Marketing
Three Components of Marketing
1. Marketing the organization: Creating an awareness of the organization, its capabilities and the impact of its programs. Marketing efforts must:
- Promote UT Extension as a whole, along with each program area. When possible, the organization should be promoted first and program areas second.
- Involve paid and volunteer faculty and staff in the planning, implementation and evaluation of marketing efforts. Marketing efforts must be viewed as an investment in the future, not as an unnecessary expense in the form of another responsibility.
- Encourage enthusiasm, creativity and flexibility in marketing efforts. Faculty and staff members should use their creativity and imagination to try new approaches in meeting clientele needs and promoting Extension. We should never miss an opportunity to market the organization.
2. Marketing the educational programs: Designing and constantly improving our educational programs to satisfy the needs of people, consistent with the mission of the organization.
- Educational programs are our organization's products. We exist to meet the needs of our audiences. Our success depends upon effective programs and well-planned marketing efforts.
- Good product marketing must be a part of the overall plan. Marketing principles should be integrated into the program planning and evaluation process. Educational programs should be developed with:
- An understanding of the major forces and trends affecting issues and audiences.
- Identified target audience(s) with their needs in mind.
- An awareness of the competition and what our advantage is among our competitors.
- A positioning strategy that includes educational product, price, place (location), promotion and people (who deliver the program).
- An evaluation and impact assessment component.
3. Developing relationships: Developing, maintaining and expanding constructive relationships with key decision makers, community leaders, volunteers, clients, faculty and staff, and media representatives.
- Put relationships to work. While many marketing efforts promote visibility with new audiences through media exposure, don't overlook "people power!" By putting relationships to work, we can stay in touch with individuals and organizations that will play pivotal roles in Extension's future. These key individuals and organizations will develop a commitment to Extension by learning more about our capabilities and impact.
- Develop a marketing plan with specific objectives and clear target audiences in mind. Components of a good marketing plan include:
- Clearly identified target audience(s).
- The response desired from the target audience:
Knowledge
Decision Making
Commitment
- Specific messages with measurable objectives. Consider the following:
What?
How?
When?
How often?
Who is responsible?
- Choose the educational technique appropriate to the plan.
Extension Faculty and Staff Resources
Extension Marketing Resources
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