The key to any successful business is possessing a concise and achievable marketing strategy. It is a vital part of the entire sales process and without good marketing skills your business will not run effectively or successfully. This is especially true when selling produce to traders and consumers. If you are an agricultural supplier or farmer you might be considering becoming a wholesaler in the meat industry. There is a huge demand for farm-raised meat and if you can get a foothold in the business marketing side of things you’re half way there.
There are a number of variables involved when it comes to the Canadian wholesale meats marketing process. The logistics of it all can be overwhelming initially but if you follow the 5 stages below you will have a better understanding of what it takes to succeed.
Stage 1: Have you got a quality product? The first step is to establish you have a good product that customers will want to buy. There is no point investing time, effort and money unless you are extremely confident your produce is worth it. Mediocre produce will not sell.
Stage 2: There are a number of questions you have to answer before proceeding at this stage. Have you considered what customer service support you might have to provide to customers? Do you have staff to cover sales and delivery? Will you be following proper guidelines for slaughtering livestock? What methods will you use to process meat during production?
Stage 3: Wholesale supplying is a demanding business and customers want to buy large quantities of produce at a time. You need to know for sure you have a continuous production line of cattle/livestock to keep up with customer demand. If you find yourself in the lucky position of having a regular customer base you will have to ensure the delivery of their produce on time. If you fail to produce the required amount of meat the customer has asked for they will move on to a meat supplier who can.
Stage 4: Decide what cuts of meat you wish to sell. If you want to sell only quality cuts of meat (e.g. steaks) then you will lose a lot of money on the low grade cuts of meat. Choosing to sell the entire carcass provides you with a much greater profit and less wastage. It can be tougher to sell the full carcass to some customers but if you manage to find the right buyer you will benefit from a much more lucrative profit in the long run.
Stage 5:Determine your target market. Look at all the retail markets locally to give you some ideas. Think about what establishments might want to buy meat in bulk then offer them a better price than their current meat supplier. Contact places like hospitals, restaurants, schools, grocery stores and farmer’s markets.
Once you have established your regular customer base and have proved you are a reliable supplier you must schedule your livestock production round your customer’s requirements. Marketing your produce is only part of the fight, the real battle is keeping your customers satisfied and coming back again and again.