Why Ag Consultants are Turning to Research to Gain a Competitive Edge
Agricultural consultants frequently offer transformational results to farmers, livestock, and food organizations by creating efficiencies, and introducing new technology to maximize yields, resulting in higher profits. While agricultural consultants have their finger on the pulse of the latest trends and agricultural insights because of their bird's eye view, they, too, have been confronted with monumental shifts in the industry over the last two years.
Consumers Want Quality
Consumers' heightened awareness of where their food comes from and what they are eating is changing the food and beverage landscape. More than ever, consumers are focused on sustainable organizations, health, and organic food products. Developments such as regenerative agriculture, smart farming, crop efficiency technology, and organic trace mineral feed are still early enough to require market research analysis and examination by consultants in the industry.
Why Research Matters
A North American operating feed company may have initial ideas about creating a new trace mineral organic chicken feed to add to their portfolio. As a consultant, you may have deep-domain expertise, but knowing what livestock producers' like and dislike about organic feeds right now is a bit of a mystery? An entrenched consultant probably has some idea about what attracts end-customers to the food label, but certainly not as detailed a picture as the livestock producers and their customers could provide in a focus group or survey. What price premiums does the producer expect for organic or trace mineral feeds, and would those apply to this new entrant? Consultants that use market research in new product efforts will receive huge advantages over the competition because they have…
- A better understanding of customers' needs, wants, challenges, and behaviors
- A fuller grasp of the competition, current product, and dynamic differentiators
- Precise data regarding potential adoption – Is it appealing or not to your target customer and why?
- Preferred language in talking about the product from the customer
Industry Expertise
Ag Access is poised to assist in these endeavors because they have a fully engaged market research panel for qualitative and quantitative ag work. Their panel consists of crop growers, landowners, turf management companies, livestock producers, feed mills/stores, and veterinarians. Ag Access, dedicated solely to the agricultural segment, is a full-service research organization, handling everything from questionnaire design to data collection, and reporting. Ag Access works in perfect tandem with consultants because they have over 20 years of experience in this sector. Valuable input from your purchasers facilitates client awareness of unique, scarce, and value-add features that deliver a competitive advantage over incumbents. Ag Access benefits consultants' clients by directly connecting them with their customers' crucial feedback. Building a deeper relationship with livestock producers will ultimately save that North American feed company thousands of dollars in research and development. It is a no-brainer for your client to invest in market research when you remind them that hard data and insights facilitate better decision-making. Going down unproductive or less attractive paths with your customers can cause significant damage to your brand. Knowing what customers want, do not want, and the best ways to communicate about new products builds loyalty.
Partnering with Ag Access
Ag Access will help consultants collaborate with all stakeholders in early meetings and involve them in in-depth one-on-one discussions, survey screening materials, and focus groups so the effort is focused and the output exact. Embedding Ag Access with your client team from the first kickoff ensures that the project's specific needs are fully communicated and will allow Ag Access to tailor insights to the individual sponsors. Agricultural consultants who use market research have the upper hand every time because they bring their clients and their client's customers closer together. The best consultants want cold-hard data to back up their strategic advice and want to stand out among their peers in their industry. Ag Access will give you the time and information to think critically and creatively with all your clients.
