Barzona_Bulletin_Fall_2019

Marketing Outside the Box

By Alecia Heinz, Golden Hz Farm, BBAA Secretary I t’s the time of year to wean, start thinking about selling calves and calculating each cow’s statistics to see who stays anoth- er year, and who needs to leave. Almost everyone I talk to dreads taking their calves to a sale barn. No-name red calves just don’t bring enough to make the bank happy. So, I would like to explore why we are so poor at selling our cattle for what they’re worth and give you some out-of-the-box ideas to help alleviate the cash flow crunch.

Marketing 101: A person has to see something 6-10 times before they distinctly remember it. So, repetition is key. And I don’t necessarily mean running the same ad in the same magazine for a decade. I mean keep that website updated. Change out pictures in your ads. Shuffle text around. Different details catch different people, so don’t cut yourself short by being boring. Same goes for social media pages, and it doesn’t always have to be about your cows. Post a funny ranch-related meme, candid photos of your dog, anything to keep your page title popping up in a potential customer’s news feed. Target a Market: Waiting around for someone to call or knock on our door hasn’t worked in the last 10 years, and it’s not going to get any better. If your target market involves the word “any,” you’re not being specific enough. Pick a region or specific demographic and TARGET them. If someone does call or stop by, NEVER lose that contact information and don’t be afraid to call them the next year. Call ‘em every year. Lord knows I’ve heard every excuse for how they “lost my number,” but as long as I never lose theirs, I still have a potential customer. Do the same thing if they make a purchase. Ask how they like the animals. Get updated pictures. Personal customer service is a lost art in the cattle industry, and we need to start focusing on it again. Trust me, customers appreciate it. Numbers: People can’t just look at a cow anymore and know if she’s good or not. That’s why they had to invent expected progeny differences (EPDs). Any dummy knows three is less than four. No matter how you measure success in your herd, calculate it and know it. Whether it’s weaning weight, number of calves weaned, pounds of calf per pounds of cow – I don’t care what you measure – just do the math. Generalizations don’t work. “Low birth weight” means way too many things to too many people. A low birth weight Angus at 70 pounds can’t touch our low birth weight Barzonas at 50 pounds. Our cows are, on average, smaller in size so make sure you can do percentages. A 1,500-pounds finished Angus gaining 5 pounds per day is doing the exact same work your 1,200-pound Barzona is doing gaining 4.5 pounds. Did you know if you gain 1 percent in feed efficiency, you can lose 3 percent average daily gain (ADG) and still make the same amount of money? A very high-rated pen in the industry will grade 15 percent Prime while an average pen has 0 percent Prime. That makes all of us above average already! Image: Pictures are important, and while a candid photo of your old bottle calf is cute and gets lots of attention, be more careful about sale pictures. Professional photographers are best but let’s face it, that probably isn’t happening out in our pastures and lots. Instead, just take some care and use your phone. Calves need to be properly posed – square front legs with the closest hind leg slightly behind and standing on level ground.

Keep the sun behind you and shining on your target for clarity, and don’t be afraid to take 25 pictures. Only two will turn out good anyway. Videos are also a good option, especially if there is a phenomenal pedigree but the calf itself looks plain. Let it travel and show working ability. We all know that 30-day weaned calves are a plus, and if we put in the effort to vaccinate them, the price is usually higher. You may want to hang out and watch your buyers for a week or two before you sell. Weight brackets vary between buyers, so check what weights are the most sought after in your area. Again, do the math and see if a 500-pound calf actually grosses more than a 400-pound calf at their respective prices. Outside the Box: Now it’s time to get creative. Talk to folks. Get ideas. Modify as necessary, prepare and implement your new goal. At convention we had a nice chat from a kid who had already modified his plans three different times to make his business work the way he wanted. Grass-fed beef is a big deal,

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