Marketing
Combine Customer Service and Marketing in 2019
By Bruce Derksen
As we near the end of another
year, the majority of heartfelt
and tear inducing messages
we hear from others and read
in our favorite publications
tend to be about looking back
with pride and admiration on
either things that we ourselves
have done or other people
and organizations that we care
about have accomplished in
2018. This is typical and should
be taken to heart as it serves to
build our confidence, which in
turn fuels us to strive on with
vigor in our future endeavors.
So, I will jump in and ask, “What
about 2019?” Time marches on
no matter how much botox we
throw at it, and if we bask in
the accolades of 2018 for too
long, we will find ourselves in
the dust watching the red tail
lights of opportunity round the
bend and disappear from sight.
Hopefully, if you have been
reading all the great articles
of this and preceding issues
of Limousin Today, you are
in the process of building
your structure raising quality
livestock that customers desire
and purchase to improve their
own herds. This structure likely
includes once again working
extremely hard putting on your
14 | DECEMBER 2018 - JANUARY 2019
open house and yearly bull
and female sale, plus trips to
nearby shows and sales. You’re
not afraid of hard work, but
Limousin Associations are filled
with producers of the same
mentality and hard work alone
may not be enough to set you
apart. Are your bulls and females
better than theirs? Perhaps.
If you are invested in all the
possible ways of building a
quality herd, what more can
be done to give your operation
a step on the competition?
If not already practicing it,
diligently record all possible
information and EPD’s for your
animals. If you have aimed to
excel in maternal traits, not
only record this performance
data but submit it to the
breed association for the best
documentation. When buyers
look through your bull sale
catalog, birth, weaning and
yearling weights are essential to
help push aside any doubt that
your bulls will fit their needs.
When deciding how to market
your superior product in 2019,
remember it is more than
just advertising. Addressing
the entire cattle industry is
a total waste of everyone’s
time, resources and money.
Identify your audience and try
to ascertain who among them
may look to purchase your
livestock based on pedigree
and philosophy. You already
differentiated your product