Examples of goals may include farm growth, production efficiency, preservation of the family farm, economic independence and market freedom, stability, and a reasonably priced food supply. As farmers choose their own goals, this conditions all of the marketing as well as production decisions. Objectives tell where farmers want to go. Strategies are the ways to get there. The market plan is a vital tool for making and evaluating marketing success.
Strategies follow from goals, and tactics follow from strategies.
In this way, the marketing plan organizes and coordinates production and marketing decisions. The plan also provides a way to judge the success of the marketing effort. It must be flexible so that it can be altered at any time to fit new circumstances. Pat Harris, Frank Killebrew, and Herbert Willcutt, 1993. Insect, Disease, and Nematode Control Recommendations for Commercial Vegetables in Mississippi , Mississippi State University Extension Service Publication 554, Frank Killebrew, Joseph A. Fox, and Pat Harris, 1994.