Farming is all about relationships
Producers rely on advice about products, services and operations from people they know and trust such as agronomists, retailers, stock agents, producer groups, and other farmers.
There is often at least one person between an agri-business and the farmer, leaving little or no relationship with the end user of their product or service.
While marketing efforts may concentrate on the middleman, knowing the needs, wants and issues of the end user is critical as they are the ultimate client.
Farming is a complicated business today
Things change quickly, often daily, and farmers must be agile in adaption. Maximising productivity and profitability has caused famers to increase their reliance on professionals for help.
Farmers are no longer just farming. They are project, supply chain and change managers.
Technology and digital applications are transforming farming operations as young, tech-savvy farmers are trail blazing more efficient, sustainable farming driven by technology and data.
Have you spoken to them about what they are doing and the impact on your business?
How do you establish and maintain relationships with farmers?
Communication must be easy, convenient, and targeted as farmers are busy and do not have time to waste.
We know that farmers are happy to provide opinions and feedback about things that are important or interesting to them.
While the world is increasingly placing focus on the internet, the response from online contact is low and the quality of the feedback is typically poor and not representative.
The bottom line is that the best way to communicate with farmers is by phone and be willing to call at their convenience.
Farming contacts
You need a reliable source of farmers and influencers to call. You may have a customer database, but is it clean and up to date? What about influencers or those who are not yet customers? How do you find them?
Our Agricultural Media supplier, KG2, has been collating farmer data intelligence for more than 25 years and has the country’s most comprehensive independent farmer database. More than just names, addresses and phone numbers, the KG2 database has a wealth of information about influencers and producers including more than 100 farm types, farm size, detailed location, farm income, herd size, chemical usage, farm productivity and more.
Government agencies, input manufacturers, industry-related companies and agricultural organisations rely on KG2 and its database to help them with:
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Independent farmer feedback
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Farmer market research
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Farmer lead generation & farmer direct marketing
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Product testing & field trials
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Agribusiness marketing strategy & go to market
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Market size, composition, segmentation or potential
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Data-driven farm management
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Farmer database building & management
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Chemical usage & expenditure
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Regenerative agricultural news
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Water usage & technology measurement tools
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Carbon farming opportunities
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Digital news for agriculture
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Building farmer memberships
Allegiant Media can help you know your market and effectively communicate with anyone in the agricultural community. Contact us to learn more.
This article was originally published on www.kg2.com.au on July 15, 2020.