From promoting locally produced soybeans for biodiesel to making one-on-one farm visits, more ag retailers and their suppliers are aggressively working to attract new (and retain existing) customers. The retailers featured here agree that today's producer needs more individual attention. In addition, producers with larger acreages and those working an off-farm job need help with some jobs they have less time to accomplish alone. By responding to such needs, these retailers are attracting new customers and strengthening relationships with existing ones.

What does promoting biodiesel have to do with attracting new customers? Although it may not necessarily bring new customers to the doorstep of Growmark's FS member cooperatives, Growmark's FS/AgriTalk Biodiesel Pump Tour (broadcast on AgriTalk radio for three months this fall) has built awareness in local ag communities. The tour included three stops in Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin.

Mike Lockart, marketing manager of propane and alternative fuels for Growmark, suggests that producers, whether or not they are customers of a Growmark location, appreciate help in promoting their products as well as seeing local school bus and county highway department fleets use more biodiesel.

The radio tour was scheduled at a time when the U.S. Congress was discussing national energy legislation and renewable fuels. In addition, it gave Growmark a chance to promote its local members and network.

“We think we can attract some new business because we stood up to the plate in the area of renewable fuels. Our charter is to promote products that are locally produced,” Lockart says, adding that Growmark received excellent feedback from customers as well as the Farm Bureau and local soybean associations. The broadcasts also attracted a lot of attention from fuel consumers outside the ag industry, Lockart says.

Growmark's FS Seed Division also has launched a campaign called “Plant a Seed … Grow a Mind.” For every bag of FS seed corn and FS HiSoy soybeans sold during the 2003-04 sales season, Growmark will donate to the IAA Foundation to benefit local and state (Illinois) Agriculture in the Classroom and Agriculture Literacy programs.

This has been a good way for Growmark member companies to get in the door with prospects because, again, it promotes the efforts of local farmers, says Becky Ropp, Growmark's manager of agronomy marketing and communications. The program is designed to teach young people the importance of agriculture and help build future allies. Ropp adds that Illinois Farm Bureau regional and county offices have incorporated this program into their meetings as well.

In addition to participating in some Growmark umbrella programs, Wabash Valley Service Company, Grayville, IL, is addressing what Don Bierman, the cooperative's plant food product manager, calls “the market of one.” To attract new customers and keep existing patrons, Wabash Valley has concentrated on matching its resources to individual producers. Bierman views the company as a business resource. “The key is understanding what each customer needs and having a good inventory of resources,” he says.

To achieve this level of personal attention, Wabash Valley assigns an account representative to a group of producers. Sixteen salespeople are responsible for the full-service cooperative's 10-county territory in southeastern Illinois. If the account rep is not a specialist in a particular crop input area, he or she makes the appropriate technical person within the company available to the customer. Several of the cooperative's personnel may become involved in various jobs, but the one account rep facilitates them, Bierman says, adding that Wabash Valley has several technical specialists, such as those trained in site-specific technology. The cooperative has a certification program that tests and measures crop specialists' agronomic abilities and skills at building customer relationships.

Bierman notes that, today, the cooperative has more success cultivating one-on-one relationships, whereas 20 years ago it would have held large grower meetings to talk about new products three or four times a year. Growers have increased their acreages, have less time for meetings, and place greater emphasis on profitability. “We're now involved in more one-on-one relationship building; there is a need and a demand for that,” Bierman says.

In addition to on-farm calls, account reps increasingly use e-mail to get timely information, such as pest alerts, to customers and prospects. “We'll continue to emphasize communications,” Bierman says. “We've just finished supplying our certified crop specialists with new PDAs so they can communicate on a more real-time basis.” Bierman says the cooperative wants to get useful information in producers' hands in a timely fashion. “Our area generates a lot of information, and we'll share the more useful analyses,” he says. “It's something we can do for growers so they don't have to duplicate information.”

The cooperative also plans to improve its Internet presence. “I think bandwidth restrictions will eventually disappear,” says Bierman, who expects Internet communications to grow. “We already have a lot of growers who use our Web site as their home page, and many view it to evaluate area river stages for marketing purposes.”

Bobby Gay, manager of the Royster-Clark Farmarket in Ivor, VA, also expects to be doing more electronic communication with prospects and customers in the future. But for now, he says, “people like face-to-face communication. We're constantly on farms; my biggest customer has never set foot in my office.”

Gay says retailer representatives must call on prospects, too, to determine their needs. After visiting these producers and determining their needs, the Farmarket has a better idea of what products can benefit them.

One service that has offered benefits but is not widely available in the Farmarket's 60-mile trade area of eastern Virginia is liquid fertilizer application. In an area that uses mostly dry fertilizer, liquid has attracted some new customers. “Farmers can save a trip across the field if crop protection products can be mixed with liquid fertilizer,” Gay says.

With four applicators at Ivor and another two at a satellite location, the Farmarket can provide fertilizer application and herbicide spraying services. Gay notes that large-acreage producers are finding it increasingly difficult to find good labor to do application work, and as a result, more are turning to Royster-Clark. “We have qualified applicators who are trained and paid well,” Gay says. These applicators have helped the Farmarket grow business and establish a rapport with area producers. “Some customers even ask for applicators by name,” he says.

New and old customers also can use the Farmarket's 24-hour complaint service and take advantage of credit opportunities or recommendations after soil sampling. “Our main goal is to help farmers increase yields and lower production costs while minimizing risks,” Gay says.

To help the Farmarket attract new customers, Royster-Clark is offering proprietary products such as Vigoro Seeds. Vigoro corn, soybean and wheat varieties are providing yield advantages in the field and that is helping attract new customers, according to Bill Slade, director of sales, Eastern Division, Royster-Clark.

Amy Cobb, the company's corporate communications manager, says that local Farmarkets also benefit from Royster-Clark's presence at conventions and trade shows, such as the Commodity Classic. There, many prospects learn about products such as the company's Vigoro Seeds line and Rainbow brand of granulated fertilizer products.

Headquarters is also helping local Farmarkets set up small grower meetings (generally no more than 25 growers) to provide information on proprietary seed and crop protection lines or crop-specific issues. Innovative farmers are invited to these meetings to discuss successes with peers, says Bill Coleman, director of sales, Eastern Division. Larger grower meetings do not work as well as they once did because they do not lend themselves to the more detailed information and informal exchange that today's producer wants. Prospects are more likely to get involved and ask questions in a smaller meeting.

Ross Grubb, manager at Ag Depot, Bozeman, MT, agrees that smaller grower meetings (15 to 20 growers) are effective, particularly for prospects looking for the latest technology and sound information to help them make decisions. Crop-specific meetings, such as a malt barley production session, for example, have been well received at Ag Depot.

The Montana dealership notifies prospective growers of meetings via direct mail pieces as well as by word of mouth. The telephone is still the best way to communicate, Grubb says. Bob Ullom, branch manager at Wilbur-Ellis Company, Billings, MT, notes that his company shares in the costs of direct mail and newsletters for its retail customers, such as Ag Depot. These types of communication are still very effective with producers, especially ones with smaller acreages. And direct mail can be more targeted than radio advertising, Ullom says.

Also effective, especially with producers with large operations, are small meetings focused on technical or label updates. “It's difficult to get producers to attend open houses and general meetings anymore,” Ullom says, noting that producers' time is being taken up by meetings of all kinds, both in the agriculture industry and the local community. Large-acreage and innovative farmers also like the small meeting venue because attendees tend to have more things in common and are more likely to discuss these issues among themselves.

Wilbur-Ellis helps retail customers by making on-farm visits and providing agronomy support to the dealer's sales representatives, Ullom says. Another way it helps its dealers is by providing “excellent delivery service.” This is especially important in Montana, where a dealership may be several miles away from Wilbur-Ellis's branch locations in Billings and Great Falls. “We do timely delivery to the dealer so that when the farmer wants crop control products, for example, he's got them,” Ullom says.

To make itself known to prospects, Ag Depot has a presence on key suppliers' (such as Nutrena Feeds) Web sites. Sometimes these suppliers offer coupons that customers and prospects can redeem at local retailers, such as Ag Depot.

“We must be responsive to what goes on with the Internet, but if we're competitively priced, we can still earn customer loyalty,” Ullom says, and adds that there is good local market support for community-based businesses in Montana.

Ag Depot also has offered segregation services for producers wishing to contract high-quality wheat. This has attracted new customers because it offers profitable opportunities for producers, Grubb says.

Ag Depot's strategies for attracting new customers in the ag sector are not expected to change dramatically in the future, but Grubb notes that another market is emerging that may require evolving communication and marketing efforts. It is the walk-in urban homeowner looking for good information on lawn care. For this customer, the dealership has created special, easy-to-follow instruction sheets on fertilizers and herbicides. This market currently represents about 20% of the dealership's business, but Grubb sees it growing substantially in the next few years.

As evidenced by these retailers, attracting new customers and retaining existing patrons involve a combination of creativity, personal attention and a willingness to evolve with communications technology and changing markets — a winning combination for any business.

Lynn Grooms is an agricultural writer living in Mt. Horeb, WI.

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