do the people within your organization project the
image of the company in a favorable way?

25

Service After the Sales
• Effective Marketing must continue with the
product or service after the final sale.
• This support includes service, assistance,
warranties, returns and refunds.

26

Service
• Advertising is expensive. It gets the
customer to try your product or service. It is
a good start but remember, the goal is to
have customer’s repeat business.
• Over time, you will notice that 80% of your
sales will come from just 20% of your total
customers.
27

MARKET RESEARCH

28

Market Research
• Before one starts a business and even periodically
while in business, one should conduct market
research.
• Market research is an organized process to gather,
analyze, interpret and utilize relevant information
about the business environment for the purposes
of making accurate business decisions.
• Market research focuses on potential customers,
existing customers, the competition and the
business environment .
29

Market Research
• The ultimate goal of market research is business
success.
• The objective of market research is to;
1)Identify potential target markets.
2)Identify customer needs and wants.
3)Determine if the product or service meets customer
needs.
4)Determine the best promotion technique for each
market.
5)Examine the competition.
30

Market Research
• The purpose of market research data is to help the
business owner make better decisions.
• Using market research, the business owner can
develop an accurate understanding of the potential
customer.
• The goal of market research is to reveal unfilled
needs in the form of a market niche, customer’s
needs, a competitor’s weakness or an unused
marketing strategy. The ultimate goal is to
increase the business’ sales and profits.
31

Doing Market Research
• Anyone can do market research to some
extent.
• Basically, you want to gather information
about;
1)Your customers or potential customers
2)Your competition
3)General market information
Let’s go through each in greater detail.
32

About your Customers or
Potential Customers
• General demographic information such as – age,
where they live, where they work, race, gender,
marital status, income, number of children,
education, home ownership, lifestyle
• Needs, wants and desired benefits
• Past and future purchases (What, when, why,
where, how much)
• Products and services that compliment or
substitute
• Use of various media (radio, TV, newspaper,
magazines, etc.)
33

Warranty Cards
• Whenever you buy any appliance and certain
goods, you are requested to fill out a warranty
card. If you fill out the warranty card, the product
you bought will be under warranty for some
specified period of time. Note how much the
information on the warranty card parallels the
demographic information on the previous page.
• Warranty cards serve as a prime method of
collecting marketing information.
34

About the Competition
•
•
•
•
•
•

•
•

Who are they?
What products and/or services do they offer?
What is the price range of products and services?
What are their policies on returns, credit,
warranties, etc.?
Are there any special services?
If they are a store-type business, what is their staff
like (experience, customer respect, customer
focus)?
What kinds of promotions/ advertising do they do?
What is their company image like to the average
customer?
35

General Market Information
• The physical/geographical area (traffic flow,
development plans, history, growth pattern).
• The industry as a whole.
• The economy as a whole.

36

Analyzing Market Research Data
• Once you have collected as much data as
you reasonably can, you need to organize it
by the SWOT format;
• S = Strengths
• W= Weaknesses
• O= Opportunities
• T= Threats
37

SWOT Grid
My Business

Its Environment

Strengths

Opportunities

Weaknesses

Threats

38

The SWOT Grid
• In the grid, you evaluate your business or
business potentials and its weaknesses.
• When you evaluate the environment, where
do you see chances for growth and what
might slow your business ?.

39

Marketing Research
• Where we can get market information;
-The Internet brings information to your finger
tips.
-Visit a food store and just look around not only in
the area that you want to enter but other food
groups ( e.g. what are the dairy foods people doing
that I can adopt?).
-Talk to people in the business from entrepreneurs
to store owners, brokers, sales representatives, etc.
Most people like to help others and will tell you
more than you ever dreamed.
40

Market Research
• Market research identifies the available
market, discovers the best method to reach
the target market and asks what the
customer needs and wants. Market research
is a simple, structured, objective way of
learning about people- the people who will
buy your product or service.
41

RESOURCES
• There are 2 keys sources of information
1)A book entitled From Kitchen to Market by
Stephan F Hall. Sold via Amazon.com for about
$20- A complete, easy to understand book on
taking a food product to market.
2)The Arkansas Small Business Development Center
in Little Rock (501/324-9043) has a resource
library that contains many references and a
brochure entitled Market Designs that will help.
42

43

44

CONCLUSIONS
• This module should have made you think about
the purpose and goals of marketing and how to do
market research.
• Marketing is probably the single most important
aspect in starting and maintaining a food business.
• Whether you are starting a new food business or
maintaining an existing business, it is important
that you constantly monitor your marketing
efforts.
45

46


Slide 20

INTRODUCTION TO FOOD
MARKETING
3116
Steven C Seideman
Extension Food Processing Specialist
Cooperative Extension Service
1

INTRODUCTION
• To many people, “MARKETING” means either
selling or advertising of your business.
• Jay Levinson in his book “ Guerilla Marketing”
defines marketing as “everything you do to
promote your business from the moment you think
of the idea until the customers buy and begin to do
so on a regular basis”.

2

THE GOAL OF BUSINESS
• Two theories on what the goal of business is;
1) The goal of business is profit, and profit means
the firm survives and has a chance to grow.
2) The goal of business is to get and keep a
customer. Profit is implied because if you don’t
make a profit, you will not be around to keep
your customer.
You choose which goal you want to accept. The
bottom line is that a profit must be made.
3

SELLING vs MARKETING
• SELLING asks the question “ How do I get the
customer to buy my product?”
• MARKETING takes a broader view and asks
“What does the customer want to buy ?” The
business owner needs to attract new audiences,
study the competition and develop his or her
product or service so that it appeals to a highly
discriminating audience.
4

MARKETING AS A PROCESS

5

MARKETING AS A PROCESS
• The successful marketing process includes;
1)Determining what the customer needs and wants.
2)Developing a product or service to meet those
needs or wants.
3)Understanding the competition and what they
offer.
4)Linking with the customer as a source for fulfilling
his or her needs and wants.
5)Doing all of this at a price that provides a profit so
that the business can continue to grow.
6

Determining What the Customer
Needs or Wants
• A successful business owner analyzes the
market. He or she defines the particular
market segment most likely to purchase
their product or service. The owner then
determines the specific benefits desired by
the customer.

7

Developing a Product or Service
to Meet those Needs or Wants
• Upon understanding what benefits are wanted, the
owner develops a product or service, the features
of which provide the customer with the requested
benefits. Marketing is selling these benefits rather
than the features.
• A feature is any prominent or distinctive aspect,
quality or characteristic. A benefit is what that
feature gives the customer.
• An example would be a reclosable package. The
feature is reclosable: The benefit to the customer
is that it can be reclosed and stored for later use. 8

Understanding the Competition
and What They Offer
• Customers face a large marketplace. A
successful business owner is able to define a
target market and distinguish his or her
business from the competition.
• Walk down an aisle in any food store, look
at all the different brands of a particular
type of product and see how each brand
tries to provide benefits to the customer.
9

10

Linking the Customer as a Source
for Fulfilling His or Her Needs
and Wants
• The successful business owner must let the
customer know he or she is in business. The owner
must also tell the customer how they can meet
their needs, a function known as advertising.
• Types of advertising include radio, TV, newspaper
and magazines, flyers, billboards, web-advertising,
etc.
• The business owner must figure out the most cost
effective way of getting to the target audience.
11

Doing All of this at a Price that
Provides a Profit so the Business
can Continue
• This implies a price of products or services
that allows both the customer and the owner
to feel good about the transaction.
• The business owner must make a profit so
that he or she can stay in business to
continue providing that product or service.
12

MARKETING ACTIVITIES

13

Marketing Activities
• There are basically 4 major categories of
marketing activities known as the 4 P’s:
1)Positioning
2)Production
3)Pricing
4)Promotion
14

Positioning
• Positioning is defining the purpose of your
product or service as it benefits a potential
customer. Positioning is finding a market niche. It
creates a perception of special value and benefits
in your product or service. Developing one’s
position is one of the major goals of the marketing
process.
• An example of positioning is the fast food chain’s
hamburger businesses positioning themselves as
low cost versus another that features customer
choice (“Have it your way” ).
15

Positioning
• Place (where the goods or services are
marketed) and packaging (how the goods or
services are displayed ) are extremely
important. If a product or service appeals to
walk-in traffic, your location must be where
such traffic occurs, not in a limited traffic
area. If you are developing a product for an
upscale market, the packaging must reflect
the image you are trying to attain.
16

Production
• Successful marketing achieves business
growth. The owner must have anticipated
and planned for this growth in the
production process. The inability to fill
orders can quickly strangle a firm’s growth
and even cause the firm to go out of
business.
17

Courtesy of USDA

18

Pricing
• Pricing is a key factor to business success.
• Pricing can be done as a “wild guess”, based on
what the competition charges or as a cost-buildup
process.
• I strongly prefer the cost buildup model whereby
you list all your costs (raw materials, processing
costs, packaging, promotion, salaries, distribution,
etc.) and then add a profit margin.
• Go to another module to learn the cost buildup
details.
19

Pricing
• Look at what the competition charges as compared
to your cost. How can you do it cheaper or better
than the competition?
• Are people willing to pay that price for your
product or service?.
• How about running promotions on your product or
services so people will try it - buy one, get one
free, coupons with a certain amount off ?
• Most new entrepreneurs tend to underprice their
products and services.
20

Promotion
• This addresses the question “How will people
know about my product or service ?”
• Promotions include paid advertising such as radio,
TV, newspaper, etc, and unpaid publicity such as
press releases, etc. Promotions may also include
trade shows, mailings, internet, in-store demos,
etc.
• Promotional efforts must occur in the media that
your perspective customers use.
• Successful promotional efforts focus on the
benefits of your product or service
• Benefits can be convenience (precooked,
21
reclosable packaging), fun, good health, etc.

22

Promotion
• Customers do not buy a product or service for its
features.They buy it for what it can do for them.
• Learn to romanticize your product. Watch TV ads–
wearing certain brands of trousers make you more
appealing to the opposite sex. Laugh? It works.
Watch some TV ads- what is the message they are
sending?
• Brand loyalty; brand-conscious society
• Develop sales literature- price list, catalog sheet,
product information sheet, point of purchase info.
23

Your Company IMAGE
• Although not traditionally thought of as
marketing, I am a believer in how customers
perceive your company’s image.
• Your letters and correspondence- Professional. Are
your telephones answered professionally ?
• Are your salespersons ethical? Is your receptionist
cheerful, optimistic, properly attired ?
• What about your business facility- people like to
work with professional organizations and your
office and facilities tell them about your
professionalism.
24

Your Company IMAGE
• Business owners must remain aware of the
customer’s perception of the business and move
quickly to correct any negative images.
• Do you contribute to the community or show any
concern for the environment.
• Do the people within your organization project the
image of the company in a favorable way?

25

Service After the Sales
• Effective Marketing must continue with the
product or service after the final sale.
• This support includes service, assistance,
warranties, returns and refunds.

26

Service
• Advertising is expensive. It gets the
customer to try your product or service. It is
a good start but remember, the goal is to
have customer’s repeat business.
• Over time, you will notice that 80% of your
sales will come from just 20% of your total
customers.
27

MARKET RESEARCH

28

Market Research
• Before one starts a business and even periodically
while in business, one should conduct market
research.
• Market research is an organized process to gather,
analyze, interpret and utilize relevant information
about the business environment for the purposes
of making accurate business decisions.
• Market research focuses on potential customers,
existing customers, the competition and the
business environment .
29

Market Research
• The ultimate goal of market research is business
success.
• The objective of market research is to;
1)Identify potential target markets.
2)Identify customer needs and wants.
3)Determine if the product or service meets customer
needs.
4)Determine the best promotion technique for each
market.
5)Examine the competition.
30

Market Research
• The purpose of market research data is to help the
business owner make better decisions.
• Using market research, the business owner can
develop an accurate understanding of the potential
customer.
• The goal of market research is to reveal unfilled
needs in the form of a market niche, customer’s
needs, a competitor’s weakness or an unused
marketing strategy. The ultimate goal is to
increase the business’ sales and profits.
31

Doing Market Research
• Anyone can do market research to some
extent.
• Basically, you want to gather information
about;
1)Your customers or potential customers
2)Your competition
3)General market information
Let’s go through each in greater detail.
32

About your Customers or
Potential Customers
• General demographic information such as – age,
where they live, where they work, race, gender,
marital status, income, number of children,
education, home ownership, lifestyle
• Needs, wants and desired benefits
• Past and future purchases (What, when, why,
where, how much)
• Products and services that compliment or
substitute
• Use of various media (radio, TV, newspaper,
magazines, etc.)
33

Warranty Cards
• Whenever you buy any appliance and certain
goods, you are requested to fill out a warranty
card. If you fill out the warranty card, the product
you bought will be under warranty for some
specified period of time. Note how much the
information on the warranty card parallels the
demographic information on the previous page.
• Warranty cards serve as a prime method of
collecting marketing information.
34

About the Competition
•
•
•
•
•
•

•
•

Who are they?
What products and/or services do they offer?
What is the price range of products and services?
What are their policies on returns, credit,
warranties, etc.?
Are there any special services?
If they are a store-type business, what is their staff
like (experience, customer respect, customer
focus)?
What kinds of promotions/ advertising do they do?
What is their company image like to the average
customer?
35

General Market Information
• The physical/geographical area (traffic flow,
development plans, history, growth pattern).
• The industry as a whole.
• The economy as a whole.

36

Analyzing Market Research Data
• Once you have collected as much data as
you reasonably can, you need to organize it
by the SWOT format;
• S = Strengths
• W= Weaknesses
• O= Opportunities
• T= Threats
37

SWOT Grid
My Business

Its Environment

Strengths

Opportunities

Weaknesses

Threats

38

The SWOT Grid
• In the grid, you evaluate your business or
business potentials and its weaknesses.
• When you evaluate the environment, where
do you see chances for growth and what
might slow your business ?.

39

Marketing Research
• Where we can get market information;
-The Internet brings information to your finger
tips.
-Visit a food store and just look around not only in
the area that you want to enter but other food
groups ( e.g. what are the dairy foods people doing
that I can adopt?).
-Talk to people in the business from entrepreneurs
to store owners, brokers, sales representatives, etc.
Most people like to help others and will tell you
more than you ever dreamed.
40

Market Research
• Market research identifies the available
market, discovers the best method to reach
the target market and asks what the
customer needs and wants. Market research
is a simple, structured, objective way of
learning about people- the people who will
buy your product or service.
41

RESOURCES
• There are 2 keys sources of information
1)A book entitled From Kitchen to Market by
Stephan F Hall. Sold via Amazon.com for about
$20- A complete, easy to understand book on
taking a food product to market.
2)The Arkansas Small Business Development Center
in Little Rock (501/324-9043) has a resource
library that contains many references and a
brochure entitled Market Designs that will help.
42

43

44

CONCLUSIONS
• This module should have made you think about
the purpose and goals of marketing and how to do
market research.
• Marketing is probably the single most important
aspect in starting and maintaining a food business.
• Whether you are starting a new food business or
maintaining an existing business, it is important
that you constantly monitor your marketing
efforts.
45

46


Slide 21

INTRODUCTION TO FOOD
MARKETING
3116
Steven C Seideman
Extension Food Processing Specialist
Cooperative Extension Service
1

INTRODUCTION
• To many people, “MARKETING” means either
selling or advertising of your business.
• Jay Levinson in his book “ Guerilla Marketing”
defines marketing as “everything you do to
promote your business from the moment you think
of the idea until the customers buy and begin to do
so on a regular basis”.

2

THE GOAL OF BUSINESS
• Two theories on what the goal of business is;
1) The goal of business is profit, and profit means
the firm survives and has a chance to grow.
2) The goal of business is to get and keep a
customer. Profit is implied because if you don’t
make a profit, you will not be around to keep
your customer.
You choose which goal you want to accept. The
bottom line is that a profit must be made.
3

SELLING vs MARKETING
• SELLING asks the question “ How do I get the
customer to buy my product?”
• MARKETING takes a broader view and asks
“What does the customer want to buy ?” The
business owner needs to attract new audiences,
study the competition and develop his or her
product or service so that it appeals to a highly
discriminating audience.
4

MARKETING AS A PROCESS

5

MARKETING AS A PROCESS
• The successful marketing process includes;
1)Determining what the customer needs and wants.
2)Developing a product or service to meet those
needs or wants.
3)Understanding the competition and what they
offer.
4)Linking with the customer as a source for fulfilling
his or her needs and wants.
5)Doing all of this at a price that provides a profit so
that the business can continue to grow.
6

Determining What the Customer
Needs or Wants
• A successful business owner analyzes the
market. He or she defines the particular
market segment most likely to purchase
their product or service. The owner then
determines the specific benefits desired by
the customer.

7

Developing a Product or Service
to Meet those Needs or Wants
• Upon understanding what benefits are wanted, the
owner develops a product or service, the features
of which provide the customer with the requested
benefits. Marketing is selling these benefits rather
than the features.
• A feature is any prominent or distinctive aspect,
quality or characteristic. A benefit is what that
feature gives the customer.
• An example would be a reclosable package. The
feature is reclosable: The benefit to the customer
is that it can be reclosed and stored for later use. 8

Understanding the Competition
and What They Offer
• Customers face a large marketplace. A
successful business owner is able to define a
target market and distinguish his or her
business from the competition.
• Walk down an aisle in any food store, look
at all the different brands of a particular
type of product and see how each brand
tries to provide benefits to the customer.
9

10

Linking the Customer as a Source
for Fulfilling His or Her Needs
and Wants
• The successful business owner must let the
customer know he or she is in business. The owner
must also tell the customer how they can meet
their needs, a function known as advertising.
• Types of advertising include radio, TV, newspaper
and magazines, flyers, billboards, web-advertising,
etc.
• The business owner must figure out the most cost
effective way of getting to the target audience.
11

Doing All of this at a Price that
Provides a Profit so the Business
can Continue
• This implies a price of products or services
that allows both the customer and the owner
to feel good about the transaction.
• The business owner must make a profit so
that he or she can stay in business to
continue providing that product or service.
12

MARKETING ACTIVITIES

13

Marketing Activities
• There are basically 4 major categories of
marketing activities known as the 4 P’s:
1)Positioning
2)Production
3)Pricing
4)Promotion
14

Positioning
• Positioning is defining the purpose of your
product or service as it benefits a potential
customer. Positioning is finding a market niche. It
creates a perception of special value and benefits
in your product or service. Developing one’s
position is one of the major goals of the marketing
process.
• An example of positioning is the fast food chain’s
hamburger businesses positioning themselves as
low cost versus another that features customer
choice (“Have it your way” ).
15

Positioning
• Place (where the goods or services are
marketed) and packaging (how the goods or
services are displayed ) are extremely
important. If a product or service appeals to
walk-in traffic, your location must be where
such traffic occurs, not in a limited traffic
area. If you are developing a product for an
upscale market, the packaging must reflect
the image you are trying to attain.
16

Production
• Successful marketing achieves business
growth. The owner must have anticipated
and planned for this growth in the
production process. The inability to fill
orders can quickly strangle a firm’s growth
and even cause the firm to go out of
business.
17

Courtesy of USDA

18

Pricing
• Pricing is a key factor to business success.
• Pricing can be done as a “wild guess”, based on
what the competition charges or as a cost-buildup
process.
• I strongly prefer the cost buildup model whereby
you list all your costs (raw materials, processing
costs, packaging, promotion, salaries, distribution,
etc.) and then add a profit margin.
• Go to another module to learn the cost buildup
details.
19

Pricing
• Look at what the competition charges as compared
to your cost. How can you do it cheaper or better
than the competition?
• Are people willing to pay that price for your
product or service?.
• How about running promotions on your product or
services so people will try it - buy one, get one
free, coupons with a certain amount off ?
• Most new entrepreneurs tend to underprice their
products and services.
20

Promotion
• This addresses the question “How will people
know about my product or service ?”
• Promotions include paid advertising such as radio,
TV, newspaper, etc, and unpaid publicity such as
press releases, etc. Promotions may also include
trade shows, mailings, internet, in-store demos,
etc.
• Promotional efforts must occur in the media that
your perspective customers use.
• Successful promotional efforts focus on the
benefits of your product or service
• Benefits can be convenience (precooked,
21
reclosable packaging), fun, good health, etc.

22

Promotion
• Customers do not buy a product or service for its
features.They buy it for what it can do for them.
• Learn to romanticize your product. Watch TV ads–
wearing certain brands of trousers make you more
appealing to the opposite sex. Laugh? It works.
Watch some TV ads- what is the message they are
sending?
• Brand loyalty; brand-conscious society
• Develop sales literature- price list, catalog sheet,
product information sheet, point of purchase info.
23

Your Company IMAGE
• Although not traditionally thought of as
marketing, I am a believer in how customers
perceive your company’s image.
• Your letters and correspondence- Professional. Are
your telephones answered professionally ?
• Are your salespersons ethical? Is your receptionist
cheerful, optimistic, properly attired ?
• What about your business facility- people like to
work with professional organizations and your
office and facilities tell them about your
professionalism.
24

Your Company IMAGE
• Business owners must remain aware of the
customer’s perception of the business and move
quickly to correct any negative images.
• Do you contribute to the community or show any
concern for the environment.
• Do the people within your organization project the
image of the company in a favorable way?

25

Service After the Sales
• Effective Marketing must continue with the
product or service after the final sale.
• This support includes service, assistance,
warranties, returns and refunds.

26

Service
• Advertising is expensive. It gets the
customer to try your product or service. It is
a good start but remember, the goal is to
have customer’s repeat business.
• Over time, you will notice that 80% of your
sales will come from just 20% of your total
customers.
27

MARKET RESEARCH

28

Market Research
• Before one starts a business and even periodically
while in business, one should conduct market
research.
• Market research is an organized process to gather,
analyze, interpret and utilize relevant information
about the business environment for the purposes
of making accurate business decisions.
• Market research focuses on potential customers,
existing customers, the competition and the
business environment .
29

Market Research
• The ultimate goal of market research is business
success.
• The objective of market research is to;
1)Identify potential target markets.
2)Identify customer needs and wants.
3)Determine if the product or service meets customer
needs.
4)Determine the best promotion technique for each
market.
5)Examine the competition.
30

Market Research
• The purpose of market research data is to help the
business owner make better decisions.
• Using market research, the business owner can
develop an accurate understanding of the potential
customer.
• The goal of market research is to reveal unfilled
needs in the form of a market niche, customer’s
needs, a competitor’s weakness or an unused
marketing strategy. The ultimate goal is to
increase the business’ sales and profits.
31

Doing Market Research
• Anyone can do market research to some
extent.
• Basically, you want to gather information
about;
1)Your customers or potential customers
2)Your competition
3)General market information
Let’s go through each in greater detail.
32

About your Customers or
Potential Customers
• General demographic information such as – age,
where they live, where they work, race, gender,
marital status, income, number of children,
education, home ownership, lifestyle
• Needs, wants and desired benefits
• Past and future purchases (What, when, why,
where, how much)
• Products and services that compliment or
substitute
• Use of various media (radio, TV, newspaper,
magazines, etc.)
33

Warranty Cards
• Whenever you buy any appliance and certain
goods, you are requested to fill out a warranty
card. If you fill out the warranty card, the product
you bought will be under warranty for some
specified period of time. Note how much the
information on the warranty card parallels the
demographic information on the previous page.
• Warranty cards serve as a prime method of
collecting marketing information.
34

About the Competition
•
•
•
•
•
•

•
•

Who are they?
What products and/or services do they offer?
What is the price range of products and services?
What are their policies on returns, credit,
warranties, etc.?
Are there any special services?
If they are a store-type business, what is their staff
like (experience, customer respect, customer
focus)?
What kinds of promotions/ advertising do they do?
What is their company image like to the average
customer?
35

General Market Information
• The physical/geographical area (traffic flow,
development plans, history, growth pattern).
• The industry as a whole.
• The economy as a whole.

36

Analyzing Market Research Data
• Once you have collected as much data as
you reasonably can, you need to organize it
by the SWOT format;
• S = Strengths
• W= Weaknesses
• O= Opportunities
• T= Threats
37

SWOT Grid
My Business

Its Environment

Strengths

Opportunities

Weaknesses

Threats

38

The SWOT Grid
• In the grid, you evaluate your business or
business potentials and its weaknesses.
• When you evaluate the environment, where
do you see chances for growth and what
might slow your business ?.

39

Marketing Research
• Where we can get market information;
-The Internet brings information to your finger
tips.
-Visit a food store and just look around not only in
the area that you want to enter but other food
groups ( e.g. what are the dairy foods people doing
that I can adopt?).
-Talk to people in the business from entrepreneurs
to store owners, brokers, sales representatives, etc.
Most people like to help others and will tell you
more than you ever dreamed.
40

Market Research
• Market research identifies the available
market, discovers the best method to reach
the target market and asks what the
customer needs and wants. Market research
is a simple, structured, objective way of
learning about people- the people who will
buy your product or service.
41

RESOURCES
• There are 2 keys sources of information
1)A book entitled From Kitchen to Market by
Stephan F Hall. Sold via Amazon.com for about
$20- A complete, easy to understand book on
taking a food product to market.
2)The Arkansas Small Business Development Center
in Little Rock (501/324-9043) has a resource
library that contains many references and a
brochure entitled Market Designs that will help.
42

43

44

CONCLUSIONS
• This module should have made you think about
the purpose and goals of marketing and how to do
market research.
• Marketing is probably the single most important
aspect in starting and maintaining a food business.
• Whether you are starting a new food business or
maintaining an existing business, it is important
that you constantly monitor your marketing
efforts.
45

46


Slide 22

INTRODUCTION TO FOOD
MARKETING
3116
Steven C Seideman
Extension Food Processing Specialist
Cooperative Extension Service
1

INTRODUCTION
• To many people, “MARKETING” means either
selling or advertising of your business.
• Jay Levinson in his book “ Guerilla Marketing”
defines marketing as “everything you do to
promote your business from the moment you think
of the idea until the customers buy and begin to do
so on a regular basis”.

2

THE GOAL OF BUSINESS
• Two theories on what the goal of business is;
1) The goal of business is profit, and profit means
the firm survives and has a chance to grow.
2) The goal of business is to get and keep a
customer. Profit is implied because if you don’t
make a profit, you will not be around to keep
your customer.
You choose which goal you want to accept. The
bottom line is that a profit must be made.
3

SELLING vs MARKETING
• SELLING asks the question “ How do I get the
customer to buy my product?”
• MARKETING takes a broader view and asks
“What does the customer want to buy ?” The
business owner needs to attract new audiences,
study the competition and develop his or her
product or service so that it appeals to a highly
discriminating audience.
4

MARKETING AS A PROCESS

5

MARKETING AS A PROCESS
• The successful marketing process includes;
1)Determining what the customer needs and wants.
2)Developing a product or service to meet those
needs or wants.
3)Understanding the competition and what they
offer.
4)Linking with the customer as a source for fulfilling
his or her needs and wants.
5)Doing all of this at a price that provides a profit so
that the business can continue to grow.
6

Determining What the Customer
Needs or Wants
• A successful business owner analyzes the
market. He or she defines the particular
market segment most likely to purchase
their product or service. The owner then
determines the specific benefits desired by
the customer.

7

Developing a Product or Service
to Meet those Needs or Wants
• Upon understanding what benefits are wanted, the
owner develops a product or service, the features
of which provide the customer with the requested
benefits. Marketing is selling these benefits rather
than the features.
• A feature is any prominent or distinctive aspect,
quality or characteristic. A benefit is what that
feature gives the customer.
• An example would be a reclosable package. The
feature is reclosable: The benefit to the customer
is that it can be reclosed and stored for later use. 8

Understanding the Competition
and What They Offer
• Customers face a large marketplace. A
successful business owner is able to define a
target market and distinguish his or her
business from the competition.
• Walk down an aisle in any food store, look
at all the different brands of a particular
type of product and see how each brand
tries to provide benefits to the customer.
9

10

Linking the Customer as a Source
for Fulfilling His or Her Needs
and Wants
• The successful business owner must let the
customer know he or she is in business. The owner
must also tell the customer how they can meet
their needs, a function known as advertising.
• Types of advertising include radio, TV, newspaper
and magazines, flyers, billboards, web-advertising,
etc.
• The business owner must figure out the most cost
effective way of getting to the target audience.
11

Doing All of this at a Price that
Provides a Profit so the Business
can Continue
• This implies a price of products or services
that allows both the customer and the owner
to feel good about the transaction.
• The business owner must make a profit so
that he or she can stay in business to
continue providing that product or service.
12

MARKETING ACTIVITIES

13

Marketing Activities
• There are basically 4 major categories of
marketing activities known as the 4 P’s:
1)Positioning
2)Production
3)Pricing
4)Promotion
14

Positioning
• Positioning is defining the purpose of your
product or service as it benefits a potential
customer. Positioning is finding a market niche. It
creates a perception of special value and benefits
in your product or service. Developing one’s
position is one of the major goals of the marketing
process.
• An example of positioning is the fast food chain’s
hamburger businesses positioning themselves as
low cost versus another that features customer
choice (“Have it your way” ).
15

Positioning
• Place (where the goods or services are
marketed) and packaging (how the goods or
services are displayed ) are extremely
important. If a product or service appeals to
walk-in traffic, your location must be where
such traffic occurs, not in a limited traffic
area. If you are developing a product for an
upscale market, the packaging must reflect
the image you are trying to attain.
16

Production
• Successful marketing achieves business
growth. The owner must have anticipated
and planned for this growth in the
production process. The inability to fill
orders can quickly strangle a firm’s growth
and even cause the firm to go out of
business.
17

Courtesy of USDA

18

Pricing
• Pricing is a key factor to business success.
• Pricing can be done as a “wild guess”, based on
what the competition charges or as a cost-buildup
process.
• I strongly prefer the cost buildup model whereby
you list all your costs (raw materials, processing
costs, packaging, promotion, salaries, distribution,
etc.) and then add a profit margin.
• Go to another module to learn the cost buildup
details.
19

Pricing
• Look at what the competition charges as compared
to your cost. How can you do it cheaper or better
than the competition?
• Are people willing to pay that price for your
product or service?.
• How about running promotions on your product or
services so people will try it - buy one, get one
free, coupons with a certain amount off ?
• Most new entrepreneurs tend to underprice their
products and services.
20

Promotion
• This addresses the question “How will people
know about my product or service ?”
• Promotions include paid advertising such as radio,
TV, newspaper, etc, and unpaid publicity such as
press releases, etc. Promotions may also include
trade shows, mailings, internet, in-store demos,
etc.
• Promotional efforts must occur in the media that
your perspective customers use.
• Successful promotional efforts focus on the
benefits of your product or service
• Benefits can be convenience (precooked,
21
reclosable packaging), fun, good health, etc.

22

Promotion
• Customers do not buy a product or service for its
features.They buy it for what it can do for them.
• Learn to romanticize your product. Watch TV ads–
wearing certain brands of trousers make you more
appealing to the opposite sex. Laugh? It works.
Watch some TV ads- what is the message they are
sending?
• Brand loyalty; brand-conscious society
• Develop sales literature- price list, catalog sheet,
product information sheet, point of purchase info.
23

Your Company IMAGE
• Although not traditionally thought of as
marketing, I am a believer in how customers
perceive your company’s image.
• Your letters and correspondence- Professional. Are
your telephones answered professionally ?
• Are your salespersons ethical? Is your receptionist
cheerful, optimistic, properly attired ?
• What about your business facility- people like to
work with professional organizations and your
office and facilities tell them about your
professionalism.
24

Your Company IMAGE
• Business owners must remain aware of the
customer’s perception of the business and move
quickly to correct any negative images.
• Do you contribute to the community or show any
concern for the environment.
• Do the people within your organization project the
image of the company in a favorable way?

25

Service After the Sales
• Effective Marketing must continue with the
product or service after the final sale.
• This support includes service, assistance,
warranties, returns and refunds.

26

Service
• Advertising is expensive. It gets the
customer to try your product or service. It is
a good start but remember, the goal is to
have customer’s repeat business.
• Over time, you will notice that 80% of your
sales will come from just 20% of your total
customers.
27

MARKET RESEARCH

28

Market Research
• Before one starts a business and even periodically
while in business, one should conduct market
research.
• Market research is an organized process to gather,
analyze, interpret and utilize relevant information
about the business environment for the purposes
of making accurate business decisions.
• Market research focuses on potential customers,
existing customers, the competition and the
business environment .
29

Market Research
• The ultimate goal of market research is business
success.
• The objective of market research is to;
1)Identify potential target markets.
2)Identify customer needs and wants.
3)Determine if the product or service meets customer
needs.
4)Determine the best promotion technique for each
market.
5)Examine the competition.
30

Market Research
• The purpose of market research data is to help the
business owner make better decisions.
• Using market research, the business owner can
develop an accurate understanding of the potential
customer.
• The goal of market research is to reveal unfilled
needs in the form of a market niche, customer’s
needs, a competitor’s weakness or an unused
marketing strategy. The ultimate goal is to
increase the business’ sales and profits.
31

Doing Market Research
• Anyone can do market research to some
extent.
• Basically, you want to gather information
about;
1)Your customers or potential customers
2)Your competition
3)General market information
Let’s go through each in greater detail.
32

About your Customers or
Potential Customers
• General demographic information such as – age,
where they live, where they work, race, gender,
marital status, income, number of children,
education, home ownership, lifestyle
• Needs, wants and desired benefits
• Past and future purchases (What, when, why,
where, how much)
• Products and services that compliment or
substitute
• Use of various media (radio, TV, newspaper,
magazines, etc.)
33

Warranty Cards
• Whenever you buy any appliance and certain
goods, you are requested to fill out a warranty
card. If you fill out the warranty card, the product
you bought will be under warranty for some
specified period of time. Note how much the
information on the warranty card parallels the
demographic information on the previous page.
• Warranty cards serve as a prime method of
collecting marketing information.
34

About the Competition
•
•
•
•
•
•

•
•

Who are they?
What products and/or services do they offer?
What is the price range of products and services?
What are their policies on returns, credit,
warranties, etc.?
Are there any special services?
If they are a store-type business, what is their staff
like (experience, customer respect, customer
focus)?
What kinds of promotions/ advertising do they do?
What is their company image like to the average
customer?
35

General Market Information
• The physical/geographical area (traffic flow,
development plans, history, growth pattern).
• The industry as a whole.
• The economy as a whole.

36

Analyzing Market Research Data
• Once you have collected as much data as
you reasonably can, you need to organize it
by the SWOT format;
• S = Strengths
• W= Weaknesses
• O= Opportunities
• T= Threats
37

SWOT Grid
My Business

Its Environment

Strengths

Opportunities

Weaknesses

Threats

38

The SWOT Grid
• In the grid, you evaluate your business or
business potentials and its weaknesses.
• When you evaluate the environment, where
do you see chances for growth and what
might slow your business ?.

39

Marketing Research
• Where we can get market information;
-The Internet brings information to your finger
tips.
-Visit a food store and just look around not only in
the area that you want to enter but other food
groups ( e.g. what are the dairy foods people doing
that I can adopt?).
-Talk to people in the business from entrepreneurs
to store owners, brokers, sales representatives, etc.
Most people like to help others and will tell you
more than you ever dreamed.
40

Market Research
• Market research identifies the available
market, discovers the best method to reach
the target market and asks what the
customer needs and wants. Market research
is a simple, structured, objective way of
learning about people- the people who will
buy your product or service.
41

RESOURCES
• There are 2 keys sources of information
1)A book entitled From Kitchen to Market by
Stephan F Hall. Sold via Amazon.com for about
$20- A complete, easy to understand book on
taking a food product to market.
2)The Arkansas Small Business Development Center
in Little Rock (501/324-9043) has a resource
library that contains many references and a
brochure entitled Market Designs that will help.
42

43

44

CONCLUSIONS
• This module should have made you think about
the purpose and goals of marketing and how to do
market research.
• Marketing is probably the single most important
aspect in starting and maintaining a food business.
• Whether you are starting a new food business or
maintaining an existing business, it is important
that you constantly monitor your marketing
efforts.
45

46


Slide 23

INTRODUCTION TO FOOD
MARKETING
3116
Steven C Seideman
Extension Food Processing Specialist
Cooperative Extension Service
1

INTRODUCTION
• To many people, “MARKETING” means either
selling or advertising of your business.
• Jay Levinson in his book “ Guerilla Marketing”
defines marketing as “everything you do to
promote your business from the moment you think
of the idea until the customers buy and begin to do
so on a regular basis”.

