Marketing Beef Cattle

When Marketing Beef Cattle?

• Have you ever noticed?
• Nobody wants to buy anything today.
• Maybe tomorrow, maybe next month, but not today.

     Ranchers who understand this know that the advertising they do today usually has little effect on today's sales. The result is that a rancher should advertise not to make sales today, but next week, or next month, or even next year. Top of mind awareness means that when people decide to buy the product you sell, your advertising as been adequate enough that they think of you first in a favorable manner.

     Beef Cattle customers won't usually react immediately to advertising. When a prospect needs a new hammer, a new pickup or a new bull, they don't sit down and start reading newspapers and magazines or listening to radio and TV to decide where they will shop. They will shop at the first place that comes to mind as being a supplier or in the case of beef cattle they will go first to the rancher that has established top of mind awareness with them. Result is the advertising you did weeks, months or even years ago probably stimulated the bull sale you made this week. However the advertising you placed last month or this month is still needed because you want to make sales this fall or next year.

     A good beef cattle advertising and marketing program is not completely different to a weight loss and physical fitness program. Suppose one day you decide that you are going to lose weight and get in shape, so you skip lunch. That evening you do sit ups and push ups until you can do no more. Next you go out and run a mile. You then have a green salad for dinner. It's a heroic effort, but are you in shape? Of course not, you are tired and hungry and miserable, and probably won't repeat this day for a long time. To be successful you need a diet and exercise program that you can follow day after day, week after week, and month after month until you reach your goal. Then you must continue the program as long as you want to maintain your weight and strength. Stop the program and you will soon end up back where you started, weak and fat.

      Beef Cattle Advertising and marketing works much the same way. A big one time push in advertising usually falls flat. It doesn't achieve top of mind awareness, and it doesn't sell many cattle, so the rancher gets discouraged. Registered beef cattle marketers who want to achieve top of mind awareness need an effective marketing program that they can sustain. Drop the program and the rancher will eventually lose the position he has gained.

     Sucessful bull marketing takes a lot of persistence, thought and determination. Full page, full color ads will do little in immediate sales but are great tools to build "Top Of Mind Awareness." It seems that no matter how much money I spend on advertising my neighbor never buys a new bull until he needs him.

     Wonder why my roadside sign won't sell bulls for me? After all it reads; "Big Discount On Herd Bulls" West side of road two miles ahead.

     The need for marketing is there everyday.