Farmers and Forest Landowners- Get Your Marketing Game On!

Where Cows Meet Clams The Gooey Winter, 2013

March 26, 2013

Calyx Sustainable Tourism

Thanks to the Feds!

This project was funded by:

The U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyCooperative Agreement Grant PC-00J20101)

in partnership with the Washington State Department of Ecology

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This Evening

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Overview of Tourism and the Experience Economy

Marketing Framework and Plan Development

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Today… in Brief, is About

Understanding Your Uniqueness

Telling a Great Story

Connecting with target audiences

Understanding Basics about Effective Marketing

Connecting your LOB with Trends

Part I: The Big Picture

Positive:

•Folks traveling regionally

•We live in a prosperous place

•We care about our land

•Social Media facilitates storytelling

Negative:

•Stressed and over-connected technologically

•Unhealthy and too busy

•Increasing disconnection from natural world & food

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Hospitality is Big Business

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Sustainability is now sexy

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Green Travelers

Relevant Trends

•WA. 5th in nation for wildlife viewing revenues

•Nature Based Tourism 37% increase

•WA 11th in nation for in-state tourism

•Experience Tourism: meaning, feeling & connection

•“Wildness”-foraging, crafting, getting dirty, nostalgia

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More Tourism Drivers

•Local/seasonal eating and mania over “wild” anything

•Channel Noise- need peace

•Local farm & forest landowners good story: stewards, real, ruddy

•Romance & Adventure

•Consumer engagement with story

•Allure of myths and legends exemplified by film

•We need exercise!

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Part II Marketing (don’t go to sleep!)

Your Uniqueness +

Your target audiences +

Your Story +

Your engagement +

Your regional collaboration=

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Marketing Plan Part of a Business Plan

1.Introduction

2.Market Research and Analysis

3. Marketing and Financial Objectives and Goals

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Marketing Plan Part of a Business Plan

Research list:

•Situational Analysis (context)

•Product/Service Analysis (SWOT- why I’m great)

•Target Market ID and description

•Competitors (or collaborators!) 1

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Marketing Plan (cont’d)

4. Marketing Mix (4Cs/4Ps)

• Consumer Need/ Product & Positioning

•Cost/Price/

•Convenience/Place

•Comm/Promotion

5.Marketing Budget

6.Marketing Plan

7. Check List

8. Follow-up Evaluation of Marketing Plan

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Your Customers

1. Consumer Need/Want/Preference

and Value

2. Cost- Value

3. Convenience (SnoValley, access)

4. Communication (in all ways))

You

1. Product/Positioning (USP – will discuss later)

2. Price

3. Place

4. Promotion

Step 1: Unique Selling Proposition

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Differentiating Yourself

Visual Landscape (beauty)

Diversity in Activities

Learning Opps (cooking, foraging, photography, poetry, running, music)

Storytelling in the Woods or Field

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Beauty Sells

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How and Where You Communicate

How?

Emotion

With Passion

With Stories

With Images

With Humanity

With?

Tools

Web Site

Blogs

Facebook & other Social Networking tools

In person

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Web Writing and Design

Less Words- Chunk out

White Space

Most important at top

Great Images

Good Stories

Navigation:

Who? (maps, contacts, hours, names)

Why? (your story)

What? (do you offer)

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Step 2: Understand Your Customer

•Connection with local community

•Adding visible value to your product and service mix

•Identifying your core assets

•Market research

•Business school libraries, USDA Agricultural Marketing Service, OIA

•Local Outdoor Recreation, Health and Food Blogs

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Customer Needs

Needs vs. Wants vs.

Values vs. Preference

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What Do Your Customers Want?

Unique adventure

Safety and Nostalgia

Do something Different

Unwind and Reflect

Learn

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Where Do Customers Look for Sustainable Products?

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What Do Your Customers Want?

Where else to find out?

•Meet Up Group discussions

•Chat Rooms (blogs/travel blogs)

•Social Media (FB, read Trip Advisor Reviews)

•UW Business Library

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Made To Stick

•Simple (Explore your Dollars Close to Home. Go Where Other’s Don’t)

•Unexpected (humor, people dressed as Sasquatch in downtown Duvall)

•Credible (from trusted messengers, who are effective in creating emotion)

•Concrete (name places and things- be specific- find a universal language)

•Emotional (triggers a part of the brain which is more likely to lead to both action & giving $)

•Stories (this is the way people understand the world and plug in facts)

