Category: Education

Producer meetings are a great way to gather a group of like-minded people to talk about the BioZyme® products, exchange ideas and see your customers and potential customers all in one setting. Depending on your location, it’s probably best to host these meetings in the fall or spring, when producers are not swamped with field work or busy with calving, weaning or breeding.

One of the best topics that can be discussed at a producer meeting is the overall benefit of the Amaferm® advantage that animals receive through all BioZyme products, according to Jake Warntjes, National Sales Director and Area Sales Manager for Kansas, Western Oklahoma and Northwest Texas.

“First, educating producers on the benefits of Amaferm provides a common thread and basis of understanding of the ingredient in all BioZyme products. From there, selling the value of Amaferm and how its metabolic impacts on the animal will increase the bottom line will help position value over cost.,” Warntjes said.

Once they know about the benefits of Amaferm, producers need to understand the benefits of a year-round mineral program, the second topic you will want to address at your producer meeting. Some producers want to use a mineral at breeding or calving; however, to receive the maximum benefits, a year-round program is essential.

Educating the producer on a program, not only helps their herd, it also will help your bottom line (see charts below).

“You have to help them understand it is something you can’t do just part of the year like right before breeding or right at weaning. It is something you need through all production phases to see the full value of using it for a full year,” Warntjes said. “You have to keep Amaferm in them year-round whether you keep them on Concept•Aid® or Cattlemen’s Blend™. They have to realize the importance of keeping them on Amaferm all year.”

The best way to help your producers establish a nutrition program is to visit with them about their goals. Determine what they want to establish in terms of increased conception rates, heavier weaning weights, healthier cattle or how they might want to market their calves on a value-added program using the VitaFerm® or Gain Smart® mineral programs.

It’s more than a mineral. It’s a program. Not only does that program help your customers have higher-performing, healthier animals, according to the numbers below, your sales and income will grow too. Producer meetings are a great way to share that “program” message with your producers. Start with educating them on the benefits of the Amaferm advantage and watch your business grow.

Change is inevitable. It is a sign of growth; however, it usually doesn’t come without a few growing pains. One of the most exciting changes a business can make is to launch a new product. New products mean new education and sales strategies, but with the BioZyme products, there are some things to remember. First, no new products are introduced without proven research to back them, and all products include the Amaferm® advantage.

“We don’t come out with these products on a whim. Our company does a lot of research and have requests for these types of products before our leadership decides to make them,” said Jake Warntjes, National Sales Director and Area Sales Manager for Western Kansas, Western Oklahoma and Northwest Texas. “All new products have much thought, time and research devoted to them.”

Whenever BioZyme does introduce a new product, it does its very best to provide the information and education to its dealers in a timely and concise manner. Information is available in the Online Dealer Center and multiple webinars are scheduled that allow interaction between the dealers and the staff to learn and ask any questions they have. Typically, ASMs are armed with information prior to these webinars so they are available to help the dealers learn or answer any further questions they have.

Perhaps the most important thing to remember is that all of the BioZyme products work together as part of a program, so when a new product is introduced, it will usually fit into an existing program, and be an improvement. Think about Gain Smart® Stocker HEAT®. This was an improvement on an existing product that many find beneficial during the summer months. It is part of a program, still offers the benefits of Amaferm, but wouldn’t necessarily replace Gain Smart Stocker in every climate or every time of year.

“The best way to launch a new product is to show how it fits into a particular program. Show how it can work with the other products you’ve been offering, how they work together and how and when to use them. Use them different ways and different times of year. It all goes back to promoting the programs,” Warntjes said.

Remember, not all new products will be suited to all your customers. Once you know about a new product, prepare a target list of customer who the product would benefit and develop a strategy to reach out to let them know what you have, how it works, and how it will fit into to their existing program. It is common that most people will have to hear about this new product several times in multiple mediums before they make a purchasing decision, so be persistent if you feel it will truly benefit their operation.

Change is a necessary part of growth. Growth is needed in order for a business to succeed. Growing pains are part of those changes, but they don’t have to be painful. Plan ahead, educate yourself, your staff and your customers on new products and changes, and watch your business grow.

We ask a lot of our employees – be knowledgeable about the products, provide outstanding customer services and sell, sell, sell the product! But did you know there is another important task that we need to have them do? Yes, we need to start educating the customers on the products and services.

Education is not the same as marketing, and when you educate your customers, they feel empowered to make greater decisions. Customer education happens when you present the facts. According to the article by Customer Think, when you educate your customers, you “equip customers with the knowledge & skills needed to make the most out of your product or services.”

So, how is that different from marketing? With education, you are only presenting them the facts to help them solve their problems or meet their goals. With marketing, you are getting emotionally involved and persuading them to purchase a product or service through elaborating on features and benefits of the product or service.

Although marketing is key to making the sale, let’s explore the three key benefits to providing customer education.

1. Build Customer Trust. Any time you provide information and take time to present that information, you are communicating with your customers. Communication builds trust and trust builds loyalty. According to the Customer Think article, people will trust a business that has presented several solutions to their challenge; not just tried to sell them one product that will do the job.
2. Reduce Complaints. When the initial trust is built between the customer and the business, the number of complaints will decrease. Furthermore, when the customer is fully educated about a product or process, he or she can do some of his or her own troubleshooting, which will free up your support staff’s time.
3. Enhance Customer Loyalty. The customer trusts the business because the business took time to provide information. The customer understands the benefits and challenges of the products and how they will help achieve goals. Because of the trust established, the customer will usually remain loyal to the brand or the business.

Now that you’ve learned why you should educate your customers; how will you accomplish it? You are probably already doing several things to provide information but remember to think about the basics when it comes to providing information.

There are several avenues you can use to deliver information to your customers such as producer meetings, in-store meetings, on-farm visits and via social media channels. Use these outlets to provide the most current information about the products. To stay relevant and current on product information, be sure to take advantage of the resources BioZyme ® provides like Master Dealer Training, Dealer Retreat, Online Dealer Center and other communication tools.

Informed customers make informed choices, have trust in a product and company and become loyal customers. Yes, your plate is full, but the time you spend educating your customers will just help you grow your business even more.

 

Resource used in this article: http://customerthink.com/educating-your-customers-the-benefits-how-to-achieve-it/