Fundamentally, business strategies are often categorized as either business-to-business (B2B) or business-to-consumer (B2C) (B2B). While there are similarities between the B2C and B2B business models, there are just as many, if not more, distinctions as well.
These distinctions are particularly noticeable in the execution of sales and marketing strategies. AgTech deviates from the usual and frequently has to appeal to farmers as customers and company owners.
Therefore, to succeed, AgTech businesses must have a thorough understanding of their customers—including who they are and how, why, and when they make purchases.
The essential steps
There aren’t many if any, goods or services that are widely used or desired. AgTech is no different. To establish a solid basis for successful sales and marketing, it is crucial to comprehend the traits of your business and its requirements.
These actions show how an AgTech business might succeed in the market:
Customer identification
Ideally, you have located a problem and are providing a remedy for it before developing your product. Understanding the characteristics of the people who suffer from this pain point in-depth is a crucial initial step for your go-to-market plan.
Focus groups and surveys used in market research can aid in identifying the optimum target market.
Use both B2C and B2B qualities while developing your ideal client profiles, paying attention to the operations of farmers as well as agriculture product suppliers and psychographics.
Focusing on farmers with irrigated crops is a logical place for businesses to start when providing sensors and software-based tailored irrigation prescriptions for pivot and drip gear. However, the corporation is presently debating issues such as which crops, which areas, and what scale of operation to prioritize.
Make a strong value proposition known
The next stage is to explain how your product or service helps this target demographic once you have identified who you are marketing to. The value proposition should be communicated as simply and plainly as possible.
It is vital to keep in mind that while your product or service may assist farmers and their businesses in numerous ways, a compelling value proposition must emphasize the advantage(s) that your consumer is prepared to pay for.
B2B perks are typically more alluring than B2C benefits. For instance, farmers did not place a high enough value on paying for a solution that would save them time, although Climate Pro offered multiple benefits to farmers, including greater production, lower cost, and saving time.
The final objective is to convey what a user can accomplish with the images and how the product helps them to do something better, faster, or easier. To put it another way, what technology can do for farmers is more important than what it can do for the technology itself.
Recognize the buying procedure from your customers’ perspective
The next stage is to choose how and where to make your product or service available for purchase after determining who you are selling to and what unique selling proposition your product offers them.
A deeper comprehension of the distinctive and complicated facts of the agriculture ecosystem is crucial when choosing a business plan. There are three specific components of the overall agricultural purchasing process to be aware of in particular:
- First off, farmers often have a small group of reliable advisors, such as agronomists, insurance agents, retailer salespeople, bankers, family members, and workers.
- Second, the seasonality of agriculture affects when a certain commodity or service will be consumed and, consequently, purchased. This implies that many products have a limited window of opportunity each year that they need to maximize.
- Finally, the distribution of agricultural products and services is dominated by channels.
Align your organization and strategies
The capabilities and resources you need for sales and marketing to carry out your go-to-market strategy should be informed by how and where you make your product or service available for purchase.
Choosing between a channel and direct sales approach is one of the most important choices AgTech firms should make. Different tools and strategies are needed for channel sales and marketing than for direct sales and marketing.
Due to the characteristics of the agricultural ecosystem, the majority of AgTech startups choose to begin with channel sales. There are examples of both direct and mixed strategies, though.
Whatever you decide, I advise sticking with one technique at first—either channel or direct sales—to help concentrate resources. You can diversify as necessary over time.
High-tech B2B platforms
Following are the top 10 B2B websites in the world that can support your business:
- Amazon
- Alibaba
- Tradekey.com
- Rakuten
- Made-in-China
- eBay
- AliExpress
- Global sources
- EC21
