Public Relations
Unfortunate as it sounds , anyone in the FMCG industry that has made it big will tell you that no matter how good your product is , it will be ignored on the shelf by consumers as they go for a lower quality packaged better that yours . This is especially true in the FMCG sector in a market dominated by consumerism . In more advanced markets like the USA and Europe , it is the contents that matter and according to many of their policies , the contents must be correctly described on the packages . In Sub Saharan Africa , consumers barely read the contents of their purchase and that is why rogue product distributors are having a field day in that market .
It ’ s all in the package
As an entrepreneur within the agriculture value chain , you need to apply simple but effective measures to ensure that you are not railroaded by the more established players or by the unscrupulous who need to make money at any cost . Herein we evaluate some of these measures :
Marketing
One of the leading agro-chemical companies in Kenya has been engaging their target market through a radio campaign highlighting about four of their main products . Listening to their marketing person on speaking the local dialect on the localized radio station was both interesting and informative even for one who does not know anything to do with farming and / or agriculture . The model they have taken is one of educating the farmer about what they are most likely to face with a particular type of crop and then they project themselves as having a solution to these challenges . What was quite interesting was that at the start of the radio show , the presenters poise themselves as small time farmers with tomatoes in their back yards and they had ready pens and notebooks in studio . They would ask the company representative to spell the words of the fertilizer or pesticide and by the end of the show , it was easy to imagine a farmer in the rural area feeling very well educated and intending to put into practice the lesson .
While a small scale business may not have the budget that is required for radio advertising , the take home lesson is to ensure that any marketing campaign done will be more beneficial for the customer if it encompasses a solution that the customer can take with them anywhere . It is easy to produce a flyer or introduction letter that says , “ This is what I have buy and I am selling it at the price of this so I want you to buy it ”. However , that is less effective than producing a flier / brochure which highlights challenges and solutions . Of course the solutions are tied into your product / service and the end result is to make the customer realize that you have a solution to their problem . It is against such knowledge that a customer will make a conscious decision to test your offering .
Visibility by others in the value chain
Everyone in business does a competitor analysis . One of the ways to know that you are making an impact in your market is to have the competition list you or your brand among the top 5 that they regards as competition . After the fifth competitor , all other companies fall under the category of ‘ others ’ ( read “ insignificant for us ”). Besides competition , you must also be visible to likely partners . For instance , if you produce sprayers , you should be in the radar of greenhouse companies . If you are into seeds production , you should be in the radar of agricultural officers .
Esteemed Magazine
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