Amid the survival frenzy of dealing with decreased funding, Extension professionals are being encouraged to aggressively market their programs and organizations. The reaction of Extension field staff to increased marketing efforts is mixed. They foresee vast new audiences overloading limited Extension programming time and resources.
Experience indicates that both expectations are unrealistic given the nature of marketing.
This is ironic since the backbone of Extension's success is based on commitments of volunteers, legislators, lay leaders, and our staff members. Emerging marketing research indicates that heightened public awareness of organizations is only a first step in the marketing process.1 Building constructive relationships with selected target audiences is more important to Extension's long-term marketing success than acquiring widespread public awareness. This marketing process applies to Extension since funding is garnered from a few sources and continuous educational programs are delivered to specific audiences. The greatest challenge confronting Cooperative Extension during the next 20 years will be persuading county, state, and federal legislators to financially support Extension. Quality educational programs that meet critical community needs are a prerequisite for funding.