2

THE GOAL OF BUSINESS
• Two theories on what the goal of business is;
1) The goal of business is profit, and profit means
the firm survives and has a chance to grow.
2) The goal of business is to get and keep a
customer. Profit is implied because if you don’t
make a profit, you will not be around to keep
your customer.
You choose which goal you want to accept. The
bottom line is that a profit must be made.
3

SELLING vs MARKETING
• SELLING asks the question “ How do I get the
customer to buy my product?”
• MARKETING takes a broader view and asks
“What does the customer want to buy ?” The
business owner needs to attract new audiences,
study the competition and develop his or her
product or service so that it appeals to a highly
discriminating audience.
4

MARKETING AS A PROCESS

5

MARKETING AS A PROCESS
• The successful marketing process includes;
1)Determining what the customer needs and wants.
2)Developing a product or service to meet those
needs or wants.
3)Understanding the competition and what they
offer.
4)Linking with the customer as a source for fulfilling
his or her needs and wants.
5)Doing all of this at a price that provides a profit so
that the business can continue to grow.
6

Determining What the Customer
Needs or Wants
• A successful business owner analyzes the
market. He or she defines the particular
market segment most likely to purchase
their product or service. The owner then
determines the specific benefits desired by
the customer.

7

Developing a Product or Service
to Meet those Needs or Wants
• Upon understanding what benefits are wanted, the
owner develops a product or service, the features
of which provide the customer with the requested
benefits. Marketing is selling these benefits rather
than the features.
• A feature is any prominent or distinctive aspect,
quality or characteristic. A benefit is what that
feature gives the customer.
• An example would be a reclosable package. The
feature is reclosable: The benefit to the customer
is that it can be reclosed and stored for later use. 8

Understanding the Competition
and What They Offer
• Customers face a large marketplace. A
successful business owner is able to define a
target market and distinguish his or her
business from the competition.
• Walk down an aisle in any food store, look
at all the different brands of a particular
type of product and see how each brand
tries to provide benefits to the customer.
9

10

Linking the Customer as a Source
for Fulfilling His or Her Needs
and Wants
• The successful business owner must let the
customer know he or she is in business. The owner
must also tell the customer how they can meet
their needs, a function known as advertising.
• Types of advertising include radio, TV, newspaper
and magazines, flyers, billboards, web-advertising,
etc.
• The business owner must figure out the most cost
effective way of getting to the target audience.
11

Doing All of this at a Price that
Provides a Profit so the Business
can Continue
• This implies a price of products or services
that allows both the customer and the owner
to feel good about the transaction.
• The business owner must make a profit so
that he or she can stay in business to
continue providing that product or service.
12

MARKETING ACTIVITIES

13

Marketing Activities
• There are basically 4 major categories of
marketing activities known as the 4 P’s:
1)Positioning
2)Production
3)Pricing
4)Promotion
14

Positioning
• Positioning is defining the purpose of your
product or service as it benefits a potential
customer. Positioning is finding a market niche. It
creates a perception of special value and benefits
in your product or service. Developing one’s
position is one of the major goals of the marketing
process.
• An example of positioning is the fast food chain’s
hamburger businesses positioning themselves as
low cost versus another that features customer
choice (“Have it your way” ).
15

Positioning
• Place (where the goods or services are
marketed) and packaging (how the goods or
services are displayed ) are extremely
important. If a product or service appeals to
walk-in traffic, your location must be where
such traffic occurs, not in a limited traffic
area. If you are developing a product for an
upscale market, the packaging must reflect
the image you are trying to attain.
16

Production
• Successful marketing achieves business
growth. The owner must have anticipated
and planned for this growth in the
production process. The inability to fill
orders can quickly strangle a firm’s growth
and even cause the firm to go out of
business.
17

Courtesy of USDA

18

Pricing
• Pricing is a key factor to business success.
• Pricing can be done as a “wild guess”, based on
what the competition charges or as a cost-buildup
process.
• I strongly prefer the cost buildup model whereby
you list all your costs (raw materials, processing
costs, packaging, promotion, salaries, distribution,
etc.) and then add a profit margin.
• Go to another module to learn the cost buildup
details.
19

Pricing
• Look at what the competition charges as compared
to your cost. How can you do it cheaper or better
than the competition?
• Are people willing to pay that price for your
product or service?.
• How about running promotions on your product or
services so people will try it - buy one, get one
free, coupons with a certain amount off ?
• Most new entrepreneurs tend to underprice their
products and services.
20

Promotion
• This addresses the question “How will people
know about my product or service ?”
• Promotions include paid advertising such as radio,
TV, newspaper, etc, and unpaid publicity such as
press releases, etc. Promotions may also include
trade shows, mailings, internet, in-store demos,
etc.
• Promotional efforts must occur in the media that
your perspective customers use.
• Successful promotional efforts focus on the
benefits of your product or service
• Benefits can be convenience (precooked,
21
reclosable packaging), fun, good health, etc.

22

Promotion
• Customers do not buy a product or service for its
features.They buy it for what it can do for them.
• Learn to romanticize your product. Watch TV ads–
wearing certain brands of trousers make you more
appealing to the opposite sex. Laugh? It works.
Watch some TV ads- what is the message they are
sending?
• Brand loyalty; brand-conscious society
• Develop sales literature- price list, catalog sheet,
product information sheet, point of purchase info.
23

Your Company IMAGE
• Although not traditionally thought of as
marketing, I am a believer in how customers
perceive your company’s image.
• Your letters and correspondence- Professional. Are
your telephones answered professionally ?
• Are your salespersons ethical? Is your receptionist
cheerful, optimistic, properly attired ?
• What about your business facility- people like to
work with professional organizations and your
office and facilities tell them about your
professionalism.
24

Your Company IMAGE
• Business owners must remain aware of the
customer’s perception of the business and move
quickly to correct any negative images.
• Do you contribute to the community or show any
concern for the environment.
• Do the people within your organization project the
image of the company in a favorable way?

25

Service After the Sales
• Effective Marketing must continue with the
product or service after the final sale.
• This support includes service, assistance,
warranties, returns and refunds.

26

Service
• Advertising is expensive. It gets the
customer to try your product or service. It is
a good start but remember, the goal is to
have customer’s repeat business.
• Over time, you will notice that 80% of your
sales will come from just 20% of your total
customers.
27

MARKET RESEARCH

28

Market Research
• Before one starts a business and even periodically
while in business, one should conduct market
research.
• Market research is an organized process to gather,
analyze, interpret and utilize relevant information
about the business environment for the purposes
of making accurate business decisions.
• Market research focuses on potential customers,
existing customers, the competition and the
business environment .
29

Market Research
• The ultimate goal of market research is business
success.
• The objective of market research is to;
1)Identify potential target markets.
2)Identify customer needs and wants.
3)Determine if the product or service meets customer
needs.
4)Determine the best promotion technique for each
market.
5)Examine the competition.
30

Market Research
• The purpose of market research data is to help the
business owner make better decisions.
• Using market research, the business owner can
develop an accurate understanding of the potential
customer.
• The goal of market research is to reveal unfilled
needs in the form of a market niche, customer’s
needs, a competitor’s weakness or an unused
marketing strategy. The ultimate goal is to
increase the business’ sales and profits.
31

Doing Market Research
• Anyone can do market research to some
extent.
• Basically, you want to gather information
about;
1)Your customers or potential customers
2)Your competition
3)General market information
Let’s go through each in greater detail.
32

About your Customers or
Potential Customers
• General demographic information such as – age,
where they live, where they work, race, gender,
marital status, income, number of children,
education, home ownership, lifestyle
• Needs, wants and desired benefits
• Past and future purchases (What, when, why,
where, how much)
• Products and services that compliment or
substitute
• Use of various media (radio, TV, newspaper,
magazines, etc.)
33

Warranty Cards
• Whenever you buy any appliance and certain
goods, you are requested to fill out a warranty
card. If you fill out the warranty card, the product
you bought will be under warranty for some
specified period of time. Note how much the
information on the warranty card parallels the
demographic information on the previous page.
• Warranty cards serve as a prime method of
collecting marketing information.
34

About the Competition
•
•
•
•
•
•

•
•

Who are they?
What products and/or services do they offer?
What is the price range of products and services?
What are their policies on returns, credit,
warranties, etc.?
Are there any special services?
If they are a store-type business, what is their staff
like (experience, customer respect, customer
focus)?
What kinds of promotions/ advertising do they do?
What is their company image like to the average
customer?
35

General Market Information
• The physical/geographical area (traffic flow,
development plans, history, growth pattern).
• The industry as a whole.
• The economy as a whole.

36

Analyzing Market Research Data
• Once you have collected as much data as
you reasonably can, you need to organize it
by the SWOT format;
• S = Strengths
• W= Weaknesses
• O= Opportunities
• T= Threats
37

SWOT Grid
My Business

Its Environment

Strengths

Opportunities

Weaknesses

Threats

38

The SWOT Grid
• In the grid, you evaluate your business or
business potentials and its weaknesses.
• When you evaluate the environment, where
do you see chances for growth and what
might slow your business ?.

39

Marketing Research
• Where we can get market information;
-The Internet brings information to your finger
tips.
-Visit a food store and just look around not only in
the area that you want to enter but other food
groups ( e.g. what are the dairy foods people doing
that I can adopt?).
-Talk to people in the business from entrepreneurs
to store owners, brokers, sales representatives, etc.
Most people like to help others and will tell you
more than you ever dreamed.
40

Market Research
• Market research identifies the available
market, discovers the best method to reach
the target market and asks what the
customer needs and wants. Market research
is a simple, structured, objective way of
learning about people- the people who will
buy your product or service.
41

RESOURCES
• There are 2 keys sources of information
1)A book entitled From Kitchen to Market by
Stephan F Hall. Sold via Amazon.com for about
$20- A complete, easy to understand book on
taking a food product to market.
2)The Arkansas Small Business Development Center
in Little Rock (501/324-9043) has a resource
library that contains many references and a
brochure entitled Market Designs that will help.
42

43

44

CONCLUSIONS
• This module should have made you think about
the purpose and goals of marketing and how to do
market research.
• Marketing is probably the single most important
aspect in starting and maintaining a food business.
• Whether you are starting a new food business or
maintaining an existing business, it is important
that you constantly monitor your marketing
efforts.
45

46


Slide 24

INTRODUCTION TO FOOD
MARKETING
3116
Steven C Seideman
Extension Food Processing Specialist
Cooperative Extension Service
1

INTRODUCTION
• To many people, “MARKETING” means either
selling or advertising of your business.
• Jay Levinson in his book “ Guerilla Marketing”
defines marketing as “everything you do to
promote your business from the moment you think
of the idea until the customers buy and begin to do
so on a regular basis”.

2

THE GOAL OF BUSINESS
• Two theories on what the goal of business is;
1) The goal of business is profit, and profit means
the firm survives and has a chance to grow.
2) The goal of business is to get and keep a
customer. Profit is implied because if you don’t
make a profit, you will not be around to keep
your customer.
You choose which goal you want to accept. The
bottom line is that a profit must be made.
3

SELLING vs MARKETING
• SELLING asks the question “ How do I get the
customer to buy my product?”
• MARKETING takes a broader view and asks
“What does the customer want to buy ?” The
business owner needs to attract new audiences,
study the competition and develop his or her
product or service so that it appeals to a highly
discriminating audience.
4

MARKETING AS A PROCESS

5

MARKETING AS A PROCESS
• The successful marketing process includes;
1)Determining what the customer needs and wants.
2)Developing a product or service to meet those
needs or wants.
3)Understanding the competition and what they
offer.
4)Linking with the customer as a source for fulfilling
his or her needs and wants.
5)Doing all of this at a price that provides a profit so
that the business can continue to grow.
6

Determining What the Customer
Needs or Wants
• A successful business owner analyzes the
market. He or she defines the particular
market segment most likely to purchase
their product or service. The owner then
determines the specific benefits desired by
the customer.

7

Developing a Product or Service
to Meet those Needs or Wants
• Upon understanding what benefits are wanted, the
owner develops a product or service, the features
of which provide the customer with the requested
benefits. Marketing is selling these benefits rather
than the features.
• A feature is any prominent or distinctive aspect,
quality or characteristic. A benefit is what that
feature gives the customer.
• An example would be a reclosable package. The
feature is reclosable: The benefit to the customer
is that it can be reclosed and stored for later use. 8

Understanding the Competition
and What They Offer
• Customers face a large marketplace. A
successful business owner is able to define a
target market and distinguish his or her
business from the competition.
• Walk down an aisle in any food store, look
at all the different brands of a particular
type of product and see how each brand
tries to provide benefits to the customer.
9

10

Linking the Customer as a Source
for Fulfilling His or Her Needs
and Wants
• The successful business owner must let the
customer know he or she is in business. The owner
must also tell the customer how they can meet
their needs, a function known as advertising.
• Types of advertising include radio, TV, newspaper
and magazines, flyers, billboards, web-advertising,
etc.
• The business owner must figure out the most cost
effective way of getting to the target audience.
11

Doing All of this at a Price that
Provides a Profit so the Business
can Continue
• This implies a price of products or services
that allows both the customer and the owner
to feel good about the transaction.
• The business owner must make a profit so
that he or she can stay in business to
continue providing that product or service.
12

MARKETING ACTIVITIES

13

Marketing Activities
• There are basically 4 major categories of
marketing activities known as the 4 P’s:
1)Positioning
2)Production
3)Pricing
4)Promotion
14

Positioning
• Positioning is defining the purpose of your
product or service as it benefits a potential
customer. Positioning is finding a market niche. It
creates a perception of special value and benefits
in your product or service. Developing one’s
position is one of the major goals of the marketing
process.
• An example of positioning is the fast food chain’s
hamburger businesses positioning themselves as
low cost versus another that features customer
choice (“Have it your way” ).
15

Positioning
• Place (where the goods or services are
marketed) and packaging (how the goods or
services are displayed ) are extremely
important. If a product or service appeals to
walk-in traffic, your location must be where
such traffic occurs, not in a limited traffic
area. If you are developing a product for an
upscale market, the packaging must reflect
the image you are trying to attain.
16

Production
• Successful marketing achieves business
growth. The owner must have anticipated
and planned for this growth in the
production process. The inability to fill
orders can quickly strangle a firm’s growth
and even cause the firm to go out of
business.
17

Courtesy of USDA

18

Pricing
• Pricing is a key factor to business success.
• Pricing can be done as a “wild guess”, based on
what the competition charges or as a cost-buildup
process.
• I strongly prefer the cost buildup model whereby
you list all your costs (raw materials, processing
costs, packaging, promotion, salaries, distribution,
etc.) and then add a profit margin.
• Go to another module to learn the cost buildup
details.
19

Pricing
• Look at what the competition charges as compared
to your cost. How can you do it cheaper or better
than the competition?
• Are people willing to pay that price for your
product or service?.
• How about running promotions on your product or
services so people will try it - buy one, get one
free, coupons with a certain amount off ?
• Most new entrepreneurs tend to underprice their
products and services.
20

Promotion
• This addresses the question “How will people
know about my product or service ?”
• Promotions include paid advertising such as radio,
TV, newspaper, etc, and unpaid publicity such as
press releases, etc. Promotions may also include
trade shows, mailings, internet, in-store demos,
etc.
• Promotional efforts must occur in the media that
your perspective customers use.
• Successful promotional efforts focus on the
benefits of your product or service
• Benefits can be convenience (precooked,
21
reclosable packaging), fun, good health, etc.

22

Promotion
• Customers do not buy a product or service for its
features.They buy it for what it can do for them.
• Learn to romanticize your product. Watch TV ads–
wearing certain brands of trousers make you more
appealing to the opposite sex. Laugh? It works.
Watch some TV ads- what is the message they are
sending?
• Brand loyalty; brand-conscious society
• Develop sales literature- price list, catalog sheet,
product information sheet, point of purchase info.
23

Your Company IMAGE
• Although not traditionally thought of as
marketing, I am a believer in how customers
perceive your company’s image.
• Your letters and correspondence- Professional. Are
your telephones answered professionally ?
• Are your salespersons ethical? Is your receptionist
cheerful, optimistic, properly attired ?
• What about your business facility- people like to
work with professional organizations and your
office and facilities tell them about your
professionalism.
24

Your Company IMAGE
• Business owners must remain aware of the
customer’s perception of the business and move
quickly to correct any negative images.
• Do you contribute to the community or show any
concern for the environment.
• Do the people within your organization project the
image of the company in a favorable way?

25

Service After the Sales
• Effective Marketing must continue with the
product or service after the final sale.
• This support includes service, assistance,
warranties, returns and refunds.

26

Service
• Advertising is expensive. It gets the
customer to try your product or service. It is
a good start but remember, the goal is to
have customer’s repeat business.
• Over time, you will notice that 80% of your
sales will come from just 20% of your total
customers.
27

MARKET RESEARCH

28

Market Research
• Before one starts a business and even periodically
while in business, one should conduct market
research.
• Market research is an organized process to gather,
analyze, interpret and utilize relevant information
about the business environment for the purposes
of making accurate business decisions.
• Market research focuses on potential customers,
existing customers, the competition and the
business environment .
29

Market Research
• The ultimate goal of market research is business
success.
• The objective of market research is to;
1)Identify potential target markets.
2)Identify customer needs and wants.
3)Determine if the product or service meets customer
needs.
4)Determine the best promotion technique for each
market.
5)Examine the competition.
30

Market Research
• The purpose of market research data is to help the
business owner make better decisions.
• Using market research, the business owner can
develop an accurate understanding of the potential
customer.
• The goal of market research is to reveal unfilled
needs in the form of a market niche, customer’s
needs, a competitor’s weakness or an unused
marketing strategy. The ultimate goal is to
increase the business’ sales and profits.
31

Doing Market Research
• Anyone can do market research to some
extent.
• Basically, you want to gather information
about;
1)Your customers or potential customers
2)Your competition
3)General market information
Let’s go through each in greater detail.
32

About your Customers or
Potential Customers
• General demographic information such as – age,
where they live, where they work, race, gender,
marital status, income, number of children,
education, home ownership, lifestyle
• Needs, wants and desired benefits
• Past and future purchases (What, when, why,
where, how much)
• Products and services that compliment or
substitute
• Use of various media (radio, TV, newspaper,
magazines, etc.)
33

Warranty Cards
• Whenever you buy any appliance and certain
goods, you are requested to fill out a warranty
card. If you fill out the warranty card, the product
you bought will be under warranty for some
specified period of time. Note how much the
information on the warranty card parallels the
demographic information on the previous page.
• Warranty cards serve as a prime method of
collecting marketing information.
34

About the Competition
•
•
•
•
•
•

•
•

Who are they?
What products and/or services do they offer?
What is the price range of products and services?
What are their policies on returns, credit,
warranties, etc.?
Are there any special services?
If they are a store-type business, what is their staff
like (experience, customer respect, customer
focus)?
What kinds of promotions/ advertising do they do?
What is their company image like to the average
customer?
35

General Market Information
• The physical/geographical area (traffic flow,
development plans, history, growth pattern).
• The industry as a whole.
• The economy as a whole.

36

Analyzing Market Research Data
• Once you have collected as much data as
you reasonably can, you need to organize it
by the SWOT format;
• S = Strengths
• W= Weaknesses
• O= Opportunities
• T= Threats
37

SWOT Grid
My Business

Its Environment

Strengths

Opportunities

Weaknesses

Threats

38

The SWOT Grid
• In the grid, you evaluate your business or
business potentials and its weaknesses.
• When you evaluate the environment, where
do you see chances for growth and what
might slow your business ?.

39

Marketing Research
• Where we can get market information;
-The Internet brings information to your finger
tips.
-Visit a food store and just look around not only in
the area that you want to enter but other food
groups ( e.g. what are the dairy foods people doing
that I can adopt?).
-Talk to people in the business from entrepreneurs
to store owners, brokers, sales representatives, etc.
Most people like to help others and will tell you
more than you ever dreamed.
40

Market Research
• Market research identifies the available
market, discovers the best method to reach
the target market and asks what the
customer needs and wants. Market research
is a simple, structured, objective way of
learning about people- the people who will
buy your product or service.
41

RESOURCES
• There are 2 keys sources of information
1)A book entitled From Kitchen to Market by
Stephan F Hall. Sold via Amazon.com for about
$20- A complete, easy to understand book on
taking a food product to market.
2)The Arkansas Small Business Development Center
in Little Rock (501/324-9043) has a resource
library that contains many references and a
brochure entitled Market Designs that will help.
42

43

44

CONCLUSIONS
• This module should have made you think about
the purpose and goals of marketing and how to do
market research.
• Marketing is probably the single most important
aspect in starting and maintaining a food business.
• Whether you are starting a new food business or
maintaining an existing business, it is important
that you constantly monitor your marketing
efforts.
45

46


Slide 25

INTRODUCTION TO FOOD
MARKETING
3116
Steven C Seideman
Extension Food Processing Specialist
Cooperative Extension Service
1

INTRODUCTION
• To many people, “MARKETING” means either
selling or advertising of your business.
• Jay Levinson in his book “ Guerilla Marketing”
defines marketing as “everything you do to
promote your business from the moment you think
of the idea until the customers buy and begin to do
so on a regular basis”.

2

THE GOAL OF BUSINESS
• Two theories on what the goal of business is;
1) The goal of business is profit, and profit means
the firm survives and has a chance to grow.
2) The goal of business is to get and keep a
customer. Profit is implied because if you don’t
make a profit, you will not be around to keep
your customer.
You choose which goal you want to accept. The
bottom line is that a profit must be made.
3

SELLING vs MARKETING
• SELLING asks the question “ How do I get the
customer to buy my product?”
• MARKETING takes a broader view and asks
“What does the customer want to buy ?” The
business owner needs to attract new audiences,
study the competition and develop his or her
product or service so that it appeals to a highly
discriminating audience.
4

MARKETING AS A PROCESS

5

MARKETING AS A PROCESS
• The successful marketing process includes;
1)Determining what the customer needs and wants.
2)Developing a product or service to meet those
needs or wants.
3)Understanding the competition and what they
offer.
4)Linking with the customer as a source for fulfilling
his or her needs and wants.
5)Doing all of this at a price that provides a profit so
that the business can continue to grow.
6

Determining What the Customer
Needs or Wants
• A successful business owner analyzes the
market. He or she defines the particular
market segment most likely to purchase
their product or service. The owner then
determines the specific benefits desired by
the customer.

7

Developing a Product or Service
to Meet those Needs or Wants
• Upon understanding what benefits are wanted, the
owner develops a product or service, the features
of which provide the customer with the requested
benefits. Marketing is selling these benefits rather
than the features.
• A feature is any prominent or distinctive aspect,
quality or characteristic. A benefit is what that
feature gives the customer.
• An example would be a reclosable package. The
feature is reclosable: The benefit to the customer
is that it can be reclosed and stored for later use. 8

Understanding the Competition
and What They Offer
• Customers face a large marketplace. A
successful business owner is able to define a
target market and distinguish his or her
business from the competition.
• Walk down an aisle in any food store, look
at all the different brands of a particular
type of product and see how each brand
tries to provide benefits to the customer.
9

10

Linking the Customer as a Source
for Fulfilling His or Her Needs
and Wants
• The successful business owner must let the
customer know he or she is in business. The owner
must also tell the customer how they can meet
their needs, a function known as advertising.
• Types of advertising include radio, TV, newspaper
and magazines, flyers, billboards, web-advertising,
etc.
• The business owner must figure out the most cost
effective way of getting to the target audience.
11

Doing All of this at a Price that
Provides a Profit so the Business
can Continue
• This implies a price of products or services
that allows both the customer and the owner
to feel good about the transaction.
• The business owner must make a profit so
that he or she can stay in business to
continue providing that product or service.
12

MARKETING ACTIVITIES

13

Marketing Activities
• There are basically 4 major categories of
marketing activities known as the 4 P’s:
1)Positioning
2)Production
3)Pricing
4)Promotion
14

Positioning
• Positioning is defining the purpose of your
product or service as it benefits a potential
customer. Positioning is finding a market niche. It
creates a perception of special value and benefits
in your product or service. Developing one’s
position is one of the major goals of the marketing
process.
• An example of positioning is the fast food chain’s
hamburger businesses positioning themselves as
low cost versus another that features customer
choice (“Have it your way” ).
15

Positioning
• Place (where the goods or services are
marketed) and packaging (how the goods or
services are displayed ) are extremely
important. If a product or service appeals to
walk-in traffic, your location must be where
such traffic occurs, not in a limited traffic
area. If you are developing a product for an
upscale market, the packaging must reflect
the image you are trying to attain.
16

Production
• Successful marketing achieves business
growth. The owner must have anticipated
and planned for this growth in the
production process. The inability to fill
orders can quickly strangle a firm’s growth
and even cause the firm to go out of
business.
17

Courtesy of USDA

18

Pricing
• Pricing is a key factor to business success.
• Pricing can be done as a “wild guess”, based on
what the competition charges or as a cost-buildup
process.
• I strongly prefer the cost buildup model whereby
you list all your costs (raw materials, processing
costs, packaging, promotion, salaries, distribution,
etc.) and then add a profit margin.
• Go to another module to learn the cost buildup
details.
19

Pricing
• Look at what the competition charges as compared
to your cost. How can you do it cheaper or better
than the competition?
• Are people willing to pay that price for your
product or service?.
• How about running promotions on your product or
services so people will try it - buy one, get one
free, coupons with a certain amount off ?
• Most new entrepreneurs tend to underprice their
products and services.
20

Promotion
• This addresses the question “How will people
know about my product or service ?”
• Promotions include paid advertising such as radio,
TV, newspaper, etc, and unpaid publicity such as
press releases, etc. Promotions may also include
trade shows, mailings, internet, in-store demos,
etc.
• Promotional efforts must occur in the media that
your perspective customers use.
• Successful promotional efforts focus on the
benefits of your product or service
• Benefits can be convenience (precooked,
21
reclosable packaging), fun, good health, etc.

22

Promotion
• Customers do not buy a product or service for its
features.They buy it for what it can do for them.
• Learn to romanticize your product. Watch TV ads–
wearing certain brands of trousers make you more
appealing to the opposite sex. Laugh? It works.
Watch some TV ads- what is the message they are
sending?
• Brand loyalty; brand-conscious society
• Develop sales literature- price list, catalog sheet,
product information sheet, point of purchase info.
23

Your Company IMAGE
• Although not traditionally thought of as
marketing, I am a believer in how customers
perceive your company’s image.
• Your letters and correspondence- Professional. Are
your telephones answered professionally ?
• Are your salespersons ethical? Is your receptionist
cheerful, optimistic, properly attired ?
• What about your business facility- people like to
work with professional organizations and your
office and facilities tell them about your
professionalism.
24

Your Company IMAGE
• Business owners must remain aware of the
customer’s perception of the business and move
quickly to correct any negative images.
• Do you contribute to the community or show any
concern for the environment.
• Do the people within your organization project the
image of the company in a favorable way?

25

Service After the Sales
• Effective Marketing must continue with the
product or service after the final sale.
• This support includes service, assistance,
warranties, returns and refunds.

26

Service
• Advertising is expensive. It gets the
customer to try your product or service. It is
a good start but remember, the goal is to
have customer’s repeat business.
• Over time, you will notice that 80% of your
sales will come from just 20% of your total
customers.
27

MARKET RESEARCH

28

Market Research
• Before one starts a business and even periodically
while in business, one should conduct market
research.
• Market research is an organized process to gather,
analyze, interpret and utilize relevant information
about the business environment for the purposes
of making accurate business decisions.
• Market research focuses on potential customers,
existing customers, the competition and the
business environment .
29

Market Research
• The ultimate goal of market research is business
success.
• The objective of market research is to;
1)Identify potential target markets.
2)Identify customer needs and wants.
3)Determine if the product or service meets customer
needs.
4)Determine the best promotion technique for each
market.
5)Examine the competition.
30

Market Research
• The purpose of market research data is to help the
business owner make better decisions.
• Using market research, the business owner can
develop an accurate understanding of the potential
customer.
• The goal of market research is to reveal unfilled
needs in the form of a market niche, customer’s
needs, a competitor’s weakness or an unused
marketing strategy. The ultimate goal is to
increase the business’ sales and profits.
31

Doing Market Research
• Anyone can do market research to some
extent.
• Basically, you want to gather information
about;
1)Your customers or potential customers
2)Your competition
3)General market information
Let’s go through each in greater detail.
32

About your Customers or
Potential Customers
• General demographic information such as – age,
where they live, where they work, race, gender,
marital status, income, number of children,
education, home ownership, lifestyle
• Needs, wants and desired benefits
• Past and future purchases (What, when, why,
where, how much)
• Products and services that compliment or
substitute
• Use of various media (radio, TV, newspaper,
magazines, etc.)
33

Warranty Cards
• Whenever you buy any appliance and certain
goods, you are requested to fill out a warranty
card. If you fill out the warranty card, the product
you bought will be under warranty for some
specified period of time. Note how much the
information on the warranty card parallels the
demographic information on the previous page.
• Warranty cards serve as a prime method of
collecting marketing information.
34

About the Competition
•
•
•
•
•
•

•
•

Who are they?
What products and/or services do they offer?
What is the price range of products and services?
What are their policies on returns, credit,
warranties, etc.?
Are there any special services?
If they are a store-type business, what is their staff
like (experience, customer respect, customer
focus)?
What kinds of promotions/ advertising do they do?
What is their company image like to the average
customer?
35

General Market Information
• The physical/geographical area (traffic flow,
development plans, history, growth pattern).
• The industry as a whole.
• The economy as a whole.

36

Analyzing Market Research Data
• Once you have collected as much data as
you reasonably can, you need to organize it
by the SWOT format;
• S = Strengths
• W= Weaknesses
• O= Opportunities
• T= Threats
37

SWOT Grid
My Business

Its Environment

Strengths

Opportunities

Weaknesses

Threats

38

The SWOT Grid
• In the grid, you evaluate your business or
business potentials and its weaknesses.
• When you evaluate the environment, where
do you see chances for growth and what
might slow your business ?.

39

Marketing Research
• Where we can get market information;
-The Internet brings information to your finger
tips.
-Visit a food store and just look around not only in
the area that you want to enter but other food
groups ( e.g. what are the dairy foods people doing
that I can adopt?).
-Talk to people in the business from entrepreneurs
to store owners, brokers, sales representatives, etc.
Most people like to help others and will tell you
more than you ever dreamed.
40

Market Research
• Market research identifies the available
market, discovers the best method to reach
the target market and asks what the
customer needs and wants. Market research
is a simple, structured, objective way of
learning about people- the people who will
buy your product or service.
41

RESOURCES
• There are 2 keys sources of information
1)A book entitled From Kitchen to Market by
Stephan F Hall. Sold via Amazon.com for about
$20- A complete, easy to understand book on
taking a food product to market.
2)The Arkansas Small Business Development Center
in Little Rock (501/324-9043) has a resource
library that contains many references and a
brochure entitled Market Designs that will help.
42

43

44

CONCLUSIONS
• This module should have made you think about
the purpose and goals of marketing and how to do
market research.
• Marketing is probably the single most important
aspect in starting and maintaining a food business.
• Whether you are starting a new food business or
maintaining an existing business, it is important
that you constantly monitor your marketing
efforts.
45

46


Slide 26

INTRODUCTION TO FOOD
MARKETING
3116
Steven C Seideman
Extension Food Processing Specialist
Cooperative Extension Service
1

INTRODUCTION
• To many people, “MARKETING” means either
selling or advertising of your business.
• Jay Levinson in his book “ Guerilla Marketing”
defines marketing as “everything you do to
promote your business from the moment you think
of the idea until the customers buy and begin to do
so on a regular basis”.

2

THE GOAL OF BUSINESS
• Two theories on what the goal of business is;
1) The goal of business is profit, and profit means
the firm survives and has a chance to grow.
2) The goal of business is to get and keep a
customer. Profit is implied because if you don’t
make a profit, you will not be around to keep
your customer.
You choose which goal you want to accept. The
bottom line is that a profit must be made.
3

SELLING vs MARKETING
• SELLING asks the question “ How do I get the
customer to buy my product?”
• MARKETING takes a broader view and asks
“What does the customer want to buy ?” The
business owner needs to attract new audiences,
study the competition and develop his or her
product or service so that it appeals to a highly
discriminating audience.
4

MARKETING AS A PROCESS

5

MARKETING AS A PROCESS
• The successful marketing process includes;
1)Determining what the customer needs and wants.
2)Developing a product or service to meet those
needs or wants.
3)Understanding the competition and what they
offer.
4)Linking with the customer as a source for fulfilling
his or her needs and wants.
5)Doing all of this at a price that provides a profit so
that the business can continue to grow.
6

Determining What the Customer
Needs or Wants
• A successful business owner analyzes the
market. He or she defines the particular
market segment most likely to purchase
their product or service. The owner then
determines the specific benefits desired by
the customer.

7

Developing a Product or Service
to Meet those Needs or Wants
• Upon understanding what benefits are wanted, the
owner develops a product or service, the features
of which provide the customer with the requested
benefits. Marketing is selling these benefits rather
than the features.
• A feature is any prominent or distinctive aspect,
quality or characteristic. A benefit is what that
feature gives the customer.
• An example would be a reclosable package. The
feature is reclosable: The benefit to the customer
is that it can be reclosed and stored for later use. 8

Understanding the Competition
and What They Offer
• Customers face a large marketplace. A
successful business owner is able to define a
target market and distinguish his or her
business from the competition.
• Walk down an aisle in any food store, look
at all the different brands of a particular
type of product and see how each brand
tries to provide benefits to the customer.
9

10

Linking the Customer as a Source
for Fulfilling His or Her Needs
and Wants
• The successful business owner must let the
customer know he or she is in business. The owner
must also tell the customer how they can meet
their needs, a function known as advertising.
• Types of advertising include radio, TV, newspaper
and magazines, flyers, billboards, web-advertising,
etc.
• The business owner must figure out the most cost
effective way of getting to the target audience.
11

Doing All of this at a Price that
Provides a Profit so the Business
can Continue
• This implies a price of products or services
that allows both the customer and the owner
to feel good about the transaction.
• The business owner must make a profit so
that he or she can stay in business to
continue providing that product or service.
12

MARKETING ACTIVITIES

13

Marketing Activities
• There are basically 4 major categories of
marketing activities known as the 4 P’s:
1)Positioning
2)Production
3)Pricing
4)Promotion
14

Positioning
• Positioning is defining the purpose of your
product or service as it benefits a potential
customer. Positioning is finding a market niche. It
creates a perception of special value and benefits
in your product or service. Developing one’s
position is one of the major goals of the marketing
process.
• An example of positioning is the fast food chain’s
hamburger businesses positioning themselves as
low cost versus another that features customer
choice (“Have it your way” ).
15

Positioning
• Place (where the goods or services are
marketed) and packaging (how the goods or
services are displayed ) are extremely
important. If a product or service appeals to
walk-in traffic, your location must be where
such traffic occurs, not in a limited traffic
area. If you are developing a product for an
upscale market, the packaging must reflect
the image you are trying to attain.
16

Production
• Successful marketing achieves business
growth. The owner must have anticipated
and planned for this growth in the
production process. The inability to fill
orders can quickly strangle a firm’s growth
and even cause the firm to go out of
business.
17

Courtesy of USDA

18

Pricing
• Pricing is a key factor to business success.
• Pricing can be done as a “wild guess”, based on
what the competition charges or as a cost-buildup
process.
• I strongly prefer the cost buildup model whereby
you list all your costs (raw materials, processing
costs, packaging, promotion, salaries, distribution,
etc.) and then add a profit margin.
• Go to another module to learn the cost buildup
details.
19

Pricing
• Look at what the competition charges as compared
to your cost. How can you do it cheaper or better
than the competition?
• Are people willing to pay that price for your
product or service?.
• How about running promotions on your product or
services so people will try it - buy one, get one
free, coupons with a certain amount off ?
• Most new entrepreneurs tend to underprice their
products and services.
20

Promotion
• This addresses the question “How will people
know about my product or service ?”
• Promotions include paid advertising such as radio,
TV, newspaper, etc, and unpaid publicity such as
press releases, etc. Promotions may also include
trade shows, mailings, internet, in-store demos,
etc.
• Promotional efforts must occur in the media that
your perspective customers use.
• Successful promotional efforts focus on the
benefits of your product or service
• Benefits can be convenience (precooked,
21
reclosable packaging), fun, good health, etc.

