FREE "Marketing for Profit: Tools for Success" Webinar Series

[Future Harvest - CASA]

Essential FREE Resource for Farmers, Market Managers, and Local
Producers
Marketing for Profit: Tools for Success Webinar Series Registration
Now Open!

The Farmers Market Federation of NY and the NY Farm Viability
Institute have partnered with USDA Northeast SARE to present a series
of webinars on marketing, “Marketing for Profits: Tools for Success”.
These webinars have been designed with the assistance of regional and
national marketing experts to provide critical marketing insights for
farmers and farm markets throughout the northeast. The webinars are
free, are approximately an hour and a half long, and easy to access
with a basic internet connection. This winter, 6 webinars will be held
and interested participants are encouraged to register TODAY for the
webinars they think they will attend.

The Marketing for Profit: Tools for Success webinar series will give
farmers the information and tools they need to excel at direct
marketing their farm products. It will also provide curriculum,
presentations and handouts to Cooperative Extension Educators and
other farm service educators to help their farmers master key
marketing concepts that will bring greater success and more profits to
their farms than ever before.

As producers, farmers are well-equipped with the knowledge to produce
quality farm products. They determine the best methods of farming, and
the crop mix that will help them to achieve their production goals and
revenue requirements. They understand and follow all statutory
regulations impacting their operation, comply with labor law and file
mounds of paperwork. But when it comes to marketing, many producers
believe the Field of Dreams version of “Build it and they will come.”
Marketing is a concept that must be learned to achieve maximum profits
from chosen marketing channels, whether it is farmers markets, CSAs,
direct to restaurant sales, or another other venue.

Marketing encompasses a broad array of efforts all aimed at
identifying your market and customers, satisfying your customers and
maintaining your customers long term. It includes all marketing
channel selections and business decisions, what to grow or produce and
how it will be produced; ie conventional, organic, bio-dynamic or some
amalgam of these; how you choose to make products available, how
product is presented to the public, how you present your business,
advertising and promotions, signage, pricing strategy, and so on.
Marketing is complex and is often the most misunderstood and least
successful part of many farm businesses.

The series will include coverage of 5 categories of marketing concepts
spanning three years: Self-Assessment, Market Assessment, Customer
Assessment, Communications Assessment and Business Assessment. Each
Assessment will be a series of 3 webinars. The winter season, 2012-13,
will focus on Market Assessment and Customer Assessment. Learn how to
understand the current marketplace, understand your competition, find
the right fit for you and your products and build your marketing plan.
In the Customer Assessment series you will learn to identify your
ideal customer and how to attract them, understand customer service,
gain knowledge of marketing tactics to reach your ideal customers and
use a SWOT analysis to understand trends that can impact your
business. These are just a sample of the skills and knowledge to be
gained through this season’s Marketing for Profit: Tools for Success
webinar series. Each webinar will be repeated twice to maximize
opportunity to participate.

Learning to Look Around, or Getting Your Head in the Game!
Bob Buccieri, former President of the Farmers Market Federation of NY
December 4, 10 am – 11:30am
December 5, 7pm – 8:30pm

How Smart ARE you, Really?
Warren Abbott, Abbott Farms, Baldwinsville, NY
December 10, 10am – 11:30am
December 11, 6pm – 7:30pm

Building the Marketing Plan
Marty Broccoli, Ag Economic Development Specialist, Cornell
Cooperative Extension, Oneida County
January 8, 11am – 12:30pm
January 9, 6pm – 7:30pm

People Sure Are STRANGE! Coming to understand the customer
Marty Butts, Small Potatoes Marketing
January 15, 11am – 12:30pm
January 16, 6pm – 7:30pm

BOGOs, Bounce Backs and the cost of freebies! Promoting the Product
Lindsay Ott Wilcox, Creative Director, Clear Channels Radio, Syracuse
January 29, 11am – 12:30pm
January 30, 6pm – 7:30pm

Every Silver Lining has a Cloud! Market Assessment & Analysis
Marty Butts, Small Potatoes Marketing
February 12, 11am – 12:30pm
February 13, 6pm – 7:30pm

These webinars are free to participate. To register for the webinars,
go to http://www.nyfarmersmarket.com/work-shop-programs/webinars/registration.html

For more information, detailed descriptions of the sessions or a full,
3 year curriculum, please contact Diane Eggert at
deg...@nyfarmersmarket.com or David Grusenmeyer,
dgruse...@nyfvi.org.