Dairy Processors - Northeast

Our research and communications firm, The Good People Research Company, is working with the Northeast Dairy Business Innovation Center (NE-DBIC) to develop case studies and a marketing toolkit that will help small- to medium-sized cow, goat, and sheep dairy businesses enhance their ability to brand and market their products.

As part of this project, we want to hear how businesses such as yours are currently marketing their dairy products. Your responses to this survey will help us develop a baseline understanding of the variety of ways that dairy processors approach marketing, help identify candidates for our case studies, and provide valuable information for the marketing toolkit you'll be able to use when done.

The survey should take no longer than 10 minutes to complete. Nothing you provide will be used for any other purpose but to help us understand better how dairy businesses in the northeast are currently branding and marketing products. Your individual responses will not be shared with any individual outside of the research firm and will only be shared outside of the firm along with all others in aggregate form.

If it seems like your business would be a good candidate for one of our case studies, we would like to be able to contact you to see if you are interested in helping us feature you.

As a thank you for your time and participation, if you complete the contact information at the close of the survey, we will send you the results of this survey so you can see what other processors are doing with their marketing and branding.

Thank you again for your help with this research.

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* 1. Which of the following products do you sell to the public under your company's brand (select all that apply)?

Cheese

Milk

Butter

Ice cream

Yogurt

Other (please specify)

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* 2. Do you consider your dairy processing business to be a "family-owned" business?

Yes, 3+ generations

Yes, 1-2 generations

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* 3. Which of the following best describes the size of your dairy processing business?

Micro - just the founders and a few helpers

Small - staff, but fewer than 50

Mid-Sized, staff between 50 - 199

Large, staff 200+

Very Large -- (part of a large corporation or conglomerate)

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* 4. Which of the following, if any, agritourism activities do you participate in?

We offer tours of our processing facility

We have a store on a farm

We have lodging for guests (e.g., Bed and breakfast)

We're part of a "farm/dairy trail" type offering

We have guests participate in processing products

We have a dedicated tasting opportunity on site

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* 5. Which of the following are ways in which you sell your products? (Select all that apply.)

Ecommerce on our website

Ecommerce through another independently-owned retail website

Online at a large retail website (e.g., Amazon)

A store on our farm

A store on someone else's farm

Direct at local farmers markets

Our own store in a retail location

Direct to local retail stores

Direct to local restaurants/hotels/institutions

Direct to retail stores in the state where my farm is located

Direct to retail stores in the Northeast region of the U.S.

Direct to retail stores nationally

Via distributor to local stores, restaurants, hotels and/or institutions

Via distributor to state-wide stores, restaurants, hotels and/or institutions

Via distributor to regional stores, restaurants, hotels and/or institutions

Via distributor to national stores, restaurants, hotels and/or institutions

Home delivery using our own vehicles

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* 6. Which of the following do you use to promote your farm/company? (Select all that apply)

Website

Facebook

Instagram

Twitter

YouTube

Vimeo

Online ads in search engines (e.g., Google, Bing)

Online banner ads on other web sites

Ads in online newspapers, magazines, or blogs

Print ads in newspapers or magazines

Booths at community events/festivals

Booth at food expos or trade shows

Sponsorship of local organizations (e.g., little league teams, school events)

Enter products into food awards competitions

Other (please specify)

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* 7. Briefly, how do you decide if your marketing is successful or not? What methods, measures or perceptions do you use? If you can't think of any at the moment, type "don't know." If you don't measure your marketing success at all, type "none."

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* 8. Approximately how many Facebook followers does your company have as of today?

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* 9. Approximately how many visitors have "checked in" to your company Facebook page as of today?

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* 10. Approximately how many company Instagram followers do you have as of today?

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* 11. On a scale of 1-10, with "1" being "None at all" and "10" being "A significant amount," how would you rate the level of thought you have put into the logo you've chosen to represent your company?

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* 12. On a scale of 1-10, with "1" being "None at all" and "10" being "A significant amount," how would you rate the level of thought you have put into the way you tell the story about your company?

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* 13. On a scale of 1-10, with "1" being "None at all" and "10" being "A significant amount," how would you rate the level of thought you have put into how you promote your company to the public (e.g., advertising, social media, events)?

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* 14. On a scale of 1-10, with "1" being "None at all" and "10" being "A significant amount," how would you rate the level of success you have had with the current way you're marketing your farm/company?

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* 15. If you could have one word pop into the head of the public when they think about your brand, what would that one word be?

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* 16. How would you describe your main goals for your company over the next five years?

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* 17. Which of the following, if any, do you use in the logo that represents your company?

Cow/goat/sheep Imagery

Picture or drawing of pastoral farmland

A specific barn or farm building

Farm equipment or tools

A dairy product (e.g., cheese, milk, ice cream)

People

Vintage items (milk cans, delivery trucks, etc.)

