Theoretical generalization has been carried out as well as the new solution of the current scientific and practical problem on the formation and development of marketing activity of agricultural enterprises of the region has been suggested.
It has been established that the marketing activity of agricultural enterprises is a business activity that has a direct influence on the products flow from the producers to consumers, meeting the needs of the latter, and ensuring, at the same time, the achievement of the main economic targets of agricultural enterprises as well as the profit received by them. It can be effectively fulfilled under the conditions of qualitative regulatory, financial and credit support, well-balanced system of pricing, organization and control. The definition of the key mission of the business, the formulation of the targets system, the substantiation of the principles of market positioning, the production and financial plans formation, etc., are among the main tasks of marketing activities.
It has been suggested to carry out marketing research on the sale of agricultural products on the basis of advanced methodological approaches based on two special questionnaires for producers and consumers according to the developed structural and logical scheme, which contains three key stages: preparatory, questionnaire and analytical. This approach will allow to investigate thoroughly the agricultural market on the regional level, to identify and evaluate the state of development of agricultural enterprises marketing activities, as well as consumer behaviour, structure of agricultural products consumption, etc.
It has been found out that agricultural enterprises lack the material, technical, informational and other resources to start and develop marketing. It is established that a special problem is related to the lack of specialized marketing departments and marketing positions, with poor human resourcing, as well as the lack of profile education, practical experience, necessary knowledge and competencies of the agricultural enterprises sales professionals. The insufficient management and business owners’ awareness of the importance and effectiveness of marketing activity, which hinders its development, has been pointed out.
Approaches to the marketing activities organization in agricultural enterprises have been suggested according to one of the four selected models: individual marketing system, complex of marketing based on the principles of cooperation, restricted usage of individual elements or inertial marketing model, mainly aimed at B2B, which will provide a differentiated approach to improve marketing organization in those differing in size, specialization, organizational and legal forms, and other characteristics of the companies, aimed at ensuring maximum effect.
Approaches to the creation and development of open schools of marketing communications have been developed to enhance the competencies of marketing specialists for agricultural enterprises. The differentiation of offline and online forms of education have been Offered, as well as the orientation on dissemination of marketing knowledge among workers and owners of agricultural business.
It has been substantiated that the most promising modern marketing tools are in the usage of digital technologies, including mobile applications for the individual sale of agricultural products by the producers, as well as the introduction of specialized sites for cooperative associations of agricultural enterprises.
It has been proved that the implementation of the developed proposals will significantly increase the volume of sales of agricultural enterprises in the region, optimize pricing, expand markets, effectively launch new products, enhance marketing communications between producers and consumers, as well as ensure the high level of economic efficiency of agricultural businesses' marketing activities.