22

Promotion
• Customers do not buy a product or service for its
features.They buy it for what it can do for them.
• Learn to romanticize your product. Watch TV ads–
wearing certain brands of trousers make you more
appealing to the opposite sex. Laugh? It works.
Watch some TV ads- what is the message they are
sending?
• Brand loyalty; brand-conscious society
• Develop sales literature- price list, catalog sheet,
product information sheet, point of purchase info.
23

Your Company IMAGE
• Although not traditionally thought of as
marketing, I am a believer in how customers
perceive your company’s image.
• Your letters and correspondence- Professional. Are
your telephones answered professionally ?
• Are your salespersons ethical? Is your receptionist
cheerful, optimistic, properly attired ?
• What about your business facility- people like to
work with professional organizations and your
office and facilities tell them about your
professionalism.
24

Your Company IMAGE
• Business owners must remain aware of the
customer’s perception of the business and move
quickly to correct any negative images.
• Do you contribute to the community or show any
concern for the environment.
• Do the people within your organization project the
image of the company in a favorable way?

25

Service After the Sales
• Effective Marketing must continue with the
product or service after the final sale.
• This support includes service, assistance,
warranties, returns and refunds.

26

Service
• Advertising is expensive. It gets the
customer to try your product or service. It is
a good start but remember, the goal is to
have customer’s repeat business.
• Over time, you will notice that 80% of your
sales will come from just 20% of your total
customers.
27

MARKET RESEARCH

28

Market Research
• Before one starts a business and even periodically
while in business, one should conduct market
research.
• Market research is an organized process to gather,
analyze, interpret and utilize relevant information
about the business environment for the purposes
of making accurate business decisions.
• Market research focuses on potential customers,
existing customers, the competition and the
business environment .
29

Market Research
• The ultimate goal of market research is business
success.
• The objective of market research is to;
1)Identify potential target markets.
2)Identify customer needs and wants.
3)Determine if the product or service meets customer
needs.
4)Determine the best promotion technique for each
market.
5)Examine the competition.
30

Market Research
• The purpose of market research data is to help the
business owner make better decisions.
• Using market research, the business owner can
develop an accurate understanding of the potential
customer.
• The goal of market research is to reveal unfilled
needs in the form of a market niche, customer’s
needs, a competitor’s weakness or an unused
marketing strategy. The ultimate goal is to
increase the business’ sales and profits.
31

Doing Market Research
• Anyone can do market research to some
extent.
• Basically, you want to gather information
about;
1)Your customers or potential customers
2)Your competition
3)General market information
Let’s go through each in greater detail.
32

About your Customers or
Potential Customers
• General demographic information such as – age,
where they live, where they work, race, gender,
marital status, income, number of children,
education, home ownership, lifestyle
• Needs, wants and desired benefits
• Past and future purchases (What, when, why,
where, how much)
• Products and services that compliment or
substitute
• Use of various media (radio, TV, newspaper,
magazines, etc.)
33

Warranty Cards
• Whenever you buy any appliance and certain
goods, you are requested to fill out a warranty
card. If you fill out the warranty card, the product
you bought will be under warranty for some
specified period of time. Note how much the
information on the warranty card parallels the
demographic information on the previous page.
• Warranty cards serve as a prime method of
collecting marketing information.
34

About the Competition
•
•
•
•
•
•

•
•

Who are they?
What products and/or services do they offer?
What is the price range of products and services?
What are their policies on returns, credit,
warranties, etc.?
Are there any special services?
If they are a store-type business, what is their staff
like (experience, customer respect, customer
focus)?
What kinds of promotions/ advertising do they do?
What is their company image like to the average
customer?
35

General Market Information
• The physical/geographical area (traffic flow,
development plans, history, growth pattern).
• The industry as a whole.
• The economy as a whole.

36

Analyzing Market Research Data
• Once you have collected as much data as
you reasonably can, you need to organize it
by the SWOT format;
• S = Strengths
• W= Weaknesses
• O= Opportunities
• T= Threats
37

SWOT Grid
My Business

Its Environment

Strengths

Opportunities

Weaknesses

Threats

38

The SWOT Grid
• In the grid, you evaluate your business or
business potentials and its weaknesses.
• When you evaluate the environment, where
do you see chances for growth and what
might slow your business ?.

39

Marketing Research
• Where we can get market information;
-The Internet brings information to your finger
tips.
-Visit a food store and just look around not only in
the area that you want to enter but other food
groups ( e.g. what are the dairy foods people doing
that I can adopt?).
-Talk to people in the business from entrepreneurs
to store owners, brokers, sales representatives, etc.
Most people like to help others and will tell you
more than you ever dreamed.
40

Market Research
• Market research identifies the available
market, discovers the best method to reach
the target market and asks what the
customer needs and wants. Market research
is a simple, structured, objective way of
learning about people- the people who will
buy your product or service.
41

RESOURCES
• There are 2 keys sources of information
1)A book entitled From Kitchen to Market by
Stephan F Hall. Sold via Amazon.com for about
$20- A complete, easy to understand book on
taking a food product to market.
2)The Arkansas Small Business Development Center
in Little Rock (501/324-9043) has a resource
library that contains many references and a
brochure entitled Market Designs that will help.
42

43

44

CONCLUSIONS
• This module should have made you think about
the purpose and goals of marketing and how to do
market research.
• Marketing is probably the single most important
aspect in starting and maintaining a food business.
• Whether you are starting a new food business or
maintaining an existing business, it is important
that you constantly monitor your marketing
efforts.
45

46


Slide 27

INTRODUCTION TO FOOD
MARKETING
3116
Steven C Seideman
Extension Food Processing Specialist
Cooperative Extension Service
1

INTRODUCTION
• To many people, “MARKETING” means either
selling or advertising of your business.
• Jay Levinson in his book “ Guerilla Marketing”
defines marketing as “everything you do to
promote your business from the moment you think
of the idea until the customers buy and begin to do
so on a regular basis”.

2

THE GOAL OF BUSINESS
• Two theories on what the goal of business is;
1) The goal of business is profit, and profit means
the firm survives and has a chance to grow.
2) The goal of business is to get and keep a
customer. Profit is implied because if you don’t
make a profit, you will not be around to keep
your customer.
You choose which goal you want to accept. The
bottom line is that a profit must be made.
3

SELLING vs MARKETING
• SELLING asks the question “ How do I get the
customer to buy my product?”
• MARKETING takes a broader view and asks
“What does the customer want to buy ?” The
business owner needs to attract new audiences,
study the competition and develop his or her
product or service so that it appeals to a highly
discriminating audience.
4

MARKETING AS A PROCESS

5

MARKETING AS A PROCESS
• The successful marketing process includes;
1)Determining what the customer needs and wants.
2)Developing a product or service to meet those
needs or wants.
3)Understanding the competition and what they
offer.
4)Linking with the customer as a source for fulfilling
his or her needs and wants.
5)Doing all of this at a price that provides a profit so
that the business can continue to grow.
6

Determining What the Customer
Needs or Wants
• A successful business owner analyzes the
market. He or she defines the particular
market segment most likely to purchase
their product or service. The owner then
determines the specific benefits desired by
the customer.

7

Developing a Product or Service
to Meet those Needs or Wants
• Upon understanding what benefits are wanted, the
owner develops a product or service, the features
of which provide the customer with the requested
benefits. Marketing is selling these benefits rather
than the features.
• A feature is any prominent or distinctive aspect,
quality or characteristic. A benefit is what that
feature gives the customer.
• An example would be a reclosable package. The
feature is reclosable: The benefit to the customer
is that it can be reclosed and stored for later use. 8

Understanding the Competition
and What They Offer
• Customers face a large marketplace. A
successful business owner is able to define a
target market and distinguish his or her
business from the competition.
• Walk down an aisle in any food store, look
at all the different brands of a particular
type of product and see how each brand
tries to provide benefits to the customer.
9

10

Linking the Customer as a Source
for Fulfilling His or Her Needs
and Wants
• The successful business owner must let the
customer know he or she is in business. The owner
must also tell the customer how they can meet
their needs, a function known as advertising.
• Types of advertising include radio, TV, newspaper
and magazines, flyers, billboards, web-advertising,
etc.
• The business owner must figure out the most cost
effective way of getting to the target audience.
11

Doing All of this at a Price that
Provides a Profit so the Business
can Continue
• This implies a price of products or services
that allows both the customer and the owner
to feel good about the transaction.
• The business owner must make a profit so
that he or she can stay in business to
continue providing that product or service.
12

MARKETING ACTIVITIES

13

Marketing Activities
• There are basically 4 major categories of
marketing activities known as the 4 P’s:
1)Positioning
2)Production
3)Pricing
4)Promotion
14

Positioning
• Positioning is defining the purpose of your
product or service as it benefits a potential
customer. Positioning is finding a market niche. It
creates a perception of special value and benefits
in your product or service. Developing one’s
position is one of the major goals of the marketing
process.
• An example of positioning is the fast food chain’s
hamburger businesses positioning themselves as
low cost versus another that features customer
choice (“Have it your way” ).
15

Positioning
• Place (where the goods or services are
marketed) and packaging (how the goods or
services are displayed ) are extremely
important. If a product or service appeals to
walk-in traffic, your location must be where
such traffic occurs, not in a limited traffic
area. If you are developing a product for an
upscale market, the packaging must reflect
the image you are trying to attain.
16

Production
• Successful marketing achieves business
growth. The owner must have anticipated
and planned for this growth in the
production process. The inability to fill
orders can quickly strangle a firm’s growth
and even cause the firm to go out of
business.
17

Courtesy of USDA

18

Pricing
• Pricing is a key factor to business success.
• Pricing can be done as a “wild guess”, based on
what the competition charges or as a cost-buildup
process.
• I strongly prefer the cost buildup model whereby
you list all your costs (raw materials, processing
costs, packaging, promotion, salaries, distribution,
etc.) and then add a profit margin.
• Go to another module to learn the cost buildup
details.
19

Pricing
• Look at what the competition charges as compared
to your cost. How can you do it cheaper or better
than the competition?
• Are people willing to pay that price for your
product or service?.
• How about running promotions on your product or
services so people will try it - buy one, get one
free, coupons with a certain amount off ?
• Most new entrepreneurs tend to underprice their
products and services.
20

Promotion
• This addresses the question “How will people
know about my product or service ?”
• Promotions include paid advertising such as radio,
TV, newspaper, etc, and unpaid publicity such as
press releases, etc. Promotions may also include
trade shows, mailings, internet, in-store demos,
etc.
• Promotional efforts must occur in the media that
your perspective customers use.
• Successful promotional efforts focus on the
benefits of your product or service
• Benefits can be convenience (precooked,
21
reclosable packaging), fun, good health, etc.

22

Promotion
• Customers do not buy a product or service for its
features.They buy it for what it can do for them.
• Learn to romanticize your product. Watch TV ads–
wearing certain brands of trousers make you more
appealing to the opposite sex. Laugh? It works.
Watch some TV ads- what is the message they are
sending?
• Brand loyalty; brand-conscious society
• Develop sales literature- price list, catalog sheet,
product information sheet, point of purchase info.
23

Your Company IMAGE
• Although not traditionally thought of as
marketing, I am a believer in how customers
perceive your company’s image.
• Your letters and correspondence- Professional. Are
your telephones answered professionally ?
• Are your salespersons ethical? Is your receptionist
cheerful, optimistic, properly attired ?
• What about your business facility- people like to
work with professional organizations and your
office and facilities tell them about your
professionalism.
24

Your Company IMAGE
• Business owners must remain aware of the
customer’s perception of the business and move
quickly to correct any negative images.
• Do you contribute to the community or show any
concern for the environment.
• Do the people within your organization project the
image of the company in a favorable way?

25

Service After the Sales
• Effective Marketing must continue with the
product or service after the final sale.
• This support includes service, assistance,
warranties, returns and refunds.

26

Service
• Advertising is expensive. It gets the
customer to try your product or service. It is
a good start but remember, the goal is to
have customer’s repeat business.
• Over time, you will notice that 80% of your
sales will come from just 20% of your total
customers.
27

MARKET RESEARCH

28

Market Research
• Before one starts a business and even periodically
while in business, one should conduct market
research.
• Market research is an organized process to gather,
analyze, interpret and utilize relevant information
about the business environment for the purposes
of making accurate business decisions.
• Market research focuses on potential customers,
existing customers, the competition and the
business environment .
29

Market Research
• The ultimate goal of market research is business
success.
• The objective of market research is to;
1)Identify potential target markets.
2)Identify customer needs and wants.
3)Determine if the product or service meets customer
needs.
4)Determine the best promotion technique for each
market.
5)Examine the competition.
30

Market Research
• The purpose of market research data is to help the
business owner make better decisions.
• Using market research, the business owner can
develop an accurate understanding of the potential
customer.
• The goal of market research is to reveal unfilled
needs in the form of a market niche, customer’s
needs, a competitor’s weakness or an unused
marketing strategy. The ultimate goal is to
increase the business’ sales and profits.
31

Doing Market Research
• Anyone can do market research to some
extent.
• Basically, you want to gather information
about;
1)Your customers or potential customers
2)Your competition
3)General market information
Let’s go through each in greater detail.
32

About your Customers or
Potential Customers
• General demographic information such as – age,
where they live, where they work, race, gender,
marital status, income, number of children,
education, home ownership, lifestyle
• Needs, wants and desired benefits
• Past and future purchases (What, when, why,
where, how much)
• Products and services that compliment or
substitute
• Use of various media (radio, TV, newspaper,
magazines, etc.)
33

Warranty Cards
• Whenever you buy any appliance and certain
goods, you are requested to fill out a warranty
card. If you fill out the warranty card, the product
you bought will be under warranty for some
specified period of time. Note how much the
information on the warranty card parallels the
demographic information on the previous page.
• Warranty cards serve as a prime method of
collecting marketing information.
34

About the Competition
•
•
•
•
•
•

•
•

Who are they?
What products and/or services do they offer?
What is the price range of products and services?
What are their policies on returns, credit,
warranties, etc.?
Are there any special services?
If they are a store-type business, what is their staff
like (experience, customer respect, customer
focus)?
What kinds of promotions/ advertising do they do?
What is their company image like to the average
customer?
35

General Market Information
• The physical/geographical area (traffic flow,
development plans, history, growth pattern).
• The industry as a whole.
• The economy as a whole.

36

Analyzing Market Research Data
• Once you have collected as much data as
you reasonably can, you need to organize it
by the SWOT format;
• S = Strengths
• W= Weaknesses
• O= Opportunities
• T= Threats
37

SWOT Grid
My Business

Its Environment

Strengths

Opportunities

Weaknesses

Threats

38

The SWOT Grid
• In the grid, you evaluate your business or
business potentials and its weaknesses.
• When you evaluate the environment, where
do you see chances for growth and what
might slow your business ?.

39

Marketing Research
• Where we can get market information;
-The Internet brings information to your finger
tips.
-Visit a food store and just look around not only in
the area that you want to enter but other food
groups ( e.g. what are the dairy foods people doing
that I can adopt?).
-Talk to people in the business from entrepreneurs
to store owners, brokers, sales representatives, etc.
Most people like to help others and will tell you
more than you ever dreamed.
40

Market Research
• Market research identifies the available
market, discovers the best method to reach
the target market and asks what the
customer needs and wants. Market research
is a simple, structured, objective way of
learning about people- the people who will
buy your product or service.
41

RESOURCES
• There are 2 keys sources of information
1)A book entitled From Kitchen to Market by
Stephan F Hall. Sold via Amazon.com for about
$20- A complete, easy to understand book on
taking a food product to market.
2)The Arkansas Small Business Development Center
in Little Rock (501/324-9043) has a resource
library that contains many references and a
brochure entitled Market Designs that will help.
42

43

44

CONCLUSIONS
• This module should have made you think about
the purpose and goals of marketing and how to do
market research.
• Marketing is probably the single most important
aspect in starting and maintaining a food business.
• Whether you are starting a new food business or
maintaining an existing business, it is important
that you constantly monitor your marketing
efforts.
45

46


Slide 28

INTRODUCTION TO FOOD
MARKETING
3116
Steven C Seideman
Extension Food Processing Specialist
Cooperative Extension Service
1

INTRODUCTION
• To many people, “MARKETING” means either
selling or advertising of your business.
• Jay Levinson in his book “ Guerilla Marketing”
defines marketing as “everything you do to
promote your business from the moment you think
of the idea until the customers buy and begin to do
so on a regular basis”.

2

THE GOAL OF BUSINESS
• Two theories on what the goal of business is;
1) The goal of business is profit, and profit means
the firm survives and has a chance to grow.
2) The goal of business is to get and keep a
customer. Profit is implied because if you don’t
make a profit, you will not be around to keep
your customer.
You choose which goal you want to accept. The
bottom line is that a profit must be made.
3

SELLING vs MARKETING
• SELLING asks the question “ How do I get the
customer to buy my product?”
• MARKETING takes a broader view and asks
“What does the customer want to buy ?” The
business owner needs to attract new audiences,
study the competition and develop his or her
product or service so that it appeals to a highly
discriminating audience.
4

MARKETING AS A PROCESS

5

MARKETING AS A PROCESS
• The successful marketing process includes;
1)Determining what the customer needs and wants.
2)Developing a product or service to meet those
needs or wants.
3)Understanding the competition and what they
offer.
4)Linking with the customer as a source for fulfilling
his or her needs and wants.
5)Doing all of this at a price that provides a profit so
that the business can continue to grow.
6

Determining What the Customer
Needs or Wants
• A successful business owner analyzes the
market. He or she defines the particular
market segment most likely to purchase
their product or service. The owner then
determines the specific benefits desired by
the customer.

7

Developing a Product or Service
to Meet those Needs or Wants
• Upon understanding what benefits are wanted, the
owner develops a product or service, the features
of which provide the customer with the requested
benefits. Marketing is selling these benefits rather
than the features.
• A feature is any prominent or distinctive aspect,
quality or characteristic. A benefit is what that
feature gives the customer.
• An example would be a reclosable package. The
feature is reclosable: The benefit to the customer
is that it can be reclosed and stored for later use. 8

Understanding the Competition
and What They Offer
• Customers face a large marketplace. A
successful business owner is able to define a
target market and distinguish his or her
business from the competition.
• Walk down an aisle in any food store, look
at all the different brands of a particular
type of product and see how each brand
tries to provide benefits to the customer.
9

10

Linking the Customer as a Source
for Fulfilling His or Her Needs
and Wants
• The successful business owner must let the
customer know he or she is in business. The owner
must also tell the customer how they can meet
their needs, a function known as advertising.
• Types of advertising include radio, TV, newspaper
and magazines, flyers, billboards, web-advertising,
etc.
• The business owner must figure out the most cost
effective way of getting to the target audience.
11

Doing All of this at a Price that
Provides a Profit so the Business
can Continue
• This implies a price of products or services
that allows both the customer and the owner
to feel good about the transaction.
• The business owner must make a profit so
that he or she can stay in business to
continue providing that product or service.
12

MARKETING ACTIVITIES

13

Marketing Activities
• There are basically 4 major categories of
marketing activities known as the 4 P’s:
1)Positioning
2)Production
3)Pricing
4)Promotion
14

Positioning
• Positioning is defining the purpose of your
product or service as it benefits a potential
customer. Positioning is finding a market niche. It
creates a perception of special value and benefits
in your product or service. Developing one’s
position is one of the major goals of the marketing
process.
• An example of positioning is the fast food chain’s
hamburger businesses positioning themselves as
low cost versus another that features customer
choice (“Have it your way” ).
15

Positioning
• Place (where the goods or services are
marketed) and packaging (how the goods or
services are displayed ) are extremely
important. If a product or service appeals to
walk-in traffic, your location must be where
such traffic occurs, not in a limited traffic
area. If you are developing a product for an
upscale market, the packaging must reflect
the image you are trying to attain.
16

Production
• Successful marketing achieves business
growth. The owner must have anticipated
and planned for this growth in the
production process. The inability to fill
orders can quickly strangle a firm’s growth
and even cause the firm to go out of
business.
17

Courtesy of USDA

18

Pricing
• Pricing is a key factor to business success.
• Pricing can be done as a “wild guess”, based on
what the competition charges or as a cost-buildup
process.
• I strongly prefer the cost buildup model whereby
you list all your costs (raw materials, processing
costs, packaging, promotion, salaries, distribution,
etc.) and then add a profit margin.
• Go to another module to learn the cost buildup
details.
19

Pricing
• Look at what the competition charges as compared
to your cost. How can you do it cheaper or better
than the competition?
• Are people willing to pay that price for your
product or service?.
• How about running promotions on your product or
services so people will try it - buy one, get one
free, coupons with a certain amount off ?
• Most new entrepreneurs tend to underprice their
products and services.
20

Promotion
• This addresses the question “How will people
know about my product or service ?”
• Promotions include paid advertising such as radio,
TV, newspaper, etc, and unpaid publicity such as
press releases, etc. Promotions may also include
trade shows, mailings, internet, in-store demos,
etc.
• Promotional efforts must occur in the media that
your perspective customers use.
• Successful promotional efforts focus on the
benefits of your product or service
• Benefits can be convenience (precooked,
21
reclosable packaging), fun, good health, etc.

22

Promotion
• Customers do not buy a product or service for its
features.They buy it for what it can do for them.
• Learn to romanticize your product. Watch TV ads–
wearing certain brands of trousers make you more
appealing to the opposite sex. Laugh? It works.
Watch some TV ads- what is the message they are
sending?
• Brand loyalty; brand-conscious society
• Develop sales literature- price list, catalog sheet,
product information sheet, point of purchase info.
23

Your Company IMAGE
• Although not traditionally thought of as
marketing, I am a believer in how customers
perceive your company’s image.
• Your letters and correspondence- Professional. Are
your telephones answered professionally ?
• Are your salespersons ethical? Is your receptionist
cheerful, optimistic, properly attired ?
• What about your business facility- people like to
work with professional organizations and your
office and facilities tell them about your
professionalism.
24

Your Company IMAGE
• Business owners must remain aware of the
customer’s perception of the business and move
quickly to correct any negative images.
• Do you contribute to the community or show any
concern for the environment.
• Do the people within your organization project the
image of the company in a favorable way?

25

Service After the Sales
• Effective Marketing must continue with the
product or service after the final sale.
• This support includes service, assistance,
warranties, returns and refunds.

26

Service
• Advertising is expensive. It gets the
customer to try your product or service. It is
a good start but remember, the goal is to
have customer’s repeat business.
• Over time, you will notice that 80% of your
sales will come from just 20% of your total
customers.
27

MARKET RESEARCH

28

Market Research
• Before one starts a business and even periodically
while in business, one should conduct market
research.
• Market research is an organized process to gather,
analyze, interpret and utilize relevant information
about the business environment for the purposes
of making accurate business decisions.
• Market research focuses on potential customers,
existing customers, the competition and the
business environment .
29

Market Research
• The ultimate goal of market research is business
success.
• The objective of market research is to;
1)Identify potential target markets.
2)Identify customer needs and wants.
3)Determine if the product or service meets customer
needs.
4)Determine the best promotion technique for each
market.
5)Examine the competition.
30

Market Research
• The purpose of market research data is to help the
business owner make better decisions.
• Using market research, the business owner can
develop an accurate understanding of the potential
customer.
• The goal of market research is to reveal unfilled
needs in the form of a market niche, customer’s
needs, a competitor’s weakness or an unused
marketing strategy. The ultimate goal is to
increase the business’ sales and profits.
31

Doing Market Research
• Anyone can do market research to some
extent.
• Basically, you want to gather information
about;
1)Your customers or potential customers
2)Your competition
3)General market information
Let’s go through each in greater detail.
32

About your Customers or
Potential Customers
• General demographic information such as – age,
where they live, where they work, race, gender,
marital status, income, number of children,
education, home ownership, lifestyle
• Needs, wants and desired benefits
• Past and future purchases (What, when, why,
where, how much)
• Products and services that compliment or
substitute
• Use of various media (radio, TV, newspaper,
magazines, etc.)
33

Warranty Cards
• Whenever you buy any appliance and certain
goods, you are requested to fill out a warranty
card. If you fill out the warranty card, the product
you bought will be under warranty for some
specified period of time. Note how much the
information on the warranty card parallels the
demographic information on the previous page.
• Warranty cards serve as a prime method of
collecting marketing information.
34

About the Competition
•
•
•
•
•
•

•
•

Who are they?
What products and/or services do they offer?
What is the price range of products and services?
What are their policies on returns, credit,
warranties, etc.?
Are there any special services?
If they are a store-type business, what is their staff
like (experience, customer respect, customer
focus)?
What kinds of promotions/ advertising do they do?
What is their company image like to the average
customer?
35

General Market Information
• The physical/geographical area (traffic flow,
development plans, history, growth pattern).
• The industry as a whole.
• The economy as a whole.

36

Analyzing Market Research Data
• Once you have collected as much data as
you reasonably can, you need to organize it
by the SWOT format;
• S = Strengths
• W= Weaknesses
• O= Opportunities
• T= Threats
37

SWOT Grid
My Business

Its Environment

Strengths

Opportunities

Weaknesses

Threats

38

The SWOT Grid
• In the grid, you evaluate your business or
business potentials and its weaknesses.
• When you evaluate the environment, where
do you see chances for growth and what
might slow your business ?.

39

Marketing Research
• Where we can get market information;
-The Internet brings information to your finger
tips.
-Visit a food store and just look around not only in
the area that you want to enter but other food
groups ( e.g. what are the dairy foods people doing
that I can adopt?).
-Talk to people in the business from entrepreneurs
to store owners, brokers, sales representatives, etc.
Most people like to help others and will tell you
more than you ever dreamed.
40

Market Research
• Market research identifies the available
market, discovers the best method to reach
the target market and asks what the
customer needs and wants. Market research
is a simple, structured, objective way of
learning about people- the people who will
buy your product or service.
41

RESOURCES
• There are 2 keys sources of information
1)A book entitled From Kitchen to Market by
Stephan F Hall. Sold via Amazon.com for about
$20- A complete, easy to understand book on
taking a food product to market.
2)The Arkansas Small Business Development Center
in Little Rock (501/324-9043) has a resource
library that contains many references and a
brochure entitled Market Designs that will help.
42

43

44

CONCLUSIONS
• This module should have made you think about
the purpose and goals of marketing and how to do
market research.
• Marketing is probably the single most important
aspect in starting and maintaining a food business.
• Whether you are starting a new food business or
maintaining an existing business, it is important
that you constantly monitor your marketing
efforts.
45

46


Slide 29

INTRODUCTION TO FOOD
MARKETING
3116
Steven C Seideman
Extension Food Processing Specialist
Cooperative Extension Service
1

INTRODUCTION
• To many people, “MARKETING” means either
selling or advertising of your business.
• Jay Levinson in his book “ Guerilla Marketing”
defines marketing as “everything you do to
promote your business from the moment you think
of the idea until the customers buy and begin to do
so on a regular basis”.

2

THE GOAL OF BUSINESS
• Two theories on what the goal of business is;
1) The goal of business is profit, and profit means
the firm survives and has a chance to grow.
2) The goal of business is to get and keep a
customer. Profit is implied because if you don’t
make a profit, you will not be around to keep
your customer.
You choose which goal you want to accept. The
bottom line is that a profit must be made.
3

SELLING vs MARKETING
• SELLING asks the question “ How do I get the
customer to buy my product?”
• MARKETING takes a broader view and asks
“What does the customer want to buy ?” The
business owner needs to attract new audiences,
study the competition and develop his or her
product or service so that it appeals to a highly
discriminating audience.
4

MARKETING AS A PROCESS

5

MARKETING AS A PROCESS
• The successful marketing process includes;
1)Determining what the customer needs and wants.
2)Developing a product or service to meet those
needs or wants.
3)Understanding the competition and what they
offer.
4)Linking with the customer as a source for fulfilling
his or her needs and wants.
5)Doing all of this at a price that provides a profit so
that the business can continue to grow.
6

Determining What the Customer
Needs or Wants
• A successful business owner analyzes the
market. He or she defines the particular
market segment most likely to purchase
their product or service. The owner then
determines the specific benefits desired by
the customer.

7

Developing a Product or Service
to Meet those Needs or Wants
• Upon understanding what benefits are wanted, the
owner develops a product or service, the features
of which provide the customer with the requested
benefits. Marketing is selling these benefits rather
than the features.
• A feature is any prominent or distinctive aspect,
quality or characteristic. A benefit is what that
feature gives the customer.
• An example would be a reclosable package. The
feature is reclosable: The benefit to the customer
is that it can be reclosed and stored for later use. 8

Understanding the Competition
and What They Offer
• Customers face a large marketplace. A
successful business owner is able to define a
target market and distinguish his or her
business from the competition.
• Walk down an aisle in any food store, look
at all the different brands of a particular
type of product and see how each brand
tries to provide benefits to the customer.
9

10

Linking the Customer as a Source
for Fulfilling His or Her Needs
and Wants
• The successful business owner must let the
customer know he or she is in business. The owner
must also tell the customer how they can meet
their needs, a function known as advertising.
• Types of advertising include radio, TV, newspaper
and magazines, flyers, billboards, web-advertising,
etc.
• The business owner must figure out the most cost
effective way of getting to the target audience.
11

Doing All of this at a Price that
Provides a Profit so the Business
can Continue
• This implies a price of products or services
that allows both the customer and the owner
to feel good about the transaction.
• The business owner must make a profit so
that he or she can stay in business to
continue providing that product or service.
12

MARKETING ACTIVITIES

13

Marketing Activities
• There are basically 4 major categories of
marketing activities known as the 4 P’s:
1)Positioning
2)Production
3)Pricing
4)Promotion
14

Positioning
• Positioning is defining the purpose of your
product or service as it benefits a potential
customer. Positioning is finding a market niche. It
creates a perception of special value and benefits
in your product or service. Developing one’s
position is one of the major goals of the marketing
process.
• An example of positioning is the fast food chain’s
hamburger businesses positioning themselves as
low cost versus another that features customer
choice (“Have it your way” ).
15

Positioning
• Place (where the goods or services are
marketed) and packaging (how the goods or
services are displayed ) are extremely
important. If a product or service appeals to
walk-in traffic, your location must be where
such traffic occurs, not in a limited traffic
area. If you are developing a product for an
upscale market, the packaging must reflect
the image you are trying to attain.
16

Production
• Successful marketing achieves business
growth. The owner must have anticipated
and planned for this growth in the
production process. The inability to fill
orders can quickly strangle a firm’s growth
and even cause the firm to go out of
business.
17

Courtesy of USDA

18

Pricing
• Pricing is a key factor to business success.
• Pricing can be done as a “wild guess”, based on
what the competition charges or as a cost-buildup
process.
• I strongly prefer the cost buildup model whereby
you list all your costs (raw materials, processing
costs, packaging, promotion, salaries, distribution,
etc.) and then add a profit margin.
• Go to another module to learn the cost buildup
details.
19

Pricing
• Look at what the competition charges as compared
to your cost. How can you do it cheaper or better
than the competition?
• Are people willing to pay that price for your
product or service?.
• How about running promotions on your product or
services so people will try it - buy one, get one
free, coupons with a certain amount off ?
• Most new entrepreneurs tend to underprice their
products and services.
20

Promotion
• This addresses the question “How will people
know about my product or service ?”
• Promotions include paid advertising such as radio,
TV, newspaper, etc, and unpaid publicity such as
press releases, etc. Promotions may also include
trade shows, mailings, internet, in-store demos,
etc.
• Promotional efforts must occur in the media that
your perspective customers use.
• Successful promotional efforts focus on the
benefits of your product or service
• Benefits can be convenience (precooked,
21
reclosable packaging), fun, good health, etc.

22

Promotion
• Customers do not buy a product or service for its
features.They buy it for what it can do for them.
• Learn to romanticize your product. Watch TV ads–
wearing certain brands of trousers make you more
appealing to the opposite sex. Laugh? It works.
Watch some TV ads- what is the message they are
sending?
• Brand loyalty; brand-conscious society
• Develop sales literature- price list, catalog sheet,
product information sheet, point of purchase info.
23

Your Company IMAGE
• Although not traditionally thought of as
marketing, I am a believer in how customers
perceive your company’s image.
• Your letters and correspondence- Professional. Are
your telephones answered professionally ?
• Are your salespersons ethical? Is your receptionist
cheerful, optimistic, properly attired ?
• What about your business facility- people like to
work with professional organizations and your
office and facilities tell them about your
professionalism.
24

Your Company IMAGE
• Business owners must remain aware of the
customer’s perception of the business and move
quickly to correct any negative images.
• Do you contribute to the community or show any
concern for the environment.
• Do the people within your organization project the
image of the company in a favorable way?

25

Service After the Sales
• Effective Marketing must continue with the
product or service after the final sale.
• This support includes service, assistance,
warranties, returns and refunds.

26

Service
• Advertising is expensive. It gets the
customer to try your product or service. It is
a good start but remember, the goal is to
have customer’s repeat business.
• Over time, you will notice that 80% of your
sales will come from just 20% of your total
customers.
27

MARKET RESEARCH

28

Market Research
• Before one starts a business and even periodically
while in business, one should conduct market
research.
• Market research is an organized process to gather,
analyze, interpret and utilize relevant information
about the business environment for the purposes
of making accurate business decisions.
• Market research focuses on potential customers,
existing customers, the competition and the
business environment .
29

Market Research
• The ultimate goal of market research is business
success.
• The objective of market research is to;
1)Identify potential target markets.
2)Identify customer needs and wants.
3)Determine if the product or service meets customer
needs.
4)Determine the best promotion technique for each
market.
5)Examine the competition.
30

Market Research
• The purpose of market research data is to help the
business owner make better decisions.
• Using market research, the business owner can
develop an accurate understanding of the potential
customer.
• The goal of market research is to reveal unfilled
needs in the form of a market niche, customer’s
needs, a competitor’s weakness or an unused
marketing strategy. The ultimate goal is to
increase the business’ sales and profits.
31

Doing Market Research
• Anyone can do market research to some
extent.
• Basically, you want to gather information
about;
1)Your customers or potential customers
2)Your competition
3)General market information
Let’s go through each in greater detail.
32

About your Customers or
Potential Customers
• General demographic information such as – age,
where they live, where they work, race, gender,
marital status, income, number of children,
education, home ownership, lifestyle
• Needs, wants and desired benefits
• Past and future purchases (What, when, why,
where, how much)
• Products and services that compliment or
substitute
• Use of various media (radio, TV, newspaper,
magazines, etc.)
33

Warranty Cards
• Whenever you buy any appliance and certain
goods, you are requested to fill out a warranty
card. If you fill out the warranty card, the product
you bought will be under warranty for some
specified period of time. Note how much the
information on the warranty card parallels the
demographic information on the previous page.
• Warranty cards serve as a prime method of
collecting marketing information.
34

About the Competition
•
•
•
•
•
•

•
•

Who are they?
What products and/or services do they offer?
What is the price range of products and services?
What are their policies on returns, credit,
warranties, etc.?
Are there any special services?
If they are a store-type business, what is their staff
like (experience, customer respect, customer
focus)?
What kinds of promotions/ advertising do they do?
What is their company image like to the average
customer?
35

General Market Information
• The physical/geographical area (traffic flow,
development plans, history, growth pattern).
• The industry as a whole.
• The economy as a whole.

36

Analyzing Market Research Data
• Once you have collected as much data as
you reasonably can, you need to organize it
by the SWOT format;
• S = Strengths
• W= Weaknesses
• O= Opportunities
• T= Threats
37

SWOT Grid
My Business

Its Environment

Strengths

Opportunities

Weaknesses

Threats

38

The SWOT Grid
• In the grid, you evaluate your business or
business potentials and its weaknesses.
• When you evaluate the environment, where
do you see chances for growth and what
might slow your business ?.

