Ag Marketing Essentials for Growth

Every successful brand shares one thing in common; they never stop marketing.

A steady stream of targeted, qualified leads is the lifeblood of any business. Yet, successful brands grow and expand revenue on a foundation of repeat customers.

Regardless of whether you strategize your marketing efforts in-house or hire an agricultural marketing service, having a clear-cut marketing plan can mean the difference between steady growth and stagnation.

Whether you produce specialty crops, operate in the supply chain, or any other sector of the agricultural industry, a clear, focused marketing strategy with built-in tracking and KPI (Key Performance Indicator) focus has been proven to enhance market opportunities, attract and convert more leads, and increase revenue.

Lead Generation & Conversion Strategy

Marketing is a never-ending cycle, but fortunately, one that can be automated with some strategic development and planning. There are 5 main steps to plan and implement in a successful marketing strategy.

1. Attract: How will you define and reach your ideal customer?

In this step, you identify your ideal customer demographic with variables such as age, gender, level of education, income bracket, spending habits, and the value system of your ideal target.

Once you have generated a clear target, home in on where that target spends their time online or in print. Then, develop a specific strategy to attract qualified leads through advertising, content marketing, social media, organic SEO (Search Engine Optimization), pay-per-click, direct mail, or networking event.

2. Capture: What will you trade-in value to capture leads as they come in?

Once you attract qualified leads to your website, landing page, or blog, you need to create a call-to-action to invite your leads to trade their contact information for a Lead Magnet such as an eBook, White Pages, Special Report, Newsletter, Case Study, or other “value-for-value” offers.

This way, you can continue the dialogue with your leads to convert them into customers.

3. Nurture: How will you nurture and convert leads into customers?

Every lead has a timeline. Just because you are ready to sell does not mean someone is ready to buy. The responsibility for converting those leads with engaging content and offers until they convert to customers rests squarely on your shoulders.

Building an email drip campaign strategy is the best opportunity to reinforce your unique value in the market and inform your leads why you are the best option.

4. Delight: How will you deliver an excellent brand experience that you turn your customers into promoters?

Many businesses have little to no follow-up once a lead becomes a customer. The truth is the sales and marketing cycle continues far beyond the initial purchase through excellent customer service and follow-up protocols.

For example, when your customer makes a purchase, following up with training videos, a welcome or thank you email, text message, satisfaction surveys, a courtesy check-in call, and unexpected bonuses will go a long way in sending the message that your customer is important to you and you value their support.

5. Unify: How will you unify your sales, marketing, and customer support departments to align and operate with the same goal of turning customers into advocates?

Many businesses operate their sales, marketing, and customer service departments as separate entities with different agendas and protocols, and systems that don’t communicate with each other.

This causes departments to become siloed. The effect is a frustrating experience for the customer. As a result, the messaging they receive from the sales department is entirely different from their communication with customer service.

Unifying your departments by automating processes and centering your brand around a unified customer data platform will help your brand become focused on delighting the customer.

In most instances, the quickest and most cost-effective way to accomplish this is by adopting a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system, such as HubSpot, which unifies your teams onto one shared platform with 365-degree views of customer data.

The effect is an elevated customer experience that leads to higher conversion and increases revenue. Additionally, this type of CRM is customizable to fit the size and budget of any company.

Discover how Gate 39 Media supports agribusiness clients through inbound marketing and custom agricultural technology solutions.

Contact Gate 39 Media or set up a call to learn more.

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