The Link
Marketing Part 4: Key principles.
May 7, 2025
In this, the fourth segment in our marketing series, we are going to discuss some key marketing principles. In many respects they will seem obvious, because they are. We are all marketing experts, because we have been exposed to so much of it.
Good marketing provides status. It increases the perceived status of both the buyer and the seller. AngusLinkSM does this in several ways.
Buyers understand those who have enrolled in AngusLink have invested in their genetics and their management of those genetics. It lets the buyer know the seller knows what he has to offer and is proud of what he is offering. Additionally, it signals that the seller is not interested merely in maximizing this one transaction, but he or she is committed to the business for the long term. It signals that it is about long-term relationships and maximizing value — not just now, but into the future.
AngusLink provides status to the buyers because it provides the ability to purchase with added confidence. AngusLink reduces risk, and the buyers of AngusLink cattle are known to be those who see value in relationships and who have the capability of recognizing, managing and capturing value.
AngusLink is unique in that it is based on creating win-win transactions.
One of life’s greatest ironies is that quality inputs almost always lead to higher-quality and higher-value inputs. We don’t buy a 3X hat instead of 100X hat because we believe they will last longer, look better or have higher resale values. We buy 3X hats because we can’t afford 100X hats.
Status is always inward- and outward-looking. It is both a window and a mirror. A window in that it determines how others see us, and a mirror in that it affects how we look at ourselves.
It is exciting to see the status AngusLink calves have when they come to town. Admittedly, I hear some buyers occasionally complain that AngusLink simply alters the power dynamic in marketing and disproportionately rewards the seller over the buyer. I’d liken it to the buyers who claim they are paying too much for their Mercedes, but yet they refuse to drive anything else. Status means different things to different people, but there is no doubt it plays a major role in our purchasing decisions.
Marketing enables
Another attribute of good marketing is that it enables others. It enables them or illustrates to them a solution that helps them reach their goals and objectives, makes them more money, or makes life more enjoyable.
It is the objective, fact-based, confidence-inspiring mode of providing the information to differentiate one’s product in a marketplace that was designed around the exact opposite. AngusLink is effective because it provides the framework for having a transaction take place on objective factors. It gives buyers confidence to know that both AngusVerifiedSM and the Genetic Merit ScorecardSM are verified and validated by the American Angus Association, and are backed up by the largest database in the industry. Value has always been difficult to determine, and AngusLink serves as a bridge that objectively conveys that value.
Creating the win-win
One of the things we rarely discuss is the fact our traditional marketing system was confrontational. Marketing was almost seen as a battle, a battle with a clear-cut winner and loser. Of course, everyone always wants to be on the winning side.
AngusLink is unique in that it is based on creating win-win transactions. AngusLink is centered around the premise that the more accurately genetic merit is described, the more effectively value can be assigned and created.
In closing, I’ve heard some argue that marketing is important, but in today’s cattle market, which is currently the greatest sellers’ market of all time, marketing becomes less relevant. It is true, regardless of your marketing strategy, most cattlemen are going to receive historical prices, but we are still seeing significant premiums.
Editor’s note: Troy Marshall is director of commercial industry relations for the American Angus Association. For more information about Association programs helping realize the value of calves sired by registered Angus bulls, including AngusLink, AngusVerified and the Genetic Merit Scorecard, click here.
Angus Beef Bulletin EXTRA, Vol. 17, No. 5-A
Topics: Marketing , Management
Publication: Angus Beef Bulletin
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