39

Marketing Research
• Where we can get market information;
-The Internet brings information to your finger
tips.
-Visit a food store and just look around not only in
the area that you want to enter but other food
groups ( e.g. what are the dairy foods people doing
that I can adopt?).
-Talk to people in the business from entrepreneurs
to store owners, brokers, sales representatives, etc.
Most people like to help others and will tell you
more than you ever dreamed.
40

Market Research
• Market research identifies the available
market, discovers the best method to reach
the target market and asks what the
customer needs and wants. Market research
is a simple, structured, objective way of
learning about people- the people who will
buy your product or service.
41

RESOURCES
• There are 2 keys sources of information
1)A book entitled From Kitchen to Market by
Stephan F Hall. Sold via Amazon.com for about
$20- A complete, easy to understand book on
taking a food product to market.
2)The Arkansas Small Business Development Center
in Little Rock (501/324-9043) has a resource
library that contains many references and a
brochure entitled Market Designs that will help.
42

43

44

CONCLUSIONS
• This module should have made you think about
the purpose and goals of marketing and how to do
market research.
• Marketing is probably the single most important
aspect in starting and maintaining a food business.
• Whether you are starting a new food business or
maintaining an existing business, it is important
that you constantly monitor your marketing
efforts.
45

46


Slide 30

INTRODUCTION TO FOOD
MARKETING
3116
Steven C Seideman
Extension Food Processing Specialist
Cooperative Extension Service
1

INTRODUCTION
• To many people, “MARKETING” means either
selling or advertising of your business.
• Jay Levinson in his book “ Guerilla Marketing”
defines marketing as “everything you do to
promote your business from the moment you think
of the idea until the customers buy and begin to do
so on a regular basis”.

2

THE GOAL OF BUSINESS
• Two theories on what the goal of business is;
1) The goal of business is profit, and profit means
the firm survives and has a chance to grow.
2) The goal of business is to get and keep a
customer. Profit is implied because if you don’t
make a profit, you will not be around to keep
your customer.
You choose which goal you want to accept. The
bottom line is that a profit must be made.
3

SELLING vs MARKETING
• SELLING asks the question “ How do I get the
customer to buy my product?”
• MARKETING takes a broader view and asks
“What does the customer want to buy ?” The
business owner needs to attract new audiences,
study the competition and develop his or her
product or service so that it appeals to a highly
discriminating audience.
4

MARKETING AS A PROCESS

5

MARKETING AS A PROCESS
• The successful marketing process includes;
1)Determining what the customer needs and wants.
2)Developing a product or service to meet those
needs or wants.
3)Understanding the competition and what they
offer.
4)Linking with the customer as a source for fulfilling
his or her needs and wants.
5)Doing all of this at a price that provides a profit so
that the business can continue to grow.
6

Determining What the Customer
Needs or Wants
• A successful business owner analyzes the
market. He or she defines the particular
market segment most likely to purchase
their product or service. The owner then
determines the specific benefits desired by
the customer.

7

Developing a Product or Service
to Meet those Needs or Wants
• Upon understanding what benefits are wanted, the
owner develops a product or service, the features
of which provide the customer with the requested
benefits. Marketing is selling these benefits rather
than the features.
• A feature is any prominent or distinctive aspect,
quality or characteristic. A benefit is what that
feature gives the customer.
• An example would be a reclosable package. The
feature is reclosable: The benefit to the customer
is that it can be reclosed and stored for later use. 8

Understanding the Competition
and What They Offer
• Customers face a large marketplace. A
successful business owner is able to define a
target market and distinguish his or her
business from the competition.
• Walk down an aisle in any food store, look
at all the different brands of a particular
type of product and see how each brand
tries to provide benefits to the customer.
9

10

Linking the Customer as a Source
for Fulfilling His or Her Needs
and Wants
• The successful business owner must let the
customer know he or she is in business. The owner
must also tell the customer how they can meet
their needs, a function known as advertising.
• Types of advertising include radio, TV, newspaper
and magazines, flyers, billboards, web-advertising,
etc.
• The business owner must figure out the most cost
effective way of getting to the target audience.
11

Doing All of this at a Price that
Provides a Profit so the Business
can Continue
• This implies a price of products or services
that allows both the customer and the owner
to feel good about the transaction.
• The business owner must make a profit so
that he or she can stay in business to
continue providing that product or service.
12

MARKETING ACTIVITIES

13

Marketing Activities
• There are basically 4 major categories of
marketing activities known as the 4 P’s:
1)Positioning
2)Production
3)Pricing
4)Promotion
14

Positioning
• Positioning is defining the purpose of your
product or service as it benefits a potential
customer. Positioning is finding a market niche. It
creates a perception of special value and benefits
in your product or service. Developing one’s
position is one of the major goals of the marketing
process.
• An example of positioning is the fast food chain’s
hamburger businesses positioning themselves as
low cost versus another that features customer
choice (“Have it your way” ).
15

Positioning
• Place (where the goods or services are
marketed) and packaging (how the goods or
services are displayed ) are extremely
important. If a product or service appeals to
walk-in traffic, your location must be where
such traffic occurs, not in a limited traffic
area. If you are developing a product for an
upscale market, the packaging must reflect
the image you are trying to attain.
16

Production
• Successful marketing achieves business
growth. The owner must have anticipated
and planned for this growth in the
production process. The inability to fill
orders can quickly strangle a firm’s growth
and even cause the firm to go out of
business.
17

Courtesy of USDA

18

Pricing
• Pricing is a key factor to business success.
• Pricing can be done as a “wild guess”, based on
what the competition charges or as a cost-buildup
process.
• I strongly prefer the cost buildup model whereby
you list all your costs (raw materials, processing
costs, packaging, promotion, salaries, distribution,
etc.) and then add a profit margin.
• Go to another module to learn the cost buildup
details.
19

Pricing
• Look at what the competition charges as compared
to your cost. How can you do it cheaper or better
than the competition?
• Are people willing to pay that price for your
product or service?.
• How about running promotions on your product or
services so people will try it - buy one, get one
free, coupons with a certain amount off ?
• Most new entrepreneurs tend to underprice their
products and services.
20

Promotion
• This addresses the question “How will people
know about my product or service ?”
• Promotions include paid advertising such as radio,
TV, newspaper, etc, and unpaid publicity such as
press releases, etc. Promotions may also include
trade shows, mailings, internet, in-store demos,
etc.
• Promotional efforts must occur in the media that
your perspective customers use.
• Successful promotional efforts focus on the
benefits of your product or service
• Benefits can be convenience (precooked,
21
reclosable packaging), fun, good health, etc.

22

Promotion
• Customers do not buy a product or service for its
features.They buy it for what it can do for them.
• Learn to romanticize your product. Watch TV ads–
wearing certain brands of trousers make you more
appealing to the opposite sex. Laugh? It works.
Watch some TV ads- what is the message they are
sending?
• Brand loyalty; brand-conscious society
• Develop sales literature- price list, catalog sheet,
product information sheet, point of purchase info.
23

Your Company IMAGE
• Although not traditionally thought of as
marketing, I am a believer in how customers
perceive your company’s image.
• Your letters and correspondence- Professional. Are
your telephones answered professionally ?
• Are your salespersons ethical? Is your receptionist
cheerful, optimistic, properly attired ?
• What about your business facility- people like to
work with professional organizations and your
office and facilities tell them about your
professionalism.
24

Your Company IMAGE
• Business owners must remain aware of the
customer’s perception of the business and move
quickly to correct any negative images.
• Do you contribute to the community or show any
concern for the environment.
• Do the people within your organization project the
image of the company in a favorable way?

25

Service After the Sales
• Effective Marketing must continue with the
product or service after the final sale.
• This support includes service, assistance,
warranties, returns and refunds.

26

Service
• Advertising is expensive. It gets the
customer to try your product or service. It is
a good start but remember, the goal is to
have customer’s repeat business.
• Over time, you will notice that 80% of your
sales will come from just 20% of your total
customers.
27

MARKET RESEARCH

28

Market Research
• Before one starts a business and even periodically
while in business, one should conduct market
research.
• Market research is an organized process to gather,
analyze, interpret and utilize relevant information
about the business environment for the purposes
of making accurate business decisions.
• Market research focuses on potential customers,
existing customers, the competition and the
business environment .
29

Market Research
• The ultimate goal of market research is business
success.
• The objective of market research is to;
1)Identify potential target markets.
2)Identify customer needs and wants.
3)Determine if the product or service meets customer
needs.
4)Determine the best promotion technique for each
market.
5)Examine the competition.
30

Market Research
• The purpose of market research data is to help the
business owner make better decisions.
• Using market research, the business owner can
develop an accurate understanding of the potential
customer.
• The goal of market research is to reveal unfilled
needs in the form of a market niche, customer’s
needs, a competitor’s weakness or an unused
marketing strategy. The ultimate goal is to
increase the business’ sales and profits.
31

Doing Market Research
• Anyone can do market research to some
extent.
• Basically, you want to gather information
about;
1)Your customers or potential customers
2)Your competition
3)General market information
Let’s go through each in greater detail.
32

About your Customers or
Potential Customers
• General demographic information such as – age,
where they live, where they work, race, gender,
marital status, income, number of children,
education, home ownership, lifestyle
• Needs, wants and desired benefits
• Past and future purchases (What, when, why,
where, how much)
• Products and services that compliment or
substitute
• Use of various media (radio, TV, newspaper,
magazines, etc.)
33

Warranty Cards
• Whenever you buy any appliance and certain
goods, you are requested to fill out a warranty
card. If you fill out the warranty card, the product
you bought will be under warranty for some
specified period of time. Note how much the
information on the warranty card parallels the
demographic information on the previous page.
• Warranty cards serve as a prime method of
collecting marketing information.
34

About the Competition
•
•
•
•
•
•

•
•

Who are they?
What products and/or services do they offer?
What is the price range of products and services?
What are their policies on returns, credit,
warranties, etc.?
Are there any special services?
If they are a store-type business, what is their staff
like (experience, customer respect, customer
focus)?
What kinds of promotions/ advertising do they do?
What is their company image like to the average
customer?
35

General Market Information
• The physical/geographical area (traffic flow,
development plans, history, growth pattern).
• The industry as a whole.
• The economy as a whole.

36

Analyzing Market Research Data
• Once you have collected as much data as
you reasonably can, you need to organize it
by the SWOT format;
• S = Strengths
• W= Weaknesses
• O= Opportunities
• T= Threats
37

SWOT Grid
My Business

Its Environment

Strengths

Opportunities

Weaknesses

Threats

38

The SWOT Grid
• In the grid, you evaluate your business or
business potentials and its weaknesses.
• When you evaluate the environment, where
do you see chances for growth and what
might slow your business ?.

39

Marketing Research
• Where we can get market information;
-The Internet brings information to your finger
tips.
-Visit a food store and just look around not only in
the area that you want to enter but other food
groups ( e.g. what are the dairy foods people doing
that I can adopt?).
-Talk to people in the business from entrepreneurs
to store owners, brokers, sales representatives, etc.
Most people like to help others and will tell you
more than you ever dreamed.
40

Market Research
• Market research identifies the available
market, discovers the best method to reach
the target market and asks what the
customer needs and wants. Market research
is a simple, structured, objective way of
learning about people- the people who will
buy your product or service.
41

RESOURCES
• There are 2 keys sources of information
1)A book entitled From Kitchen to Market by
Stephan F Hall. Sold via Amazon.com for about
$20- A complete, easy to understand book on
taking a food product to market.
2)The Arkansas Small Business Development Center
in Little Rock (501/324-9043) has a resource
library that contains many references and a
brochure entitled Market Designs that will help.
42

43

44

CONCLUSIONS
• This module should have made you think about
the purpose and goals of marketing and how to do
market research.
• Marketing is probably the single most important
aspect in starting and maintaining a food business.
• Whether you are starting a new food business or
maintaining an existing business, it is important
that you constantly monitor your marketing
efforts.
45

46


Slide 31

INTRODUCTION TO FOOD
MARKETING
3116
Steven C Seideman
Extension Food Processing Specialist
Cooperative Extension Service
1

INTRODUCTION
• To many people, “MARKETING” means either
selling or advertising of your business.
• Jay Levinson in his book “ Guerilla Marketing”
defines marketing as “everything you do to
promote your business from the moment you think
of the idea until the customers buy and begin to do
so on a regular basis”.

2

THE GOAL OF BUSINESS
• Two theories on what the goal of business is;
1) The goal of business is profit, and profit means
the firm survives and has a chance to grow.
2) The goal of business is to get and keep a
customer. Profit is implied because if you don’t
make a profit, you will not be around to keep
your customer.
You choose which goal you want to accept. The
bottom line is that a profit must be made.
3

SELLING vs MARKETING
• SELLING asks the question “ How do I get the
customer to buy my product?”
• MARKETING takes a broader view and asks
“What does the customer want to buy ?” The
business owner needs to attract new audiences,
study the competition and develop his or her
product or service so that it appeals to a highly
discriminating audience.
4

MARKETING AS A PROCESS

5

MARKETING AS A PROCESS
• The successful marketing process includes;
1)Determining what the customer needs and wants.
2)Developing a product or service to meet those
needs or wants.
3)Understanding the competition and what they
offer.
4)Linking with the customer as a source for fulfilling
his or her needs and wants.
5)Doing all of this at a price that provides a profit so
that the business can continue to grow.
6

Determining What the Customer
Needs or Wants
• A successful business owner analyzes the
market. He or she defines the particular
market segment most likely to purchase
their product or service. The owner then
determines the specific benefits desired by
the customer.

7

Developing a Product or Service
to Meet those Needs or Wants
• Upon understanding what benefits are wanted, the
owner develops a product or service, the features
of which provide the customer with the requested
benefits. Marketing is selling these benefits rather
than the features.
• A feature is any prominent or distinctive aspect,
quality or characteristic. A benefit is what that
feature gives the customer.
• An example would be a reclosable package. The
feature is reclosable: The benefit to the customer
is that it can be reclosed and stored for later use. 8

Understanding the Competition
and What They Offer
• Customers face a large marketplace. A
successful business owner is able to define a
target market and distinguish his or her
business from the competition.
• Walk down an aisle in any food store, look
at all the different brands of a particular
type of product and see how each brand
tries to provide benefits to the customer.
9

10

Linking the Customer as a Source
for Fulfilling His or Her Needs
and Wants
• The successful business owner must let the
customer know he or she is in business. The owner
must also tell the customer how they can meet
their needs, a function known as advertising.
• Types of advertising include radio, TV, newspaper
and magazines, flyers, billboards, web-advertising,
etc.
• The business owner must figure out the most cost
effective way of getting to the target audience.
11

Doing All of this at a Price that
Provides a Profit so the Business
can Continue
• This implies a price of products or services
that allows both the customer and the owner
to feel good about the transaction.
• The business owner must make a profit so
that he or she can stay in business to
continue providing that product or service.
12

MARKETING ACTIVITIES

13

Marketing Activities
• There are basically 4 major categories of
marketing activities known as the 4 P’s:
1)Positioning
2)Production
3)Pricing
4)Promotion
14

Positioning
• Positioning is defining the purpose of your
product or service as it benefits a potential
customer. Positioning is finding a market niche. It
creates a perception of special value and benefits
in your product or service. Developing one’s
position is one of the major goals of the marketing
process.
• An example of positioning is the fast food chain’s
hamburger businesses positioning themselves as
low cost versus another that features customer
choice (“Have it your way” ).
15

Positioning
• Place (where the goods or services are
marketed) and packaging (how the goods or
services are displayed ) are extremely
important. If a product or service appeals to
walk-in traffic, your location must be where
such traffic occurs, not in a limited traffic
area. If you are developing a product for an
upscale market, the packaging must reflect
the image you are trying to attain.
16

Production
• Successful marketing achieves business
growth. The owner must have anticipated
and planned for this growth in the
production process. The inability to fill
orders can quickly strangle a firm’s growth
and even cause the firm to go out of
business.
17

Courtesy of USDA

18

Pricing
• Pricing is a key factor to business success.
• Pricing can be done as a “wild guess”, based on
what the competition charges or as a cost-buildup
process.
• I strongly prefer the cost buildup model whereby
you list all your costs (raw materials, processing
costs, packaging, promotion, salaries, distribution,
etc.) and then add a profit margin.
• Go to another module to learn the cost buildup
details.
19

Pricing
• Look at what the competition charges as compared
to your cost. How can you do it cheaper or better
than the competition?
• Are people willing to pay that price for your
product or service?.
• How about running promotions on your product or
services so people will try it - buy one, get one
free, coupons with a certain amount off ?
• Most new entrepreneurs tend to underprice their
products and services.
20

Promotion
• This addresses the question “How will people
know about my product or service ?”
• Promotions include paid advertising such as radio,
TV, newspaper, etc, and unpaid publicity such as
press releases, etc. Promotions may also include
trade shows, mailings, internet, in-store demos,
etc.
• Promotional efforts must occur in the media that
your perspective customers use.
• Successful promotional efforts focus on the
benefits of your product or service
• Benefits can be convenience (precooked,
21
reclosable packaging), fun, good health, etc.

22

Promotion
• Customers do not buy a product or service for its
features.They buy it for what it can do for them.
• Learn to romanticize your product. Watch TV ads–
wearing certain brands of trousers make you more
appealing to the opposite sex. Laugh? It works.
Watch some TV ads- what is the message they are
sending?
• Brand loyalty; brand-conscious society
• Develop sales literature- price list, catalog sheet,
product information sheet, point of purchase info.
23

Your Company IMAGE
• Although not traditionally thought of as
marketing, I am a believer in how customers
perceive your company’s image.
• Your letters and correspondence- Professional. Are
your telephones answered professionally ?
• Are your salespersons ethical? Is your receptionist
cheerful, optimistic, properly attired ?
• What about your business facility- people like to
work with professional organizations and your
office and facilities tell them about your
professionalism.
24

Your Company IMAGE
• Business owners must remain aware of the
customer’s perception of the business and move
quickly to correct any negative images.
• Do you contribute to the community or show any
concern for the environment.
• Do the people within your organization project the
image of the company in a favorable way?

25

Service After the Sales
• Effective Marketing must continue with the
product or service after the final sale.
• This support includes service, assistance,
warranties, returns and refunds.

26

Service
• Advertising is expensive. It gets the
customer to try your product or service. It is
a good start but remember, the goal is to
have customer’s repeat business.
• Over time, you will notice that 80% of your
sales will come from just 20% of your total
customers.
27

MARKET RESEARCH

28

Market Research
• Before one starts a business and even periodically
while in business, one should conduct market
research.
• Market research is an organized process to gather,
analyze, interpret and utilize relevant information
about the business environment for the purposes
of making accurate business decisions.
• Market research focuses on potential customers,
existing customers, the competition and the
business environment .
29

Market Research
• The ultimate goal of market research is business
success.
• The objective of market research is to;
1)Identify potential target markets.
2)Identify customer needs and wants.
3)Determine if the product or service meets customer
needs.
4)Determine the best promotion technique for each
market.
5)Examine the competition.
30

Market Research
• The purpose of market research data is to help the
business owner make better decisions.
• Using market research, the business owner can
develop an accurate understanding of the potential
customer.
• The goal of market research is to reveal unfilled
needs in the form of a market niche, customer’s
needs, a competitor’s weakness or an unused
marketing strategy. The ultimate goal is to
increase the business’ sales and profits.
31

Doing Market Research
• Anyone can do market research to some
extent.
• Basically, you want to gather information
about;
1)Your customers or potential customers
2)Your competition
3)General market information
Let’s go through each in greater detail.
32

About your Customers or
Potential Customers
• General demographic information such as – age,
where they live, where they work, race, gender,
marital status, income, number of children,
education, home ownership, lifestyle
• Needs, wants and desired benefits
• Past and future purchases (What, when, why,
where, how much)
• Products and services that compliment or
substitute
• Use of various media (radio, TV, newspaper,
magazines, etc.)
33

Warranty Cards
• Whenever you buy any appliance and certain
goods, you are requested to fill out a warranty
card. If you fill out the warranty card, the product
you bought will be under warranty for some
specified period of time. Note how much the
information on the warranty card parallels the
demographic information on the previous page.
• Warranty cards serve as a prime method of
collecting marketing information.
34

About the Competition
•
•
•
•
•
•

•
•

Who are they?
What products and/or services do they offer?
What is the price range of products and services?
What are their policies on returns, credit,
warranties, etc.?
Are there any special services?
If they are a store-type business, what is their staff
like (experience, customer respect, customer
focus)?
What kinds of promotions/ advertising do they do?
What is their company image like to the average
customer?
35

General Market Information
• The physical/geographical area (traffic flow,
development plans, history, growth pattern).
• The industry as a whole.
• The economy as a whole.

36

Analyzing Market Research Data
• Once you have collected as much data as
you reasonably can, you need to organize it
by the SWOT format;
• S = Strengths
• W= Weaknesses
• O= Opportunities
• T= Threats
37

SWOT Grid
My Business

Its Environment

Strengths

Opportunities

Weaknesses

Threats

38

The SWOT Grid
• In the grid, you evaluate your business or
business potentials and its weaknesses.
• When you evaluate the environment, where
do you see chances for growth and what
might slow your business ?.

39

Marketing Research
• Where we can get market information;
-The Internet brings information to your finger
tips.
-Visit a food store and just look around not only in
the area that you want to enter but other food
groups ( e.g. what are the dairy foods people doing
that I can adopt?).
-Talk to people in the business from entrepreneurs
to store owners, brokers, sales representatives, etc.
Most people like to help others and will tell you
more than you ever dreamed.
40

Market Research
• Market research identifies the available
market, discovers the best method to reach
the target market and asks what the
customer needs and wants. Market research
is a simple, structured, objective way of
learning about people- the people who will
buy your product or service.
41

RESOURCES
• There are 2 keys sources of information
1)A book entitled From Kitchen to Market by
Stephan F Hall. Sold via Amazon.com for about
$20- A complete, easy to understand book on
taking a food product to market.
2)The Arkansas Small Business Development Center
in Little Rock (501/324-9043) has a resource
library that contains many references and a
brochure entitled Market Designs that will help.
42

43

44

CONCLUSIONS
• This module should have made you think about
the purpose and goals of marketing and how to do
market research.
• Marketing is probably the single most important
aspect in starting and maintaining a food business.
• Whether you are starting a new food business or
maintaining an existing business, it is important
that you constantly monitor your marketing
efforts.
45

46


Slide 32

INTRODUCTION TO FOOD
MARKETING
3116
Steven C Seideman
Extension Food Processing Specialist
Cooperative Extension Service
1

INTRODUCTION
• To many people, “MARKETING” means either
selling or advertising of your business.
• Jay Levinson in his book “ Guerilla Marketing”
defines marketing as “everything you do to
promote your business from the moment you think
of the idea until the customers buy and begin to do
so on a regular basis”.

2

THE GOAL OF BUSINESS
• Two theories on what the goal of business is;
1) The goal of business is profit, and profit means
the firm survives and has a chance to grow.
2) The goal of business is to get and keep a
customer. Profit is implied because if you don’t
make a profit, you will not be around to keep
your customer.
You choose which goal you want to accept. The
bottom line is that a profit must be made.
3

SELLING vs MARKETING
• SELLING asks the question “ How do I get the
customer to buy my product?”
• MARKETING takes a broader view and asks
“What does the customer want to buy ?” The
business owner needs to attract new audiences,
study the competition and develop his or her
product or service so that it appeals to a highly
discriminating audience.
4

MARKETING AS A PROCESS

5

MARKETING AS A PROCESS
• The successful marketing process includes;
1)Determining what the customer needs and wants.
2)Developing a product or service to meet those
needs or wants.
3)Understanding the competition and what they
offer.
4)Linking with the customer as a source for fulfilling
his or her needs and wants.
5)Doing all of this at a price that provides a profit so
that the business can continue to grow.
6

Determining What the Customer
Needs or Wants
• A successful business owner analyzes the
market. He or she defines the particular
market segment most likely to purchase
their product or service. The owner then
determines the specific benefits desired by
the customer.

7

Developing a Product or Service
to Meet those Needs or Wants
• Upon understanding what benefits are wanted, the
owner develops a product or service, the features
of which provide the customer with the requested
benefits. Marketing is selling these benefits rather
than the features.
• A feature is any prominent or distinctive aspect,
quality or characteristic. A benefit is what that
feature gives the customer.
• An example would be a reclosable package. The
feature is reclosable: The benefit to the customer
is that it can be reclosed and stored for later use. 8

Understanding the Competition
and What They Offer
• Customers face a large marketplace. A
successful business owner is able to define a
target market and distinguish his or her
business from the competition.
• Walk down an aisle in any food store, look
at all the different brands of a particular
type of product and see how each brand
tries to provide benefits to the customer.
9

10

Linking the Customer as a Source
for Fulfilling His or Her Needs
and Wants
• The successful business owner must let the
customer know he or she is in business. The owner
must also tell the customer how they can meet
their needs, a function known as advertising.
• Types of advertising include radio, TV, newspaper
and magazines, flyers, billboards, web-advertising,
etc.
• The business owner must figure out the most cost
effective way of getting to the target audience.
11

Doing All of this at a Price that
Provides a Profit so the Business
can Continue
• This implies a price of products or services
that allows both the customer and the owner
to feel good about the transaction.
• The business owner must make a profit so
that he or she can stay in business to
continue providing that product or service.
12

MARKETING ACTIVITIES

13

Marketing Activities
• There are basically 4 major categories of
marketing activities known as the 4 P’s:
1)Positioning
2)Production
3)Pricing
4)Promotion
14

Positioning
• Positioning is defining the purpose of your
product or service as it benefits a potential
customer. Positioning is finding a market niche. It
creates a perception of special value and benefits
in your product or service. Developing one’s
position is one of the major goals of the marketing
process.
• An example of positioning is the fast food chain’s
hamburger businesses positioning themselves as
low cost versus another that features customer
choice (“Have it your way” ).
15

Positioning
• Place (where the goods or services are
marketed) and packaging (how the goods or
services are displayed ) are extremely
important. If a product or service appeals to
walk-in traffic, your location must be where
such traffic occurs, not in a limited traffic
area. If you are developing a product for an
upscale market, the packaging must reflect
the image you are trying to attain.
16

Production
• Successful marketing achieves business
growth. The owner must have anticipated
and planned for this growth in the
production process. The inability to fill
orders can quickly strangle a firm’s growth
and even cause the firm to go out of
business.
17

Courtesy of USDA

18

Pricing
• Pricing is a key factor to business success.
• Pricing can be done as a “wild guess”, based on
what the competition charges or as a cost-buildup
process.
• I strongly prefer the cost buildup model whereby
you list all your costs (raw materials, processing
costs, packaging, promotion, salaries, distribution,
etc.) and then add a profit margin.
• Go to another module to learn the cost buildup
details.
19

Pricing
• Look at what the competition charges as compared
to your cost. How can you do it cheaper or better
than the competition?
• Are people willing to pay that price for your
product or service?.
• How about running promotions on your product or
services so people will try it - buy one, get one
free, coupons with a certain amount off ?
• Most new entrepreneurs tend to underprice their
products and services.
20

Promotion
• This addresses the question “How will people
know about my product or service ?”
• Promotions include paid advertising such as radio,
TV, newspaper, etc, and unpaid publicity such as
press releases, etc. Promotions may also include
trade shows, mailings, internet, in-store demos,
etc.
• Promotional efforts must occur in the media that
your perspective customers use.
• Successful promotional efforts focus on the
benefits of your product or service
• Benefits can be convenience (precooked,
21
reclosable packaging), fun, good health, etc.

22

Promotion
• Customers do not buy a product or service for its
features.They buy it for what it can do for them.
• Learn to romanticize your product. Watch TV ads–
wearing certain brands of trousers make you more
appealing to the opposite sex. Laugh? It works.
Watch some TV ads- what is the message they are
sending?
• Brand loyalty; brand-conscious society
• Develop sales literature- price list, catalog sheet,
product information sheet, point of purchase info.
23

Your Company IMAGE
• Although not traditionally thought of as
marketing, I am a believer in how customers
perceive your company’s image.
• Your letters and correspondence- Professional. Are
your telephones answered professionally ?
• Are your salespersons ethical? Is your receptionist
cheerful, optimistic, properly attired ?
• What about your business facility- people like to
work with professional organizations and your
office and facilities tell them about your
professionalism.
24

Your Company IMAGE
• Business owners must remain aware of the
customer’s perception of the business and move
quickly to correct any negative images.
• Do you contribute to the community or show any
concern for the environment.
• Do the people within your organization project the
image of the company in a favorable way?

25

Service After the Sales
• Effective Marketing must continue with the
product or service after the final sale.
• This support includes service, assistance,
warranties, returns and refunds.

26

Service
• Advertising is expensive. It gets the
customer to try your product or service. It is
a good start but remember, the goal is to
have customer’s repeat business.
• Over time, you will notice that 80% of your
sales will come from just 20% of your total
customers.
27

MARKET RESEARCH

28

Market Research
• Before one starts a business and even periodically
while in business, one should conduct market
research.
• Market research is an organized process to gather,
analyze, interpret and utilize relevant information
about the business environment for the purposes
of making accurate business decisions.
• Market research focuses on potential customers,
existing customers, the competition and the
business environment .
29

Market Research
• The ultimate goal of market research is business
success.
• The objective of market research is to;
1)Identify potential target markets.
2)Identify customer needs and wants.
3)Determine if the product or service meets customer
needs.
4)Determine the best promotion technique for each
market.
5)Examine the competition.
30

Market Research
• The purpose of market research data is to help the
business owner make better decisions.
• Using market research, the business owner can
develop an accurate understanding of the potential
customer.
• The goal of market research is to reveal unfilled
needs in the form of a market niche, customer’s
needs, a competitor’s weakness or an unused
marketing strategy. The ultimate goal is to
increase the business’ sales and profits.
31

Doing Market Research
• Anyone can do market research to some
extent.
• Basically, you want to gather information
about;
1)Your customers or potential customers
2)Your competition
3)General market information
Let’s go through each in greater detail.
32

About your Customers or
Potential Customers
• General demographic information such as – age,
where they live, where they work, race, gender,
marital status, income, number of children,
education, home ownership, lifestyle
• Needs, wants and desired benefits
• Past and future purchases (What, when, why,
where, how much)
• Products and services that compliment or
substitute
• Use of various media (radio, TV, newspaper,
magazines, etc.)
33

Warranty Cards
• Whenever you buy any appliance and certain
goods, you are requested to fill out a warranty
card. If you fill out the warranty card, the product
you bought will be under warranty for some
specified period of time. Note how much the
information on the warranty card parallels the
demographic information on the previous page.
• Warranty cards serve as a prime method of
collecting marketing information.
34

About the Competition
•
•
•
•
•
•

•
•

Who are they?
What products and/or services do they offer?
What is the price range of products and services?
What are their policies on returns, credit,
warranties, etc.?
Are there any special services?
If they are a store-type business, what is their staff
like (experience, customer respect, customer
focus)?
What kinds of promotions/ advertising do they do?
What is their company image like to the average
customer?
35

General Market Information
• The physical/geographical area (traffic flow,
development plans, history, growth pattern).
• The industry as a whole.
• The economy as a whole.

36

Analyzing Market Research Data
• Once you have collected as much data as
you reasonably can, you need to organize it
by the SWOT format;
• S = Strengths
• W= Weaknesses
• O= Opportunities
• T= Threats
37

SWOT Grid
My Business

Its Environment

Strengths

Opportunities

Weaknesses

Threats

38

The SWOT Grid
• In the grid, you evaluate your business or
business potentials and its weaknesses.
• When you evaluate the environment, where
do you see chances for growth and what
might slow your business ?.

39

Marketing Research
• Where we can get market information;
-The Internet brings information to your finger
tips.
-Visit a food store and just look around not only in
the area that you want to enter but other food
groups ( e.g. what are the dairy foods people doing
that I can adopt?).
-Talk to people in the business from entrepreneurs
to store owners, brokers, sales representatives, etc.
Most people like to help others and will tell you
more than you ever dreamed.
40

Market Research
• Market research identifies the available
market, discovers the best method to reach
the target market and asks what the
customer needs and wants. Market research
is a simple, structured, objective way of
learning about people- the people who will
buy your product or service.
41

RESOURCES
• There are 2 keys sources of information
1)A book entitled From Kitchen to Market by
Stephan F Hall. Sold via Amazon.com for about
$20- A complete, easy to understand book on
taking a food product to market.
2)The Arkansas Small Business Development Center
in Little Rock (501/324-9043) has a resource
library that contains many references and a
brochure entitled Market Designs that will help.
42

43

44

CONCLUSIONS
• This module should have made you think about
the purpose and goals of marketing and how to do
market research.
• Marketing is probably the single most important
aspect in starting and maintaining a food business.
• Whether you are starting a new food business or
maintaining an existing business, it is important
that you constantly monitor your marketing
efforts.
45

46


Slide 33

INTRODUCTION TO FOOD
MARKETING
3116
Steven C Seideman
Extension Food Processing Specialist
Cooperative Extension Service
1

INTRODUCTION
• To many people, “MARKETING” means either
selling or advertising of your business.
• Jay Levinson in his book “ Guerilla Marketing”
defines marketing as “everything you do to
promote your business from the moment you think
of the idea until the customers buy and begin to do
so on a regular basis”.

2

THE GOAL OF BUSINESS
• Two theories on what the goal of business is;
1) The goal of business is profit, and profit means
the firm survives and has a chance to grow.
2) The goal of business is to get and keep a
customer. Profit is implied because if you don’t
make a profit, you will not be around to keep
your customer.
You choose which goal you want to accept. The
bottom line is that a profit must be made.
3

SELLING vs MARKETING
• SELLING asks the question “ How do I get the
customer to buy my product?”
• MARKETING takes a broader view and asks
“What does the customer want to buy ?” The
business owner needs to attract new audiences,
study the competition and develop his or her
product or service so that it appeals to a highly
discriminating audience.
4

MARKETING AS A PROCESS

5

MARKETING AS A PROCESS
• The successful marketing process includes;
1)Determining what the customer needs and wants.
2)Developing a product or service to meet those
needs or wants.
3)Understanding the competition and what they
offer.
4)Linking with the customer as a source for fulfilling
his or her needs and wants.
5)Doing all of this at a price that provides a profit so
that the business can continue to grow.
6

Determining What the Customer
Needs or Wants
• A successful business owner analyzes the
market. He or she defines the particular
market segment most likely to purchase
their product or service. The owner then
determines the specific benefits desired by
the customer.

