www.sare.org publications how-to-direct-market-your-beef the-future-for-small-beef-operations maximizing-your-performance Growing Profit: Maximizing Your Performance You may hear mention of beef “fitting in the box.” That means your carcass is generally suited for mass-marketed beef, but it’s hard to know what they want. Each segment of the industry makes its money differently. The calf people make their money off cows that cycle back quickly. The stocker people make their money […]
www.sare.org publications how-to-direct-market-your-beef the-future-for-small-beef-operations developing-growth Developing Growth As soon as you have your first client on board, you will be tempted to go out and try to bring on lots more. Since we are selling six head a month with no problems, won’t 60 per month just be better? Won’t that get the ranch out of our financial hole just that much […]
www.sare.org publications how-to-direct-market-your-beef the-future-for-small-beef-operations The Future For Small Beef Operations Many small cattle ranchers are suffering financially these days. With the increased costs of operating a ranch, the decreased returns of commodity beef, the additional scrutiny that faces public land ranchers, and the pressure from many environmental groups, it’s a wonder that anyone raises cattle at all. Yet, through direct marketing, there is a world […]
www.sare.org publications how-to-direct-market-your-beef situational-analysis record-keeping Record Keeping As a cattle rancher, you probably already have a bookkeeping system. It might be a simple manual system or a sophisticated computer program. Whatever it is, separate the books for your beef marketing company from your personal and ranch books. This will enable you to clearly define the performance of your new endeavor. I know […]
www.sare.org publications how-to-direct-market-your-beef situational-analysis public-relations Public Relations You can obtain a lot of free PR, but it usually requires some effort on your part. Are you doing something interesting that could make a news story? If you have a story to tell, the press will probably write about it. Are you raising your beef differently than your neighbors? Are you fencing off […]
www.sare.org publications how-to-direct-market-your-beef situational-analysis advertising-basics Advertising Basics The two most important points to include in any advertising are: Customer Benefit: What’s in it for the consumer? Does it taste better or is it better for the environment? Call to Action: After people have seen your ad, what next? Do you want them to call for more information, buy now, or look for […]
www.sare.org publications how-to-direct-market-your-beef situational-analysis marketing-your-product Marketing Your Product Marketing involves two separate, but inter-related areas – sales and advertising. You will need both areas to work together to effectively market your product. It is ideal to have one person be the decision maker for all of marketing. I have seen a lot of large companies flounder simply because their sales and advertising departments […]
www.sare.org publications how-to-direct-market-your-beef situational-analysis distribution-trucking Distribution and Trucking When it comes to transportation, every situation is different. Retail distributors (who wholesale to stores) charge about a 35-percent markup. Restaurant distributors charge about 8 percent. Most other trucking firms charge by weight. Don’t be afraid to dicker over your price or percent with truckers or distributors. They are very supply-and-demand oriented. Being a small […]
www.sare.org publications how-to-direct-market-your-beef situational-analysis sales-outlets Sales Outlets RESTAURANTS Restaurants use a lot of beef. It seems, then, that they would be an excellent avenue to market your product. They must have small margins, though, because they are the most price-conscious customers that we have. They also want it in particular ways. It seems that every type of restaurant has its own particular […]
www.sare.org publications how-to-direct-market-your-beef situational-analysis Selling Product: Situational Analysis The first thing that you have to do is to identify your strengths and weaknesses. This sounds really simple, but we’ve found that it actually takes quite a bit of time. We wasted a lot of time trying to follow the models of some pretty brilliant people, only to get a ways down the road […]