Business Topics Archives - Page 28 of 31 - BioZyme Online Dealer Center

Added Value Should Mean Added Profitablity

Having multiple product lines may allow a growing business to diversify risk and capitalize on its established reputation. Multiple product lines can also strengthen competition in its industry, while at the same time enhancing the company’s checkbook.

Certainly after reading that statement, everyone is interested in expanding their products or product line(s). However, while it may be beneficial to expand a product line or bring in a new product within a line, those benefits do not come without considerable work before the sales start rolling in. Please note, any one of these 17 steps could cause the ones before it to be reevaluated making the process at times overwhelming.

First, get an idea of what to expand.
Determine the specific needs of customers in that market segment.
Identify the product features that would be most attractive to them.
Assess the market size and the competition.
Create/formulate the product based on science and market research results.
Get team buy-in.
Figure out the best distribution channels to achieve the highest market penetration.
Determine the price to make sure it will be competitive and profitable. (note: many times this step forces you to go back to step 5 or before)
Test the product to determine its effectiveness.
Create a unique value proposition.
Decide how you’ll position the product in the market segment you’ve identified using that proposition.
Make sure that doesn’t conflict with any other products, product lines or brands in your portfolio.
Create the name and “look” to support the positioning.
Create the marketing materials.
Plan the initial launch.
Strategize the actual marketing plan to support it after its launch
Execute, execute, execute and PRAY. Pray the product is positioned and priced correctly, works correctly and sells in the time you predicted.

Of course you are not interested in doing this entire list, so how can making the decision of adding a new product or product line be made in a more simplistic approach? Consider the following:

1. Evaluate the product itself

Has the product been thoroughly tested?
Did the product deliver consistent results?

2. Identify and evaluate the target market

What are the ideal customer’s characteristics?
Is there a market for the product?
Is there enough of a market to support the product?
Does the market available to you have a place for the product?

3. Evaluate the competition

Who are the top market competitors?
How are their products the same or different?
What are their marketing techniques?

4. Consider the product from your customers’ viewpoint

What service or product do they choose currently?
What are the key differences that would compel customers to select your product over another company’s?

5. Evaluate launch readiness

If the launch is successful (and let’s face it – the reason you’re launching a new product is because you want it to be successful) can your company facilitate the increased demand?
Do you have resources for handling customer education, inquiries and needs?

In the end, if you do your homework and move forward with an analytical eye, your product or line extension will increase sales, help you reach new markets and build market share overall for your growing business. Go be a “rocket” star!

Tools to Target the Right Customers

Every successful partnership requires each partner to give 100% effort. That includes the new exclusive partnership that Superior Livestock and BioZyme^® have entered to market VitaFerm^®Raised and Gain Smart^™ calves through Superior.

The newly formed alliance targeted to stocker and feeding operations requires that either VitaFerm or Gain Smart be fed 45 days prior to marketing calves on Superior AND through delivery of those calves. Since nutrition is a key factor to herd health, gain and stress relief, this is win-win for all partners in the endeavor – the cattle feeder, BioZyme and Superior.

“This is a big win for our dealers when it comes to marketing the new Gain Smart product,” says Alan Lee, BioZyme Director of Sales. “But it is a more important win for the producers, who should see the value of feeding our product twice. First, they will see increased gain and faster growing calves, and again when they market their calves through Superior, they should see the premiums as being part of this new value-added program.”

Promoting the value of a nutrition program and the Amaferm^® advantage, is already a great marketing tool, especially when customers see the financial benefits penciled out. Your customers need to sell those calves, and if they aren’t already Superior customers, the value-added partnership is another great arsenal to add to your marketing plan. Superior is the leader in marketing cattle, and chances are your bigger producers already use Superior.

One way that Lee suggests dealers can discover larger producers in their sales area is to watch the Superior Livestock sales or read their catalog online, to see who already sells their cattle via Superior. Another benefit of this simple research might be discovering a new customer who doesn’t feed BioZyme products but sells on Superior.

“Every dealer I’ve suggested this to who embraced this, has picked up at least one new, big customer in the last two weeks,” Lee says. And he adds, if an alliance or group of producers is selling cattle, the BioZyme dealer can potentially add several more customers.

