Marketing Aquaculture Products — 1

tant market-research tool.
One that you can use to gather
valuable information from
which to develop top-quality
value-chain relationships.
For example, let’s say we are a fi sh-producer
using the Iowa portal. We are looking to
market a fi sh product in the greater Des
Moines, Iowa, area. We can look at Food
Preferences under Market Research and
then look at the average at-home seafood
expenditures. Th is demographic information
comes up on a color-coded map. We
can see which parts of the metro area and
which surrounding communities have the
highest incomes and expenditures on seafood
products.
At a glance we can see which areas have
the highest potential for high-value outlets
that can move our product. Th e area-wide
scope of this view can be hi-lighted from
state-wide to multi-county to within-county
and city views. Th e demographic scope
of the view can then be adjusted by focusing
in on age and spending demographics.
As we begin to develop more and more
narrow and specifi c “best-opportunity”
leads, we get further down the path of what
professionals call, “target-market research.”
We are targeting a particular demographic
most likely to want our product.
In the course of this research, it is always
productive to keep your mind open to communication
strategies for reaching consumers
in the target area and demographic.
Some thoughts are likely to occur to you
as you work through the research process.
In many instances problems and questions
that you had at the beginning of the process
will answer themselves or strongly suggest
an answer before you have logged off the
MarketMaker website.
Th is “target-market research” now gives you
the ability to walk into a retailer, for example
a high-end organic food retail store
you identifi ed from the business data in
MarketMaker, a business right in the heart
of your target consumer demographic, and
then have a very intelligent and informed
talk with the store’s buyer. You know who
can purchase your product and the consumer’s
buying preferences; from this you
can suggest price points, discuss point-ofsale
informational communications for the
targeted consumer, and of course, highlight
why your product is an outstanding product
about which they can communicate and
sell to their customers.
Now let’s say you want to approach “whitetable-cloth”
(high end) restaurants. As with
the grocery-store example, MarketMaker’s
business data will help us to identify the
top contact candidates. As for the listed
businesses, most are profi led to their wants,
needs and marketing preferences. Each
business has full contact information and
in some cases the name of a specifi c contact
individual, as well as web and social-media
presences.
You can see where any particular business
is located and how to fi nd it by using the
Map-It function. You can use the Map-It
function to see all of the places that sell seafood,
and then diff erentiate those that are
convenience outlets, those that primarily do
business in alcohol, chain restaurants and
those that are the high-end “white-tablecloth”
eateries.
Marketing Aquaculture Products — 45