Critical to the success of any marketing program are clear marketing objectives. You must identify the desired response from your target audience before beginning your program. Along the side of the model are methods of communication which make up the marketing mix necessary to meet the marketing objectives. The ultimate editorial control rests outside the organization. The organization initiates and has total control of the communication.
Relationship marketing is the most powerful and time-intensive method of communication.
Relationship marketing reaches target audiences through involvement in such group activities as volunteer leadership, Cooperative Extension membership, and participation in educational meetings and through personal contact by staff, volunteers, or clientele. The Cooperative Extension organization was built on relationship marketing. Our organizational survival is dependent on our skill and ability in relationship marketing with elected officials, media representatives, traditional clientele, and new clientele groups. The methods of communication are grouped under each marketing objective with percentages assigned to each. These percentages provide rough guidelines for developing a marketing mix for each objective.