This little piggy went to market.
Even a vegetarian like me knows about marketing. Develop a product. Show it to the consumers. Hope they will want to...consume it.
But you’ve so much on your plate already.
Is there a market for pigs?
If so, what sort?
What are the production, marketing and distribution costs?
Will consumers pay more for a pig with stainless steel taps, or an extended warranty?
Research answers most of these questions. Sometimes that just means asking friends, colleagues, existing customers, networking members, people in the pub. Time and beer money well-spent.
From this raw data, you can extrapolate certain marketing conclusions e.g. forget the taps, launch the gammon with free pineapple chunks.
Outlets. Market place, own farm shop, or both? How do you persuade retailers to stock your prime cuts? How do you whet the appetite of consumers?
Experts describe marketing as managing perceptions. In plain English, that means being liked and trusted - and in the market place, the most cost-effective way of achieving this is good advertising, based on a genuinely good offering.
Good advertising is the sharp end of marketing - the end that actually wins the sale.
So much for the lecture. Who am I to talk?
Here’s some of the advertising I’m creating right now:
Branding, press ads, leaflets, website and launch for a new concept in Dorset estate agency.
An online campaign for an international legal firm.
Content for an international website developer.
A nurse recruitment campaign (specialist press and online) for the UK’s No. 1 Rehabilitation Cost Consultancy - which is based in Salisbury.
A series of articles for Alfa Romeo - and other Italian icons.
I’ll keep you posted. Justin Allison