7

Developing a Product or Service
to Meet those Needs or Wants
• Upon understanding what benefits are wanted, the
owner develops a product or service, the features
of which provide the customer with the requested
benefits. Marketing is selling these benefits rather
than the features.
• A feature is any prominent or distinctive aspect,
quality or characteristic. A benefit is what that
feature gives the customer.
• An example would be a reclosable package. The
feature is reclosable: The benefit to the customer
is that it can be reclosed and stored for later use. 8

Understanding the Competition
and What They Offer
• Customers face a large marketplace. A
successful business owner is able to define a
target market and distinguish his or her
business from the competition.
• Walk down an aisle in any food store, look
at all the different brands of a particular
type of product and see how each brand
tries to provide benefits to the customer.
9

10

Linking the Customer as a Source
for Fulfilling His or Her Needs
and Wants
• The successful business owner must let the
customer know he or she is in business. The owner
must also tell the customer how they can meet
their needs, a function known as advertising.
• Types of advertising include radio, TV, newspaper
and magazines, flyers, billboards, web-advertising,
etc.
• The business owner must figure out the most cost
effective way of getting to the target audience.
11

Doing All of this at a Price that
Provides a Profit so the Business
can Continue
• This implies a price of products or services
that allows both the customer and the owner
to feel good about the transaction.
• The business owner must make a profit so
that he or she can stay in business to
continue providing that product or service.
12

MARKETING ACTIVITIES

13

Marketing Activities
• There are basically 4 major categories of
marketing activities known as the 4 P’s:
1)Positioning
2)Production
3)Pricing
4)Promotion
14

Positioning
• Positioning is defining the purpose of your
product or service as it benefits a potential
customer. Positioning is finding a market niche. It
creates a perception of special value and benefits
in your product or service. Developing one’s
position is one of the major goals of the marketing
process.
• An example of positioning is the fast food chain’s
hamburger businesses positioning themselves as
low cost versus another that features customer
choice (“Have it your way” ).
15

Positioning
• Place (where the goods or services are
marketed) and packaging (how the goods or
services are displayed ) are extremely
important. If a product or service appeals to
walk-in traffic, your location must be where
such traffic occurs, not in a limited traffic
area. If you are developing a product for an
upscale market, the packaging must reflect
the image you are trying to attain.
16

Production
• Successful marketing achieves business
growth. The owner must have anticipated
and planned for this growth in the
production process. The inability to fill
orders can quickly strangle a firm’s growth
and even cause the firm to go out of
business.
17

Courtesy of USDA

18

Pricing
• Pricing is a key factor to business success.
• Pricing can be done as a “wild guess”, based on
what the competition charges or as a cost-buildup
process.
• I strongly prefer the cost buildup model whereby
you list all your costs (raw materials, processing
costs, packaging, promotion, salaries, distribution,
etc.) and then add a profit margin.
• Go to another module to learn the cost buildup
details.
19

Pricing
• Look at what the competition charges as compared
to your cost. How can you do it cheaper or better
than the competition?
• Are people willing to pay that price for your
product or service?.
• How about running promotions on your product or
services so people will try it - buy one, get one
free, coupons with a certain amount off ?
• Most new entrepreneurs tend to underprice their
products and services.
20

Promotion
• This addresses the question “How will people
know about my product or service ?”
• Promotions include paid advertising such as radio,
TV, newspaper, etc, and unpaid publicity such as
press releases, etc. Promotions may also include
trade shows, mailings, internet, in-store demos,
etc.
• Promotional efforts must occur in the media that
your perspective customers use.
• Successful promotional efforts focus on the
benefits of your product or service
• Benefits can be convenience (precooked,
21
reclosable packaging), fun, good health, etc.

22

Promotion
• Customers do not buy a product or service for its
features.They buy it for what it can do for them.
• Learn to romanticize your product. Watch TV ads–
wearing certain brands of trousers make you more
appealing to the opposite sex. Laugh? It works.
Watch some TV ads- what is the message they are
sending?
• Brand loyalty; brand-conscious society
• Develop sales literature- price list, catalog sheet,
product information sheet, point of purchase info.
23

Your Company IMAGE
• Although not traditionally thought of as
marketing, I am a believer in how customers
perceive your company’s image.
• Your letters and correspondence- Professional. Are
your telephones answered professionally ?
• Are your salespersons ethical? Is your receptionist
cheerful, optimistic, properly attired ?
• What about your business facility- people like to
work with professional organizations and your
office and facilities tell them about your
professionalism.
24

Your Company IMAGE
• Business owners must remain aware of the
customer’s perception of the business and move
quickly to correct any negative images.
• Do you contribute to the community or show any
concern for the environment.
• Do the people within your organization project the
image of the company in a favorable way?

25

Service After the Sales
• Effective Marketing must continue with the
product or service after the final sale.
• This support includes service, assistance,
warranties, returns and refunds.

26

Service
• Advertising is expensive. It gets the
customer to try your product or service. It is
a good start but remember, the goal is to
have customer’s repeat business.
• Over time, you will notice that 80% of your
sales will come from just 20% of your total
customers.
27

MARKET RESEARCH

28

Market Research
• Before one starts a business and even periodically
while in business, one should conduct market
research.
• Market research is an organized process to gather,
analyze, interpret and utilize relevant information
about the business environment for the purposes
of making accurate business decisions.
• Market research focuses on potential customers,
existing customers, the competition and the
business environment .
29

Market Research
• The ultimate goal of market research is business
success.
• The objective of market research is to;
1)Identify potential target markets.
2)Identify customer needs and wants.
3)Determine if the product or service meets customer
needs.
4)Determine the best promotion technique for each
market.
5)Examine the competition.
30

Market Research
• The purpose of market research data is to help the
business owner make better decisions.
• Using market research, the business owner can
develop an accurate understanding of the potential
customer.
• The goal of market research is to reveal unfilled
needs in the form of a market niche, customer’s
needs, a competitor’s weakness or an unused
marketing strategy. The ultimate goal is to
increase the business’ sales and profits.
31

Doing Market Research
• Anyone can do market research to some
extent.
• Basically, you want to gather information
about;
1)Your customers or potential customers
2)Your competition
3)General market information
Let’s go through each in greater detail.
32

About your Customers or
Potential Customers
• General demographic information such as – age,
where they live, where they work, race, gender,
marital status, income, number of children,
education, home ownership, lifestyle
• Needs, wants and desired benefits
• Past and future purchases (What, when, why,
where, how much)
• Products and services that compliment or
substitute
• Use of various media (radio, TV, newspaper,
magazines, etc.)
33

Warranty Cards
• Whenever you buy any appliance and certain
goods, you are requested to fill out a warranty
card. If you fill out the warranty card, the product
you bought will be under warranty for some
specified period of time. Note how much the
information on the warranty card parallels the
demographic information on the previous page.
• Warranty cards serve as a prime method of
collecting marketing information.
34

About the Competition
•
•
•
•
•
•

•
•

Who are they?
What products and/or services do they offer?
What is the price range of products and services?
What are their policies on returns, credit,
warranties, etc.?
Are there any special services?
If they are a store-type business, what is their staff
like (experience, customer respect, customer
focus)?
What kinds of promotions/ advertising do they do?
What is their company image like to the average
customer?
35

General Market Information
• The physical/geographical area (traffic flow,
development plans, history, growth pattern).
• The industry as a whole.
• The economy as a whole.

36

Analyzing Market Research Data
• Once you have collected as much data as
you reasonably can, you need to organize it
by the SWOT format;
• S = Strengths
• W= Weaknesses
• O= Opportunities
• T= Threats
37

SWOT Grid
My Business

Its Environment

Strengths

Opportunities

Weaknesses

Threats

38

The SWOT Grid
• In the grid, you evaluate your business or
business potentials and its weaknesses.
• When you evaluate the environment, where
do you see chances for growth and what
might slow your business ?.

39

Marketing Research
• Where we can get market information;
-The Internet brings information to your finger
tips.
-Visit a food store and just look around not only in
the area that you want to enter but other food
groups ( e.g. what are the dairy foods people doing
that I can adopt?).
-Talk to people in the business from entrepreneurs
to store owners, brokers, sales representatives, etc.
Most people like to help others and will tell you
more than you ever dreamed.
40

Market Research
• Market research identifies the available
market, discovers the best method to reach
the target market and asks what the
customer needs and wants. Market research
is a simple, structured, objective way of
learning about people- the people who will
buy your product or service.
41

RESOURCES
• There are 2 keys sources of information
1)A book entitled From Kitchen to Market by
Stephan F Hall. Sold via Amazon.com for about
$20- A complete, easy to understand book on
taking a food product to market.
2)The Arkansas Small Business Development Center
in Little Rock (501/324-9043) has a resource
library that contains many references and a
brochure entitled Market Designs that will help.
42

43

44

CONCLUSIONS
• This module should have made you think about
the purpose and goals of marketing and how to do
market research.
• Marketing is probably the single most important
aspect in starting and maintaining a food business.
• Whether you are starting a new food business or
maintaining an existing business, it is important
that you constantly monitor your marketing
efforts.
45

46


Slide 34

INTRODUCTION TO FOOD
MARKETING
3116
Steven C Seideman
Extension Food Processing Specialist
Cooperative Extension Service
1

INTRODUCTION
• To many people, “MARKETING” means either
selling or advertising of your business.
• Jay Levinson in his book “ Guerilla Marketing”
defines marketing as “everything you do to
promote your business from the moment you think
of the idea until the customers buy and begin to do
so on a regular basis”.

2

THE GOAL OF BUSINESS
• Two theories on what the goal of business is;
1) The goal of business is profit, and profit means
the firm survives and has a chance to grow.
2) The goal of business is to get and keep a
customer. Profit is implied because if you don’t
make a profit, you will not be around to keep
your customer.
You choose which goal you want to accept. The
bottom line is that a profit must be made.
3

SELLING vs MARKETING
• SELLING asks the question “ How do I get the
customer to buy my product?”
• MARKETING takes a broader view and asks
“What does the customer want to buy ?” The
business owner needs to attract new audiences,
study the competition and develop his or her
product or service so that it appeals to a highly
discriminating audience.
4

MARKETING AS A PROCESS

5

MARKETING AS A PROCESS
• The successful marketing process includes;
1)Determining what the customer needs and wants.
2)Developing a product or service to meet those
needs or wants.
3)Understanding the competition and what they
offer.
4)Linking with the customer as a source for fulfilling
his or her needs and wants.
5)Doing all of this at a price that provides a profit so
that the business can continue to grow.
6

Determining What the Customer
Needs or Wants
• A successful business owner analyzes the
market. He or she defines the particular
market segment most likely to purchase
their product or service. The owner then
determines the specific benefits desired by
the customer.

7

Developing a Product or Service
to Meet those Needs or Wants
• Upon understanding what benefits are wanted, the
owner develops a product or service, the features
of which provide the customer with the requested
benefits. Marketing is selling these benefits rather
than the features.
• A feature is any prominent or distinctive aspect,
quality or characteristic. A benefit is what that
feature gives the customer.
• An example would be a reclosable package. The
feature is reclosable: The benefit to the customer
is that it can be reclosed and stored for later use. 8

Understanding the Competition
and What They Offer
• Customers face a large marketplace. A
successful business owner is able to define a
target market and distinguish his or her
business from the competition.
• Walk down an aisle in any food store, look
at all the different brands of a particular
type of product and see how each brand
tries to provide benefits to the customer.
9

10

Linking the Customer as a Source
for Fulfilling His or Her Needs
and Wants
• The successful business owner must let the
customer know he or she is in business. The owner
must also tell the customer how they can meet
their needs, a function known as advertising.
• Types of advertising include radio, TV, newspaper
and magazines, flyers, billboards, web-advertising,
etc.
• The business owner must figure out the most cost
effective way of getting to the target audience.
11

Doing All of this at a Price that
Provides a Profit so the Business
can Continue
• This implies a price of products or services
that allows both the customer and the owner
to feel good about the transaction.
• The business owner must make a profit so
that he or she can stay in business to
continue providing that product or service.
12

MARKETING ACTIVITIES

13

Marketing Activities
• There are basically 4 major categories of
marketing activities known as the 4 P’s:
1)Positioning
2)Production
3)Pricing
4)Promotion
14

Positioning
• Positioning is defining the purpose of your
product or service as it benefits a potential
customer. Positioning is finding a market niche. It
creates a perception of special value and benefits
in your product or service. Developing one’s
position is one of the major goals of the marketing
process.
• An example of positioning is the fast food chain’s
hamburger businesses positioning themselves as
low cost versus another that features customer
choice (“Have it your way” ).
15

Positioning
• Place (where the goods or services are
marketed) and packaging (how the goods or
services are displayed ) are extremely
important. If a product or service appeals to
walk-in traffic, your location must be where
such traffic occurs, not in a limited traffic
area. If you are developing a product for an
upscale market, the packaging must reflect
the image you are trying to attain.
16

Production
• Successful marketing achieves business
growth. The owner must have anticipated
and planned for this growth in the
production process. The inability to fill
orders can quickly strangle a firm’s growth
and even cause the firm to go out of
business.
17

Courtesy of USDA

18

Pricing
• Pricing is a key factor to business success.
• Pricing can be done as a “wild guess”, based on
what the competition charges or as a cost-buildup
process.
• I strongly prefer the cost buildup model whereby
you list all your costs (raw materials, processing
costs, packaging, promotion, salaries, distribution,
etc.) and then add a profit margin.
• Go to another module to learn the cost buildup
details.
19

Pricing
• Look at what the competition charges as compared
to your cost. How can you do it cheaper or better
than the competition?
• Are people willing to pay that price for your
product or service?.
• How about running promotions on your product or
services so people will try it - buy one, get one
free, coupons with a certain amount off ?
• Most new entrepreneurs tend to underprice their
products and services.
20

Promotion
• This addresses the question “How will people
know about my product or service ?”
• Promotions include paid advertising such as radio,
TV, newspaper, etc, and unpaid publicity such as
press releases, etc. Promotions may also include
trade shows, mailings, internet, in-store demos,
etc.
• Promotional efforts must occur in the media that
your perspective customers use.
• Successful promotional efforts focus on the
benefits of your product or service
• Benefits can be convenience (precooked,
21
reclosable packaging), fun, good health, etc.

22

Promotion
• Customers do not buy a product or service for its
features.They buy it for what it can do for them.
• Learn to romanticize your product. Watch TV ads–
wearing certain brands of trousers make you more
appealing to the opposite sex. Laugh? It works.
Watch some TV ads- what is the message they are
sending?
• Brand loyalty; brand-conscious society
• Develop sales literature- price list, catalog sheet,
product information sheet, point of purchase info.
23

Your Company IMAGE
• Although not traditionally thought of as
marketing, I am a believer in how customers
perceive your company’s image.
• Your letters and correspondence- Professional. Are
your telephones answered professionally ?
• Are your salespersons ethical? Is your receptionist
cheerful, optimistic, properly attired ?
• What about your business facility- people like to
work with professional organizations and your
office and facilities tell them about your
professionalism.
24

Your Company IMAGE
• Business owners must remain aware of the
customer’s perception of the business and move
quickly to correct any negative images.
• Do you contribute to the community or show any
concern for the environment.
• Do the people within your organization project the
image of the company in a favorable way?

25

Service After the Sales
• Effective Marketing must continue with the
product or service after the final sale.
• This support includes service, assistance,
warranties, returns and refunds.

26

Service
• Advertising is expensive. It gets the
customer to try your product or service. It is
a good start but remember, the goal is to
have customer’s repeat business.
• Over time, you will notice that 80% of your
sales will come from just 20% of your total
customers.
27

MARKET RESEARCH

28

Market Research
• Before one starts a business and even periodically
while in business, one should conduct market
research.
• Market research is an organized process to gather,
analyze, interpret and utilize relevant information
about the business environment for the purposes
of making accurate business decisions.
• Market research focuses on potential customers,
existing customers, the competition and the
business environment .
29

Market Research
• The ultimate goal of market research is business
success.
• The objective of market research is to;
1)Identify potential target markets.
2)Identify customer needs and wants.
3)Determine if the product or service meets customer
needs.
4)Determine the best promotion technique for each
market.
5)Examine the competition.
30

Market Research
• The purpose of market research data is to help the
business owner make better decisions.
• Using market research, the business owner can
develop an accurate understanding of the potential
customer.
• The goal of market research is to reveal unfilled
needs in the form of a market niche, customer’s
needs, a competitor’s weakness or an unused
marketing strategy. The ultimate goal is to
increase the business’ sales and profits.
31

Doing Market Research
• Anyone can do market research to some
extent.
• Basically, you want to gather information
about;
1)Your customers or potential customers
2)Your competition
3)General market information
Let’s go through each in greater detail.
32

About your Customers or
Potential Customers
• General demographic information such as – age,
where they live, where they work, race, gender,
marital status, income, number of children,
education, home ownership, lifestyle
• Needs, wants and desired benefits
• Past and future purchases (What, when, why,
where, how much)
• Products and services that compliment or
substitute
• Use of various media (radio, TV, newspaper,
magazines, etc.)
33

Warranty Cards
• Whenever you buy any appliance and certain
goods, you are requested to fill out a warranty
card. If you fill out the warranty card, the product
you bought will be under warranty for some
specified period of time. Note how much the
information on the warranty card parallels the
demographic information on the previous page.
• Warranty cards serve as a prime method of
collecting marketing information.
34

About the Competition
•
•
•
•
•
•

•
•

Who are they?
What products and/or services do they offer?
What is the price range of products and services?
What are their policies on returns, credit,
warranties, etc.?
Are there any special services?
If they are a store-type business, what is their staff
like (experience, customer respect, customer
focus)?
What kinds of promotions/ advertising do they do?
What is their company image like to the average
customer?
35

General Market Information
• The physical/geographical area (traffic flow,
development plans, history, growth pattern).
• The industry as a whole.
• The economy as a whole.

36

Analyzing Market Research Data
• Once you have collected as much data as
you reasonably can, you need to organize it
by the SWOT format;
• S = Strengths
• W= Weaknesses
• O= Opportunities
• T= Threats
37

SWOT Grid
My Business

Its Environment

Strengths

Opportunities

Weaknesses

Threats

38

The SWOT Grid
• In the grid, you evaluate your business or
business potentials and its weaknesses.
• When you evaluate the environment, where
do you see chances for growth and what
might slow your business ?.

39

Marketing Research
• Where we can get market information;
-The Internet brings information to your finger
tips.
-Visit a food store and just look around not only in
the area that you want to enter but other food
groups ( e.g. what are the dairy foods people doing
that I can adopt?).
-Talk to people in the business from entrepreneurs
to store owners, brokers, sales representatives, etc.
Most people like to help others and will tell you
more than you ever dreamed.
40

Market Research
• Market research identifies the available
market, discovers the best method to reach
the target market and asks what the
customer needs and wants. Market research
is a simple, structured, objective way of
learning about people- the people who will
buy your product or service.
41

RESOURCES
• There are 2 keys sources of information
1)A book entitled From Kitchen to Market by
Stephan F Hall. Sold via Amazon.com for about
$20- A complete, easy to understand book on
taking a food product to market.
2)The Arkansas Small Business Development Center
in Little Rock (501/324-9043) has a resource
library that contains many references and a
brochure entitled Market Designs that will help.
42

43

44

CONCLUSIONS
• This module should have made you think about
the purpose and goals of marketing and how to do
market research.
• Marketing is probably the single most important
aspect in starting and maintaining a food business.
• Whether you are starting a new food business or
maintaining an existing business, it is important
that you constantly monitor your marketing
efforts.
45

46


Slide 35

INTRODUCTION TO FOOD
MARKETING
3116
Steven C Seideman
Extension Food Processing Specialist
Cooperative Extension Service
1

INTRODUCTION
• To many people, “MARKETING” means either
selling or advertising of your business.
• Jay Levinson in his book “ Guerilla Marketing”
defines marketing as “everything you do to
promote your business from the moment you think
of the idea until the customers buy and begin to do
so on a regular basis”.

2

THE GOAL OF BUSINESS
• Two theories on what the goal of business is;
1) The goal of business is profit, and profit means
the firm survives and has a chance to grow.
2) The goal of business is to get and keep a
customer. Profit is implied because if you don’t
make a profit, you will not be around to keep
your customer.
You choose which goal you want to accept. The
bottom line is that a profit must be made.
3

SELLING vs MARKETING
• SELLING asks the question “ How do I get the
customer to buy my product?”
• MARKETING takes a broader view and asks
“What does the customer want to buy ?” The
business owner needs to attract new audiences,
study the competition and develop his or her
product or service so that it appeals to a highly
discriminating audience.
4

MARKETING AS A PROCESS

5

MARKETING AS A PROCESS
• The successful marketing process includes;
1)Determining what the customer needs and wants.
2)Developing a product or service to meet those
needs or wants.
3)Understanding the competition and what they
offer.
4)Linking with the customer as a source for fulfilling
his or her needs and wants.
5)Doing all of this at a price that provides a profit so
that the business can continue to grow.
6

Determining What the Customer
Needs or Wants
• A successful business owner analyzes the
market. He or she defines the particular
market segment most likely to purchase
their product or service. The owner then
determines the specific benefits desired by
the customer.

7

Developing a Product or Service
to Meet those Needs or Wants
• Upon understanding what benefits are wanted, the
owner develops a product or service, the features
of which provide the customer with the requested
benefits. Marketing is selling these benefits rather
than the features.
• A feature is any prominent or distinctive aspect,
quality or characteristic. A benefit is what that
feature gives the customer.
• An example would be a reclosable package. The
feature is reclosable: The benefit to the customer
is that it can be reclosed and stored for later use. 8

Understanding the Competition
and What They Offer
• Customers face a large marketplace. A
successful business owner is able to define a
target market and distinguish his or her
business from the competition.
• Walk down an aisle in any food store, look
at all the different brands of a particular
type of product and see how each brand
tries to provide benefits to the customer.
9

10

Linking the Customer as a Source
for Fulfilling His or Her Needs
and Wants
• The successful business owner must let the
customer know he or she is in business. The owner
must also tell the customer how they can meet
their needs, a function known as advertising.
• Types of advertising include radio, TV, newspaper
and magazines, flyers, billboards, web-advertising,
etc.
• The business owner must figure out the most cost
effective way of getting to the target audience.
11

Doing All of this at a Price that
Provides a Profit so the Business
can Continue
• This implies a price of products or services
that allows both the customer and the owner
to feel good about the transaction.
• The business owner must make a profit so
that he or she can stay in business to
continue providing that product or service.
12

MARKETING ACTIVITIES

13

Marketing Activities
• There are basically 4 major categories of
marketing activities known as the 4 P’s:
1)Positioning
2)Production
3)Pricing
4)Promotion
14

Positioning
• Positioning is defining the purpose of your
product or service as it benefits a potential
customer. Positioning is finding a market niche. It
creates a perception of special value and benefits
in your product or service. Developing one’s
position is one of the major goals of the marketing
process.
• An example of positioning is the fast food chain’s
hamburger businesses positioning themselves as
low cost versus another that features customer
choice (“Have it your way” ).
15

Positioning
• Place (where the goods or services are
marketed) and packaging (how the goods or
services are displayed ) are extremely
important. If a product or service appeals to
walk-in traffic, your location must be where
such traffic occurs, not in a limited traffic
area. If you are developing a product for an
upscale market, the packaging must reflect
the image you are trying to attain.
16

Production
• Successful marketing achieves business
growth. The owner must have anticipated
and planned for this growth in the
production process. The inability to fill
orders can quickly strangle a firm’s growth
and even cause the firm to go out of
business.
17

Courtesy of USDA

18

Pricing
• Pricing is a key factor to business success.
• Pricing can be done as a “wild guess”, based on
what the competition charges or as a cost-buildup
process.
• I strongly prefer the cost buildup model whereby
you list all your costs (raw materials, processing
costs, packaging, promotion, salaries, distribution,
etc.) and then add a profit margin.
• Go to another module to learn the cost buildup
details.
19

Pricing
• Look at what the competition charges as compared
to your cost. How can you do it cheaper or better
than the competition?
• Are people willing to pay that price for your
product or service?.
• How about running promotions on your product or
services so people will try it - buy one, get one
free, coupons with a certain amount off ?
• Most new entrepreneurs tend to underprice their
products and services.
20

Promotion
• This addresses the question “How will people
know about my product or service ?”
• Promotions include paid advertising such as radio,
TV, newspaper, etc, and unpaid publicity such as
press releases, etc. Promotions may also include
trade shows, mailings, internet, in-store demos,
etc.
• Promotional efforts must occur in the media that
your perspective customers use.
• Successful promotional efforts focus on the
benefits of your product or service
• Benefits can be convenience (precooked,
21
reclosable packaging), fun, good health, etc.

22

Promotion
• Customers do not buy a product or service for its
features.They buy it for what it can do for them.
• Learn to romanticize your product. Watch TV ads–
wearing certain brands of trousers make you more
appealing to the opposite sex. Laugh? It works.
Watch some TV ads- what is the message they are
sending?
• Brand loyalty; brand-conscious society
• Develop sales literature- price list, catalog sheet,
product information sheet, point of purchase info.
23

Your Company IMAGE
• Although not traditionally thought of as
marketing, I am a believer in how customers
perceive your company’s image.
• Your letters and correspondence- Professional. Are
your telephones answered professionally ?
• Are your salespersons ethical? Is your receptionist
cheerful, optimistic, properly attired ?
• What about your business facility- people like to
work with professional organizations and your
office and facilities tell them about your
professionalism.
24

Your Company IMAGE
• Business owners must remain aware of the
customer’s perception of the business and move
quickly to correct any negative images.
• Do you contribute to the community or show any
concern for the environment.
• Do the people within your organization project the
image of the company in a favorable way?

25

Service After the Sales
• Effective Marketing must continue with the
product or service after the final sale.
• This support includes service, assistance,
warranties, returns and refunds.

26

Service
• Advertising is expensive. It gets the
customer to try your product or service. It is
a good start but remember, the goal is to
have customer’s repeat business.
• Over time, you will notice that 80% of your
sales will come from just 20% of your total
customers.
27

MARKET RESEARCH

28

Market Research
• Before one starts a business and even periodically
while in business, one should conduct market
research.
• Market research is an organized process to gather,
analyze, interpret and utilize relevant information
about the business environment for the purposes
of making accurate business decisions.
• Market research focuses on potential customers,
existing customers, the competition and the
business environment .
29

Market Research
• The ultimate goal of market research is business
success.
• The objective of market research is to;
1)Identify potential target markets.
2)Identify customer needs and wants.
3)Determine if the product or service meets customer
needs.
4)Determine the best promotion technique for each
market.
5)Examine the competition.
30

Market Research
• The purpose of market research data is to help the
business owner make better decisions.
• Using market research, the business owner can
develop an accurate understanding of the potential
customer.
• The goal of market research is to reveal unfilled
needs in the form of a market niche, customer’s
needs, a competitor’s weakness or an unused
marketing strategy. The ultimate goal is to
increase the business’ sales and profits.
31

Doing Market Research
• Anyone can do market research to some
extent.
• Basically, you want to gather information
about;
1)Your customers or potential customers
2)Your competition
3)General market information
Let’s go through each in greater detail.
32

About your Customers or
Potential Customers
• General demographic information such as – age,
where they live, where they work, race, gender,
marital status, income, number of children,
education, home ownership, lifestyle
• Needs, wants and desired benefits
• Past and future purchases (What, when, why,
where, how much)
• Products and services that compliment or
substitute
• Use of various media (radio, TV, newspaper,
magazines, etc.)
33

Warranty Cards
• Whenever you buy any appliance and certain
goods, you are requested to fill out a warranty
card. If you fill out the warranty card, the product
you bought will be under warranty for some
specified period of time. Note how much the
information on the warranty card parallels the
demographic information on the previous page.
• Warranty cards serve as a prime method of
collecting marketing information.
34

About the Competition
•
•
•
•
•
•

•
•

Who are they?
What products and/or services do they offer?
What is the price range of products and services?
What are their policies on returns, credit,
warranties, etc.?
Are there any special services?
If they are a store-type business, what is their staff
like (experience, customer respect, customer
focus)?
What kinds of promotions/ advertising do they do?
What is their company image like to the average
customer?
35

General Market Information
• The physical/geographical area (traffic flow,
development plans, history, growth pattern).
• The industry as a whole.
• The economy as a whole.

36

Analyzing Market Research Data
• Once you have collected as much data as
you reasonably can, you need to organize it
by the SWOT format;
• S = Strengths
• W= Weaknesses
• O= Opportunities
• T= Threats
37

SWOT Grid
My Business

Its Environment

Strengths

Opportunities

Weaknesses

Threats

38

The SWOT Grid
• In the grid, you evaluate your business or
business potentials and its weaknesses.
• When you evaluate the environment, where
do you see chances for growth and what
might slow your business ?.

39

Marketing Research
• Where we can get market information;
-The Internet brings information to your finger
tips.
-Visit a food store and just look around not only in
the area that you want to enter but other food
groups ( e.g. what are the dairy foods people doing
that I can adopt?).
-Talk to people in the business from entrepreneurs
to store owners, brokers, sales representatives, etc.
Most people like to help others and will tell you
more than you ever dreamed.
40

Market Research
• Market research identifies the available
market, discovers the best method to reach
the target market and asks what the
customer needs and wants. Market research
is a simple, structured, objective way of
learning about people- the people who will
buy your product or service.
41

RESOURCES
• There are 2 keys sources of information
1)A book entitled From Kitchen to Market by
Stephan F Hall. Sold via Amazon.com for about
$20- A complete, easy to understand book on
taking a food product to market.
2)The Arkansas Small Business Development Center
in Little Rock (501/324-9043) has a resource
library that contains many references and a
brochure entitled Market Designs that will help.
42

43

44

CONCLUSIONS
• This module should have made you think about
the purpose and goals of marketing and how to do
market research.
• Marketing is probably the single most important
aspect in starting and maintaining a food business.
• Whether you are starting a new food business or
maintaining an existing business, it is important
that you constantly monitor your marketing
efforts.
45

46


Slide 36

INTRODUCTION TO FOOD
MARKETING
3116
Steven C Seideman
Extension Food Processing Specialist
Cooperative Extension Service
1

INTRODUCTION
• To many people, “MARKETING” means either
selling or advertising of your business.
• Jay Levinson in his book “ Guerilla Marketing”
defines marketing as “everything you do to
promote your business from the moment you think
of the idea until the customers buy and begin to do
so on a regular basis”.

2

THE GOAL OF BUSINESS
• Two theories on what the goal of business is;
1) The goal of business is profit, and profit means
the firm survives and has a chance to grow.
2) The goal of business is to get and keep a
customer. Profit is implied because if you don’t
make a profit, you will not be around to keep
your customer.
You choose which goal you want to accept. The
bottom line is that a profit must be made.
3

SELLING vs MARKETING
• SELLING asks the question “ How do I get the
customer to buy my product?”
• MARKETING takes a broader view and asks
“What does the customer want to buy ?” The
business owner needs to attract new audiences,
study the competition and develop his or her
product or service so that it appeals to a highly
discriminating audience.
4

MARKETING AS A PROCESS

5

MARKETING AS A PROCESS
• The successful marketing process includes;
1)Determining what the customer needs and wants.
2)Developing a product or service to meet those
needs or wants.
3)Understanding the competition and what they
offer.
4)Linking with the customer as a source for fulfilling
his or her needs and wants.
5)Doing all of this at a price that provides a profit so
that the business can continue to grow.
6

Determining What the Customer
Needs or Wants
• A successful business owner analyzes the
market. He or she defines the particular
market segment most likely to purchase
their product or service. The owner then
determines the specific benefits desired by
the customer.

7

Developing a Product or Service
to Meet those Needs or Wants
• Upon understanding what benefits are wanted, the
owner develops a product or service, the features
of which provide the customer with the requested
benefits. Marketing is selling these benefits rather
than the features.
• A feature is any prominent or distinctive aspect,
quality or characteristic. A benefit is what that
feature gives the customer.
• An example would be a reclosable package. The
feature is reclosable: The benefit to the customer
is that it can be reclosed and stored for later use. 8

Understanding the Competition
and What They Offer
• Customers face a large marketplace. A
successful business owner is able to define a
target market and distinguish his or her
business from the competition.
• Walk down an aisle in any food store, look
at all the different brands of a particular
type of product and see how each brand
tries to provide benefits to the customer.
9

10

Linking the Customer as a Source
for Fulfilling His or Her Needs
and Wants
• The successful business owner must let the
customer know he or she is in business. The owner
must also tell the customer how they can meet
their needs, a function known as advertising.
• Types of advertising include radio, TV, newspaper
and magazines, flyers, billboards, web-advertising,
etc.
• The business owner must figure out the most cost
effective way of getting to the target audience.
11

Doing All of this at a Price that
Provides a Profit so the Business
can Continue
• This implies a price of products or services
that allows both the customer and the owner
to feel good about the transaction.
• The business owner must make a profit so
that he or she can stay in business to
continue providing that product or service.
12

MARKETING ACTIVITIES

13

Marketing Activities
• There are basically 4 major categories of
marketing activities known as the 4 P’s:
1)Positioning
2)Production
3)Pricing
4)Promotion
14

Positioning
• Positioning is defining the purpose of your
product or service as it benefits a potential
customer. Positioning is finding a market niche. It
creates a perception of special value and benefits
in your product or service. Developing one’s
position is one of the major goals of the marketing
process.
• An example of positioning is the fast food chain’s
hamburger businesses positioning themselves as
low cost versus another that features customer
choice (“Have it your way” ).
15

Positioning
• Place (where the goods or services are
marketed) and packaging (how the goods or
services are displayed ) are extremely
important. If a product or service appeals to
walk-in traffic, your location must be where
such traffic occurs, not in a limited traffic
area. If you are developing a product for an
upscale market, the packaging must reflect
the image you are trying to attain.
16

Production
• Successful marketing achieves business
growth. The owner must have anticipated
and planned for this growth in the
production process. The inability to fill
orders can quickly strangle a firm’s growth
and even cause the firm to go out of
business.
17

Courtesy of USDA

18

Pricing
• Pricing is a key factor to business success.
• Pricing can be done as a “wild guess”, based on
what the competition charges or as a cost-buildup
process.
• I strongly prefer the cost buildup model whereby
you list all your costs (raw materials, processing
costs, packaging, promotion, salaries, distribution,
etc.) and then add a profit margin.
• Go to another module to learn the cost buildup
details.
19

Pricing
• Look at what the competition charges as compared
to your cost. How can you do it cheaper or better
than the competition?
• Are people willing to pay that price for your
product or service?.
• How about running promotions on your product or
services so people will try it - buy one, get one
free, coupons with a certain amount off ?
• Most new entrepreneurs tend to underprice their
products and services.
20

Promotion
• This addresses the question “How will people
know about my product or service ?”
• Promotions include paid advertising such as radio,
TV, newspaper, etc, and unpaid publicity such as
press releases, etc. Promotions may also include
trade shows, mailings, internet, in-store demos,
etc.
• Promotional efforts must occur in the media that
your perspective customers use.
• Successful promotional efforts focus on the
benefits of your product or service
• Benefits can be convenience (precooked,
21
reclosable packaging), fun, good health, etc.

22

Promotion
• Customers do not buy a product or service for its
features.They buy it for what it can do for them.
• Learn to romanticize your product. Watch TV ads–
wearing certain brands of trousers make you more
appealing to the opposite sex. Laugh? It works.
Watch some TV ads- what is the message they are
sending?
• Brand loyalty; brand-conscious society
• Develop sales literature- price list, catalog sheet,
product information sheet, point of purchase info.
23

Your Company IMAGE
• Although not traditionally thought of as
marketing, I am a believer in how customers
perceive your company’s image.
• Your letters and correspondence- Professional. Are
your telephones answered professionally ?
• Are your salespersons ethical? Is your receptionist
cheerful, optimistic, properly attired ?
• What about your business facility- people like to
work with professional organizations and your
office and facilities tell them about your
professionalism.
24

Your Company IMAGE
• Business owners must remain aware of the
customer’s perception of the business and move
quickly to correct any negative images.
• Do you contribute to the community or show any
concern for the environment.
• Do the people within your organization project the
image of the company in a favorable way?

25

Service After the Sales
• Effective Marketing must continue with the
product or service after the final sale.
• This support includes service, assistance,
warranties, returns and refunds.

