Course Structure
This course is comprised of eight lessons, outlined below:
1. Agricultural Marketing Concepts
- Marketing
- Goods and Services
- The Marketing Concept
- Managing the Marketing Process
- The Role of Marketing
- Approaches to Marketing
- The Goals of Marketing
- Organising, analysing, and selecting target markets
- Developing the Marketing Mix
- Managing the Market Effort
2. Farm Marketing Objectives and Strategies
- Supply and Demand
- Developing the Farm Marketing Plan
- Organising the Planning process
- Reviewing the Business's Situation
- Establishing Marketing Objectives
- Developing Strategies
- Market Penetration
- Price Advantages
3. Target Marketing
- Preliminary Research
- Target Markets in Agriculture
- Defining the Target
- Resources
- Analysing Market Opportunities
- External Influences
- General Economic Conditions
- Government Policy and Regulations
- Overseas influences
- Demographic Patterns
- Technological Change
- Customer Values and Attitudes
- Alternative Marketing Methods
- Internal Influences
- Selecting Target Markets
- Market Segmentation
4. Handling Produce
- Developing the Marketing Mix
- The "Product" element of the Marketing Mix
- Logos, packaging, positioning and image etc
- The "Price" Element of the Marketing Mix
- Pricing objectives and methods
- The "Promotion" element of the marketing Mix
- Publicity and Public Relations
- Advertising, sales and personal selling
- The "Place" element of the Marketing Mix
- Market coverage
- Determining Emphasis with the Marketing Mix
- Impact of Product Life-cycle
5. Customer Relations
- Customer Care Policy
- Levels of Involvement
- Effective Communication
- Becoming an effective communicator
- Dealing with complaints
- Self evaluation
- Maximising customer service
6. Market Research
- The Importance Of Market Research
- What to Research?
- The Research process
- Analysing Costs and Benefits
7. Promotions
- Promoting Product
- Creating customer awareness
- Promotional Campaign Strategy
- The Promotional Message
- Promotional Material
- Making Promotions Cost Effective
- Channels of Communication
- Publicity Marketing
- Advertising
- Structuring an Advertisement or Promotion
8. Managing Marketing
- Market Retention
- Balancing Strategy
- Market Development
- Market Growth
- Managing the Marketing Plan
- Sales and the Market
Aims
- Explain the role of marketing in business and the importance of marketing in the business plan.
- Assess the relative importance of marketing planning and to determine marketing strategies in relation to farming.
- Identify target markets to select suitable marketing methods.

- Explain the physical handling of products in the marketing process, including packaging, labelling, presentation and transportation.
- Plan to maintain sound customer relations in an agricultural business.
- Conduct market research into a product or service in the agricultural industry.
- Plan to manage the promotional program for an agricultural business.
- Develop strategies to manage the marketing of an agricultural enterprise.
Duration: 100 hours
Learn to Sell Farm Produce Better
Being a successful rural businessperson is a difficult managerial role. Very few non-rural businesses are presented with the continuing changes and variations that confront a rural business. The impact of climate means the rural manager has to continually consider, evaluate, assess (and reassess) often on a daily or even hourly basis, the numerous changes and types of information that may affect the rural business success.
Marketing is not just selling! It involves:
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Attracting customers
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Persuading them to buy
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Selling
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Keeping customers satisfied (so they come back!), by using the above and other strategies.
This course develops your ability to analyse and manage marketing problems in an agricultural enterprise. Topics covered include: market research, management of your marketing, promotions, handling produce, packaging, distribution, customer relations and more.
Agricultural marketing is concerned with relating the supply of products to its potential demand in such a way as to satisfy the needs and wants of buyers and create a profit for the supplier. The process of marketing is that of transferring goods and/or services from producer to consumer at a profit. It should add maximum value to the product at minimum cost. Marketing is thus concerned with such activities as:- pricing, selling, merchandising, advertising, promotion, packaging, market research, transport, destination, placement, planning, and accounting. In fact, all those processes which will enable you to maximise the added value.
Why Study This Course?
This course is suitable for anyone working within the farming industry or wanting to sell farm produce.
A niche course to update and improve your knowledge of marketing, specifically focusing on agricultural marketing.
The course can be studied online or by e-learning.
It is self-paced and can be studied from anywhere in the world.
This course is suitable for different people including:
- Farmers
- Farm workers
- Hobby farmers
- Market gardeners
- Small holders
- Farmer's market sellers
- Farm produced retailers