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Customer Overview
Agriliance and CROPLAN Genetics are separate companies that go to market in a retail partnership. This partnership, which includes over 500
Agronomy Production Specialists and 50 Retail Sales Managers and Region Agronomists, offers proprietary AgriSolutions crop protection products
from Agriliance and seed and traits from CROPLAN Genetics to growers and retailers.
Client Objective
In 2002, the Retail Services Group identified a need to be more organized in selling and rewarding individuals who best sold “the total package”
of Agriliance and CROPLAN Genetics products to qualified farmer producers. The challenge was that Agriliance and CROPLAN Genetics used separate
computer systems to invoice retailers. In addition, retailers each used their own computer systems to invoice their producers. AgriMine,
an Agriliance proprietary computer system, existed to report sales to manufacturers by all aligned retailers to their producers. Agriliance
was able to use AgriMine to track purchases of AgriSolutions and CROPLAN Genetics products to specific producers and by individual seller.
The objectives were:
- Utilize information that already existed to encourage and reward salespeople to cross-sell AgriSolutions and CROPLAN Genetics products.
- Increase sales and market penetration of these two proprietary product lines.
Target Audience
500 Agronomy Production Specialists and the 50 Retail Sales Managers and Region Agronomists.
Russell Associates’ Solution
Russell Associates suggested a two-prong approach.
- Create a vehicle to communicate consistently and in a timely fashion to all Agronomy Production Specialists, the Retail Services and Regional
Agronomist management teams, and the member cooperative agronomy management staff.
- Utilize information from AgriMine to design and implement a joint Agriliance and CROPLAN Genetics retail sales incentive program.
Implementation and Administration
Russell Associates coordinated writing, publishing, and distributing a quarterly newsletter under the “Enhancing Total Performance”
banner to Agronomy Production Specialists and support staffs. This newsletter provided a vehicle for Agriliance and CROPLAN Genetics staff to
distribute pertinent product and program information and results from Answer Plots to all Agronomy Production Specialists. It also
provided a vehicle to report success stories through testimonials and interviews. Though the publishing of a newsletter is not unique, many
newsletters are initiated and then disappear as organizations change. Now in its 4th year, Russell Associates was able to utilize a consistent
process in publishing this newsletter and to continue to help build the desired consistent retail marketing message to the field.
To respond to the other need, Russell Associates designed an incentive vehicle which gave management flexibility to reward
activities and results. Each year the incentive program reward emphasis was able to be adjusted to fit that season’s highest priority areas.
Point values were assigned to products or activities, based upon profitability and marketing priority. Goals were set at the beginning of the
year and results paid at the conclusion of the year. Points were redeemed for items in a comprehensive reward catalog or for products available
using gift cards, enabling participants to get items that they or their family wanted. In 2006-7, the incentive program emphasis was on cross-selling
AgriSolutions and CROPLAN Genetics products to target producers. Redemption of points accumulated was through a website application, enabling
participants to order what they wanted, when they wanted, in the privacy of their home.
Program Length
Annual programs, continued for 4 years.
Program Results
“CROPLAN Genetics and AgriSolutions sales were up each of the four years that we were utilizing the tools provided by Russell Associates,”
reported Jim Tiedke, Director of Retail Services for Agriliance. “These tools were part of a comprehensive effort and were not the only
things that helped us hit our goals. However, Russell Associates and the professional approach they brought, definitely helped us do better
than we would have done without them. They have been a partner in helping us achieve our goals.”
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