Read this article on CRM in the agricultural industry. What is the benefit of adding CRM as an approach to business? How did the banking and agricultural industry meet business objectives using CRM?
CRM is a term frequently utilized to refer to the software available in the market to acquire knowledge regarding the clients. Some companies sometimes market their software as "CRMs", causing even more confusion regarding this term. However, if the whole company fails to exhibit coherence of targeting within its structure and chooses not to implement CRM as a strategy, utilizing such software will merely be an investment with no returns. A few of the greatest obstacles encountered are the ability to synchronize the positive inputs of all the employees and utilize this information gathered from the customers. Irrespective of how elementary the customer database of the company is, if the customer data is provided and then applied, the company will definitely observe the difference. In brief, the key factor in successfully implementing CRM is customer information.
Databases providing customer information are available in the market. In fact, several companies pay a fee to access them, pick out the information relevant to their business and utilize them as best as is feasible. Reselling farm machinery involves discovering a database that contains pertinent information from farmers, like property size, machinery employed, whether they are farmer-owned, and farmed products.
Software related to the sale of agricultural inputs are available, like the CRM module of Siagri AgriBusiness, which enabled characterizing the agricultural output of the rural producer, including information regarding planting date, crop type and planted area. This tool facilitates producer segmentation on the basis of the agricultural potential and historical usage of the agricultural inputs. This product is marketed to help in enhancing the sales, as well as customer relationship management of the distributors of pesticides, seeds and other agricultural inputs.
While developing this study, several interviews were conducted in a significant Brazilian agricultural region on a resale of agricultural machinery. One company evinced interest in implanting CRM with the intention of offering better services to its clients. This particular resale extended across 62 municipalities, which revealed wide heterogeneity within this area. During the course of interviewing the management of the company, the issues raised were regarding their interest and importance in getting to know their customers better, updating their contact history and modifying the offers to suit the customer. The management; however, raised the possibility of encountering obstacles in the process of implementing CRM, particularly from the employees, who because of their traditionalist mindset, would be wary of any type of change. The reseller needs to explore the many kinds of systems marketed by the technology companies and determines the best means of, not only implementing the system, but also adopting the CRM philosophy.
In the course of this study, we came across a report from an agricultural machinery concessionaire in Presidente Prudente on the unsuccessful implementation of CRM. The case study had utilized an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software for CRM and had initially migrated the company data that had been used only to track the bank issues and installment payment by the customers. The clients were then segmented according to consultant portfolio as was proposed and done, based on the service region. They were classified potentially as A, B, C or D depending on the level of fleet, infrastructure, credit, technology and brand acceptance of the manufacturer. Next, they held a meeting and the employees were educated on the new tool that was being implemented, which required each one of them to make a change in their approach, so that CRM could be accepted as a new culture and a mission. Only then would it be successful. However, they unexpectedly met with stiff resistance to these changes from the staff, which made it very hard to implement CRM. Just eight months after its implementation, due to the poor understanding of the concept, noncompliance of all the employees with the process, and the inaccurate reports given, the strategic sector discredited in the partnership with the company that had developed the CRM system. Although, the company had invested substantially, the concessionaire broke the contract and reverted to the former methods and processes.
In their research, EBERLE et al. reported that a service provider had been unsuccessful in implementing the CRM system. The authors cited problems with IT, hurdles in the organizational culture, and a poor understanding of the tool itself as the principal causes for their failure in adopting the CRM, highlighting account for return on investment. According to the case study, the CRM essentially operated in Brazil, with the only goal of enhancing its registration to comply with demands of the customer service center for more data on the customers. The challenge these Brazilian companies face in implementing CRM is to optimize their relationship with the customers to enable the adequacy of decision-making and development of strategies.
One more instance cited from the Brazilian agricultural sector was a case study which focused on the implementation of a loyalty program in a multinational dealing with agricultural pesticides. The study showed that; although, the company claimed to build the customer database, in practice it was slanted towards the product. From the same study, it became clear that improvements were necessary in the area of communication with the customers, as well as the prevailing restrictions encountered because of the turnover of the sellers. The company was to periodically check that the clients' perception of it concurred with the image that it wished to portray.