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Great Web Sites

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Web Examples

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Great Web Sites

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Agritourism as a Continuum

• The Crop

•Pick, shop, browse

•Learn, help, engage

•Create, stay, experience (make cheese, learn to cook, get married, get spooked in a corn maze)

•Part of the “experience economy”

Customer becomes emotionally connected

Feels with all their senses

Remembers HOW you made them feel

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Forest Tourism As a Continuum

• The Forest: tours

•The Forest: learn with partner (photographs, yoga, painting, lectures, stewardship)

•Forage the Forest: invitees forage

•Forage and Cook the Forest: forage, cooking demo and dinner•+ Overnight Yurt Glamping

•Part of the “experience economy”

Customer becomes emotionally connected

Feels with all their senses

Remembers HOW you made them feel

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Non Timber Forest Products

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Examples

Culinary Traveler Profile

•27 million in the U.S.- strong in WA.

•Active, well educated, higher income (similar for nature based tourists)

•Interested in food unique to area

•Pair Local Farm Products for Forest dinners

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Mushroom Mania

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A Word on Truffles

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Nature Based Tourism

•In a natural area

•Main Focus is nature itself or an activity dependent on nature

•Range from passive (wildlife viewing) to active

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Naturalist Led Tours

•Will need insurance & agent walkthrough

•Good contract

•Revenue Sharing arrangement

•Remove latent defects on land

•National Association for Interpretation

•International Ecotourism Society

•Society of Outdoor Recreation Professionals

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Overnight Guests

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We Love and Need Nature- Biophilia

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Use the Orchard & Farm Dinner Model ….

Part III: The Assessment Phase

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Laws and Laws and Laws

•Land Use/Environment

•Selling Processed Food

•Serving Food

•Tours

Who to contact?

•Read RCW 4.24.200

•County Health Dept.

•Planning Department

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Insurance Types

•Commercial & GeneralLiability

•Product Liability (if you sell a product)

•Special Events Liability

•Property & Loss

•Health & Disability

•Crop44

Areas to Address Risk

•Parking & Traffic•Walkways & Lighting•Communicating Health & Safety•Barriers & Fencing•Machinery & Safety•Fire Safety•Water Hazards•Attractive Nuisance•Food Safety •Supervision- who•Emergency Response

Do a walk through

Work with a good insurance agent

Consult with peers and your insurance agent

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What Is A Marketing Plan?

Marketing Plan is a Strategy.

That strategy includes techniques or tactics for getting your product and business brand out to the customers (e.g., advertising is a tactic not a strategy, not a Marketing Plan)

It It defines who you are and what makes you unique or different

We’ll get to it soon, but first you need to know…….

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What Makes You Unique or Different?

Your Unique Selling Proposition (USP)

What makes what you sell different, unique, special?

Example – we have an interesting history (story) to share with customers/visitors that is fascinating and special

We have products no one else around here produces

Everyone sells what we sell but ours is………….

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SWOT Analysis

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SWOT Example - StrengthsMy three greatest personal strengths/skills are………

I am strong on details

My competitive advantage is……..

I have a very effective marketing plan

I like people

I have great, loyal customers

My customers like our farm/forest products

I could handle producing more vegetables/non timber forest products

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Weaknesses

My three greatest personal weaknesses are……

People are not my strong suit

I prefer working the land than schmoozing

I don’t have a marketing plan

I am not good at marketing

My computer skills are poor and I don’t have patience to update my website

I don’t have time to do more

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Opportunities

There’s money in diversifying my products I have an idea that has not been done here but is successful in Vermont I see the connection between the demand for local food and Agritourism I want to share my forest and do something with ecotourism Better marketing would increase my profits and provide additional revenue opportunities

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Exercises and Beginning Your Plan

 1. Write your personal SWOT Analysis on the handout

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Exercises and Beginning Your Plan (Con’t) 2. In separate groups of farmers and foresters, discuss your strengths and weaknesses.

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Exercises and Beginning Your Plan Con’t)

3. In groups, discuss yours and others USP that you started a little while ago and then add notes on on your own Marketing Plan

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Exercises and Beginning Your Plan

4. Complete your personal SWOT analysis on handout Marketing Plan sheet 

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Exercises and Beginning Your Plan

5. Begin answering the assigned parts of your own Marketing Plans on the handout

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Last Point - Measurement

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Q & A

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Thank you for sharing….

Steve Gersman steve@calyxsite.com (425) 922-0102

Calyx Sustainable Tourismwww.calyxsite.com

Heidi Siegelbaumheidi@calyxsite.com (206) 784 4265‐

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The Guest and Sound (Puget) One Can Think About…

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