Fruit or flavor imagery

Other (please specify)

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* 18. Which, if any, of the following words describe your logo? (Select all that apply).

Humorous/Funny

Serious

Realistic

Cartoonish

Fun

Friendly

Vintage

Old-fashioned

Classy

Artisan

Rustic

Botanical/floral

Natural

Traditional

Artistic

Clean

Simple

Boutique

Modern

Wholesome

Healthy

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* 19. Which of the following concepts, if any, do you intentionally try to convey in your marketing?

Better tasting/delicious

We take good care of our cows/goats/sheep

Nutritious

Highest quality/pure

Our family to your family

Local flavor or character

We take good care of the land

No antibiotics/rBGH/additives

Generations of farmers

Simple ingredients

Freshness

Small family farm

Local farm to table

Trusted neighbor

We support the local community

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* 20. How many people in your company are primarily dedicated (mostly full-time) to marketing?

More than 5

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* 21. Which of the following do you manage on your own within your company and which do you use an outside professional for?

	We do ourselves	Use a professional	N/A - don't do at all
Logo Design	Logo Design We do ourselves	Logo Design Use a professional	Logo Design N/A - don't do at all
Website Design	Website Design We do ourselves	Website Design Use a professional	Website Design N/A - don't do at all
Website upkeep/maintenance	Website upkeep/maintenance We do ourselves	Website upkeep/maintenance Use a professional	Website upkeep/maintenance N/A - don't do at all
Packaging Design	Packaging Design We do ourselves	Packaging Design Use a professional	Packaging Design N/A - don't do at all
Social media posts/campaigns	Social media posts/campaigns We do ourselves	Social media posts/campaigns Use a professional	Social media posts/campaigns N/A - don't do at all
Advertising	Advertising We do ourselves	Advertising Use a professional	Advertising N/A - don't do at all
Booths at food shows	Booths at food shows We do ourselves	Booths at food shows Use a professional	Booths at food shows N/A - don't do at all
Booths at farmers markets	Booths at farmers markets We do ourselves	Booths at farmers markets Use a professional	Booths at farmers markets N/A - don't do at all
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)	Search Engine Optimization (SEO) We do ourselves	Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Use a professional	Search Engine Optimization (SEO) N/A - don't do at all

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* 22. Could you describe your approach to marketing and branding in some detail? What specific types of activities do you engage in to market your products and create a brand for your company? (If possible, outline your marketing plan.)

Dairy Processors - Northeast

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* 1. Which of the following products do you sell to the public under your company's brand (select all that apply)?

Question Title

* 2. Do you consider your dairy processing business to be a "family-owned" business?

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* 3. Which of the following best describes the size of your dairy processing business?

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* 4. Which of the following, if any, agritourism activities do you participate in?

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* 5. Which of the following are ways in which you sell your products? (Select all that apply.)

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* 6. Which of the following do you use to promote your farm/company? (Select all that apply)

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* 7. Briefly, how do you decide if your marketing is successful or not? What methods, measures or perceptions do you use? If you can't think of any at the moment, type "don't know." If you don't measure your marketing success at all, type "none."

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* 8. Approximately how many Facebook followers does your company have as of today?

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* 9. Approximately how many visitors have "checked in" to your company Facebook page as of today?

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* 10. Approximately how many company Instagram followers do you have as of today?

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* 11. On a scale of 1-10, with "1" being "None at all" and "10" being "A significant amount," how would you rate the level of thought you have put into the logo you've chosen to represent your company?

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* 12. On a scale of 1-10, with "1" being "None at all" and "10" being "A significant amount," how would you rate the level of thought you have put into the way you tell the story about your company?

Question Title

* 13. On a scale of 1-10, with "1" being "None at all" and "10" being "A significant amount," how would you rate the level of thought you have put into how you promote your company to the public (e.g., advertising, social media, events)?

Question Title

* 14. On a scale of 1-10, with "1" being "None at all" and "10" being "A significant amount," how would you rate the level of success you have had with the current way you're marketing your farm/company?

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* 15. If you could have one word pop into the head of the public when they think about your brand, what would that one word be?

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* 16. How would you describe your main goals for your company over the next five years?

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* 17. Which of the following, if any, do you use in the logo that represents your company?

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* 18. Which, if any, of the following words describe your logo? (Select all that apply).

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* 19. Which of the following concepts, if any, do you intentionally try to convey in your marketing?

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* 20. How many people in your company are primarily dedicated (mostly full-time) to marketing?

Question Title

* 21. Which of the following do you manage on your own within your company and which do you use an outside professional for?

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* 22. Could you describe your approach to marketing and branding in some detail? What specific types of activities do you engage in to market your products and create a brand for your company? (If possible, outline your marketing plan.)

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* 23. What is the name of your dairy company?

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* 24. What is your name?

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* 25. What is your role at the dairy company?

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* 26. Do you want to receive the results of this survey?