26

Service
• Advertising is expensive. It gets the
customer to try your product or service. It is
a good start but remember, the goal is to
have customer’s repeat business.
• Over time, you will notice that 80% of your
sales will come from just 20% of your total
customers.
27

MARKET RESEARCH

28

Market Research
• Before one starts a business and even periodically
while in business, one should conduct market
research.
• Market research is an organized process to gather,
analyze, interpret and utilize relevant information
about the business environment for the purposes
of making accurate business decisions.
• Market research focuses on potential customers,
existing customers, the competition and the
business environment .
29

Market Research
• The ultimate goal of market research is business
success.
• The objective of market research is to;
1)Identify potential target markets.
2)Identify customer needs and wants.
3)Determine if the product or service meets customer
needs.
4)Determine the best promotion technique for each
market.
5)Examine the competition.
30

Market Research
• The purpose of market research data is to help the
business owner make better decisions.
• Using market research, the business owner can
develop an accurate understanding of the potential
customer.
• The goal of market research is to reveal unfilled
needs in the form of a market niche, customer’s
needs, a competitor’s weakness or an unused
marketing strategy. The ultimate goal is to
increase the business’ sales and profits.
31

Doing Market Research
• Anyone can do market research to some
extent.
• Basically, you want to gather information
about;
1)Your customers or potential customers
2)Your competition
3)General market information
Let’s go through each in greater detail.
32

About your Customers or
Potential Customers
• General demographic information such as – age,
where they live, where they work, race, gender,
marital status, income, number of children,
education, home ownership, lifestyle
• Needs, wants and desired benefits
• Past and future purchases (What, when, why,
where, how much)
• Products and services that compliment or
substitute
• Use of various media (radio, TV, newspaper,
magazines, etc.)
33

Warranty Cards
• Whenever you buy any appliance and certain
goods, you are requested to fill out a warranty
card. If you fill out the warranty card, the product
you bought will be under warranty for some
specified period of time. Note how much the
information on the warranty card parallels the
demographic information on the previous page.
• Warranty cards serve as a prime method of
collecting marketing information.
34

About the Competition
•
•
•
•
•
•

•
•

Who are they?
What products and/or services do they offer?
What is the price range of products and services?
What are their policies on returns, credit,
warranties, etc.?
Are there any special services?
If they are a store-type business, what is their staff
like (experience, customer respect, customer
focus)?
What kinds of promotions/ advertising do they do?
What is their company image like to the average
customer?
35

General Market Information
• The physical/geographical area (traffic flow,
development plans, history, growth pattern).
• The industry as a whole.
• The economy as a whole.

36

Analyzing Market Research Data
• Once you have collected as much data as
you reasonably can, you need to organize it
by the SWOT format;
• S = Strengths
• W= Weaknesses
• O= Opportunities
• T= Threats
37

SWOT Grid
My Business

Its Environment

Strengths

Opportunities

Weaknesses

Threats

38

The SWOT Grid
• In the grid, you evaluate your business or
business potentials and its weaknesses.
• When you evaluate the environment, where
do you see chances for growth and what
might slow your business ?.

39

Marketing Research
• Where we can get market information;
-The Internet brings information to your finger
tips.
-Visit a food store and just look around not only in
the area that you want to enter but other food
groups ( e.g. what are the dairy foods people doing
that I can adopt?).
-Talk to people in the business from entrepreneurs
to store owners, brokers, sales representatives, etc.
Most people like to help others and will tell you
more than you ever dreamed.
40

Market Research
• Market research identifies the available
market, discovers the best method to reach
the target market and asks what the
customer needs and wants. Market research
is a simple, structured, objective way of
learning about people- the people who will
buy your product or service.
41

RESOURCES
• There are 2 keys sources of information
1)A book entitled From Kitchen to Market by
Stephan F Hall. Sold via Amazon.com for about
$20- A complete, easy to understand book on
taking a food product to market.
2)The Arkansas Small Business Development Center
in Little Rock (501/324-9043) has a resource
library that contains many references and a
brochure entitled Market Designs that will help.
42

43

44

CONCLUSIONS
• This module should have made you think about
the purpose and goals of marketing and how to do
market research.
• Marketing is probably the single most important
aspect in starting and maintaining a food business.
• Whether you are starting a new food business or
maintaining an existing business, it is important
that you constantly monitor your marketing
efforts.
45

46


Slide 37

INTRODUCTION TO FOOD
MARKETING
3116
Steven C Seideman
Extension Food Processing Specialist
Cooperative Extension Service
1

INTRODUCTION
• To many people, “MARKETING” means either
selling or advertising of your business.
• Jay Levinson in his book “ Guerilla Marketing”
defines marketing as “everything you do to
promote your business from the moment you think
of the idea until the customers buy and begin to do
so on a regular basis”.

2

THE GOAL OF BUSINESS
• Two theories on what the goal of business is;
1) The goal of business is profit, and profit means
the firm survives and has a chance to grow.
2) The goal of business is to get and keep a
customer. Profit is implied because if you don’t
make a profit, you will not be around to keep
your customer.
You choose which goal you want to accept. The
bottom line is that a profit must be made.
3

SELLING vs MARKETING
• SELLING asks the question “ How do I get the
customer to buy my product?”
• MARKETING takes a broader view and asks
“What does the customer want to buy ?” The
business owner needs to attract new audiences,
study the competition and develop his or her
product or service so that it appeals to a highly
discriminating audience.
4

MARKETING AS A PROCESS

5

MARKETING AS A PROCESS
• The successful marketing process includes;
1)Determining what the customer needs and wants.
2)Developing a product or service to meet those
needs or wants.
3)Understanding the competition and what they
offer.
4)Linking with the customer as a source for fulfilling
his or her needs and wants.
5)Doing all of this at a price that provides a profit so
that the business can continue to grow.
6

Determining What the Customer
Needs or Wants
• A successful business owner analyzes the
market. He or she defines the particular
market segment most likely to purchase
their product or service. The owner then
determines the specific benefits desired by
the customer.

7

Developing a Product or Service
to Meet those Needs or Wants
• Upon understanding what benefits are wanted, the
owner develops a product or service, the features
of which provide the customer with the requested
benefits. Marketing is selling these benefits rather
than the features.
• A feature is any prominent or distinctive aspect,
quality or characteristic. A benefit is what that
feature gives the customer.
• An example would be a reclosable package. The
feature is reclosable: The benefit to the customer
is that it can be reclosed and stored for later use. 8

Understanding the Competition
and What They Offer
• Customers face a large marketplace. A
successful business owner is able to define a
target market and distinguish his or her
business from the competition.
• Walk down an aisle in any food store, look
at all the different brands of a particular
type of product and see how each brand
tries to provide benefits to the customer.
9

10

Linking the Customer as a Source
for Fulfilling His or Her Needs
and Wants
• The successful business owner must let the
customer know he or she is in business. The owner
must also tell the customer how they can meet
their needs, a function known as advertising.
• Types of advertising include radio, TV, newspaper
and magazines, flyers, billboards, web-advertising,
etc.
• The business owner must figure out the most cost
effective way of getting to the target audience.
11

Doing All of this at a Price that
Provides a Profit so the Business
can Continue
• This implies a price of products or services
that allows both the customer and the owner
to feel good about the transaction.
• The business owner must make a profit so
that he or she can stay in business to
continue providing that product or service.
12

MARKETING ACTIVITIES

13

Marketing Activities
• There are basically 4 major categories of
marketing activities known as the 4 P’s:
1)Positioning
2)Production
3)Pricing
4)Promotion
14

Positioning
• Positioning is defining the purpose of your
product or service as it benefits a potential
customer. Positioning is finding a market niche. It
creates a perception of special value and benefits
in your product or service. Developing one’s
position is one of the major goals of the marketing
process.
• An example of positioning is the fast food chain’s
hamburger businesses positioning themselves as
low cost versus another that features customer
choice (“Have it your way” ).
15

Positioning
• Place (where the goods or services are
marketed) and packaging (how the goods or
services are displayed ) are extremely
important. If a product or service appeals to
walk-in traffic, your location must be where
such traffic occurs, not in a limited traffic
area. If you are developing a product for an
upscale market, the packaging must reflect
the image you are trying to attain.
16

Production
• Successful marketing achieves business
growth. The owner must have anticipated
and planned for this growth in the
production process. The inability to fill
orders can quickly strangle a firm’s growth
and even cause the firm to go out of
business.
17

Courtesy of USDA

18

Pricing
• Pricing is a key factor to business success.
• Pricing can be done as a “wild guess”, based on
what the competition charges or as a cost-buildup
process.
• I strongly prefer the cost buildup model whereby
you list all your costs (raw materials, processing
costs, packaging, promotion, salaries, distribution,
etc.) and then add a profit margin.
• Go to another module to learn the cost buildup
details.
19

Pricing
• Look at what the competition charges as compared
to your cost. How can you do it cheaper or better
than the competition?
• Are people willing to pay that price for your
product or service?.
• How about running promotions on your product or
services so people will try it - buy one, get one
free, coupons with a certain amount off ?
• Most new entrepreneurs tend to underprice their
products and services.
20

Promotion
• This addresses the question “How will people
know about my product or service ?”
• Promotions include paid advertising such as radio,
TV, newspaper, etc, and unpaid publicity such as
press releases, etc. Promotions may also include
trade shows, mailings, internet, in-store demos,
etc.
• Promotional efforts must occur in the media that
your perspective customers use.
• Successful promotional efforts focus on the
benefits of your product or service
• Benefits can be convenience (precooked,
21
reclosable packaging), fun, good health, etc.

22

Promotion
• Customers do not buy a product or service for its
features.They buy it for what it can do for them.
• Learn to romanticize your product. Watch TV ads–
wearing certain brands of trousers make you more
appealing to the opposite sex. Laugh? It works.
Watch some TV ads- what is the message they are
sending?
• Brand loyalty; brand-conscious society
• Develop sales literature- price list, catalog sheet,
product information sheet, point of purchase info.
23

Your Company IMAGE
• Although not traditionally thought of as
marketing, I am a believer in how customers
perceive your company’s image.
• Your letters and correspondence- Professional. Are
your telephones answered professionally ?
• Are your salespersons ethical? Is your receptionist
cheerful, optimistic, properly attired ?
• What about your business facility- people like to
work with professional organizations and your
office and facilities tell them about your
professionalism.
24

Your Company IMAGE
• Business owners must remain aware of the
customer’s perception of the business and move
quickly to correct any negative images.
• Do you contribute to the community or show any
concern for the environment.
• Do the people within your organization project the
image of the company in a favorable way?

25

Service After the Sales
• Effective Marketing must continue with the
product or service after the final sale.
• This support includes service, assistance,
warranties, returns and refunds.

26

Service
• Advertising is expensive. It gets the
customer to try your product or service. It is
a good start but remember, the goal is to
have customer’s repeat business.
• Over time, you will notice that 80% of your
sales will come from just 20% of your total
customers.
27

MARKET RESEARCH

28

Market Research
• Before one starts a business and even periodically
while in business, one should conduct market
research.
• Market research is an organized process to gather,
analyze, interpret and utilize relevant information
about the business environment for the purposes
of making accurate business decisions.
• Market research focuses on potential customers,
existing customers, the competition and the
business environment .
29

Market Research
• The ultimate goal of market research is business
success.
• The objective of market research is to;
1)Identify potential target markets.
2)Identify customer needs and wants.
3)Determine if the product or service meets customer
needs.
4)Determine the best promotion technique for each
market.
5)Examine the competition.
30

Market Research
• The purpose of market research data is to help the
business owner make better decisions.
• Using market research, the business owner can
develop an accurate understanding of the potential
customer.
• The goal of market research is to reveal unfilled
needs in the form of a market niche, customer’s
needs, a competitor’s weakness or an unused
marketing strategy. The ultimate goal is to
increase the business’ sales and profits.
31

Doing Market Research
• Anyone can do market research to some
extent.
• Basically, you want to gather information
about;
1)Your customers or potential customers
2)Your competition
3)General market information
Let’s go through each in greater detail.
32

About your Customers or
Potential Customers
• General demographic information such as – age,
where they live, where they work, race, gender,
marital status, income, number of children,
education, home ownership, lifestyle
• Needs, wants and desired benefits
• Past and future purchases (What, when, why,
where, how much)
• Products and services that compliment or
substitute
• Use of various media (radio, TV, newspaper,
magazines, etc.)
33

Warranty Cards
• Whenever you buy any appliance and certain
goods, you are requested to fill out a warranty
card. If you fill out the warranty card, the product
you bought will be under warranty for some
specified period of time. Note how much the
information on the warranty card parallels the
demographic information on the previous page.
• Warranty cards serve as a prime method of
collecting marketing information.
34

About the Competition
•
•
•
•
•
•

•
•

Who are they?
What products and/or services do they offer?
What is the price range of products and services?
What are their policies on returns, credit,
warranties, etc.?
Are there any special services?
If they are a store-type business, what is their staff
like (experience, customer respect, customer
focus)?
What kinds of promotions/ advertising do they do?
What is their company image like to the average
customer?
35

General Market Information
• The physical/geographical area (traffic flow,
development plans, history, growth pattern).
• The industry as a whole.
• The economy as a whole.

36

Analyzing Market Research Data
• Once you have collected as much data as
you reasonably can, you need to organize it
by the SWOT format;
• S = Strengths
• W= Weaknesses
• O= Opportunities
• T= Threats
37

SWOT Grid
My Business

Its Environment

Strengths

Opportunities

Weaknesses

Threats

38

The SWOT Grid
• In the grid, you evaluate your business or
business potentials and its weaknesses.
• When you evaluate the environment, where
do you see chances for growth and what
might slow your business ?.

39

Marketing Research
• Where we can get market information;
-The Internet brings information to your finger
tips.
-Visit a food store and just look around not only in
the area that you want to enter but other food
groups ( e.g. what are the dairy foods people doing
that I can adopt?).
-Talk to people in the business from entrepreneurs
to store owners, brokers, sales representatives, etc.
Most people like to help others and will tell you
more than you ever dreamed.
40

Market Research
• Market research identifies the available
market, discovers the best method to reach
the target market and asks what the
customer needs and wants. Market research
is a simple, structured, objective way of
learning about people- the people who will
buy your product or service.
41

RESOURCES
• There are 2 keys sources of information
1)A book entitled From Kitchen to Market by
Stephan F Hall. Sold via Amazon.com for about
$20- A complete, easy to understand book on
taking a food product to market.
2)The Arkansas Small Business Development Center
in Little Rock (501/324-9043) has a resource
library that contains many references and a
brochure entitled Market Designs that will help.
42

43

44

CONCLUSIONS
• This module should have made you think about
the purpose and goals of marketing and how to do
market research.
• Marketing is probably the single most important
aspect in starting and maintaining a food business.
• Whether you are starting a new food business or
maintaining an existing business, it is important
that you constantly monitor your marketing
efforts.
45

46


Slide 38

INTRODUCTION TO FOOD
MARKETING
3116
Steven C Seideman
Extension Food Processing Specialist
Cooperative Extension Service
1

INTRODUCTION
• To many people, “MARKETING” means either
selling or advertising of your business.
• Jay Levinson in his book “ Guerilla Marketing”
defines marketing as “everything you do to
promote your business from the moment you think
of the idea until the customers buy and begin to do
so on a regular basis”.

2

THE GOAL OF BUSINESS
• Two theories on what the goal of business is;
1) The goal of business is profit, and profit means
the firm survives and has a chance to grow.
2) The goal of business is to get and keep a
customer. Profit is implied because if you don’t
make a profit, you will not be around to keep
your customer.
You choose which goal you want to accept. The
bottom line is that a profit must be made.
3

SELLING vs MARKETING
• SELLING asks the question “ How do I get the
customer to buy my product?”
• MARKETING takes a broader view and asks
“What does the customer want to buy ?” The
business owner needs to attract new audiences,
study the competition and develop his or her
product or service so that it appeals to a highly
discriminating audience.
4

MARKETING AS A PROCESS

5

MARKETING AS A PROCESS
• The successful marketing process includes;
1)Determining what the customer needs and wants.
2)Developing a product or service to meet those
needs or wants.
3)Understanding the competition and what they
offer.
4)Linking with the customer as a source for fulfilling
his or her needs and wants.
5)Doing all of this at a price that provides a profit so
that the business can continue to grow.
6

Determining What the Customer
Needs or Wants
• A successful business owner analyzes the
market. He or she defines the particular
market segment most likely to purchase
their product or service. The owner then
determines the specific benefits desired by
the customer.

7

Developing a Product or Service
to Meet those Needs or Wants
• Upon understanding what benefits are wanted, the
owner develops a product or service, the features
of which provide the customer with the requested
benefits. Marketing is selling these benefits rather
than the features.
• A feature is any prominent or distinctive aspect,
quality or characteristic. A benefit is what that
feature gives the customer.
• An example would be a reclosable package. The
feature is reclosable: The benefit to the customer
is that it can be reclosed and stored for later use. 8

Understanding the Competition
and What They Offer
• Customers face a large marketplace. A
successful business owner is able to define a
target market and distinguish his or her
business from the competition.
• Walk down an aisle in any food store, look
at all the different brands of a particular
type of product and see how each brand
tries to provide benefits to the customer.
9

10

Linking the Customer as a Source
for Fulfilling His or Her Needs
and Wants
• The successful business owner must let the
customer know he or she is in business. The owner
must also tell the customer how they can meet
their needs, a function known as advertising.
• Types of advertising include radio, TV, newspaper
and magazines, flyers, billboards, web-advertising,
etc.
• The business owner must figure out the most cost
effective way of getting to the target audience.
11

Doing All of this at a Price that
Provides a Profit so the Business
can Continue
• This implies a price of products or services
that allows both the customer and the owner
to feel good about the transaction.
• The business owner must make a profit so
that he or she can stay in business to
continue providing that product or service.
12

MARKETING ACTIVITIES

13

Marketing Activities
• There are basically 4 major categories of
marketing activities known as the 4 P’s:
1)Positioning
2)Production
3)Pricing
4)Promotion
14

Positioning
• Positioning is defining the purpose of your
product or service as it benefits a potential
customer. Positioning is finding a market niche. It
creates a perception of special value and benefits
in your product or service. Developing one’s
position is one of the major goals of the marketing
process.
• An example of positioning is the fast food chain’s
hamburger businesses positioning themselves as
low cost versus another that features customer
choice (“Have it your way” ).
15

Positioning
• Place (where the goods or services are
marketed) and packaging (how the goods or
services are displayed ) are extremely
important. If a product or service appeals to
walk-in traffic, your location must be where
such traffic occurs, not in a limited traffic
area. If you are developing a product for an
upscale market, the packaging must reflect
the image you are trying to attain.
16

Production
• Successful marketing achieves business
growth. The owner must have anticipated
and planned for this growth in the
production process. The inability to fill
orders can quickly strangle a firm’s growth
and even cause the firm to go out of
business.
17

Courtesy of USDA

18

Pricing
• Pricing is a key factor to business success.
• Pricing can be done as a “wild guess”, based on
what the competition charges or as a cost-buildup
process.
• I strongly prefer the cost buildup model whereby
you list all your costs (raw materials, processing
costs, packaging, promotion, salaries, distribution,
etc.) and then add a profit margin.
• Go to another module to learn the cost buildup
details.
19

Pricing
• Look at what the competition charges as compared
to your cost. How can you do it cheaper or better
than the competition?
• Are people willing to pay that price for your
product or service?.
• How about running promotions on your product or
services so people will try it - buy one, get one
free, coupons with a certain amount off ?
• Most new entrepreneurs tend to underprice their
products and services.
20

Promotion
• This addresses the question “How will people
know about my product or service ?”
• Promotions include paid advertising such as radio,
TV, newspaper, etc, and unpaid publicity such as
press releases, etc. Promotions may also include
trade shows, mailings, internet, in-store demos,
etc.
• Promotional efforts must occur in the media that
your perspective customers use.
• Successful promotional efforts focus on the
benefits of your product or service
• Benefits can be convenience (precooked,
21
reclosable packaging), fun, good health, etc.

22

Promotion
• Customers do not buy a product or service for its
features.They buy it for what it can do for them.
• Learn to romanticize your product. Watch TV ads–
wearing certain brands of trousers make you more
appealing to the opposite sex. Laugh? It works.
Watch some TV ads- what is the message they are
sending?
• Brand loyalty; brand-conscious society
• Develop sales literature- price list, catalog sheet,
product information sheet, point of purchase info.
23

Your Company IMAGE
• Although not traditionally thought of as
marketing, I am a believer in how customers
perceive your company’s image.
• Your letters and correspondence- Professional. Are
your telephones answered professionally ?
• Are your salespersons ethical? Is your receptionist
cheerful, optimistic, properly attired ?
• What about your business facility- people like to
work with professional organizations and your
office and facilities tell them about your
professionalism.
24

Your Company IMAGE
• Business owners must remain aware of the
customer’s perception of the business and move
quickly to correct any negative images.
• Do you contribute to the community or show any
concern for the environment.
• Do the people within your organization project the
image of the company in a favorable way?

25

Service After the Sales
• Effective Marketing must continue with the
product or service after the final sale.
• This support includes service, assistance,
warranties, returns and refunds.

26

Service
• Advertising is expensive. It gets the
customer to try your product or service. It is
a good start but remember, the goal is to
have customer’s repeat business.
• Over time, you will notice that 80% of your
sales will come from just 20% of your total
customers.
27

MARKET RESEARCH

28

Market Research
• Before one starts a business and even periodically
while in business, one should conduct market
research.
• Market research is an organized process to gather,
analyze, interpret and utilize relevant information
about the business environment for the purposes
of making accurate business decisions.
• Market research focuses on potential customers,
existing customers, the competition and the
business environment .
29

Market Research
• The ultimate goal of market research is business
success.
• The objective of market research is to;
1)Identify potential target markets.
2)Identify customer needs and wants.
3)Determine if the product or service meets customer
needs.
4)Determine the best promotion technique for each
market.
5)Examine the competition.
30

Market Research
• The purpose of market research data is to help the
business owner make better decisions.
• Using market research, the business owner can
develop an accurate understanding of the potential
customer.
• The goal of market research is to reveal unfilled
needs in the form of a market niche, customer’s
needs, a competitor’s weakness or an unused
marketing strategy. The ultimate goal is to
increase the business’ sales and profits.
31

Doing Market Research
• Anyone can do market research to some
extent.
• Basically, you want to gather information
about;
1)Your customers or potential customers
2)Your competition
3)General market information
Let’s go through each in greater detail.
32

About your Customers or
Potential Customers
• General demographic information such as – age,
where they live, where they work, race, gender,
marital status, income, number of children,
education, home ownership, lifestyle
• Needs, wants and desired benefits
• Past and future purchases (What, when, why,
where, how much)
• Products and services that compliment or
substitute
• Use of various media (radio, TV, newspaper,
magazines, etc.)
33

Warranty Cards
• Whenever you buy any appliance and certain
goods, you are requested to fill out a warranty
card. If you fill out the warranty card, the product
you bought will be under warranty for some
specified period of time. Note how much the
information on the warranty card parallels the
demographic information on the previous page.
• Warranty cards serve as a prime method of
collecting marketing information.
34

About the Competition
•
•
•
•
•
•

•
•

Who are they?
What products and/or services do they offer?
What is the price range of products and services?
What are their policies on returns, credit,
warranties, etc.?
Are there any special services?
If they are a store-type business, what is their staff
like (experience, customer respect, customer
focus)?
What kinds of promotions/ advertising do they do?
What is their company image like to the average
customer?
35

General Market Information
• The physical/geographical area (traffic flow,
development plans, history, growth pattern).
• The industry as a whole.
• The economy as a whole.

36

Analyzing Market Research Data
• Once you have collected as much data as
you reasonably can, you need to organize it
by the SWOT format;
• S = Strengths
• W= Weaknesses
• O= Opportunities
• T= Threats
37

SWOT Grid
My Business

Its Environment

Strengths

Opportunities

Weaknesses

Threats

38

The SWOT Grid
• In the grid, you evaluate your business or
business potentials and its weaknesses.
• When you evaluate the environment, where
do you see chances for growth and what
might slow your business ?.

39

Marketing Research
• Where we can get market information;
-The Internet brings information to your finger
tips.
-Visit a food store and just look around not only in
the area that you want to enter but other food
groups ( e.g. what are the dairy foods people doing
that I can adopt?).
-Talk to people in the business from entrepreneurs
to store owners, brokers, sales representatives, etc.
Most people like to help others and will tell you
more than you ever dreamed.
40

Market Research
• Market research identifies the available
market, discovers the best method to reach
the target market and asks what the
customer needs and wants. Market research
is a simple, structured, objective way of
learning about people- the people who will
buy your product or service.
41

RESOURCES
• There are 2 keys sources of information
1)A book entitled From Kitchen to Market by
Stephan F Hall. Sold via Amazon.com for about
$20- A complete, easy to understand book on
taking a food product to market.
2)The Arkansas Small Business Development Center
in Little Rock (501/324-9043) has a resource
library that contains many references and a
brochure entitled Market Designs that will help.
42

43

44

CONCLUSIONS
• This module should have made you think about
the purpose and goals of marketing and how to do
market research.
• Marketing is probably the single most important
aspect in starting and maintaining a food business.
• Whether you are starting a new food business or
maintaining an existing business, it is important
that you constantly monitor your marketing
efforts.
45

46


Slide 39

INTRODUCTION TO FOOD
MARKETING
3116
Steven C Seideman
Extension Food Processing Specialist
Cooperative Extension Service
1

INTRODUCTION
• To many people, “MARKETING” means either
selling or advertising of your business.
• Jay Levinson in his book “ Guerilla Marketing”
defines marketing as “everything you do to
promote your business from the moment you think
of the idea until the customers buy and begin to do
so on a regular basis”.

2

THE GOAL OF BUSINESS
• Two theories on what the goal of business is;
1) The goal of business is profit, and profit means
the firm survives and has a chance to grow.
2) The goal of business is to get and keep a
customer. Profit is implied because if you don’t
make a profit, you will not be around to keep
your customer.
You choose which goal you want to accept. The
bottom line is that a profit must be made.
3

SELLING vs MARKETING
• SELLING asks the question “ How do I get the
customer to buy my product?”
• MARKETING takes a broader view and asks
“What does the customer want to buy ?” The
business owner needs to attract new audiences,
study the competition and develop his or her
product or service so that it appeals to a highly
discriminating audience.
4

MARKETING AS A PROCESS

5

MARKETING AS A PROCESS
• The successful marketing process includes;
1)Determining what the customer needs and wants.
2)Developing a product or service to meet those
needs or wants.
3)Understanding the competition and what they
offer.
4)Linking with the customer as a source for fulfilling
his or her needs and wants.
5)Doing all of this at a price that provides a profit so
that the business can continue to grow.
6

Determining What the Customer
Needs or Wants
• A successful business owner analyzes the
market. He or she defines the particular
market segment most likely to purchase
their product or service. The owner then
determines the specific benefits desired by
the customer.

7

Developing a Product or Service
to Meet those Needs or Wants
• Upon understanding what benefits are wanted, the
owner develops a product or service, the features
of which provide the customer with the requested
benefits. Marketing is selling these benefits rather
than the features.
• A feature is any prominent or distinctive aspect,
quality or characteristic. A benefit is what that
feature gives the customer.
• An example would be a reclosable package. The
feature is reclosable: The benefit to the customer
is that it can be reclosed and stored for later use. 8

Understanding the Competition
and What They Offer
• Customers face a large marketplace. A
successful business owner is able to define a
target market and distinguish his or her
business from the competition.
• Walk down an aisle in any food store, look
at all the different brands of a particular
type of product and see how each brand
tries to provide benefits to the customer.
9

10

Linking the Customer as a Source
for Fulfilling His or Her Needs
and Wants
• The successful business owner must let the
customer know he or she is in business. The owner
must also tell the customer how they can meet
their needs, a function known as advertising.
• Types of advertising include radio, TV, newspaper
and magazines, flyers, billboards, web-advertising,
etc.
• The business owner must figure out the most cost
effective way of getting to the target audience.
11

Doing All of this at a Price that
Provides a Profit so the Business
can Continue
• This implies a price of products or services
that allows both the customer and the owner
to feel good about the transaction.
• The business owner must make a profit so
that he or she can stay in business to
continue providing that product or service.
12

MARKETING ACTIVITIES

13

Marketing Activities
• There are basically 4 major categories of
marketing activities known as the 4 P’s:
1)Positioning
2)Production
3)Pricing
4)Promotion
14

Positioning
• Positioning is defining the purpose of your
product or service as it benefits a potential
customer. Positioning is finding a market niche. It
creates a perception of special value and benefits
in your product or service. Developing one’s
position is one of the major goals of the marketing
process.
• An example of positioning is the fast food chain’s
hamburger businesses positioning themselves as
low cost versus another that features customer
choice (“Have it your way” ).
15

Positioning
• Place (where the goods or services are
marketed) and packaging (how the goods or
services are displayed ) are extremely
important. If a product or service appeals to
walk-in traffic, your location must be where
such traffic occurs, not in a limited traffic
area. If you are developing a product for an
upscale market, the packaging must reflect
the image you are trying to attain.
16

Production
• Successful marketing achieves business
growth. The owner must have anticipated
and planned for this growth in the
production process. The inability to fill
orders can quickly strangle a firm’s growth
and even cause the firm to go out of
business.
17

Courtesy of USDA

18

Pricing
• Pricing is a key factor to business success.
• Pricing can be done as a “wild guess”, based on
what the competition charges or as a cost-buildup
process.
• I strongly prefer the cost buildup model whereby
you list all your costs (raw materials, processing
costs, packaging, promotion, salaries, distribution,
etc.) and then add a profit margin.
• Go to another module to learn the cost buildup
details.
19

Pricing
• Look at what the competition charges as compared
to your cost. How can you do it cheaper or better
than the competition?
• Are people willing to pay that price for your
product or service?.
• How about running promotions on your product or
services so people will try it - buy one, get one
free, coupons with a certain amount off ?
• Most new entrepreneurs tend to underprice their
products and services.
20

Promotion
• This addresses the question “How will people
know about my product or service ?”
• Promotions include paid advertising such as radio,
TV, newspaper, etc, and unpaid publicity such as
press releases, etc. Promotions may also include
trade shows, mailings, internet, in-store demos,
etc.
• Promotional efforts must occur in the media that
your perspective customers use.
• Successful promotional efforts focus on the
benefits of your product or service
• Benefits can be convenience (precooked,
21
reclosable packaging), fun, good health, etc.

22

Promotion
• Customers do not buy a product or service for its
features.They buy it for what it can do for them.
• Learn to romanticize your product. Watch TV ads–
wearing certain brands of trousers make you more
appealing to the opposite sex. Laugh? It works.
Watch some TV ads- what is the message they are
sending?
• Brand loyalty; brand-conscious society
• Develop sales literature- price list, catalog sheet,
product information sheet, point of purchase info.
23

Your Company IMAGE
• Although not traditionally thought of as
marketing, I am a believer in how customers
perceive your company’s image.
• Your letters and correspondence- Professional. Are
your telephones answered professionally ?
• Are your salespersons ethical? Is your receptionist
cheerful, optimistic, properly attired ?
• What about your business facility- people like to
work with professional organizations and your
office and facilities tell them about your
professionalism.
24

Your Company IMAGE
• Business owners must remain aware of the
customer’s perception of the business and move
quickly to correct any negative images.
• Do you contribute to the community or show any
concern for the environment.
• Do the people within your organization project the
image of the company in a favorable way?

25

Service After the Sales
• Effective Marketing must continue with the
product or service after the final sale.
• This support includes service, assistance,
warranties, returns and refunds.

26

Service
• Advertising is expensive. It gets the
customer to try your product or service. It is
a good start but remember, the goal is to
have customer’s repeat business.
• Over time, you will notice that 80% of your
sales will come from just 20% of your total
customers.
27

MARKET RESEARCH

28

Market Research
• Before one starts a business and even periodically
while in business, one should conduct market
research.
• Market research is an organized process to gather,
analyze, interpret and utilize relevant information
about the business environment for the purposes
of making accurate business decisions.
• Market research focuses on potential customers,
existing customers, the competition and the
business environment .
29

Market Research
• The ultimate goal of market research is business
success.
• The objective of market research is to;
1)Identify potential target markets.
2)Identify customer needs and wants.
3)Determine if the product or service meets customer
needs.
4)Determine the best promotion technique for each
market.
5)Examine the competition.
30

Market Research
• The purpose of market research data is to help the
business owner make better decisions.
• Using market research, the business owner can
develop an accurate understanding of the potential
customer.
• The goal of market research is to reveal unfilled
needs in the form of a market niche, customer’s
needs, a competitor’s weakness or an unused
marketing strategy. The ultimate goal is to
increase the business’ sales and profits.
31

Doing Market Research
• Anyone can do market research to some
extent.
• Basically, you want to gather information
about;
1)Your customers or potential customers
2)Your competition
3)General market information
Let’s go through each in greater detail.
32

About your Customers or
Potential Customers
• General demographic information such as – age,
where they live, where they work, race, gender,
marital status, income, number of children,
education, home ownership, lifestyle
• Needs, wants and desired benefits
• Past and future purchases (What, when, why,
where, how much)
• Products and services that compliment or
substitute
• Use of various media (radio, TV, newspaper,
magazines, etc.)
33

Warranty Cards
• Whenever you buy any appliance and certain
goods, you are requested to fill out a warranty
card. If you fill out the warranty card, the product
you bought will be under warranty for some
specified period of time. Note how much the
information on the warranty card parallels the
demographic information on the previous page.
• Warranty cards serve as a prime method of
collecting marketing information.
34

About the Competition
•
•
•
•
•
•

•
•

Who are they?
What products and/or services do they offer?
What is the price range of products and services?
What are their policies on returns, credit,
warranties, etc.?
Are there any special services?
If they are a store-type business, what is their staff
like (experience, customer respect, customer
focus)?
What kinds of promotions/ advertising do they do?
What is their company image like to the average
customer?
35

General Market Information
• The physical/geographical area (traffic flow,
development plans, history, growth pattern).
• The industry as a whole.
• The economy as a whole.

36

Analyzing Market Research Data
• Once you have collected as much data as
you reasonably can, you need to organize it
by the SWOT format;
• S = Strengths
• W= Weaknesses
• O= Opportunities
• T= Threats
37

SWOT Grid
My Business

Its Environment

Strengths

Opportunities

Weaknesses

Threats

38

The SWOT Grid
• In the grid, you evaluate your business or
business potentials and its weaknesses.
• When you evaluate the environment, where
do you see chances for growth and what
might slow your business ?.

39

Marketing Research
• Where we can get market information;
-The Internet brings information to your finger
tips.
-Visit a food store and just look around not only in
the area that you want to enter but other food
groups ( e.g. what are the dairy foods people doing
that I can adopt?).
-Talk to people in the business from entrepreneurs
to store owners, brokers, sales representatives, etc.
Most people like to help others and will tell you
more than you ever dreamed.
40

Market Research
• Market research identifies the available
market, discovers the best method to reach
the target market and asks what the
customer needs and wants. Market research
is a simple, structured, objective way of
learning about people- the people who will
buy your product or service.
41

RESOURCES
• There are 2 keys sources of information
1)A book entitled From Kitchen to Market by
Stephan F Hall. Sold via Amazon.com for about
$20- A complete, easy to understand book on
taking a food product to market.
2)The Arkansas Small Business Development Center
in Little Rock (501/324-9043) has a resource
library that contains many references and a
brochure entitled Market Designs that will help.
42

43

44

CONCLUSIONS
• This module should have made you think about
the purpose and goals of marketing and how to do
market research.
• Marketing is probably the single most important
aspect in starting and maintaining a food business.
• Whether you are starting a new food business or
maintaining an existing business, it is important
that you constantly monitor your marketing
efforts.
45

46


Slide 40

INTRODUCTION TO FOOD
MARKETING
3116
Steven C Seideman
Extension Food Processing Specialist
Cooperative Extension Service
1

INTRODUCTION
• To many people, “MARKETING” means either
selling or advertising of your business.
• Jay Levinson in his book “ Guerilla Marketing”
defines marketing as “everything you do to
promote your business from the moment you think
of the idea until the customers buy and begin to do
so on a regular basis”.

2

THE GOAL OF BUSINESS
• Two theories on what the goal of business is;
1) The goal of business is profit, and profit means
the firm survives and has a chance to grow.
2) The goal of business is to get and keep a
customer. Profit is implied because if you don’t
make a profit, you will not be around to keep
your customer.
You choose which goal you want to accept. The
bottom line is that a profit must be made.
3

SELLING vs MARKETING
• SELLING asks the question “ How do I get the
customer to buy my product?”
• MARKETING takes a broader view and asks
“What does the customer want to buy ?” The
business owner needs to attract new audiences,
study the competition and develop his or her
product or service so that it appeals to a highly
discriminating audience.
4

MARKETING AS A PROCESS

5

MARKETING AS A PROCESS
• The successful marketing process includes;
1)Determining what the customer needs and wants.
2)Developing a product or service to meet those
needs or wants.
3)Understanding the competition and what they
offer.
4)Linking with the customer as a source for fulfilling
his or her needs and wants.
5)Doing all of this at a price that provides a profit so
that the business can continue to grow.
6

Determining What the Customer
Needs or Wants
• A successful business owner analyzes the
market. He or she defines the particular
market segment most likely to purchase
their product or service. The owner then
determines the specific benefits desired by
the customer.

