If you pay attention to the electronic platforms for booking a trip, those focused on platform transport or even online purchases, Recommendations from other customers sometimes play a decisive role in the selection of a supplier or the purchase of a product.
This breaks with the old adage of “no one experiments in someone else’s head” and without a doubt, brings with it a series of lessons that other users share to make their experience with brands visible so that other potential customers are encouraged or rejected by market offers.
Why is it relevant? Can we shape or control the voice of the market? How does it work in AgroMarketing? Let’s go to it then.
The segmentation: This is the way in which you can interpret a market, you can do it by the behavior of consumers in the face of economic, social, commercial stimuli, etc., by classifying their characteristics and purchase statistics (such as their size, average and frequency of purchase, etc), by its territorial location, etc. However, in the field of behavior it is relevant to understand that many customers react proactively to the launch of new products (early adopters) and some more will wait for evidence, data and facts so as not to fail.
It seems that in the second profile that I describe, the client would show more openness to receive a recommendation from a third party, although in reality both can be influenced by external perceptions at different levels.
In this sense, in agriculture there is a very marked tendency to share practices among farmers because they know how to work as a team and in the same way the reputation of a product, given its performance, can be in the hands of the active voice of the markets where we participate.
A smart way to attend to this activity is have a deliberate participation in customer conversations, either through the organization of forums where the center of them are the topics that interest agricultural audiences, market trends or even panels to solve common problems in the localities and with this our companies can generate an accompaniment very close to the creation of rural myths around us.
Connect instead of collect: One of the most interesting reflections that I have heard as a self-criticism of the Marketing guild is that there is an obsession in collected (data, testimonials and insights) instead of connect (stories, experiences and success stories, for example). And let’s go back to the basics: the client wants to see himself reflected and adequately represented in the commercial conversation and we cannot ignore that his power of decision is what sets the tone of the markets and what I tell him in the case of AgroMarketing, where farmers they are the ones who elevate a product or an agronomic system or simply reject its incorporation into the daily work of the field.
When we are deliberately able to create stories that make visible and show the DNA of our clients, we make them meaningful to them and with it we have the benefit of credibility and with this, hook. Think about when your product has failed in its performance, when the delivery did not occur in a timely manner or simply the service offered was not provided. If it is an isolated event and you and your brand have built a solid bridge with your customer, there will be nothing but disappointment but if these failures are consistent, do not expect the customer to wait or even let him know that he is leaving. .
Monologue vs Dialogue: The most exciting thing about Word of Mouth is the way in which words become stories and not the boring dynamic where the brand makes a monologue and expresses a unilateral message that does not open to debate, to discussion, with which values are lost. associated with the enrichment of ideas. The WOM It is not gossip, it is that spark that is lit to make a story become popular and the more voices join it, the more it will grow because these are shown in the form of recommendation, good experience, high rating or simply, in total satisfaction.
Although it is true that a bad brand experience is shared more times than a good one, this should focus us on maintaining a narrative discipline, since statistics from the American Marketing Association indicate that less than 10% of Marketing teams use this tool at all. despite the fact that more than 90% know its effectiveness.
Is there a lack of creativity in the stories or do we think this is an old-fashioned trend?
Sowing Reflection
I conclude by telling you that the subject is so relevant that there are groups that study this social phenomenon of communication, as is the case with WOMMA – Word of Mouth Marketing Association and that even define the opportunities to make this a fundamental tool in the strategy of our brands.
In the field you can go to the farmers’ favorite restaurant and learn about hundreds of stories related to suppliers, successful farmers, authorities, the experience with the para-finance companies, the associations and it is a lively way of keeping the conversation on a level as personal as cash.
I wish you a great day and I invite you to continue connecting in this space designed for you.