Diary of a poultry farmer: First step in developing a winning marketing plan for poultry start-up

Last year, I shared how to write a winning business plan in 15 steps.

The twelfth step briefly discussed how to develop a marketing plan (Seeds of Gold, February 4 and 11 2017). In the next two articles, I’ll deliberate in detail how to draft a marketing plan that stands out.

Some clarification is due, however. If you recall, I’d mentioned that having a business plan is one factor that will determine whether my side hustle remains a micro-survivalist venture or whether it grows into a small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) overtime.

I still stand by that statement save for this minor caveat — having a business plan (just like a marketing plan) won’t answer all questions or solve all your my problems. I’ll explain in a while.

You see, I’ve realised that ideas don’t drop from heaven like manna and in building a business, the experience gained overtime through trial-and-error is at times more important than what I would glimpse from books on marketing. As such, it requires patience and time.

If you ask me, I’ll tell you that developing a business plan or marketing strategy is a process and not a one-off event. In other words, I treat it like a living document, something I review and update regularly.

I first developed the outline shared on the right. I then started updating it using bullet points as ideas came into my head. The idea was to keep updating it as my business matured to reflect the market dynamics, availability of resources, new information, competition and changing customers’ preferences.

I read somewhere that unless you’re using the plan to solicit for financial support, the first draft doesn’t have to be long and elaborate.

Another lesson is that although a marketing plan is part of the overall business plan, it should be designed as a separate document.

“It’s the engine of the business and a tool to attract new customers, retain existing ones and generate revenue,” one expert intimated to me.

“It must also be consistent with the business plan and reflect the company’s mission, vision and value propositions”.

LEGAL BUSINESS NAME

Honestly, I made catastrophic mistakes as I tried to market my eggs and chicken meat. My biggest regret was trying to sell to supermarkets before I could even learn to crawl (Seeds of Gold, April 9, 2016).

Please, don’t take umbrage at this. Unless you’re a tenderpreneur with sacks of money to bail yourself out every time things go haywire, try to use inexpensive distribution outlets (step six) and the word of mouth in the beginning. In fact, my biggest customers now are my workmates and their friends.

Another thing is to start small because if I’d started off with 5,000 chickens, I doubt if my circle of friends would be able to consume them all at ago.

To take you back, my dream of getting the products into supermarkets only went as far as registering my company, getting a Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kebs) mark of quality, designing a logo and a matching slogan.

By the time I met these requirement, my production levels had fallen so drastically mainly as a result of diseases that I decided to shelve the idea.

I spent Sh50,000 to hire a lawyer to register the company. I paid another Sh11,500 to get the Kebs mark of quality, which is renewable annually.

However, having a legal business name has helped me to start discerning who I am and my values as a company. For now, I’ve settled on this: “Kienyeji Kenya Ltd is a free-range poultry farming enterprise and a knowledge management company that uses storytelling to foster learning and to build entrepreneurship skills”.

In marketing jargon, they use the term ‘branding’ to describe this, which sometimes confuses people like you and me.

In fact, when I’m discussing marketing with other farmers, I always avoid inundating them with industry jargon like the “Seven Ps,” the “Ansoff Matrix,” or the “Porter’s Five Forces.” Instead, we first listen to each other’s first-hand experiences and then draw out the insights most relevant to the outline shown.

UNDERSTANDING COMPETITION

Okay, don’t get me wrong. Attending a class to learn about writing a marketing plan adds value but the only sure way to master the skill is to sit down and draft it yourself.

Let me now explain how I went about defining my target market and competition. Like any other successful effort to develop and grow a business, it took me months of research and introspection.

Initially, I used to target anyone who eats chicken meat or eggs as a potential customer (Seeds of Gold, December 30, 2017). Later, after realising that some of my clients only eat chicken once a year—during Christmas—I decided to narrow down to a few but loyal and regular customers.

For now, I am only targeting clients looking for traditionally raised farm chickens with the following attributes: “Taste, culinary delicacy, right texture, leanness and products free of drugs and antibiotics.”

In terms of understanding my competition, I’ve been studying their packaging—the way their products appear on the outside, how their workers dress up, groom and talk to customers, the design of their office space, waiting areas, landscaping, brochures and other visual elements.

Now, taking a magnifying glass at the big boys and girls in the market has been disheartening—particularly when I considered how long they’ve been in this business and their resource base.

But I’m the least intimidated by them. As a matter of fact, being armed with all sorts of knowledge about them will help me to find ways to differentiate myself from the crowd.

In case you didn’t know, we’ve covered four of the seven P’s that marketers often talk about: positioning, place, packaging and product. Next week, we’ll discuss the others. Keep reading and get inspired.