Marketing Your Extension Program

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Marketing Your Extension Program

• Stephanie Platteter
• Director of Marketing
• College of Continuing Education
• April 23, 2002

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What a Marketing Plan Does

• Presents an analysis of the market conditions
  that the product/program face
• Sets forth the marketing strategy that the
  product/product will follow
• Provides a detailed schedule of marketing
  activities

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Characteristics of a Good Plan

• Customer-focused
• Appropriate
• Defendable
• Actionable
• Timely

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Anatomy of a Marketing Plan
Market Analysis
Marketing Implications
Marketing Strategies and Tactics
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Marketing Plan Outline

• Introduction
• Market Analysis
• Customer description
• Competitor overview
• Marketplace factors
• Internal analysis
• Marketing Implications
• Marketing Strategies and Tactics

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Introduction

• Relevant background information
• Brief program/product description
• Examples programs and products
• Program Drainage and Tiling Program, Crop
  Pesticide Management (CPM) short course,
  ServSafe, Bugs and Blights course, Winning the
  Game
• Products Beef Home Study Correspondence Course,
  Herbicide Mode of Action CD, Master Gardening
  Calendar, FINPAK Software

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Product Description ExampleHerbicide Mode of
Action CD

• The herbicide industry is introducing many new
  products each year, making it difficult to keep
  up. It is important that individuals are able to
  categorize and understand these new products
  based on their modes of action. To address this,
  a CD was developed to be a teaching tool to the
  user on how herbicides behaved and to, with
  interactive learning techniques, exhibit examples
  and technical information on the various
  categories, including specific herbicides.

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Who are your Customers?

• Define the target audience(s). Indicate primary
  versus secondary target audiences.
• What are the characteristics of each audience?
• Are they growing in size or influence?
• What is the basis for their purchase decision?
  What do they need to hear?

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Target Audience ExampleWinning the Game

• Primary audience crop producers involved with
  grain marketing
• Secondary audienceadvisors/lenders/etc. that
  work directly with these producers
• Characteristics
• traditional and conservative
• most likely college educated
• located throughout greater Minnesota
• The number of producers is decreasing as farm
  size continually increases
• Their purchase decision will be driven by their
  need to make more money in their marketing system
• They want to hear and learn practical information
  that can be readily applied, as well as some
  academic/research background.

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Who are Your Competitors?

• Who else currently provides the product to your
  target audience(s)?
• Who should?
• Are there any indirect competitors that you may
  not have previously considered?
• What are the strategies for each competitor? What
  are their strengths and weaknesses?
• How are you differentiated against this
  competition?

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Competitor ExampleBugs and Blights
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Whats Happening in the Marketplace?

• What is the market size? Is it growing?
• Geography
• Revenue
• of current/potential customers
• What are major industry, economic, environmental,
  regulatory trends facing your program/product or
  influencing its marketability?
• Are their seasonal fluctuations?
• Will or has technology impacted market dynamics?

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Marketplace Issues ExampleBeef Correspondence
Course

• Number of beef producers is declining due to
  consolidation, however, some small producers are
  adding beef as an add-on species
• Producers tend to be geographically consolidated
  in the western part of MN
• Market pricing and increased environmental
  regulation are impacting entire industry
• More producers are using technology to get
  information

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Internal Analysis

• SWOT tool
• Strengths of product/program or institution
• Weaknesses of product/program or institution
• Opportunities for product/program in marketplace
• Threats for product/program in marketplace
• Core Competencies
• Of product/program
• Of institution

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Internal Analysis ExampleServSafe
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Marketing Implications

• Could competitors be partners or another
  distribution channel?
• Can we provide a meaningful point of
  differentiation from the competition?
• What attitudes or obstacles (real or perceived)
  do we need to help customer get over?

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Marketing Implication Examples

• Bugs and Blights need to make information
  convenient to combat in-store convenience
• Beef Correspondence Course due of shrinking
  market conditions, need to find low-costs methods
  for distributing and marketing
• ServSafe consider preempting competition with
  technology enhance delivery

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Marketing Objectives

• Specific
• Measurable
• Achievable
• Realistic
• Time framed
• Examples
• Revenue figure or growth rate in next year
• of customers
• Increased awareness level from time A to time B

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Marketing Strategies and Tactics

• Product/Program
• Price
• Distribution
• Promotion/Communication

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Product/Program

• Positioning
• Vis a vis the competition
• Relation to positioning of Institution
• Naming
• Packaging
• Example FINPAK

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Price

• Cost
• Value
• Discounts
• Introductory
• Volume

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Distribution

• How will the product be sold?
• Personal selling
• Via distribution channel
• Electronically
• Will partners be used to help sell?

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Distribution Strategy ExampleMaster Gardener
Program

• Utilize existing staff channels
• Extension Service/ County Extension Offices
• Horticulture Program Staff
• Employ a sales associate to partner with the
  University for sales through retail channels
• Partner with U of M bookstores

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Promotion/Communication

• Key messages
• Marketing mix
• Public relations
• Advertising
• Direct Marketing
• Sales support
• E-marketing
• Promotion

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Promotion Strategy ExampleCPM Short Course

• Key messages
• Addresses the most current issues
• You will be prepared for the season
• Up-to-date and grounded in practicalitywe will
  show you what to do
• Strategies
• Focus marketing efforts on most captive audience
• Direct mail to previous participants
• Mailing to relevant association members and
  companies
• Create awareness with agricultural community
• University newsletters
• Listservs
• Web site presence

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Schedule/Measurement

• Key dates for completion of each activity
• Roles/responsibilities
• How will success be measure
• Sales/customers
• Response
• Awareness

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Marketing Your Extension Program

• Questions
• And
• Answers