FFA Marketing Plan Workshop

Who are we?

Overview of Competition State Convention competition ONLY3 FFA participants per teamTeam Scored Event – professional marketing

judgesWritten Plan:

Must select a local product/serviceThree-year planShould not exceed 8 single-sided, 8.5” x 11” pages

Presentation: Prelim Round – 5 minute presentationSemifinal Round – 10 minute presentation Final Round – 12 minute presentation

- Market Analysis- Industry Trends, Market Potential, Target Market,

Customer Profile

- Competitive Analysis- Identify Competitors, SWOT Analysis

- Business Proposition- Strategy Statement, Key Planning Assumptions,

Marketing Objectives

- Action Plan- 4 P’s. Marketing & Promotional Tactics

- Financials- Monitoring & Measuring

- Evaluating business performance thru metrics

Overview of Marketing Plan

MyMato:Dwarf cherry tomato plant that can be

grown inside, all year round. It can produce hundreds of tomatoes from one plant.

Market Analysis Section

Market Trends & PotentialsMarket PotentialTarget MarketCustomer Profile

What is Market Research?

Why is it important?

Market ResearchStudy of market conditions and trends to

determine whether a product has potential and the proper market for the product.

Answers questions like…. Who should I market to? What competition is in the market? Industry trends that would influence my business/product success? How much should I charge? Where should I market the product? When should I launch the product? How should I communicate to

my customers? What’s my market potential?

Market ResearchTwo forms of Market Research:

PrimaryYou collect the research

SecondarySomeone else collected the information first

What are some forms of each??Primary:

focus groups, interviews, observations, surveys, etcSecondary:

USDA, journals, periodicals, research papers, web

Market TrendsWhat is going on in the market that would constitute a need for this product? QUANTIFY your trends

Explain RELEVANCE

MyMato: - What is happening (trending) in the fresh produce industry today?Consumption of fresh market tomatoes has

increased

Healthier eating (vegetable intense diets)

Preferring sweeter tasting tomatoes

Food origin is a growing concern for consumers

Market: Who is it??Target CustomerTarget MarketMarket Potential

Market PotentialDetermines how big the market is in terms of:

Dollar value

Customer numbers

Stage of development the market is currently in- Immature? Mature?

Target MarketWHO are you targeting?Segment or narrow your market

Geographic, Demographic, Psychographic, Behavioral

Are there any secondary targets?Perhaps key influencers

Leads into Customer Profile

Customer ProfileWho are they?AgeEducationPriorities/ValuesWhere do they get their product

information?Often helps to give your target

customer an identity.

MyMato:Target Market – who would you target?

MyMatoCustomer Profile – who is the customer?

Competitor Analysis Competitor AnalysisSWOT

Competitor AnalysisTo start:

Identify your product’s benefits to the customerWhat is YOUR competitive advantage

Research similar/competing products in the marketProductPrice% Market ShareStrengthsWeaknesses

MyMato:

SWOT AnalysisStrengths- things the company/product does

wellWeaknesses- things the company/product

doesn’t do wellOpportunities- conditions in the external

environment that favor strengthsThreats- conditions in the external

environment that do not relate to existing strengths or favor areas of current weaknesses

Strengths Weaknesses

Opportunities Threats

Inte

rnal

Exte

rnal

MyMato:

Business Proposition Section

Key Planning AssumptionsMarketing GoalsBusiness Strategy Statement

Key Planning Assumptions4-6 Business Assumptions about the

marketplace and customersInformation should be taken from the

research conducted in the Market Analysis sectionExamples from MyMato:

1. Northern Naturals holds exclusive rights to the patented indoor dwarf cherry tomato plant, MyMato

2. The demand for nutritious, convenient, locally grown produce will continue to grow.

3. Northern Naturals will have access to an adequate supply of seed and production greenhouse space to satisfy the forecasted demand.

Marketing Goals/Objectives3-5 Business Metrics/Objectives should

be setSales (Units, $), Customers,

Satisfaction, Profit MarginNeed to be reasonable (within reach)

and measurable

Examples from MyMato: By Year 3:

Gross sales of $14 million65% brand awareness among our target market Capture 5% of the market in selected grocery stores in

targeted area

Strategy Statement1-Sentence Statement, says:

Who we areWhat we doWho we do it for

Example from MyMato:

“MyMato will reward consumers with a desirable sweeter tasting cherry tomato, grown on nothing more than a sunny window-sill, while keeping health and convenience a top priority. My Life, My Health, MyMato.”

Action PlanThe plan to:

1. Make your customers aware of your product/service2. Get your customers to buy your product/service

The 4 P’s of Marketing (Marketing Mix)

Product PositioningPhysical features or intangible aspects of the

productPrice

Pricing Strategy, Sell Low/Premium Priced?Place

Where?, Distribution ChannelsPromotion

Action Plan: Marketing & Promotional Tactics, Sales Promotion

MyMato 4 P’s

PromotionMass Selling

Advertising- what you pay forPublicity (PR)- free

Sales PromotionWhat you do in-store to get the customer to try it

Contests, coupons, free samplesPersonal Selling

Direct contact with potential customer

Example Promotional ToolsPrint MediaSocial MediaPublic RelationsTrade Shows/Educational SeminarsInternet MarketingSales ForceProduct Launch

MyMato Promotions – Year 1

MyMato Promotions – Year 2

MyMato Promotions – Year 3

Financials

Why Financials are Important

Shows economical feasibility

Shows validity of marketing expenses

Can we move forward?

Cash Flow, Gross Margin, Profit

Monitoring and MeasuringContingency PlanGoalsWhat happens if you exceed your goals?What happens if you don’t meet your

goals?

Questions?For more information & resources:

www.iowastatenama.wordpress.com “FFA Resources”