A do-able marketing plan for your CSA

Grow it and they will come

Developing a do-able marketing plan for your CSARob Greenland www.thesocialbusiness.co.uk

Photo from Southern Foodways Alliance via Flickr

What we’ll do today

• Introduce a way of coming up with your own

marketing plan

• Understand what marketing is about - one step

at a time

• Do some practical exercises

• Help you to look at how to build long-term

relationships with customers

Who do you love? Why?And what do you want out of

today?

Who I am. What I do.

• Training - market research, marketing, social business planning

• Consultancy - social enterprise

• One to one support

Photo from Ant Smallwood via flickr.com

www.thesocialbusiness.co.uk

Named top UK social enterprise blog

Me and Local Food

• Former member of Swillington CSA

• Local Food adviser

• Ex-allotmenteer• All-round interest in local economies

Photo from Ant Smallwood via flickr.com

I believe this

• It’s important to do simple stuff that works

• If you think things through, you will come up with good, cost effective ways to market your business

• And above all, you need to build your business around your customers

Your Field of Bad Dreams

• Grow it - and they might not come

Why is all of this important?

• Because a lot of social enterprises aren’t very good at marketing

• We often focus on production - and forget about the marketing

• We sometimes use lack of marketing budget as a convenient excuse

What is marketing?

• Every contact you make with

customers, suppliers and staff

• The whole business seen from your

customer’s point of view

• Building relationships with

customers

What is a market?

• A set of all existing and potential buyers of a product or service

or

• The total value of products or services which satisfy the same customer need

How do I decide what market I’m in?

• Ask what your customer needs

• With the person next to you - discuss what needs you plan to meet /currently meet.

Photo from flydime via flickr.com

Understanding your market

• No shortcut - market research

– Your market

– Your customers

– Your competitors

• Today we’re focusing on customers

Customer segmentation

• Division of a market into

different groups of customers

who have things in common.

• Why is it important to do

this?

Because customers are not all the same!

• Different customers have different needs

• If you understand that, you can tailor

what you offer to meet their needs

• It can help you to identify who to focus

on - and perhaps target new customer

groups

Who are their customers?

Who are your customers?

• Some ways you may group customers together include:

• Age, gender, employment status, family status, ethnic origin, income level etc

• How they buy your product/service - eg committed buyers, special occasion buyers…

• Can you identify which groups to focus on - and find your niche?

Now do the same for your CSAs

• Try to break down who you think your target

customers are into “segments” - customers

with broadly common characteristics.

• You might come up with around five or six

groups

• Try to give each group a name - be

creative!

Your marketing mix

• Your chance to tailor what you offer

to meet each group’s needs.

• Your mix is a unique combination of:

– Product

– Price

– Promotion

– Place

What’s their marketing mix?

How about a CSA’s marketing mix?

• Think about how to tailor the following

features:

– Product - what will you offer (and not offer)?

– Price - discounts, payment options, guaranteed pricing?

– Place - where will you sell?

– We’ll look at promotion later

So, to recap…

• We’ve looked at what market you’re in

• We’ve identified a number of customer

groups with common characteristics -

customer segmentation

• We’ve looked at what you will offer -

your marketing mix

Next

• Think like a customer - think

benefits

• Then decide how you’ll get your

message across (the bit most of

us think of as marketing)

Your step-by-step marketing plan

If:• You understand who your customers are

• You know what you’re selling to them

• You understand what benefits they can get from you

• Then you can come up with a marketing plan - as long as you keep thinking like a customer

Step by step

• What benefits will your service bring?

• What are your key messages (focus in particular on benefits)?

• Then, how will you get your messages across?

Develop a long-term relationship

• Please promise me one thing now:

• Think long and hard before taking out an advertorial in your local paper

• Instead - think creatively - how will you build up a relationship with your customers?

Some things that might work for you

Word of mouth E-newsletter BlogPR - good

news

Launch Sponsorship Talk to people Flyers/Posters

Be friendly Stunt Partnerships Twitter

Business cards Networking MailshotSignage/A

Frame

Website FacebookPay per click

adsSpeak at events

What has worked for you?

Photo from acnatta via flickr.com

But remember…

• What works in one

place doesn’t

necessarily work

in another.

• That’s why I

don’t offer a

“top ten” of

marketing ideas.Photo from sacks08 via flickr.com

To recap• Be clear about what market you’re in• Understand your customers - inside out• Tailor your service to meet their needs• Think about the benefits your service offers to your customers

• Get your messages right (sell the benefits)• Then - and only then - think about spending money on “marketing”.

• Be realistic - and do achievable things well

What happens next?

• What will you do next?

• Where can you go for support?

• Are there ways you can

collaborate?

www.thesocialbusiness.co.uk