7

Developing a Product or Service
to Meet those Needs or Wants
• Upon understanding what benefits are wanted, the
owner develops a product or service, the features
of which provide the customer with the requested
benefits. Marketing is selling these benefits rather
than the features.
• A feature is any prominent or distinctive aspect,
quality or characteristic. A benefit is what that
feature gives the customer.
• An example would be a reclosable package. The
feature is reclosable: The benefit to the customer
is that it can be reclosed and stored for later use. 8

Understanding the Competition
and What They Offer
• Customers face a large marketplace. A
successful business owner is able to define a
target market and distinguish his or her
business from the competition.
• Walk down an aisle in any food store, look
at all the different brands of a particular
type of product and see how each brand
tries to provide benefits to the customer.
9

10

Linking the Customer as a Source
for Fulfilling His or Her Needs
and Wants
• The successful business owner must let the
customer know he or she is in business. The owner
must also tell the customer how they can meet
their needs, a function known as advertising.
• Types of advertising include radio, TV, newspaper
and magazines, flyers, billboards, web-advertising,
etc.
• The business owner must figure out the most cost
effective way of getting to the target audience.
11

Doing All of this at a Price that
Provides a Profit so the Business
can Continue
• This implies a price of products or services
that allows both the customer and the owner
to feel good about the transaction.
• The business owner must make a profit so
that he or she can stay in business to
continue providing that product or service.
12

MARKETING ACTIVITIES

13

Marketing Activities
• There are basically 4 major categories of
marketing activities known as the 4 P’s:
1)Positioning
2)Production
3)Pricing
4)Promotion
14

Positioning
• Positioning is defining the purpose of your
product or service as it benefits a potential
customer. Positioning is finding a market niche. It
creates a perception of special value and benefits
in your product or service. Developing one’s
position is one of the major goals of the marketing
process.
• An example of positioning is the fast food chain’s
hamburger businesses positioning themselves as
low cost versus another that features customer
choice (“Have it your way” ).
15

Positioning
• Place (where the goods or services are
marketed) and packaging (how the goods or
services are displayed ) are extremely
important. If a product or service appeals to
walk-in traffic, your location must be where
such traffic occurs, not in a limited traffic
area. If you are developing a product for an
upscale market, the packaging must reflect
the image you are trying to attain.
16

Production
• Successful marketing achieves business
growth. The owner must have anticipated
and planned for this growth in the
production process. The inability to fill
orders can quickly strangle a firm’s growth
and even cause the firm to go out of
business.
17

Courtesy of USDA

18

Pricing
• Pricing is a key factor to business success.
• Pricing can be done as a “wild guess”, based on
what the competition charges or as a cost-buildup
process.
• I strongly prefer the cost buildup model whereby
you list all your costs (raw materials, processing
costs, packaging, promotion, salaries, distribution,
etc.) and then add a profit margin.
• Go to another module to learn the cost buildup
details.
19

Pricing
• Look at what the competition charges as compared
to your cost. How can you do it cheaper or better
than the competition?
• Are people willing to pay that price for your
product or service?.
• How about running promotions on your product or
services so people will try it - buy one, get one
free, coupons with a certain amount off ?
• Most new entrepreneurs tend to underprice their
products and services.
20

Promotion
• This addresses the question “How will people
know about my product or service ?”
• Promotions include paid advertising such as radio,
TV, newspaper, etc, and unpaid publicity such as
press releases, etc. Promotions may also include
trade shows, mailings, internet, in-store demos,
etc.
• Promotional efforts must occur in the media that
your perspective customers use.
• Successful promotional efforts focus on the
benefits of your product or service
• Benefits can be convenience (precooked,
21
reclosable packaging), fun, good health, etc.

22

Promotion
• Customers do not buy a product or service for its
features.They buy it for what it can do for them.
• Learn to romanticize your product. Watch TV ads–
wearing certain brands of trousers make you more
appealing to the opposite sex. Laugh? It works.
Watch some TV ads- what is the message they are
sending?
• Brand loyalty; brand-conscious society
• Develop sales literature- price list, catalog sheet,
product information sheet, point of purchase info.
23

Your Company IMAGE
• Although not traditionally thought of as
marketing, I am a believer in how customers
perceive your company’s image.
• Your letters and correspondence- Professional. Are
your telephones answered professionally ?
• Are your salespersons ethical? Is your receptionist
cheerful, optimistic, properly attired ?
• What about your business facility- people like to
work with professional organizations and your
office and facilities tell them about your
professionalism.
24

Your Company IMAGE
• Business owners must remain aware of the
customer’s perception of the business and move
quickly to correct any negative images.
• Do you contribute to the community or show any
concern for the environment.
• Do the people within your organization project the
image of the company in a favorable way?

25

Service After the Sales
• Effective Marketing must continue with the
product or service after the final sale.
• This support includes service, assistance,
warranties, returns and refunds.

26

Service
• Advertising is expensive. It gets the
customer to try your product or service. It is
a good start but remember, the goal is to
have customer’s repeat business.
• Over time, you will notice that 80% of your
sales will come from just 20% of your total
customers.
27

MARKET RESEARCH

28

Market Research
• Before one starts a business and even periodically
while in business, one should conduct market
research.
• Market research is an organized process to gather,
analyze, interpret and utilize relevant information
about the business environment for the purposes
of making accurate business decisions.
• Market research focuses on potential customers,
existing customers, the competition and the
business environment .
29

Market Research
• The ultimate goal of market research is business
success.
• The objective of market research is to;
1)Identify potential target markets.
2)Identify customer needs and wants.
3)Determine if the product or service meets customer
needs.
4)Determine the best promotion technique for each
market.
5)Examine the competition.
30

Market Research
• The purpose of market research data is to help the
business owner make better decisions.
• Using market research, the business owner can
develop an accurate understanding of the potential
customer.
• The goal of market research is to reveal unfilled
needs in the form of a market niche, customer’s
needs, a competitor’s weakness or an unused
marketing strategy. The ultimate goal is to
increase the business’ sales and profits.
31

Doing Market Research
• Anyone can do market research to some
extent.
• Basically, you want to gather information
about;
1)Your customers or potential customers
2)Your competition
3)General market information
Let’s go through each in greater detail.
32

About your Customers or
Potential Customers
• General demographic information such as – age,
where they live, where they work, race, gender,
marital status, income, number of children,
education, home ownership, lifestyle
• Needs, wants and desired benefits
• Past and future purchases (What, when, why,
where, how much)
• Products and services that compliment or
substitute
• Use of various media (radio, TV, newspaper,
magazines, etc.)
33

Warranty Cards
• Whenever you buy any appliance and certain
goods, you are requested to fill out a warranty
card. If you fill out the warranty card, the product
you bought will be under warranty for some
specified period of time. Note how much the
information on the warranty card parallels the
demographic information on the previous page.
• Warranty cards serve as a prime method of
collecting marketing information.
34

About the Competition
•
•
•
•
•
•

•
•

Who are they?
What products and/or services do they offer?
What is the price range of products and services?
What are their policies on returns, credit,
warranties, etc.?
Are there any special services?
If they are a store-type business, what is their staff
like (experience, customer respect, customer
focus)?
What kinds of promotions/ advertising do they do?
What is their company image like to the average
customer?
35

General Market Information
• The physical/geographical area (traffic flow,
development plans, history, growth pattern).
• The industry as a whole.
• The economy as a whole.

36

Analyzing Market Research Data
• Once you have collected as much data as
you reasonably can, you need to organize it
by the SWOT format;
• S = Strengths
• W= Weaknesses
• O= Opportunities
• T= Threats
37

SWOT Grid
My Business

Its Environment

Strengths

Opportunities

Weaknesses

Threats

38

The SWOT Grid
• In the grid, you evaluate your business or
business potentials and its weaknesses.
• When you evaluate the environment, where
do you see chances for growth and what
might slow your business ?.

39

Marketing Research
• Where we can get market information;
-The Internet brings information to your finger
tips.
-Visit a food store and just look around not only in
the area that you want to enter but other food
groups ( e.g. what are the dairy foods people doing
that I can adopt?).
-Talk to people in the business from entrepreneurs
to store owners, brokers, sales representatives, etc.
Most people like to help others and will tell you
more than you ever dreamed.
40

Market Research
• Market research identifies the available
market, discovers the best method to reach
the target market and asks what the
customer needs and wants. Market research
is a simple, structured, objective way of
learning about people- the people who will
buy your product or service.
41

RESOURCES
• There are 2 keys sources of information
1)A book entitled From Kitchen to Market by
Stephan F Hall. Sold via Amazon.com for about
$20- A complete, easy to understand book on
taking a food product to market.
2)The Arkansas Small Business Development Center
in Little Rock (501/324-9043) has a resource
library that contains many references and a
brochure entitled Market Designs that will help.
42

43

44

CONCLUSIONS
• This module should have made you think about
the purpose and goals of marketing and how to do
market research.
• Marketing is probably the single most important
aspect in starting and maintaining a food business.
• Whether you are starting a new food business or
maintaining an existing business, it is important
that you constantly monitor your marketing
efforts.
45

46


Slide 41

INTRODUCTION TO FOOD
MARKETING
3116
Steven C Seideman
Extension Food Processing Specialist
Cooperative Extension Service
1

INTRODUCTION
• To many people, “MARKETING” means either
selling or advertising of your business.
• Jay Levinson in his book “ Guerilla Marketing”
defines marketing as “everything you do to
promote your business from the moment you think
of the idea until the customers buy and begin to do
so on a regular basis”.

2

THE GOAL OF BUSINESS
• Two theories on what the goal of business is;
1) The goal of business is profit, and profit means
the firm survives and has a chance to grow.
2) The goal of business is to get and keep a
customer. Profit is implied because if you don’t
make a profit, you will not be around to keep
your customer.
You choose which goal you want to accept. The
bottom line is that a profit must be made.
3

SELLING vs MARKETING
• SELLING asks the question “ How do I get the
customer to buy my product?”
• MARKETING takes a broader view and asks
“What does the customer want to buy ?” The
business owner needs to attract new audiences,
study the competition and develop his or her
product or service so that it appeals to a highly
discriminating audience.
4

MARKETING AS A PROCESS

5

MARKETING AS A PROCESS
• The successful marketing process includes;
1)Determining what the customer needs and wants.
2)Developing a product or service to meet those
needs or wants.
3)Understanding the competition and what they
offer.
4)Linking with the customer as a source for fulfilling
his or her needs and wants.
5)Doing all of this at a price that provides a profit so
that the business can continue to grow.
6

Determining What the Customer
Needs or Wants
• A successful business owner analyzes the
market. He or she defines the particular
market segment most likely to purchase
their product or service. The owner then
determines the specific benefits desired by
the customer.

7

Developing a Product or Service
to Meet those Needs or Wants
• Upon understanding what benefits are wanted, the
owner develops a product or service, the features
of which provide the customer with the requested
benefits. Marketing is selling these benefits rather
than the features.
• A feature is any prominent or distinctive aspect,
quality or characteristic. A benefit is what that
feature gives the customer.
• An example would be a reclosable package. The
feature is reclosable: The benefit to the customer
is that it can be reclosed and stored for later use. 8

Understanding the Competition
and What They Offer
• Customers face a large marketplace. A
successful business owner is able to define a
target market and distinguish his or her
business from the competition.
• Walk down an aisle in any food store, look
at all the different brands of a particular
type of product and see how each brand
tries to provide benefits to the customer.
9

10

Linking the Customer as a Source
for Fulfilling His or Her Needs
and Wants
• The successful business owner must let the
customer know he or she is in business. The owner
must also tell the customer how they can meet
their needs, a function known as advertising.
• Types of advertising include radio, TV, newspaper
and magazines, flyers, billboards, web-advertising,
etc.
• The business owner must figure out the most cost
effective way of getting to the target audience.
11

Doing All of this at a Price that
Provides a Profit so the Business
can Continue
• This implies a price of products or services
that allows both the customer and the owner
to feel good about the transaction.
• The business owner must make a profit so
that he or she can stay in business to
continue providing that product or service.
12

MARKETING ACTIVITIES

13

Marketing Activities
• There are basically 4 major categories of
marketing activities known as the 4 P’s:
1)Positioning
2)Production
3)Pricing
4)Promotion
14

Positioning
• Positioning is defining the purpose of your
product or service as it benefits a potential
customer. Positioning is finding a market niche. It
creates a perception of special value and benefits
in your product or service. Developing one’s
position is one of the major goals of the marketing
process.
• An example of positioning is the fast food chain’s
hamburger businesses positioning themselves as
low cost versus another that features customer
choice (“Have it your way” ).
15

Positioning
• Place (where the goods or services are
marketed) and packaging (how the goods or
services are displayed ) are extremely
important. If a product or service appeals to
walk-in traffic, your location must be where
such traffic occurs, not in a limited traffic
area. If you are developing a product for an
upscale market, the packaging must reflect
the image you are trying to attain.
16

Production
• Successful marketing achieves business
growth. The owner must have anticipated
and planned for this growth in the
production process. The inability to fill
orders can quickly strangle a firm’s growth
and even cause the firm to go out of
business.
17

Courtesy of USDA

18

Pricing
• Pricing is a key factor to business success.
• Pricing can be done as a “wild guess”, based on
what the competition charges or as a cost-buildup
process.
• I strongly prefer the cost buildup model whereby
you list all your costs (raw materials, processing
costs, packaging, promotion, salaries, distribution,
etc.) and then add a profit margin.
• Go to another module to learn the cost buildup
details.
19

Pricing
• Look at what the competition charges as compared
to your cost. How can you do it cheaper or better
than the competition?
• Are people willing to pay that price for your
product or service?.
• How about running promotions on your product or
services so people will try it - buy one, get one
free, coupons with a certain amount off ?
• Most new entrepreneurs tend to underprice their
products and services.
20

Promotion
• This addresses the question “How will people
know about my product or service ?”
• Promotions include paid advertising such as radio,
TV, newspaper, etc, and unpaid publicity such as
press releases, etc. Promotions may also include
trade shows, mailings, internet, in-store demos,
etc.
• Promotional efforts must occur in the media that
your perspective customers use.
• Successful promotional efforts focus on the
benefits of your product or service
• Benefits can be convenience (precooked,
21
reclosable packaging), fun, good health, etc.

22

Promotion
• Customers do not buy a product or service for its
features.They buy it for what it can do for them.
• Learn to romanticize your product. Watch TV ads–
wearing certain brands of trousers make you more
appealing to the opposite sex. Laugh? It works.
Watch some TV ads- what is the message they are
sending?
• Brand loyalty; brand-conscious society
• Develop sales literature- price list, catalog sheet,
product information sheet, point of purchase info.
23

Your Company IMAGE
• Although not traditionally thought of as
marketing, I am a believer in how customers
perceive your company’s image.
• Your letters and correspondence- Professional. Are
your telephones answered professionally ?
• Are your salespersons ethical? Is your receptionist
cheerful, optimistic, properly attired ?
• What about your business facility- people like to
work with professional organizations and your
office and facilities tell them about your
professionalism.
24

Your Company IMAGE
• Business owners must remain aware of the
customer’s perception of the business and move
quickly to correct any negative images.
• Do you contribute to the community or show any
concern for the environment.
• Do the people within your organization project the
image of the company in a favorable way?

25

Service After the Sales
• Effective Marketing must continue with the
product or service after the final sale.
• This support includes service, assistance,
warranties, returns and refunds.

26

Service
• Advertising is expensive. It gets the
customer to try your product or service. It is
a good start but remember, the goal is to
have customer’s repeat business.
• Over time, you will notice that 80% of your
sales will come from just 20% of your total
customers.
27

MARKET RESEARCH

28

Market Research
• Before one starts a business and even periodically
while in business, one should conduct market
research.
• Market research is an organized process to gather,
analyze, interpret and utilize relevant information
about the business environment for the purposes
of making accurate business decisions.
• Market research focuses on potential customers,
existing customers, the competition and the
business environment .
29

Market Research
• The ultimate goal of market research is business
success.
• The objective of market research is to;
1)Identify potential target markets.
2)Identify customer needs and wants.
3)Determine if the product or service meets customer
needs.
4)Determine the best promotion technique for each
market.
5)Examine the competition.
30

Market Research
• The purpose of market research data is to help the
business owner make better decisions.
• Using market research, the business owner can
develop an accurate understanding of the potential
customer.
• The goal of market research is to reveal unfilled
needs in the form of a market niche, customer’s
needs, a competitor’s weakness or an unused
marketing strategy. The ultimate goal is to
increase the business’ sales and profits.
31

Doing Market Research
• Anyone can do market research to some
extent.
• Basically, you want to gather information
about;
1)Your customers or potential customers
2)Your competition
3)General market information
Let’s go through each in greater detail.
32

About your Customers or
Potential Customers
• General demographic information such as – age,
where they live, where they work, race, gender,
marital status, income, number of children,
education, home ownership, lifestyle
• Needs, wants and desired benefits
• Past and future purchases (What, when, why,
where, how much)
• Products and services that compliment or
substitute
• Use of various media (radio, TV, newspaper,
magazines, etc.)
33

Warranty Cards
• Whenever you buy any appliance and certain
goods, you are requested to fill out a warranty
card. If you fill out the warranty card, the product
you bought will be under warranty for some
specified period of time. Note how much the
information on the warranty card parallels the
demographic information on the previous page.
• Warranty cards serve as a prime method of
collecting marketing information.
34

About the Competition
•
•
•
•
•
•

•
•

Who are they?
What products and/or services do they offer?
What is the price range of products and services?
What are their policies on returns, credit,
warranties, etc.?
Are there any special services?
If they are a store-type business, what is their staff
like (experience, customer respect, customer
focus)?
What kinds of promotions/ advertising do they do?
What is their company image like to the average
customer?
35

General Market Information
• The physical/geographical area (traffic flow,
development plans, history, growth pattern).
• The industry as a whole.
• The economy as a whole.

36

Analyzing Market Research Data
• Once you have collected as much data as
you reasonably can, you need to organize it
by the SWOT format;
• S = Strengths
• W= Weaknesses
• O= Opportunities
• T= Threats
37

SWOT Grid
My Business

Its Environment

Strengths

Opportunities

Weaknesses

Threats

38

The SWOT Grid
• In the grid, you evaluate your business or
business potentials and its weaknesses.
• When you evaluate the environment, where
do you see chances for growth and what
might slow your business ?.

39

Marketing Research
• Where we can get market information;
-The Internet brings information to your finger
tips.
-Visit a food store and just look around not only in
the area that you want to enter but other food
groups ( e.g. what are the dairy foods people doing
that I can adopt?).
-Talk to people in the business from entrepreneurs
to store owners, brokers, sales representatives, etc.
Most people like to help others and will tell you
more than you ever dreamed.
40

Market Research
• Market research identifies the available
market, discovers the best method to reach
the target market and asks what the
customer needs and wants. Market research
is a simple, structured, objective way of
learning about people- the people who will
buy your product or service.
41

RESOURCES
• There are 2 keys sources of information
1)A book entitled From Kitchen to Market by
Stephan F Hall. Sold via Amazon.com for about
$20- A complete, easy to understand book on
taking a food product to market.
2)The Arkansas Small Business Development Center
in Little Rock (501/324-9043) has a resource
library that contains many references and a
brochure entitled Market Designs that will help.
42

43

44

CONCLUSIONS
• This module should have made you think about
the purpose and goals of marketing and how to do
market research.
• Marketing is probably the single most important
aspect in starting and maintaining a food business.
• Whether you are starting a new food business or
maintaining an existing business, it is important
that you constantly monitor your marketing
efforts.
45

46


Slide 42

INTRODUCTION TO FOOD
MARKETING
3116
Steven C Seideman
Extension Food Processing Specialist
Cooperative Extension Service
1

INTRODUCTION
• To many people, “MARKETING” means either
selling or advertising of your business.
• Jay Levinson in his book “ Guerilla Marketing”
defines marketing as “everything you do to
promote your business from the moment you think
of the idea until the customers buy and begin to do
so on a regular basis”.

2

THE GOAL OF BUSINESS
• Two theories on what the goal of business is;
1) The goal of business is profit, and profit means
the firm survives and has a chance to grow.
2) The goal of business is to get and keep a
customer. Profit is implied because if you don’t
make a profit, you will not be around to keep
your customer.
You choose which goal you want to accept. The
bottom line is that a profit must be made.
3

SELLING vs MARKETING
• SELLING asks the question “ How do I get the
customer to buy my product?”
• MARKETING takes a broader view and asks
“What does the customer want to buy ?” The
business owner needs to attract new audiences,
study the competition and develop his or her
product or service so that it appeals to a highly
discriminating audience.
4

MARKETING AS A PROCESS

5

MARKETING AS A PROCESS
• The successful marketing process includes;
1)Determining what the customer needs and wants.
2)Developing a product or service to meet those
needs or wants.
3)Understanding the competition and what they
offer.
4)Linking with the customer as a source for fulfilling
his or her needs and wants.
5)Doing all of this at a price that provides a profit so
that the business can continue to grow.
6

Determining What the Customer
Needs or Wants
• A successful business owner analyzes the
market. He or she defines the particular
market segment most likely to purchase
their product or service. The owner then
determines the specific benefits desired by
the customer.

7

Developing a Product or Service
to Meet those Needs or Wants
• Upon understanding what benefits are wanted, the
owner develops a product or service, the features
of which provide the customer with the requested
benefits. Marketing is selling these benefits rather
than the features.
• A feature is any prominent or distinctive aspect,
quality or characteristic. A benefit is what that
feature gives the customer.
• An example would be a reclosable package. The
feature is reclosable: The benefit to the customer
is that it can be reclosed and stored for later use. 8

Understanding the Competition
and What They Offer
• Customers face a large marketplace. A
successful business owner is able to define a
target market and distinguish his or her
business from the competition.
• Walk down an aisle in any food store, look
at all the different brands of a particular
type of product and see how each brand
tries to provide benefits to the customer.
9

10

Linking the Customer as a Source
for Fulfilling His or Her Needs
and Wants
• The successful business owner must let the
customer know he or she is in business. The owner
must also tell the customer how they can meet
their needs, a function known as advertising.
• Types of advertising include radio, TV, newspaper
and magazines, flyers, billboards, web-advertising,
etc.
• The business owner must figure out the most cost
effective way of getting to the target audience.
11

Doing All of this at a Price that
Provides a Profit so the Business
can Continue
• This implies a price of products or services
that allows both the customer and the owner
to feel good about the transaction.
• The business owner must make a profit so
that he or she can stay in business to
continue providing that product or service.
12

MARKETING ACTIVITIES

13

Marketing Activities
• There are basically 4 major categories of
marketing activities known as the 4 P’s:
1)Positioning
2)Production
3)Pricing
4)Promotion
14

Positioning
• Positioning is defining the purpose of your
product or service as it benefits a potential
customer. Positioning is finding a market niche. It
creates a perception of special value and benefits
in your product or service. Developing one’s
position is one of the major goals of the marketing
process.
• An example of positioning is the fast food chain’s
hamburger businesses positioning themselves as
low cost versus another that features customer
choice (“Have it your way” ).
15

Positioning
• Place (where the goods or services are
marketed) and packaging (how the goods or
services are displayed ) are extremely
important. If a product or service appeals to
walk-in traffic, your location must be where
such traffic occurs, not in a limited traffic
area. If you are developing a product for an
upscale market, the packaging must reflect
the image you are trying to attain.
16

Production
• Successful marketing achieves business
growth. The owner must have anticipated
and planned for this growth in the
production process. The inability to fill
orders can quickly strangle a firm’s growth
and even cause the firm to go out of
business.
17

Courtesy of USDA

18

Pricing
• Pricing is a key factor to business success.
• Pricing can be done as a “wild guess”, based on
what the competition charges or as a cost-buildup
process.
• I strongly prefer the cost buildup model whereby
you list all your costs (raw materials, processing
costs, packaging, promotion, salaries, distribution,
etc.) and then add a profit margin.
• Go to another module to learn the cost buildup
details.
19

Pricing
• Look at what the competition charges as compared
to your cost. How can you do it cheaper or better
than the competition?
• Are people willing to pay that price for your
product or service?.
• How about running promotions on your product or
services so people will try it - buy one, get one
free, coupons with a certain amount off ?
• Most new entrepreneurs tend to underprice their
products and services.
20

Promotion
• This addresses the question “How will people
know about my product or service ?”
• Promotions include paid advertising such as radio,
TV, newspaper, etc, and unpaid publicity such as
press releases, etc. Promotions may also include
trade shows, mailings, internet, in-store demos,
etc.
• Promotional efforts must occur in the media that
your perspective customers use.
• Successful promotional efforts focus on the
benefits of your product or service
• Benefits can be convenience (precooked,
21
reclosable packaging), fun, good health, etc.

22

Promotion
• Customers do not buy a product or service for its
features.They buy it for what it can do for them.
• Learn to romanticize your product. Watch TV ads–
wearing certain brands of trousers make you more
appealing to the opposite sex. Laugh? It works.
Watch some TV ads- what is the message they are
sending?
• Brand loyalty; brand-conscious society
• Develop sales literature- price list, catalog sheet,
product information sheet, point of purchase info.
23

Your Company IMAGE
• Although not traditionally thought of as
marketing, I am a believer in how customers
perceive your company’s image.
• Your letters and correspondence- Professional. Are
your telephones answered professionally ?
• Are your salespersons ethical? Is your receptionist
cheerful, optimistic, properly attired ?
• What about your business facility- people like to
work with professional organizations and your
office and facilities tell them about your
professionalism.
24

Your Company IMAGE
• Business owners must remain aware of the
customer’s perception of the business and move
quickly to correct any negative images.
• Do you contribute to the community or show any
concern for the environment.
• Do the people within your organization project the
image of the company in a favorable way?

25

Service After the Sales
• Effective Marketing must continue with the
product or service after the final sale.
• This support includes service, assistance,
warranties, returns and refunds.

26

Service
• Advertising is expensive. It gets the
customer to try your product or service. It is
a good start but remember, the goal is to
have customer’s repeat business.
• Over time, you will notice that 80% of your
sales will come from just 20% of your total
customers.
27

MARKET RESEARCH

28

Market Research
• Before one starts a business and even periodically
while in business, one should conduct market
research.
• Market research is an organized process to gather,
analyze, interpret and utilize relevant information
about the business environment for the purposes
of making accurate business decisions.
• Market research focuses on potential customers,
existing customers, the competition and the
business environment .
29

Market Research
• The ultimate goal of market research is business
success.
• The objective of market research is to;
1)Identify potential target markets.
2)Identify customer needs and wants.
3)Determine if the product or service meets customer
needs.
4)Determine the best promotion technique for each
market.
5)Examine the competition.
30

Market Research
• The purpose of market research data is to help the
business owner make better decisions.
• Using market research, the business owner can
develop an accurate understanding of the potential
customer.
• The goal of market research is to reveal unfilled
needs in the form of a market niche, customer’s
needs, a competitor’s weakness or an unused
marketing strategy. The ultimate goal is to
increase the business’ sales and profits.
31

Doing Market Research
• Anyone can do market research to some
extent.
• Basically, you want to gather information
about;
1)Your customers or potential customers
2)Your competition
3)General market information
Let’s go through each in greater detail.
32

About your Customers or
Potential Customers
• General demographic information such as – age,
where they live, where they work, race, gender,
marital status, income, number of children,
education, home ownership, lifestyle
• Needs, wants and desired benefits
• Past and future purchases (What, when, why,
where, how much)
• Products and services that compliment or
substitute
• Use of various media (radio, TV, newspaper,
magazines, etc.)
33

Warranty Cards
• Whenever you buy any appliance and certain
goods, you are requested to fill out a warranty
card. If you fill out the warranty card, the product
you bought will be under warranty for some
specified period of time. Note how much the
information on the warranty card parallels the
demographic information on the previous page.
• Warranty cards serve as a prime method of
collecting marketing information.
34

About the Competition
•
•
•
•
•
•

•
•

Who are they?
What products and/or services do they offer?
What is the price range of products and services?
What are their policies on returns, credit,
warranties, etc.?
Are there any special services?
If they are a store-type business, what is their staff
like (experience, customer respect, customer
focus)?
What kinds of promotions/ advertising do they do?
What is their company image like to the average
customer?
35

General Market Information
• The physical/geographical area (traffic flow,
development plans, history, growth pattern).
• The industry as a whole.
• The economy as a whole.

36

Analyzing Market Research Data
• Once you have collected as much data as
you reasonably can, you need to organize it
by the SWOT format;
• S = Strengths
• W= Weaknesses
• O= Opportunities
• T= Threats
37

SWOT Grid
My Business

Its Environment

Strengths

Opportunities

Weaknesses

Threats

38

The SWOT Grid
• In the grid, you evaluate your business or
business potentials and its weaknesses.
• When you evaluate the environment, where
do you see chances for growth and what
might slow your business ?.

39

Marketing Research
• Where we can get market information;
-The Internet brings information to your finger
tips.
-Visit a food store and just look around not only in
the area that you want to enter but other food
groups ( e.g. what are the dairy foods people doing
that I can adopt?).
-Talk to people in the business from entrepreneurs
to store owners, brokers, sales representatives, etc.
Most people like to help others and will tell you
more than you ever dreamed.
40

Market Research
• Market research identifies the available
market, discovers the best method to reach
the target market and asks what the
customer needs and wants. Market research
is a simple, structured, objective way of
learning about people- the people who will
buy your product or service.
41

RESOURCES
• There are 2 keys sources of information
1)A book entitled From Kitchen to Market by
Stephan F Hall. Sold via Amazon.com for about
$20- A complete, easy to understand book on
taking a food product to market.
2)The Arkansas Small Business Development Center
in Little Rock (501/324-9043) has a resource
library that contains many references and a
brochure entitled Market Designs that will help.
42

43

44

CONCLUSIONS
• This module should have made you think about
the purpose and goals of marketing and how to do
market research.
• Marketing is probably the single most important
aspect in starting and maintaining a food business.
• Whether you are starting a new food business or
maintaining an existing business, it is important
that you constantly monitor your marketing
efforts.
45

46


Slide 43

INTRODUCTION TO FOOD
MARKETING
3116
Steven C Seideman
Extension Food Processing Specialist
Cooperative Extension Service
1

INTRODUCTION
• To many people, “MARKETING” means either
selling or advertising of your business.
• Jay Levinson in his book “ Guerilla Marketing”
defines marketing as “everything you do to
promote your business from the moment you think
of the idea until the customers buy and begin to do
so on a regular basis”.

2

THE GOAL OF BUSINESS
• Two theories on what the goal of business is;
1) The goal of business is profit, and profit means
the firm survives and has a chance to grow.
2) The goal of business is to get and keep a
customer. Profit is implied because if you don’t
make a profit, you will not be around to keep
your customer.
You choose which goal you want to accept. The
bottom line is that a profit must be made.
3

SELLING vs MARKETING
• SELLING asks the question “ How do I get the
customer to buy my product?”
• MARKETING takes a broader view and asks
“What does the customer want to buy ?” The
business owner needs to attract new audiences,
study the competition and develop his or her
product or service so that it appeals to a highly
discriminating audience.
4

MARKETING AS A PROCESS

5

MARKETING AS A PROCESS
• The successful marketing process includes;
1)Determining what the customer needs and wants.
2)Developing a product or service to meet those
needs or wants.
3)Understanding the competition and what they
offer.
4)Linking with the customer as a source for fulfilling
his or her needs and wants.
5)Doing all of this at a price that provides a profit so
that the business can continue to grow.
6

Determining What the Customer
Needs or Wants
• A successful business owner analyzes the
market. He or she defines the particular
market segment most likely to purchase
their product or service. The owner then
determines the specific benefits desired by
the customer.

7

Developing a Product or Service
to Meet those Needs or Wants
• Upon understanding what benefits are wanted, the
owner develops a product or service, the features
of which provide the customer with the requested
benefits. Marketing is selling these benefits rather
than the features.
• A feature is any prominent or distinctive aspect,
quality or characteristic. A benefit is what that
feature gives the customer.
• An example would be a reclosable package. The
feature is reclosable: The benefit to the customer
is that it can be reclosed and stored for later use. 8

Understanding the Competition
and What They Offer
• Customers face a large marketplace. A
successful business owner is able to define a
target market and distinguish his or her
business from the competition.
• Walk down an aisle in any food store, look
at all the different brands of a particular
type of product and see how each brand
tries to provide benefits to the customer.
9

10

Linking the Customer as a Source
for Fulfilling His or Her Needs
and Wants
• The successful business owner must let the
customer know he or she is in business. The owner
must also tell the customer how they can meet
their needs, a function known as advertising.
• Types of advertising include radio, TV, newspaper
and magazines, flyers, billboards, web-advertising,
etc.
• The business owner must figure out the most cost
effective way of getting to the target audience.
11

Doing All of this at a Price that
Provides a Profit so the Business
can Continue
• This implies a price of products or services
that allows both the customer and the owner
to feel good about the transaction.
• The business owner must make a profit so
that he or she can stay in business to
continue providing that product or service.
12

MARKETING ACTIVITIES

13

Marketing Activities
• There are basically 4 major categories of
marketing activities known as the 4 P’s:
1)Positioning
2)Production
3)Pricing
4)Promotion
14

Positioning
• Positioning is defining the purpose of your
product or service as it benefits a potential
customer. Positioning is finding a market niche. It
creates a perception of special value and benefits
in your product or service. Developing one’s
position is one of the major goals of the marketing
process.
• An example of positioning is the fast food chain’s
hamburger businesses positioning themselves as
low cost versus another that features customer
choice (“Have it your way” ).
15

Positioning
• Place (where the goods or services are
marketed) and packaging (how the goods or
services are displayed ) are extremely
important. If a product or service appeals to
walk-in traffic, your location must be where
such traffic occurs, not in a limited traffic
area. If you are developing a product for an
upscale market, the packaging must reflect
the image you are trying to attain.
16

Production
• Successful marketing achieves business
growth. The owner must have anticipated
and planned for this growth in the
production process. The inability to fill
orders can quickly strangle a firm’s growth
and even cause the firm to go out of
business.
17

Courtesy of USDA

18

Pricing
• Pricing is a key factor to business success.
• Pricing can be done as a “wild guess”, based on
what the competition charges or as a cost-buildup
process.
• I strongly prefer the cost buildup model whereby
you list all your costs (raw materials, processing
costs, packaging, promotion, salaries, distribution,
etc.) and then add a profit margin.
• Go to another module to learn the cost buildup
details.
19

Pricing
• Look at what the competition charges as compared
to your cost. How can you do it cheaper or better
than the competition?
• Are people willing to pay that price for your
product or service?.
• How about running promotions on your product or
services so people will try it - buy one, get one
free, coupons with a certain amount off ?
• Most new entrepreneurs tend to underprice their
products and services.
20

Promotion
• This addresses the question “How will people
know about my product or service ?”
• Promotions include paid advertising such as radio,
TV, newspaper, etc, and unpaid publicity such as
press releases, etc. Promotions may also include
trade shows, mailings, internet, in-store demos,
etc.
• Promotional efforts must occur in the media that
your perspective customers use.
• Successful promotional efforts focus on the
benefits of your product or service
• Benefits can be convenience (precooked,
21
reclosable packaging), fun, good health, etc.

22

Promotion
• Customers do not buy a product or service for its
features.They buy it for what it can do for them.
• Learn to romanticize your product. Watch TV ads–
wearing certain brands of trousers make you more
appealing to the opposite sex. Laugh? It works.
Watch some TV ads- what is the message they are
sending?
• Brand loyalty; brand-conscious society
• Develop sales literature- price list, catalog sheet,
product information sheet, point of purchase info.
23

Your Company IMAGE
• Although not traditionally thought of as
marketing, I am a believer in how customers
perceive your company’s image.
• Your letters and correspondence- Professional. Are
your telephones answered professionally ?
• Are your salespersons ethical? Is your receptionist
cheerful, optimistic, properly attired ?
• What about your business facility- people like to
work with professional organizations and your
office and facilities tell them about your
professionalism.
24

Your Company IMAGE
• Business owners must remain aware of the
customer’s perception of the business and move
quickly to correct any negative images.
• Do you contribute to the community or show any
concern for the environment.
• Do the people within your organization project the
image of the company in a favorable way?

