Pig farming is one of the most lucrative animal husbandry or livestock production ventures. Sows (i.e. female pigs) can give birth twice a year. They can successfully wean off at least 10 healthy piglets per birth. Mature pigs can reach a market slaughter weight of over 80 kilograms in just 6 months. Pork is a major product here and several end products can be made. These are some of the indicators of the enormous prospects pig farming provides. As with any business undertaking, marketing is a huge determinant of revenue generation and profitability. Our discussion in this article is on tips for marketing and selling pigs.
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Have A Pig Farming Business Plan
Before engaging in pig farming or rearing it is wise to draft a piggery business plan. The pig farming business plan will help you count the cost before starting out the journey. You will get to conduct market research so that you accurately target the right segments. We cannot get to marketing and selling pigs before any prior market analysis. Market analysis helps you appreciate market trends and projections, price trends, and competitor analysis as well. That is why it is vital to have a pig production business plan because that market analysis forms part of the business plan. Let us now explore some of the top tips for marketing and selling pigs.
Have A Marketing Strategy
Do not just haphazardly jump into marketing your pig produce. You must strategize and this is best done by paying attention to 5 core focus points. One, you must be abreast with details regarding your product i.e. its superior qualities or unique selling points. Two, you need to accurately calculate the costs and determine the right price. Be sure to not overlook seemingly hidden costs; a common mistake in costing. Three, do your homework and be sure about the best place to sell your products. How best can you promote your product? You must have a plan for this too. Finally, you must single out and engage strategic people who will streamline your marketing efforts. Once this plan is in place, you are good to go.
Use Digital Platforms
At the most basic, you can start with using instant messaging platforms e.g. WhatsApp Business and Telegram. The best place to be is to use both the internet and social media. Have a simple website, even a one-pager just so you can be discoverable online. Open social media accounts on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, just to mention a few. It is important to consider where you will most likely find your target customers. Go a step further and join strategic online communities e.g. Facebook groups or pages. There are niche-based groups where you can join and market your products. It can be WhatsApp groups either niche-based or not. Some general groups or pages mostly allow anyone to market any products or services or particular day(s).
Approach Meat Wholesalers, Retailers, Or Meat-Based Outlets
There are countless meat wholesalers or retailers e.g. butcheries, abattoirs, supermarkets, or shops. There are also meat-based outlets such as restaurants. You can approach such brands and propose to be their supplier. This can open up opportunities for you to be a regular supplier. This marketing approach can ensure that you will always have a guaranteed market. Most pig farmers who use this approach end up realizing they even have to increase their capacity. If your product is good and your terms and conditions are good, you will win supplier contracts. In order to stand out, have a well-branded business i.e. proper registration, logo, taglines, attractive and high-quality packaging, amongst others. This makes it easy to stand out for people to notice your brand.
Carefully Pick The Right Niche(s)
The success of pig farming lies in relatively small and specialist yet profitable markets called niche markets. In other words, a niche is a particularly narrow section of the whole market. Niches differ depending on the context or location – your target market. In order to roll out the most effective marketing campaigns, you must do niche marketing. Let us highlight some of the niches in pig farming. This will help you accurately target by providing exactly what the market in question needs.
We have porkers which are young pigs earmarked for pork production. Then there are baconers which are pigs weighing between 65 kilograms and 80 kilograms. We also have breeding stocks i.e. pigs reared to breed from. Some customers can choose to start rearing pigs from piglets rather than breeding stock. These are some of the examples to show you the many available niches. You have to carefully pick the right niche for profitability. In some cases, you might even pursue more than one niche.
Include Unique Value Propositions
You will always contend with competitors so you must find ways to outsmart them. Obviously, competitive pricing is one of them, just so long profitability is not compromised. Then you must think of benefits to include so that you stand out. For example, including a delivery service when customers purchase can be a unique value proposition. It could be something as simple as a customer getting a cap and t-shirt when they make a purchase. It does not have to be something pricey; just something others are not offering.
Heeding these tips will enhance your results in marketing and selling pigs. Remember, for your brand to thrive it must ignite and sustain social mentions. Get your brand to be talked about so that word of mouth marketing is cultivated. The more a brand is talked about, the higher the chances of realizing sales – that is the essence of effective modern-day marketing. You must consistently deliver on your brand promises and foster continual improvement. Your trust is to become a trusted brand so that in all your marketing efforts your voice is heeded. Like Peter Drucker once said, ‘The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well the product and services fit them and sells themselves.
