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Marketing
and Advertising Strategies: A Case of the Green Industry
Surendra
P. Singh, Safdar Muhammad, Enefiok Ekanem, and Fisseha Tegegne
Cooperative
Agricultural Research Program
Seminar Series
Tennessee State University, Nashville, TN
April 14,
1999
Introduction. The nursery/greenhouse
industry, also referred to as the "green industry," is the
fastest growing sub-sector in U.S. agriculture. In 1996, this
sub-sector's cash receipts totaled $10.9 billion. By the year 2000, cash
receipts are projected to increase to $12.5 billion and to $15 billion
by the year 2005. The importance of this sector is further enhanced by
the sector's capacity to generate both backward and forward linkages.
The green industry is in a transition phase as nursery growers change
from production-oriented to market driven businesses. As expansion and
other developments in the green industry continue, the industry becomes
more and more competitive; thus, marketing issues and practices become
critical to the success of individual firms within the industry.
Increasing competition and smaller margins require that producers become
more technical as well as economically efficient.
Objectives. The overall objectives of this
and the previous two projects in nursery marketing were to analyze
structure, marketing channels and marketing strategies used by Tennessee
nursery growers. The main purpose of the currently on-going study is to
evaluate the different advertising methods (including trade shows) used
by nursery growers in Tennessee. Specifically, the objective is to
determine effectiveness, costs associated with, and factors affecting
selection of advertising methods. Recommendations will be made to
improve marketing of nursery products in Tennessee. Stratified random
sampling was used to collect data from Tennessee nursery producers using
a questionnaire developed for the project. The questionnaire was mailed
to 150 producers, out of which 43% of the producers returned the
completed questionnaire.
Methodology. A stratified random sample of
Tennessee producers listed in the Tennessee Nurserymen's Association,
1997 Active Membership directory was used to collect data from selected
nursery growers. Questionnaires were mailed to 150 randomly selected
producers. Of the 150 questionnaires mailed, 64 usable questionnaires
were returned (42.67%) and used for the analysis. Appropriate
statistical techniques were used to evaluate the different advertising
methods used by Tennessee nursery producers.
Results. The results indicate that the
selected producers used more traditional methods of advertising. On an
average, growers spent the largest portion of their advertising budget
on trade shows. A large majority of the respondents indicated that the
most important factor in the selection of an advertising method was the
number of potential customers reached, followed by cost of advertising.
Impact. Nursery producers, by switching to
more a technology-oriented advertising medium (such as TV and Internet),
can expose their products and services to millions of potential
customers worldwide, and would be able to reach more customers in a
short period of time and at a relatively lower cost. In order for the
industry to continue to grow, production must be organized around the
flow of market information rather than around the flow of materials.
Teamwork is needed between researchers and the industry to take basic
findings/information, and translate them into practical practices for
the green industry.
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