This is a continuation of a previous post where we touched on uncovering your farm and tractor brand’s “difference maker,” where and why you should claim local listings, and how radio advertising can drive sales.

In this post, we’re going to take it one step further and discuss some core marketing concepts — specifically, three ingredients needed for marketing success. (You can find more details in our free eBook, The 3-Step Formula for Small Business Marketing Success.) None of these elements can be developed overnight or provide instant results, but all are required to build brand awareness and capture market share. Let’s get started.

Part 1: A Strong Brand

Building a brand is like sowing and harvesting. You can’t expect a simple seed to grow into a giant overnight; it takes cultivation. Rewards will exponentially increase if you approach branding in the right way.

The Joplin, Missouri metro area includes a 4,000+ farm population, with an additional 4,000 in Jasper and Newton counties. If you want your brand to stand out from the others and attract the attention of 8,000 potential customers, then you need to start laying the foundation of your brand.

That means speaking to your customer in their language and remaining consistent across all platforms in your message, tone, and creative execution. This includes radio, digital, and other advertising, and especially the in-store experience. People buy from who they like, and if you can project your likeable brand across all channels, then you’re one step ahead of your competition.

Part 2: A Solid Website

Here are two important questions: Is your website mobile-friendly? And, does it load fast? If you can’t say yes to both of these, then you can likely kiss your prospective customers goodbye.

These days, there are more people finding and visiting your site from smartphones than from desktops, and the majority of people will abandon a website if it takes more than a few seconds to load. The good news is that you can hire a professional to cover both of these bases and produce something slick, intuitive, and mobile-friendly.

Part 3: A Smart Annual Marketing Plan

If you didn’t have your land planned down to the last square foot, or you didn’t create a blueprint for what crop goes where, how well do you think your production would fare? Do you think you could maximize production flying by the seat of your pants, or do you know that a solid plan results in solid revenue?

The same is true with your marketing plan. This is not something you can wing. It’s something that must be planned and executed according to plan. What gets measured gets managed, including sales goals. We strongly advocate for consistent marketing throughout the year, no matter the season. Even in the cold months — when your target audience might not be ready to take on projects or buy from you — reaching them with your message can help make your brand top-of-mind when the temperatures do start to climb again.

If you can define where you want your company to be in a year, it becomes much easier to get there. You can plan what needs to be done when, and with defined success markers you can know if you’re ahead or behind schedule.

Learn More

For more on how to market your farm and tractor supply business, written in a way that’s easy to both understand and implement, check out our eBook, The 3-Step Formula for Small Business Marketing Success. We cover in depth the importance of a strong brand, a solid website, and a smart annual strategy that includes a 21 52 advertising plan.