Customer Service in 2021: Why We Are Not Returning to Normal in Ag Retail
January 7, 2021 
The future of ag retail requires a strategy that embraces the value-added, service-based offerings that deliver profitable and sustainable results for growers.
For all the negative impacts of COVID-19, we can credit the pandemic with accelerating the digital transformation for ag retailers and we cannot put this genie back in the bottle. While most of us will welcome the opportunity to shake a hand and see a smiling face, we may not miss some of the inherent inefficiencies that challenge the ag retail industry.
Consider the paper-based processes, the haphazard nature of unplanned sales calls, and the frustration of advising customers on agronomic decisions with incomplete information. If anything, 2020 taught us to have a plan, and be ready for things beyond our control.
Lessons Learned: We Know Time Is Valuable
In the initial stages of the pandemic, we were quick to call out the positives — more time with family and less time on the road. While the newness of working from home has worn off, we all recognize that time is a finite precious asset. Customers also realize that time is a treasure.
Though they appreciate your expertise, customers do not appreciate having their time wasted with multiple trips to the farm versus a first-time fix, incomplete recommendations because we did not understand the full scope of the situation, or playing phone tag.
This year’s transition to remote work has taught our customers a multitude of things:
- Not every issue needs a trip to the farm.
- I should expect a timely and accountable response.
- Their advisor’s voicemail should not be a parking lot for a time-sensitive agronomic decision.
The highs and the lows of such an unprecedented year taught the importance of adapting to challenging times, utilizing new tools of communication, and understanding the various capabilities that are required to help get tools in hand to communicate with customers.
A Frictionless Customer Experience Is Key to Positive Change
As we approach spring, we know there is a unique opportunity to execute a better process for delivering an exceptional customer experience. 2020 taught even the most reluctant customer how to use anything from their smartphone or computer, like attending church or 4-H club meetings over platforms like Zoom.
We also know that the riskiest thing we can do is maintain the status quo. Past years have taught retailers that running around with our hair on fire burns out our employees and causes our customers to churn. Delivering a great customer service experience should not require you or your customers to go through a painful transition process before getting results.
Ag retailers need to adopt an omnichannel approach to their business by offering multiple communication avenues to their customers. Photo courtesy of AgriSync.
We know change isn’t easy for anyone, especially our customers. Do you recall how hard it was for certain customers to capture the first season of precision data? They want a frictionless customer experience. This means servicing them with their preferred method of communication. Meeting them where they are at does not mean asking your customers to download yet another app or adding another line to their sticky note of secure passwords. It does mean however adopting an omnichannel approach to your business by offering multiple communication avenues for your customers to get in touch with you.
What Your Customers Want From You in 2021
Customers want a modern customer experience — where your trusted expertise is at the center of the relationship. Strong personal relationships throughout the customer decision journey are highly valued.
According to a 2018 survey by McKinsey & Company, human interactions remain crucial. Producers especially look for personal contact at two key points:
- The initial-purchase stage at which 67% of farmers turn to reps and dealers.
- When questions arise about a product’s use and service, where 78% prefer human over digital interacts.
We know that a price-only transactional relationship faces all the competitive forces of the internet. Now is the time to set goals for your organization that will help you make the customer experience a measurable differentiator in 2021. Chime in with customer service goals that you have in your organization in the comment section below.
Here are some of the goals we’ve heard from AgriSync customers thus far for 2021:
- Ensuring every customer knows the number to call/text for expertise — and it is not a personal cell.
- Having a time-to-resolution goal that is measured in minutes and is easily tracked and viewed by all.
- Ease of customer access to a team of experts, so that your customer relationship is not dependent upon a single employee.
- Creating a plan for after-hours support and weekend time off to avoid employee burnout.
- Implementing a rewards system for the top employee advisor based upon issues resolved and customer feedback.
- Constructing at least one premium customer service plan to help monetize your time.
The future of ag retail requires a strategy that embraces the value-added, service-based offerings that deliver profitable and sustainable results for growers. The time to start is today.
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