“We want to be number 1 in the Agri implements market in 2020”.
Our new CEO Dai Watanabe is very clear in his ambitions for Kverneland Group. Mr. Watanabe is the new CEO of Kverneland Group since 1st of December 2014. Before this he was president of Kubota Europe for 3 years. He sees customer relationship management as very important to distinguish ourselves from competition and to reach our ambitions.
Vision
“My vision is that we become a total solutions provider in dry field agriculture for European farmers.” With solutions I mean that we don’t sell machines: we sell solutions to farmers. We have to solve the problems and challenges for farmers that the farmer hasn’t thought about yet. Therefore it is important to get more insight into customer needs.
Customer Needs
More insight into farmers starts with thinking “outside in” instead of “inside out”. By starting to listen to and engaging in real conversation with our farmers we get a more complete picture of the farmer. We have to dig into the farmer’s journey: what are the ups and downs in the farmer’s experience with our company: from the reception on the show, delivery of the machine, the ease of use and the solution offered with the machine. When we have a clear picture of the farmer we can serve our farmers better and we can create solutions for them. Then we can positively surprise the farmer. We will provide solutions that go beyond expectations.
The Kverneland Group CRM system is a tool. But the tool alone is not enough. We must understand the customer needs.
Brand loyalty
CRM has to support this vision by increasing our brand loyalty. We can increase brand loyalty by first creating brand awareness. When a farmer buys a Kverneland plough he has to be aware that we also deliver a seeding machine, a cultivator etc. The customer has to know we deliver a total solution for his crop or grassland through our broad range of agricultural machines. Next to increasing brand awareness we have to increase brand image. A brand image is supported by delivering quality and creating trust of the farmer in the solution we offer.
Farmer data is the new capital
For a tractor company it is easy to convince and motivate a dealer to gather data about the farmer. For us as an implement supplier it is much more a challenge to motivate the dealer to collect the farmer data and machine data. We must realise that we mostly need to do it ourselves. We need all relevant data like the maintenance service, spare parts needed, after sales activities etc. We have to find a smart way to collect the farmer’s data and make it beneficial for the farmer and the whole value chain including our dealer.
The urgency is there!
The urgency is there to start doing things different than we did in the past. We lose market share in comparison to competition.
In our daily work we have to put the customer in the heart of our business. Making customers happy is the key improving and fulfilling our Mission.