25

Service After the Sales
• Effective Marketing must continue with the
product or service after the final sale.
• This support includes service, assistance,
warranties, returns and refunds.

26

Service
• Advertising is expensive. It gets the
customer to try your product or service. It is
a good start but remember, the goal is to
have customer’s repeat business.
• Over time, you will notice that 80% of your
sales will come from just 20% of your total
customers.
27

MARKET RESEARCH

28

Market Research
• Before one starts a business and even periodically
while in business, one should conduct market
research.
• Market research is an organized process to gather,
analyze, interpret and utilize relevant information
about the business environment for the purposes
of making accurate business decisions.
• Market research focuses on potential customers,
existing customers, the competition and the
business environment .
29

Market Research
• The ultimate goal of market research is business
success.
• The objective of market research is to;
1)Identify potential target markets.
2)Identify customer needs and wants.
3)Determine if the product or service meets customer
needs.
4)Determine the best promotion technique for each
market.
5)Examine the competition.
30

Market Research
• The purpose of market research data is to help the
business owner make better decisions.
• Using market research, the business owner can
develop an accurate understanding of the potential
customer.
• The goal of market research is to reveal unfilled
needs in the form of a market niche, customer’s
needs, a competitor’s weakness or an unused
marketing strategy. The ultimate goal is to
increase the business’ sales and profits.
31

Doing Market Research
• Anyone can do market research to some
extent.
• Basically, you want to gather information
about;
1)Your customers or potential customers
2)Your competition
3)General market information
Let’s go through each in greater detail.
32

About your Customers or
Potential Customers
• General demographic information such as – age,
where they live, where they work, race, gender,
marital status, income, number of children,
education, home ownership, lifestyle
• Needs, wants and desired benefits
• Past and future purchases (What, when, why,
where, how much)
• Products and services that compliment or
substitute
• Use of various media (radio, TV, newspaper,
magazines, etc.)
33

Warranty Cards
• Whenever you buy any appliance and certain
goods, you are requested to fill out a warranty
card. If you fill out the warranty card, the product
you bought will be under warranty for some
specified period of time. Note how much the
information on the warranty card parallels the
demographic information on the previous page.
• Warranty cards serve as a prime method of
collecting marketing information.
34

About the Competition
•
•
•
•
•
•

•
•

Who are they?
What products and/or services do they offer?
What is the price range of products and services?
What are their policies on returns, credit,
warranties, etc.?
Are there any special services?
If they are a store-type business, what is their staff
like (experience, customer respect, customer
focus)?
What kinds of promotions/ advertising do they do?
What is their company image like to the average
customer?
35

General Market Information
• The physical/geographical area (traffic flow,
development plans, history, growth pattern).
• The industry as a whole.
• The economy as a whole.

36

Analyzing Market Research Data
• Once you have collected as much data as
you reasonably can, you need to organize it
by the SWOT format;
• S = Strengths
• W= Weaknesses
• O= Opportunities
• T= Threats
37

SWOT Grid
My Business

Its Environment

Strengths

Opportunities

Weaknesses

Threats

38

The SWOT Grid
• In the grid, you evaluate your business or
business potentials and its weaknesses.
• When you evaluate the environment, where
do you see chances for growth and what
might slow your business ?.

39

Marketing Research
• Where we can get market information;
-The Internet brings information to your finger
tips.
-Visit a food store and just look around not only in
the area that you want to enter but other food
groups ( e.g. what are the dairy foods people doing
that I can adopt?).
-Talk to people in the business from entrepreneurs
to store owners, brokers, sales representatives, etc.
Most people like to help others and will tell you
more than you ever dreamed.
40

Market Research
• Market research identifies the available
market, discovers the best method to reach
the target market and asks what the
customer needs and wants. Market research
is a simple, structured, objective way of
learning about people- the people who will
buy your product or service.
41

RESOURCES
• There are 2 keys sources of information
1)A book entitled From Kitchen to Market by
Stephan F Hall. Sold via Amazon.com for about
$20- A complete, easy to understand book on
taking a food product to market.
2)The Arkansas Small Business Development Center
in Little Rock (501/324-9043) has a resource
library that contains many references and a
brochure entitled Market Designs that will help.
42

43

44

CONCLUSIONS
• This module should have made you think about
the purpose and goals of marketing and how to do
market research.
• Marketing is probably the single most important
aspect in starting and maintaining a food business.
• Whether you are starting a new food business or
maintaining an existing business, it is important
that you constantly monitor your marketing
efforts.
45

46


Slide 44

INTRODUCTION TO FOOD
MARKETING
3116
Steven C Seideman
Extension Food Processing Specialist
Cooperative Extension Service
1

INTRODUCTION
• To many people, “MARKETING” means either
selling or advertising of your business.
• Jay Levinson in his book “ Guerilla Marketing”
defines marketing as “everything you do to
promote your business from the moment you think
of the idea until the customers buy and begin to do
so on a regular basis”.

2

THE GOAL OF BUSINESS
• Two theories on what the goal of business is;
1) The goal of business is profit, and profit means
the firm survives and has a chance to grow.
2) The goal of business is to get and keep a
customer. Profit is implied because if you don’t
make a profit, you will not be around to keep
your customer.
You choose which goal you want to accept. The
bottom line is that a profit must be made.
3

SELLING vs MARKETING
• SELLING asks the question “ How do I get the
customer to buy my product?”
• MARKETING takes a broader view and asks
“What does the customer want to buy ?” The
business owner needs to attract new audiences,
study the competition and develop his or her
product or service so that it appeals to a highly
discriminating audience.
4

MARKETING AS A PROCESS

5

MARKETING AS A PROCESS
• The successful marketing process includes;
1)Determining what the customer needs and wants.
2)Developing a product or service to meet those
needs or wants.
3)Understanding the competition and what they
offer.
4)Linking with the customer as a source for fulfilling
his or her needs and wants.
5)Doing all of this at a price that provides a profit so
that the business can continue to grow.
6

Determining What the Customer
Needs or Wants
• A successful business owner analyzes the
market. He or she defines the particular
market segment most likely to purchase
their product or service. The owner then
determines the specific benefits desired by
the customer.

7

Developing a Product or Service
to Meet those Needs or Wants
• Upon understanding what benefits are wanted, the
owner develops a product or service, the features
of which provide the customer with the requested
benefits. Marketing is selling these benefits rather
than the features.
• A feature is any prominent or distinctive aspect,
quality or characteristic. A benefit is what that
feature gives the customer.
• An example would be a reclosable package. The
feature is reclosable: The benefit to the customer
is that it can be reclosed and stored for later use. 8

Understanding the Competition
and What They Offer
• Customers face a large marketplace. A
successful business owner is able to define a
target market and distinguish his or her
business from the competition.
• Walk down an aisle in any food store, look
at all the different brands of a particular
type of product and see how each brand
tries to provide benefits to the customer.
9

10

Linking the Customer as a Source
for Fulfilling His or Her Needs
and Wants
• The successful business owner must let the
customer know he or she is in business. The owner
must also tell the customer how they can meet
their needs, a function known as advertising.
• Types of advertising include radio, TV, newspaper
and magazines, flyers, billboards, web-advertising,
etc.
• The business owner must figure out the most cost
effective way of getting to the target audience.
11

Doing All of this at a Price that
Provides a Profit so the Business
can Continue
• This implies a price of products or services
that allows both the customer and the owner
to feel good about the transaction.
• The business owner must make a profit so
that he or she can stay in business to
continue providing that product or service.
12

MARKETING ACTIVITIES

13

Marketing Activities
• There are basically 4 major categories of
marketing activities known as the 4 P’s:
1)Positioning
2)Production
3)Pricing
4)Promotion
14

Positioning
• Positioning is defining the purpose of your
product or service as it benefits a potential
customer. Positioning is finding a market niche. It
creates a perception of special value and benefits
in your product or service. Developing one’s
position is one of the major goals of the marketing
process.
• An example of positioning is the fast food chain’s
hamburger businesses positioning themselves as
low cost versus another that features customer
choice (“Have it your way” ).
15

Positioning
• Place (where the goods or services are
marketed) and packaging (how the goods or
services are displayed ) are extremely
important. If a product or service appeals to
walk-in traffic, your location must be where
such traffic occurs, not in a limited traffic
area. If you are developing a product for an
upscale market, the packaging must reflect
the image you are trying to attain.
16

Production
• Successful marketing achieves business
growth. The owner must have anticipated
and planned for this growth in the
production process. The inability to fill
orders can quickly strangle a firm’s growth
and even cause the firm to go out of
business.
17

Courtesy of USDA

18

Pricing
• Pricing is a key factor to business success.
• Pricing can be done as a “wild guess”, based on
what the competition charges or as a cost-buildup
process.
• I strongly prefer the cost buildup model whereby
you list all your costs (raw materials, processing
costs, packaging, promotion, salaries, distribution,
etc.) and then add a profit margin.
• Go to another module to learn the cost buildup
details.
19

Pricing
• Look at what the competition charges as compared
to your cost. How can you do it cheaper or better
than the competition?
• Are people willing to pay that price for your
product or service?.
• How about running promotions on your product or
services so people will try it - buy one, get one
free, coupons with a certain amount off ?
• Most new entrepreneurs tend to underprice their
products and services.
20

Promotion
• This addresses the question “How will people
know about my product or service ?”
• Promotions include paid advertising such as radio,
TV, newspaper, etc, and unpaid publicity such as
press releases, etc. Promotions may also include
trade shows, mailings, internet, in-store demos,
etc.
• Promotional efforts must occur in the media that
your perspective customers use.
• Successful promotional efforts focus on the
benefits of your product or service
• Benefits can be convenience (precooked,
21
reclosable packaging), fun, good health, etc.

22

Promotion
• Customers do not buy a product or service for its
features.They buy it for what it can do for them.
• Learn to romanticize your product. Watch TV ads–
wearing certain brands of trousers make you more
appealing to the opposite sex. Laugh? It works.
Watch some TV ads- what is the message they are
sending?
• Brand loyalty; brand-conscious society
• Develop sales literature- price list, catalog sheet,
product information sheet, point of purchase info.
23

Your Company IMAGE
• Although not traditionally thought of as
marketing, I am a believer in how customers
perceive your company’s image.
• Your letters and correspondence- Professional. Are
your telephones answered professionally ?
• Are your salespersons ethical? Is your receptionist
cheerful, optimistic, properly attired ?
• What about your business facility- people like to
work with professional organizations and your
office and facilities tell them about your
professionalism.
24

Your Company IMAGE
• Business owners must remain aware of the
customer’s perception of the business and move
quickly to correct any negative images.
• Do you contribute to the community or show any
concern for the environment.
• Do the people within your organization project the
image of the company in a favorable way?

25

Service After the Sales
• Effective Marketing must continue with the
product or service after the final sale.
• This support includes service, assistance,
warranties, returns and refunds.

26

Service
• Advertising is expensive. It gets the
customer to try your product or service. It is
a good start but remember, the goal is to
have customer’s repeat business.
• Over time, you will notice that 80% of your
sales will come from just 20% of your total
customers.
27

MARKET RESEARCH

28

Market Research
• Before one starts a business and even periodically
while in business, one should conduct market
research.
• Market research is an organized process to gather,
analyze, interpret and utilize relevant information
about the business environment for the purposes
of making accurate business decisions.
• Market research focuses on potential customers,
existing customers, the competition and the
business environment .
29

Market Research
• The ultimate goal of market research is business
success.
• The objective of market research is to;
1)Identify potential target markets.
2)Identify customer needs and wants.
3)Determine if the product or service meets customer
needs.
4)Determine the best promotion technique for each
market.
5)Examine the competition.
30

Market Research
• The purpose of market research data is to help the
business owner make better decisions.
• Using market research, the business owner can
develop an accurate understanding of the potential
customer.
• The goal of market research is to reveal unfilled
needs in the form of a market niche, customer’s
needs, a competitor’s weakness or an unused
marketing strategy. The ultimate goal is to
increase the business’ sales and profits.
31

Doing Market Research
• Anyone can do market research to some
extent.
• Basically, you want to gather information
about;
1)Your customers or potential customers
2)Your competition
3)General market information
Let’s go through each in greater detail.
32

About your Customers or
Potential Customers
• General demographic information such as – age,
where they live, where they work, race, gender,
marital status, income, number of children,
education, home ownership, lifestyle
• Needs, wants and desired benefits
• Past and future purchases (What, when, why,
where, how much)
• Products and services that compliment or
substitute
• Use of various media (radio, TV, newspaper,
magazines, etc.)
33

Warranty Cards
• Whenever you buy any appliance and certain
goods, you are requested to fill out a warranty
card. If you fill out the warranty card, the product
you bought will be under warranty for some
specified period of time. Note how much the
information on the warranty card parallels the
demographic information on the previous page.
• Warranty cards serve as a prime method of
collecting marketing information.
34

About the Competition
•
•
•
•
•
•

•
•

Who are they?
What products and/or services do they offer?
What is the price range of products and services?
What are their policies on returns, credit,
warranties, etc.?
Are there any special services?
If they are a store-type business, what is their staff
like (experience, customer respect, customer
focus)?
What kinds of promotions/ advertising do they do?
What is their company image like to the average
customer?
35

General Market Information
• The physical/geographical area (traffic flow,
development plans, history, growth pattern).
• The industry as a whole.
• The economy as a whole.

36

Analyzing Market Research Data
• Once you have collected as much data as
you reasonably can, you need to organize it
by the SWOT format;
• S = Strengths
• W= Weaknesses
• O= Opportunities
• T= Threats
37

SWOT Grid
My Business

Its Environment

Strengths

Opportunities

Weaknesses

Threats

38

The SWOT Grid
• In the grid, you evaluate your business or
business potentials and its weaknesses.
• When you evaluate the environment, where
do you see chances for growth and what
might slow your business ?.

39

Marketing Research
• Where we can get market information;
-The Internet brings information to your finger
tips.
-Visit a food store and just look around not only in
the area that you want to enter but other food
groups ( e.g. what are the dairy foods people doing
that I can adopt?).
-Talk to people in the business from entrepreneurs
to store owners, brokers, sales representatives, etc.
Most people like to help others and will tell you
more than you ever dreamed.
40

Market Research
• Market research identifies the available
market, discovers the best method to reach
the target market and asks what the
customer needs and wants. Market research
is a simple, structured, objective way of
learning about people- the people who will
buy your product or service.
41

RESOURCES
• There are 2 keys sources of information
1)A book entitled From Kitchen to Market by
Stephan F Hall. Sold via Amazon.com for about
$20- A complete, easy to understand book on
taking a food product to market.
2)The Arkansas Small Business Development Center
in Little Rock (501/324-9043) has a resource
library that contains many references and a
brochure entitled Market Designs that will help.
42

43

44

CONCLUSIONS
• This module should have made you think about
the purpose and goals of marketing and how to do
market research.
• Marketing is probably the single most important
aspect in starting and maintaining a food business.
• Whether you are starting a new food business or
maintaining an existing business, it is important
that you constantly monitor your marketing
efforts.
45

46


Slide 45

INTRODUCTION TO FOOD
MARKETING
3116
Steven C Seideman
Extension Food Processing Specialist
Cooperative Extension Service
1

INTRODUCTION
• To many people, “MARKETING” means either
selling or advertising of your business.
• Jay Levinson in his book “ Guerilla Marketing”
defines marketing as “everything you do to
promote your business from the moment you think
of the idea until the customers buy and begin to do
so on a regular basis”.

2

THE GOAL OF BUSINESS
• Two theories on what the goal of business is;
1) The goal of business is profit, and profit means
the firm survives and has a chance to grow.
2) The goal of business is to get and keep a
customer. Profit is implied because if you don’t
make a profit, you will not be around to keep
your customer.
You choose which goal you want to accept. The
bottom line is that a profit must be made.
3

SELLING vs MARKETING
• SELLING asks the question “ How do I get the
customer to buy my product?”
• MARKETING takes a broader view and asks
“What does the customer want to buy ?” The
business owner needs to attract new audiences,
study the competition and develop his or her
product or service so that it appeals to a highly
discriminating audience.
4

MARKETING AS A PROCESS

5

MARKETING AS A PROCESS
• The successful marketing process includes;
1)Determining what the customer needs and wants.
2)Developing a product or service to meet those
needs or wants.
3)Understanding the competition and what they
offer.
4)Linking with the customer as a source for fulfilling
his or her needs and wants.
5)Doing all of this at a price that provides a profit so
that the business can continue to grow.
6

Determining What the Customer
Needs or Wants
• A successful business owner analyzes the
market. He or she defines the particular
market segment most likely to purchase
their product or service. The owner then
determines the specific benefits desired by
the customer.

7

Developing a Product or Service
to Meet those Needs or Wants
• Upon understanding what benefits are wanted, the
owner develops a product or service, the features
of which provide the customer with the requested
benefits. Marketing is selling these benefits rather
than the features.
• A feature is any prominent or distinctive aspect,
quality or characteristic. A benefit is what that
feature gives the customer.
• An example would be a reclosable package. The
feature is reclosable: The benefit to the customer
is that it can be reclosed and stored for later use. 8

Understanding the Competition
and What They Offer
• Customers face a large marketplace. A
successful business owner is able to define a
target market and distinguish his or her
business from the competition.
• Walk down an aisle in any food store, look
at all the different brands of a particular
type of product and see how each brand
tries to provide benefits to the customer.
9

10

Linking the Customer as a Source
for Fulfilling His or Her Needs
and Wants
• The successful business owner must let the
customer know he or she is in business. The owner
must also tell the customer how they can meet
their needs, a function known as advertising.
• Types of advertising include radio, TV, newspaper
and magazines, flyers, billboards, web-advertising,
etc.
• The business owner must figure out the most cost
effective way of getting to the target audience.
11

Doing All of this at a Price that
Provides a Profit so the Business
can Continue
• This implies a price of products or services
that allows both the customer and the owner
to feel good about the transaction.
• The business owner must make a profit so
that he or she can stay in business to
continue providing that product or service.
12

MARKETING ACTIVITIES

13

Marketing Activities
• There are basically 4 major categories of
marketing activities known as the 4 P’s:
1)Positioning
2)Production
3)Pricing
4)Promotion
14

Positioning
• Positioning is defining the purpose of your
product or service as it benefits a potential
customer. Positioning is finding a market niche. It
creates a perception of special value and benefits
in your product or service. Developing one’s
position is one of the major goals of the marketing
process.
• An example of positioning is the fast food chain’s
hamburger businesses positioning themselves as
low cost versus another that features customer
choice (“Have it your way” ).
15

Positioning
• Place (where the goods or services are
marketed) and packaging (how the goods or
services are displayed ) are extremely
important. If a product or service appeals to
walk-in traffic, your location must be where
such traffic occurs, not in a limited traffic
area. If you are developing a product for an
upscale market, the packaging must reflect
the image you are trying to attain.
16

Production
• Successful marketing achieves business
growth. The owner must have anticipated
and planned for this growth in the
production process. The inability to fill
orders can quickly strangle a firm’s growth
and even cause the firm to go out of
business.
17

Courtesy of USDA

18

Pricing
• Pricing is a key factor to business success.
• Pricing can be done as a “wild guess”, based on
what the competition charges or as a cost-buildup
process.
• I strongly prefer the cost buildup model whereby
you list all your costs (raw materials, processing
costs, packaging, promotion, salaries, distribution,
etc.) and then add a profit margin.
• Go to another module to learn the cost buildup
details.
19

Pricing
• Look at what the competition charges as compared
to your cost. How can you do it cheaper or better
than the competition?
• Are people willing to pay that price for your
product or service?.
• How about running promotions on your product or
services so people will try it - buy one, get one
free, coupons with a certain amount off ?
• Most new entrepreneurs tend to underprice their
products and services.
20

Promotion
• This addresses the question “How will people
know about my product or service ?”
• Promotions include paid advertising such as radio,
TV, newspaper, etc, and unpaid publicity such as
press releases, etc. Promotions may also include
trade shows, mailings, internet, in-store demos,
etc.
• Promotional efforts must occur in the media that
your perspective customers use.
• Successful promotional efforts focus on the
benefits of your product or service
• Benefits can be convenience (precooked,
21
reclosable packaging), fun, good health, etc.

22

Promotion
• Customers do not buy a product or service for its
features.They buy it for what it can do for them.
• Learn to romanticize your product. Watch TV ads–
wearing certain brands of trousers make you more
appealing to the opposite sex. Laugh? It works.
Watch some TV ads- what is the message they are
sending?
• Brand loyalty; brand-conscious society
• Develop sales literature- price list, catalog sheet,
product information sheet, point of purchase info.
23

Your Company IMAGE
• Although not traditionally thought of as
marketing, I am a believer in how customers
perceive your company’s image.
• Your letters and correspondence- Professional. Are
your telephones answered professionally ?
• Are your salespersons ethical? Is your receptionist
cheerful, optimistic, properly attired ?
• What about your business facility- people like to
work with professional organizations and your
office and facilities tell them about your
professionalism.
24

Your Company IMAGE
• Business owners must remain aware of the
customer’s perception of the business and move
quickly to correct any negative images.
• Do you contribute to the community or show any
concern for the environment.
• Do the people within your organization project the
image of the company in a favorable way?

25

Service After the Sales
• Effective Marketing must continue with the
product or service after the final sale.
• This support includes service, assistance,
warranties, returns and refunds.

26

Service
• Advertising is expensive. It gets the
customer to try your product or service. It is
a good start but remember, the goal is to
have customer’s repeat business.
• Over time, you will notice that 80% of your
sales will come from just 20% of your total
customers.
27

MARKET RESEARCH

28

Market Research
• Before one starts a business and even periodically
while in business, one should conduct market
research.
• Market research is an organized process to gather,
analyze, interpret and utilize relevant information
about the business environment for the purposes
of making accurate business decisions.
• Market research focuses on potential customers,
existing customers, the competition and the
business environment .
29

Market Research
• The ultimate goal of market research is business
success.
• The objective of market research is to;
1)Identify potential target markets.
2)Identify customer needs and wants.
3)Determine if the product or service meets customer
needs.
4)Determine the best promotion technique for each
market.
5)Examine the competition.
30

Market Research
• The purpose of market research data is to help the
business owner make better decisions.
• Using market research, the business owner can
develop an accurate understanding of the potential
customer.
• The goal of market research is to reveal unfilled
needs in the form of a market niche, customer’s
needs, a competitor’s weakness or an unused
marketing strategy. The ultimate goal is to
increase the business’ sales and profits.
31

Doing Market Research
• Anyone can do market research to some
extent.
• Basically, you want to gather information
about;
1)Your customers or potential customers
2)Your competition
3)General market information
Let’s go through each in greater detail.
32

About your Customers or
Potential Customers
• General demographic information such as – age,
where they live, where they work, race, gender,
marital status, income, number of children,
education, home ownership, lifestyle
• Needs, wants and desired benefits
• Past and future purchases (What, when, why,
where, how much)
• Products and services that compliment or
substitute
• Use of various media (radio, TV, newspaper,
magazines, etc.)
33

Warranty Cards
• Whenever you buy any appliance and certain
goods, you are requested to fill out a warranty
card. If you fill out the warranty card, the product
you bought will be under warranty for some
specified period of time. Note how much the
information on the warranty card parallels the
demographic information on the previous page.
• Warranty cards serve as a prime method of
collecting marketing information.
34

About the Competition
•
•
•
•
•
•

•
•

Who are they?
What products and/or services do they offer?
What is the price range of products and services?
What are their policies on returns, credit,
warranties, etc.?
Are there any special services?
If they are a store-type business, what is their staff
like (experience, customer respect, customer
focus)?
What kinds of promotions/ advertising do they do?
What is their company image like to the average
customer?
35

General Market Information
• The physical/geographical area (traffic flow,
development plans, history, growth pattern).
• The industry as a whole.
• The economy as a whole.

36

Analyzing Market Research Data
• Once you have collected as much data as
you reasonably can, you need to organize it
by the SWOT format;
• S = Strengths
• W= Weaknesses
• O= Opportunities
• T= Threats
37

SWOT Grid
My Business

Its Environment

Strengths

Opportunities

Weaknesses

Threats

38

The SWOT Grid
• In the grid, you evaluate your business or
business potentials and its weaknesses.
• When you evaluate the environment, where
do you see chances for growth and what
might slow your business ?.

39

Marketing Research
• Where we can get market information;
-The Internet brings information to your finger
tips.
-Visit a food store and just look around not only in
the area that you want to enter but other food
groups ( e.g. what are the dairy foods people doing
that I can adopt?).
-Talk to people in the business from entrepreneurs
to store owners, brokers, sales representatives, etc.
Most people like to help others and will tell you
more than you ever dreamed.
40

Market Research
• Market research identifies the available
market, discovers the best method to reach
the target market and asks what the
customer needs and wants. Market research
is a simple, structured, objective way of
learning about people- the people who will
buy your product or service.
41

RESOURCES
• There are 2 keys sources of information
1)A book entitled From Kitchen to Market by
Stephan F Hall. Sold via Amazon.com for about
$20- A complete, easy to understand book on
taking a food product to market.
2)The Arkansas Small Business Development Center
in Little Rock (501/324-9043) has a resource
library that contains many references and a
brochure entitled Market Designs that will help.
42

43

44

CONCLUSIONS
• This module should have made you think about
the purpose and goals of marketing and how to do
market research.
• Marketing is probably the single most important
aspect in starting and maintaining a food business.
• Whether you are starting a new food business or
maintaining an existing business, it is important
that you constantly monitor your marketing
efforts.
45

46


Slide 46

INTRODUCTION TO FOOD
MARKETING
3116
Steven C Seideman
Extension Food Processing Specialist
Cooperative Extension Service
1

INTRODUCTION
• To many people, “MARKETING” means either
selling or advertising of your business.
• Jay Levinson in his book “ Guerilla Marketing”
defines marketing as “everything you do to
promote your business from the moment you think
of the idea until the customers buy and begin to do
so on a regular basis”.

2

THE GOAL OF BUSINESS
• Two theories on what the goal of business is;
1) The goal of business is profit, and profit means
the firm survives and has a chance to grow.
2) The goal of business is to get and keep a
customer. Profit is implied because if you don’t
make a profit, you will not be around to keep
your customer.
You choose which goal you want to accept. The
bottom line is that a profit must be made.
3

SELLING vs MARKETING
• SELLING asks the question “ How do I get the
customer to buy my product?”
• MARKETING takes a broader view and asks
“What does the customer want to buy ?” The
business owner needs to attract new audiences,
study the competition and develop his or her
product or service so that it appeals to a highly
discriminating audience.
4

MARKETING AS A PROCESS

5

MARKETING AS A PROCESS
• The successful marketing process includes;
1)Determining what the customer needs and wants.
2)Developing a product or service to meet those
needs or wants.
3)Understanding the competition and what they
offer.
4)Linking with the customer as a source for fulfilling
his or her needs and wants.
5)Doing all of this at a price that provides a profit so
that the business can continue to grow.
6

Determining What the Customer
Needs or Wants
• A successful business owner analyzes the
market. He or she defines the particular
market segment most likely to purchase
their product or service. The owner then
determines the specific benefits desired by
the customer.

7

Developing a Product or Service
to Meet those Needs or Wants
• Upon understanding what benefits are wanted, the
owner develops a product or service, the features
of which provide the customer with the requested
benefits. Marketing is selling these benefits rather
than the features.
• A feature is any prominent or distinctive aspect,
quality or characteristic. A benefit is what that
feature gives the customer.
• An example would be a reclosable package. The
feature is reclosable: The benefit to the customer
is that it can be reclosed and stored for later use. 8

Understanding the Competition
and What They Offer
• Customers face a large marketplace. A
successful business owner is able to define a
target market and distinguish his or her
business from the competition.
• Walk down an aisle in any food store, look
at all the different brands of a particular
type of product and see how each brand
tries to provide benefits to the customer.
9

10

Linking the Customer as a Source
for Fulfilling His or Her Needs
and Wants
• The successful business owner must let the
customer know he or she is in business. The owner
must also tell the customer how they can meet
their needs, a function known as advertising.
• Types of advertising include radio, TV, newspaper
and magazines, flyers, billboards, web-advertising,
etc.
• The business owner must figure out the most cost
effective way of getting to the target audience.
11

Doing All of this at a Price that
Provides a Profit so the Business
can Continue
• This implies a price of products or services
that allows both the customer and the owner
to feel good about the transaction.
• The business owner must make a profit so
that he or she can stay in business to
continue providing that product or service.
12

MARKETING ACTIVITIES

13

Marketing Activities
• There are basically 4 major categories of
marketing activities known as the 4 P’s:
1)Positioning
2)Production
3)Pricing
4)Promotion
14

Positioning
• Positioning is defining the purpose of your
product or service as it benefits a potential
customer. Positioning is finding a market niche. It
creates a perception of special value and benefits
in your product or service. Developing one’s
position is one of the major goals of the marketing
process.
• An example of positioning is the fast food chain’s
hamburger businesses positioning themselves as
low cost versus another that features customer
choice (“Have it your way” ).
15

Positioning
• Place (where the goods or services are
marketed) and packaging (how the goods or
services are displayed ) are extremely
important. If a product or service appeals to
walk-in traffic, your location must be where
such traffic occurs, not in a limited traffic
area. If you are developing a product for an
upscale market, the packaging must reflect
the image you are trying to attain.
16

Production
• Successful marketing achieves business
growth. The owner must have anticipated
and planned for this growth in the
production process. The inability to fill
orders can quickly strangle a firm’s growth
and even cause the firm to go out of
business.
17

Courtesy of USDA

18

Pricing
• Pricing is a key factor to business success.
• Pricing can be done as a “wild guess”, based on
what the competition charges or as a cost-buildup
process.
• I strongly prefer the cost buildup model whereby
you list all your costs (raw materials, processing
costs, packaging, promotion, salaries, distribution,
etc.) and then add a profit margin.
• Go to another module to learn the cost buildup
details.
19

Pricing
• Look at what the competition charges as compared
to your cost. How can you do it cheaper or better
than the competition?
• Are people willing to pay that price for your
product or service?.
• How about running promotions on your product or
services so people will try it - buy one, get one
free, coupons with a certain amount off ?
• Most new entrepreneurs tend to underprice their
products and services.
20

Promotion
• This addresses the question “How will people
know about my product or service ?”
• Promotions include paid advertising such as radio,
TV, newspaper, etc, and unpaid publicity such as
press releases, etc. Promotions may also include
trade shows, mailings, internet, in-store demos,
etc.
• Promotional efforts must occur in the media that
your perspective customers use.
• Successful promotional efforts focus on the
benefits of your product or service
• Benefits can be convenience (precooked,
21
reclosable packaging), fun, good health, etc.

22

Promotion
• Customers do not buy a product or service for its
features.They buy it for what it can do for them.
• Learn to romanticize your product. Watch TV ads–
wearing certain brands of trousers make you more
appealing to the opposite sex. Laugh? It works.
Watch some TV ads- what is the message they are
sending?
• Brand loyalty; brand-conscious society
• Develop sales literature- price list, catalog sheet,
product information sheet, point of purchase info.
23

Your Company IMAGE
• Although not traditionally thought of as
marketing, I am a believer in how customers
perceive your company’s image.
• Your letters and correspondence- Professional. Are
your telephones answered professionally ?
• Are your salespersons ethical? Is your receptionist
cheerful, optimistic, properly attired ?
• What about your business facility- people like to
work with professional organizations and your
office and facilities tell them about your
professionalism.
24

Your Company IMAGE
• Business owners must remain aware of the
customer’s perception of the business and move
quickly to correct any negative images.
• Do you contribute to the community or show any
concern for the environment.
• Do the people within your organization project the
image of the company in a favorable way?

25

Service After the Sales
• Effective Marketing must continue with the
product or service after the final sale.
• This support includes service, assistance,
warranties, returns and refunds.

26

Service
• Advertising is expensive. It gets the
customer to try your product or service. It is
a good start but remember, the goal is to
have customer’s repeat business.
• Over time, you will notice that 80% of your
sales will come from just 20% of your total
customers.
27

MARKET RESEARCH

28

Market Research
• Before one starts a business and even periodically
while in business, one should conduct market
research.
• Market research is an organized process to gather,
analyze, interpret and utilize relevant information
about the business environment for the purposes
of making accurate business decisions.
• Market research focuses on potential customers,
existing customers, the competition and the
business environment .
29

Market Research
• The ultimate goal of market research is business
success.
• The objective of market research is to;
1)Identify potential target markets.
2)Identify customer needs and wants.
3)Determine if the product or service meets customer
needs.
4)Determine the best promotion technique for each
market.
5)Examine the competition.
30

Market Research
• The purpose of market research data is to help the
business owner make better decisions.
• Using market research, the business owner can
develop an accurate understanding of the potential
customer.
• The goal of market research is to reveal unfilled
needs in the form of a market niche, customer’s
needs, a competitor’s weakness or an unused
marketing strategy. The ultimate goal is to
increase the business’ sales and profits.
31

Doing Market Research
• Anyone can do market research to some
extent.
• Basically, you want to gather information
about;
1)Your customers or potential customers
2)Your competition
3)General market information
Let’s go through each in greater detail.
32

About your Customers or
Potential Customers
• General demographic information such as – age,
where they live, where they work, race, gender,
marital status, income, number of children,
education, home ownership, lifestyle
• Needs, wants and desired benefits
• Past and future purchases (What, when, why,
where, how much)
• Products and services that compliment or
substitute
• Use of various media (radio, TV, newspaper,
magazines, etc.)
33

Warranty Cards
• Whenever you buy any appliance and certain
goods, you are requested to fill out a warranty
card. If you fill out the warranty card, the product
you bought will be under warranty for some
specified period of time. Note how much the
information on the warranty card parallels the
demographic information on the previous page.
• Warranty cards serve as a prime method of
collecting marketing information.
34

About the Competition
•
•
•
•
•
•

•
•

Who are they?
What products and/or services do they offer?
What is the price range of products and services?
What are their policies on returns, credit,
warranties, etc.?
Are there any special services?
If they are a store-type business, what is their staff
like (experience, customer respect, customer
focus)?
What kinds of promotions/ advertising do they do?
What is their company image like to the average
customer?
35

General Market Information
• The physical/geographical area (traffic flow,
development plans, history, growth pattern).
• The industry as a whole.
• The economy as a whole.

36

Analyzing Market Research Data
• Once you have collected as much data as
you reasonably can, you need to organize it
by the SWOT format;
• S = Strengths
• W= Weaknesses
• O= Opportunities
• T= Threats
37

SWOT Grid
My Business

Its Environment

Strengths

Opportunities

Weaknesses

Threats

38

The SWOT Grid
• In the grid, you evaluate your business or
business potentials and its weaknesses.
• When you evaluate the environment, where
do you see chances for growth and what
might slow your business ?.

39

Marketing Research
• Where we can get market information;
-The Internet brings information to your finger
tips.
-Visit a food store and just look around not only in
the area that you want to enter but other food
groups ( e.g. what are the dairy foods people doing
that I can adopt?).
-Talk to people in the business from entrepreneurs
to store owners, brokers, sales representatives, etc.
Most people like to help others and will tell you
more than you ever dreamed.
40

Market Research
• Market research identifies the available
market, discovers the best method to reach
the target market and asks what the
customer needs and wants. Market research
is a simple, structured, objective way of
learning about people- the people who will
buy your product or service.
41

RESOURCES
• There are 2 keys sources of information
1)A book entitled From Kitchen to Market by
Stephan F Hall. Sold via Amazon.com for about
$20- A complete, easy to understand book on
taking a food product to market.
2)The Arkansas Small Business Development Center
in Little Rock (501/324-9043) has a resource
library that contains many references and a
brochure entitled Market Designs that will help.
42

43

44

CONCLUSIONS
• This module should have made you think about
the purpose and goals of marketing and how to do
market research.
• Marketing is probably the single most important
aspect in starting and maintaining a food business.
• Whether you are starting a new food business or
maintaining an existing business, it is important
that you constantly monitor your marketing
efforts.
45

46