Consumer-Driven Marketing

Consumer-Driven Marketing

Summary

Designing and implementing a program that is dependent on participant-driven decision making has its challenges. Using a process where the advisory and planning committee shapes the way the program is conducted in no way diminishes the quality of the program, but it has definitely evolved into a more demanding and less tidy approach to program development. This process has caused the timetable to be retarded; some of the activities are occurring simultaneously rather than in the order that was originally stated in the proposal. This process has made the program more local in terms of expert participation.

Objectives/Performance Targets

Of the 70 professionals enrolled in the training, 20 will begin advising and directing farmers and businesspeople who want to make the transition to a consumer-driven enterprise. Twenty members will joing a standing committee to manage the flow of ideas and retrieve and share information abour consumer-driven enterprises. Thirty will know where to refer questions and where to direct people needing help; the balance will learn to refer questions to the task force or the web site.

2. Eight farmers or communities will actually use the information presented by the faculty and the web site to start transitioning from being a commodity producer into consumer-driven one.

3. Three hundred producers who are currently in a commodity environment will visit the web site annually for consumer-driven production and marketing information.

This professional development grant will fund a three-day workshop and a subsequent three-day field trip that will prepare 50 agricultual professionals, 10 farmer leaders, and 10 agricultural science students to teach their neighbors and consitutents how to establish and maintain a consumer-driven production and marketing system.

The goal of the training is to enhance the sustainability of small farmers and their communities by increasing the profitability of their farms and developing locally controlled and financed value adding and ditributing allied businesses. Also, while integrating a consumer sensitive mentality to the production environment, this activity will teach producers how to first envision marketing directly to a consumer and then to take that initial planning step and, ultimately, expand an agricultural production operation into an agricultural business that produces and markets food and fiber in a consumer-driven environment.

Those attending learned about the present potential for marketing agricultural production to the final consumer. The training allowed those participating to learn about the business and planning side of several successful operations and hear about and see many successful production and marketing communities. Sessions included: small business planning, borrowing money, successful community-farmer synergies, laws specific to value-added agricultural enterprises, and specific training for processing agricultural products. Finally, input was received on what information will be helpful to add to the website.

Accomplishments/Milestones

I thoroughly researched the list of potential planning committee members as to experience and my perceived estimate of their understanding of consumer-driven marketing and production. The mix of educators, lenders, development professionals, and farmers who have already adopted a consumer-driven mentality has proved most beneficial.

A list of names and a short biography of the members of the committee has been submitted to Northeast SARE as attachment 1. One challenge has been to try to mold this knowledge and enthusiasm into a program that actually takes shape and then can be maintain.

One of the goals of this conference and one piece of the program is the introduction of the web site. I feel that time spent evaluating the web site will help assure its use and effectiveness in the future.

The workshop was held April 14, 15, and 16, 2003. Each attendee receives the same message from start to finish. One exception includes the bureaucrats who were invited to the conference; they were offered a special half-day mini-conference that helped them learn about West Virginia family farms and how our commodities can be value-added to fill a niche with the regional consumer.

Special planning has been directed toward participation. We strategically scheduled the conference near an annual event that is attended by nearly all the extension staff which should help us attain our attendance goal of 85% of the agriculture agents.

The committee members are convinced this program is important and will make a difference. Many have remarked that they wish they had had this type of help when they started to make a change in their operations.

Work has been done to assure proper maintenance of the web site in the future because the committee is convinced that this expertise can’t be limited just to the group that attended the conference. The Center for Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Community Development will host the web page and monitor the usage.

Impacts and Contributions/Outcomes

None available yet.

Collaborators: