Marketing has evolved from an era of mass communication to a new method of personalized communication. A recent McKinsey study shows, 71% of customers expect companies to deliver personalized messages, and 76% get frustrated when it doesn’t happen. Still, many agribusinesses hesitate for fear of spamming customers. No one wants to flood inboxes or send emails that generate more eye-rolls than engagement or revenue.

Across the AgVend Partner Network, customers that engage with marketing spend 114% more than unengaged customers. It’s time to say goodbye to the spray-and-pray approach and dial in a more focused marketing strategy. One that is all about targeted, tailored, and timely messages to achieve greater customer satisfaction and increased sales.

Taking a Closer Look at Precision Marketing

As marketers, the goal is to hit the “bullseye” of customer engagement and sales conversions. To do this, use a precise, customer-centric marketing approach. There are two main ways to go about this: targeting and segmentation. These are often used interchangeably, but are different ways of aiming at that bullseye:

Targeting: Specific Shots
Targeting is identifying a specific group of customers to focus on. These customers are the ones you think are likely to purchase based on available data – so you pinpoint messages to them, increasing the chances of hitting that bullseye. The main benefit is the efficiency of investing time and resources in a precise direction.

Segmentation: Covering the Spread
Segmentation is splitting a large audience into smaller groups based on individual characteristics like demographics and behaviors. This long-term approach acknowledges customers are different and seeks to connect with them based on the shared criteria. Instead of aiming for just one point, it covers a broader area.

Both have unique benefits and often get paired together. For example, after segmenting customers into smaller sections, pick one of those groups to be the targeted audience. By focusing on the right customers, agribusinesses can be more efficient, strengthen customer relationships, build trust, increase sales, and ultimately have a competitive advantage.

Cultivate Trust & Increase Sales with a Spot-On Approach

Personalized marketing isn’t just a buzzword. It’s a customer-centric strategy that has several advantages for ag retailers and cooperatives – including significantly impacting the bottom line. Communicating with customers on a personal level leads to higher engagement. And engaged customers are more likely to take action, whether viewing blogs, signing contracts, or making purchases. Personalized marketing gets real, measurable results.

1 – Efficiently allocate limited resources: By dialing in on specific audiences, teams avoid wasting time, budget, & manpower from reaching out to people who aren’t likely to convert.

“We lean into the platform’s digital marketing capabilities to “soften the beach” so sellers are calling on qualified leads who are ready to buy.”
– Amy Kinsler, VP of Sales & Marketing at Co-Alliance Cooperative

2 – Zero in on highly personalized content: When agri-marketers speak the customers’ language, addressing pain points and highlighting benefits, it boosts engagement.

West Central Ag Services sends regular product insights to customers. When targeting their messages, the average audience is 7X smaller and the click-through rate doubles.

3 – Deliver value and build trust: Consistently sharing solutions displays expertise and strengthens relationships.

“The platform allows us to segment, so we have the right sellers calling on the right customers. It doesn’t take the relationship out of ag. It just enhances it.”
– KC Graner, SVP of Agronomy, Central Farm Service

4 – Take it from engagement into revenue generated: Now that engagement and trust are boosted, customers are more likely to convert, repeat, or expand their business.

One AgVend Partner had success focusing on a group of niche crop growers. The results? +3X the industry average open rate and 40X the average conversion rate.

5 – Unlocks a competitive advantage: Stand out in a crowded marketplace and become the go-to solution for the target audience.

River Valley Cooperative experienced nearly $500k attributed to one marketing campaign. It was >50% of the total sales and a 70% YoY lift.

Focused marketing aligns efforts with ideal customers, improves the effectiveness of campaigns, and ultimately contributes to the growth and success of agribusinesses. It’s about working smarter, not harder, to achieve marketing and sales goals.

From Theory to Practice: Simplify Implementation

Adopting a customer-centric marketing strategy doesn’t have to be too complex. Remember to determine the customers who meet the objective, utilize existing customer data, and take action on marketing efforts.

Match the audience with the underlying goal. The old saying, “If everybody is your customer, then nobody is,” rings true. Choosing the right people to focus on is fundamental to starting. To do this, keep the company, product, and team goals in mind. Such as:

• Customer retention within a specific category  

• Expand market share / cross-selling

• Convert prospects into new, first-time sales

• Product penetration and growth in certain regions

It’s okay to have multiple, but there should always be a leading objective. Just like during content planning, collaboration between marketing, sales, and other department teams is necessary. With the primary purpose of the marketing campaign as the center point, identifying the ideal audience becomes more straightforward.

Leverage already collected customer data. Effective targeted marketing depends on the ability to gather, analyze, and act on customer insights.

Segmenting growers isn’t a simple task. It can be quite an undertaking that typically requires a teamwide effort. But a good place to start is using what is already known about customers and putting the data you have to work for you.

ERPs, agronomic planning, and grain offer management systems hold that information, but getting data out of those in a usable format can be challenging. AgVend’s digital enablement platform simplifies this by centralizing information and making access to data seamless. Utilizing customer management tools, retailers can get even more grower information in one place to easily tag or filter customers for simplified segmentation.

Consider the following to guide marketing decisions:

• Are certain products more relevant in specific regions?

• Do customer demographics prefer different types of content?

• What growers deliver grain but don’t do agronomy business?

• Who bought seed but not fungicide?

• How many people booked fertilizer last fall but not this year?

• Have customers engaged with previous marketing campaigns?

Breaking down or categorizing a large customer base into a specific group to focus on is the combination of segmentation and targeting.

Execute what you know. Put the customer-centric strategy into action. Develop content that speaks directly to the needs, frustrations, and preferences of the target audience.

Measure and analyze campaign performance data, like revenue generated, conversions, and click-through rates. By doing this, teams can refine strategies and make ongoing improvements based on customer insights.

Get Ready to Take Aim: Unlock Greater Loyalty & Increased Sales

The one-size-fits-all marketing approach is giving way to a more sophisticated, customer-centric strategy where leveraging data allows for a tailored experience. Agribusinesses who recognize and embrace the importance of personalized marketing will see many benefits, from driving revenue to cultivating stronger customer relationships.

In a competitive market, the ability to connect with customers on a personal level can be a key differentiator. Targeted marketing provides the opportunity to stay relevant and achieve that edge.

Reach out today and leverage high-touch marketing support from AgVend’s team of agri-marketing professionals to get started.