Marketing is at the core of every business. Effective marketing results in increased market share, increased margins, more customers and more demand.

At its most basic level, marketing is about better service, stronger relationships and improved outcomes for everyone involved with the product. I would argue that marketing is even deeper. It is at the core of our industry, our communities and how people perceive us. It drives change and the marketplace.

A role for every one

Each and every one of us is a marketer. In our operations we are the primary change agents, which puts us in charge of our own marketing. With that said, cattlemen don’t tend to like the idea of marketing in general.

We embrace deeply the idea of providing the best, most enjoyable eating experience for our customers, of providing the genetics and management that works for every segment of our business. We are inspired by taking care of the land and the animals, while providing for our families and the communities in which we live.

We all share the dreams and desires around sustainability, profitability and simultaneously feeding the world and making it a better place. We are proud of the work we do. Ranching is a noble profession, something of which we are proud.

“Marketing is far more than advertising; it is the act of making change happen.” — Troy Marshall

For the most part we have always been market-driven, and we respond to the market signals that are sent. All one has to do is look at the gains we have made in efficiency, quality and growth to confirm that. Yet, marketing ultimately is about helping to drive markets rather than simply being market-driven.

Changing our definition

We need to change our very definition of marketing. Marketing is not simply hauling your calves to the sale barn on the same week every year. Marketing isn’t attempting to time the market either. Every time we speak to a consumer, every time we interact in our communities, when we are buying inputs, or when we are taking part in your associations, we are marketing.

Marketing is far more than advertising; it is the act of making change happen. Making a great product may be goal No. 1, but you accomplish nothing until that product has been utilized and until it has changed someone’s life for the better.

A successful marketer told me once if you are not growing, if people are not seeking out your product, if you aren’t seeing improved margins, if the people who are working for you, and the people you are working for aren’t moving closer to their dreams, then you have a marketing problem. If your customers are frustrated, your very business is in jeopardy. For many of us in the cattle business, we don’t even know what our customers are thinking of our product.