Technology to Empower Ag Retail, Not Replace It
The agriculture industry is often labeled “the last frontier,” referencing its slow technology adoption. It has taken nearly 30 years for farmers to adopt precision farming technology, and many farmers still are not fully utilizing technology. With so many failed attempts at technology introduction by companies familiar with the industry, it’s not surprising that retail giants like Amazon and other online retail companies with rural delivery infrastructure are entering the agriculture input sales market to take a stab at it.
“We see retail technology giants from outside the industry and start-ups popping up left and right trying to crack the code to digitize the farmer’s buying experience,” said Steven Valencsin, CEO of GROWERS. “The problem is that they don’t understand that farmers need ag retailers for so much more than just order placing. Ag retailers give product recommendations, have insight into what’s been working in the area, know the ground and provide decision support.”
Traditional ag retailers, like coops, are responding to the threat by bolstering technology. Oftentimes, that technology is an online ordering platform. GROWERS, a North Carolina-based ag technology company, thinks there is a better way.
GROWERS believes that ag retailers play a unique and irreplaceable role in the ag industry from planning for the next year’s crop, growing the current crop, and assessing successes and failures. GROWERS breaks buyers into two categories, transactional and full-service, calling the transactional buyers – those who don’t utilize ag retailers for anything but order taking – as the customers traditional ag retailers stand to lose to the online retailers.
“Instead of ag retailers rushing to try and match online ordering technology, we encourage them to differentiate themselves and safeguard their customers by turning those transactional buyers into full-service buyers,” said Steven Valencsin. “Full-service buyers aren’t at risk of being taken by the companies offering transaction-only online portals. Service and relationship can’t be replaced by a portal, so why would a retailer adopt a portal themselves? It’s like inviting death to your front door.”
GROWERS developed a platform, GROWERS Rally, that provides retailers a better way to engage with their customers, provide a better selling experience, make better business decisions and build professional relationships.
“We believe that technology should be used to bolster relationships, not replace relationships, which is why we built GROWERS Rally,” said Valencsin. “Farmers need ag retailers, and we’re here to help ag retailers build those full-service relationships so they can provide counsel, sell the most effective inputs and help farmers grow a better crop.”
To learn more about GROWERS and its ag retail sales platform, GROWERS Rally, visit www.growers.ag.