ARKANSAS MARKETMAKER

Kehar Singh, Ph.D.,Post-Doctoral Associate,

Aquaculture/Fisheries Center,University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff

MarketMaker is an interactive mapping system that locates businesses and markets

of agricultural products in Arkansas, providing an important link between producers and

consumers.

(ArMM) http://ar.marketmaker.uiuc.edu/

• A partnership of 17 Land Grant Institutions and 30+ food and agricultural organizations in 17 states

• Many more states in discussions to join the partnership

• Technical support provided by University of Illinois

• Directed by a multistate advisory board• Funded through state and federal

partnerships• No cost to user to access MarketMaker

MarketMaker Fast Facts

• MarketMaker is a FREE online direct marketing tool for the food system – fishermen, farmers, processors, distributors and wholesalers, and consumers– Helps producers and businesses

identify potential markets– Helps business owners connect

with other members of the food supply chain

– Helps consumers find fresh and locally grown food

What is MarketMaker?

•

What - To create an agile, efficient virtual value chain that connects high quality sources of food to willing marketsHow - accomplished through a multistate network of partners consolidating large amounts of marketing and business information into a single searchable source that can be queried across geographic boundaries

Goal of MarketMaker

• It’s both a ‘business to business’ and a ‘business to consumer’ tool– B2B where the seller’s customer is another

business– B2C where the seller’s customer is the final user

of the product

• http://ar.marketmaker.uiuc.edu/main/index

MarketMaker – B2B and B2C

• Who are the producers that will create profiles?– Seafood fishermen– Aquaculture producers– Farmers– Craft/artisan businesses with specialty products– Small value-adding processors or marketers

• Those searching for markets (fishermen)• Those searching for product sources and/or

markets (businesses)

MarketMaker Producers

• Who are the businesses? – Food processors from business lists purchased by

National MM, and crosschecked with LDAF lists for completeness

– Distributors and wholesalers– Consumer-oriented businesses – food retailers,

restaurants, farmers’ markets

• Businesses expected to use ArMM to search for product sources and/or markets

MarketMaker Businesses

• Local foods and local food systems• Supported by including these businesses:– Direct sales at the boat, dock, farm– Farmers’ markets and roadside vendors– Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)– Restaurants that locate locally-produced food– Others trying to source local foods

MarketMaker supports Local

Maps of demographic information

Database of farmers, processors, distributors, and retailers

MM is individual state sites with a common database

• Anyone with internet access • MarketMaker is a free tool for people

who:– Grow food – Process food– Sell food – Eat food

Who can use it?

• Over 500,000 profiles for food related businesses across 17 states

• Over 10,000 expanded farmer/producer and winery profiles

• Demographic and census data• Food preference data• Its map-based - all data is geo-coded

What information can be found on MarketMaker?

Annual growth in Web traffic

215,582 359,295

608,470

586,039

(partial

year)

1,876,648

4,367,586

12,052,201

-1,000,000

1,000,000

3,000,000

5,000,000

7,000,000

9,000,000

11,000,000

13,000,000

15,000,000

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

Total Annual MarketMaker Hits

600,000 Unique Visitors in 2009

• Greater Visibility to Food Buyers Across the Country

• No Cost Access to Valuable Marketing Information

• High Touch and High Tech Educational Support to Improve “Commercial Readiness”

How can MarketMaker help producers?

• Greater visibility for state branding programs• Centralized administration of data frees up dollars that can be

spent on state marketing efforts • Create a standard core of information across all states…..a

common currency of information• Routinely updated information can be used to repopulate and

update state farmer directories

• Ability to do targeted electronic blasts to MarketMaker registrants

• Create an Interface that is both local and yet connected

nationally…..a virtual community for buyers ,sellers and consumers

to interact

• Create Efficiencies in local and regional food supply chains that

give consumers more affordable choices and farmers more

opportunities to sell their products at a profit Users

How can MarketMaker help participating states?

Feedback to registered fishermen, farms and businesses lets them know how often they are viewed and why

Member Feedback

Fishermen &farmers can link to other producers

Fishermen can link to businesses

Businesses can link to businesses

F2F, F2B, & B2B

Search out and map producers by product and product attributes at the local, state and

multi state levels

Catfish producers in Arkansas and Mississippi

Multi-State Mapping

Fish Market in high-income (over $100,000/year) Arkansas

Multi-Layer Mapping

Ability to do Icon searches for Marketing and Certification Programs

Find Certified Businesses

Map Food Consumption Patterns

Jefferson County

Ability to search specific regions for food preferences, income, education and other demographic information

Buy & Sell Forum

Post current needs and availability of food-related products and services on the MarketMaker Buy/Sell Forum

• It’s a great tool, but the user has to use it• So, your business can benefit most by – creating a profile that’s attractive– keeping it updated– having product that customers and consumers

want– being responsive and communicating

availabilities

• Arkansas MarketMaker succeeds when market opportunities are enhanced for the entire food chain – fishermen, aquaculture producers, farmers, buyers, processors, retailers, etc.

MarketMaker is an interactive mapping system that locates businesses and markets

of agricultural products in Arkansas, providing an important link between producers and

consumers.

http://ar.marketmaker.uiuc.ed

u/

• It is important to provide an email contact when registering • This is the quickest and easiest way

to contact you the user• If needed, set up a Gmail or Yahoo

account – it’s free!

Registering your business:Importance of Email

1. Go to http://ar.marketmaker.uiuc.edu/ and click on “Register Your Business”

2. “Select a business type” from the profile page and follow directions

3. Begin entering information about your business

Registering your business:in three steps

1.Go to http://ar.marketmaker.uiuc.edu/ and click on “Register Your Business”

2. “Select a business type” from the profile page and follow directions

3. Begin entering information about your shrimp, seafood or aquaculture business

Registering your business:Product categories

• After selecting the proper product category tab, check the appropriate product items

• Be sure to check all that apply to your business

• Check all attributes for your product, including 3rd party verified, product form

• This is a searchable database so check all relevant boxes for your business

Registering your business:Product details

• Check methods of sale, and markets served

• Write business hours of operation, or other information

• When done, click “Continue”

Registering your business:Product method of sales and markets

Registering your business:Upload images

• Browse pictures, click “upload”

• When finished uploading pictures, click “continue”

• When creating profile, type in all relevant information

• Physical address is critical

• Be sure to include email address

• E-mail will not appear in your public profile

• List your primary phone contacts

Registering your business:Complete business information

• Write brief description of your business for other business and consumers

• Put twitter and facebook information

• When done, click “continue”

Registering your business:Complete business information

Registering your business:Contact information

• When done click “continue”

• Affiliations• When finished click

“continue” at the bottom of the page

Review, then submit!

Registering your business:Review your prolife!

Confirmation

•You receive email confirmation of registration•Your profile will be online in 1-2 days

Questions?

If you have any problems with the site, please

contact:

University of Arkansas marketmaker@uaex.edu