A2B-Lancaster Fanning, Saturday, July 29, 2000
TAKING CARE WHEN
CHANGING COURSE
John Berry
Lehigh County
Marketing Agent
The owner of an existing busi
ness, having enjoyed some mea
sure of success, decides to steer a
new course for the company,
launching a new product aimed
at new markets. Management is
eager for an additional source of
revenues, and commits to this
new direction with the best of in
tentions, assuming that since the
business has an established
market presence, sales in the
new area will follow. Then the
business ends up floundering on
the submerged reefs of market
misunderstanding.
A fledging entrepreneur
launches a new business with
much fanfare, touting unique
new products and promptly sails
into oblivion with the company
lost to the mists of insufficient
markets.
Both these entrepreneurs
scuttled their businesses by fail
ing to realize that most con-
Farm Meetings Scheduled
Six farm meetings have
scheduled to discuss mastitis
concerns. The meetings will
focus on monitoring and evalu
ating mastitis situations, identi
fying the kinds ot
infections that are ■
present, and strategies I
for preventing and I
combating mastitis. I
Speakers include:
Glenn Shirk, Lancas
ter County Extension
Dairy Agent; Jeff
Mamett, Upjohn
Pharmacia; and at
some of the meetings,
local veterinarians and
milk sanitarians.
Times and locations
of the meetings are:
• Wednesday, Aug.
2, 10 a.m., Meadow
Vista Farms (Don,
Gerald and Eric
Risser), southwest of
Elizabethtown at 166
Risser Road, Bain
bridge, Pa.; 7 p.m.,
Thomas Zartman, 890
Hill Top Road, west of
Ephrata.
• Thursday, Aug. 3,
9 a.m., Levi Esh, south
of Georgetown at 205
Quarry Road, Quarry
ville, Pa.; 7 p.m.,
Nelson Weiler, 2568
Newport Road, Man
heim, Pa.
• Friday, Aug. 4, 10
a.m., Neffdale Farms
(Charles, Ken and Roy
Neff), east of Stras
burg at 604 Strasburg
Road, Paradise, Pa.; 7
p.m., Elvin Reiff,
south of Mount Joy at
1775 Pinkerton Road,
Mount Joy, Pa.
A sub-type lunch
and dinner will be pro
vided. Thus, reserva
tions are required.
Reservations can be
made by noon the day
sumers do not purchase from
you because you have a unique
product or a recognized com
pany name. They are drawn to
your business because they have
an unmet need for which you
have an attractive solution.
They will make their purchase
from you if they believe you
offer the best value. Therefore,
you should verify sufficient need
exists before launching your
business into new product direc
tions. Otherwise you may end up
with mediocre results from
having to spend massive adver
tising budgets trying to convince
people they need your new
widget (instead of spending pru
dent advertising dollars focused
on where consumers can get
what they already want).
As part of your prelaunch
planning, ask yourself, if con
sumers are satisfied with present
products, why would they want
to switch? Resist the temptation
to provide your own answers.
Conduct independent market
research in your local trade area.
The cost of this research will be
far less than the cost of failure.
What are the existing barriers
before the meeting by calling the
Lancaster County Cooperative
Extension office (717) 394-6851,
or by notifying the host farm.
to entry? If competitors already
exist, you will need to overcome
the advantages they already
have. This usually requires con
siderable time, effort, and
money.
For aspiring entrepreneurs,
the focus should be on uncover
ing a clear consumer need that
can be met through the applica
tion of their areas of expertise.
Then and only then should they
start developing a product to
fulfill that need.
For owners of established
businesses, if they want their
company’s name and reputation
to aid in this process, they
should not stray far from the
products upon which their repu
tation has been built. For exam
ple, if you have a successful
automotive dealership, your
name will not be of considerable
benefit if you open up a subsidi
ary selling home insurance.
As you plot the future course
for your business, the founda
tion of your navigational philos
ophy should be a strategic map
based on a strong content of
marketing knowledge. You
must strive not only to under
stand your customers’ needs
today but, even more import
antly, how these needs are
changing and where they will
likely be tomorrow.
Whether you have a new or an
existing business, without effec
tive application of this future
market knowledge or a sus
tained spate of fair winds known
as luck, your company’s voyage
of profitable existence will be
significantly shortened.
JMHH BUY SELL
mSw~
Mon., Tues., Wed
Secretary Hayes Conducts
Plum Pox Briefing
In Adams County
BIGLERVILLE (Adams Co.)
Agriculture Secretary Samuel
E. Hayes Jr. recently conducted
a briefing at the Pennsylvania
State University Fruit Research
Laboratory to explain how farm
ers can apply for indemnity pay
ments and to announce the
limited expansion of the plum
pox virus (PPV) quarantine
area.
Hayes announced that the
Pennsylvania Department of
Agriculture’s Plum Pox Virus
Commercial Orchard Fruit Tree
Indemnity Program is in place,
and applications will be ac
cepted through the Department
of Agriculture’s Bureau of Plant
Industry.
“Following recent meetings in
Washington, D.C., with federal
agriculture officials, we arrived
at a formula to compensate
growers that will be managed
through the state,” Hayes said.
“Now growers who are im
pacted by PPV can receive some
reparation for the losses that
this disease has caused.”
Hayes also announced that
the department recently de
tected sites outside the current
quarantined areas of Latimore
and Huntington townships in
Adams County and South Mid
dleton Township, Cumberland
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County.
“Quarantined areas will
expand to include Dickinson
Township, Cumberland County,
and portions of Menallen and
Tyrone townships in Adams
County,” Hayes said. “Inspec
tors with the state Bureau of
Plant Industry and the U.S. De
partment of Agriculture,
Animal and Plant Health In
spection Service currently are
surveying farms in the affected
areas to determine the extent of
infection as we take steps to
eradicate this disease from our
commonwealth orchards.”
PPV affects stone-bearing
fruits, including peaches, plums,
nectarines and apricots. It is
characterized by round spots
(pox) on fruit, leaves, stems and
seeds. It does not kill trees, but
makes fruit unmarketable and
drastically reduces yields. The
disease does not affect humans.
Pennsylvania is a leading pro
ducer of fruit, ranking fourth
nationally in peaches. Adams
County is Pennsylvania’s lead
ing fruit-producing county.
In 1998, the value of Pennsyl
vania’s stone fruit production
was approximately S2S million.
Last year, Gov. Tom Ridge re
leased $2 million to contain and
eradicate the plum pox virus in
Pennsylvania.
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