Reaching out to your area Superior Livestock rep is another way to build a customer base. Superior has nearly 400 representatives across the United States who work on commission of selling actual load lots of cattle. They are another great source when promoting the BioZyme programs. Superior reps and their telephone numbers can be found online at www.superiorlivestock.com.

“Through a collaborative effort between the BioZyme dealers and Superior reps, we want this to be a long-term partnership,” says Jason Barber, manager of Superior’s purebred division. “We want the dealers and sales staff to reach out to reps and consignors to network while educating the consignors about the importance of a great mineral program.”

Lee says the dealers need to be proactive in approaching larger customers, and the new Gain Smart program provides dealers with the great information to approach larger feeders and stockers with. “Gain Smart provides greater performance, increasing gains from one-quarter to one-third of a pound per day. So, not only will they see added gains, they will receive premiums when selling through this value-added program.”

October 2016 – Letters from Lisa

Just like a trapeze artist must take a risk when letting go of one swinging bar to catch the next, growing your business year after year involves risk. This month I want to focus on the trust involved in taking those risks – much like that trapeze artist trusts that the next bar will appear just as he lets go of the one he is already clinging to in mid-air. Some risks are easy to execute but take a decent sized bank account while others are hard to execute but don’t take much money at all. I am going to rattle off a list of these options, and then you can decide which one to choose so you don’t need the net.

1. Carve out a new corner of your market
Expanding into new markets provides the advantage of building a larger customer base.

2. Partner with other businesses who are growing in your market
By forming strategic partnerships with other growing businesses that offer complementary products and services, you can cultivate a mutually beneficial relationship that will help both of your businesses grow.

3. Diversify your product offerings
A diversification strategy opens up new possibilities. You can diversify your product offering or your target markets. Think about the things that go along with the items you sell: boots, apparel, shavings and nutrition services for example.

4. Leverage a strong position with your existing core customers
The ability to leverage your existing customer base should be core to better engagement with new prospects and how you funnel them through the sales process more quickly. Don’t take them for granted—your existing customer base can be the key to advancing both marketing and sales activities that lead to significant growth.

5. Acquire or merge with other businesses in your market
Perhaps the most aggressive growth strategy is to buy a company that makes products related to yours. We’ve seen that a lot lately with tech companies like Facebook, Google and Amazon that continue to acquire smaller businesses. If you cannot acquire another business perhaps you can arrange to merge with it.

Choosing the best option for your business is hard work that involves risk. It is no different than the trapeze artists high above the crowd gracefully letting go of their swinging bar flying through the air being caught and then letting go again.

Author Henri Nouwen once had the opportunity to travel with the Flying Rodleighs, a troupe of trapeze artists. Their conversation inevitably turned to flying and how they could possibly do what they did. Nouwen summarizes risk: ͞

A flyer must fly, and a catcher must catch, and the flyer must trust that his catcher will be there for him.

So outstretch your arms; let go, and trust the option you select to grow your business.

Other Ways to Offset “It’s Too Expensive”

Learning is a complicated concept as everyone is unique in their own way, and learns in their own way as well. It is easy to give up when customers don’t react positively to the way you’ve positioned a product. You understand it… why shouldn’t they?

Unfortunately, we have to understand that all customers are different and different positioning tactics appeal to some more than others. Here are a few quick tips on conquering the “It’s too expensive” objection we often hear:

Divide into Daily Prices
For just 15 cents per head, per day, you can feed your cow the mineral program that will result in performance that pays.

Compare the Price to Something Tangible
Vita Charge^® Gel gets livestock back on feed for less than the price of a Starbucks^® coffee.

Increase the Perception of Value within the Product
Dyson has claimed 27% market share in the US vacuum cleaner space. They detail everything behind their products:

5 years of prototyping
5,127 prototypes
1,000 Dyson engineers and scientists in Britain, Singapore and Malaysia
Engineers in disciplines like Fluid Dynamics, Aerodynamics, Turbo Machinery and Acoustics

Let’s do the same with BioZyme^® mineral…

60+ years of developing products
160 published university research studies to prove how the products work
350 PhD’s study the impact of Amaferm^®
12,000 cows each year participating in field trials for real-world proof

Introduce a Calculator

BioZyme has developed several calculators to help pencil out the value of the VitaFerm^® mineral products. Take the time to go through these calculators with your customers. These calculators can be found at:
http://vitaferm.com/cost-calculators/.

Offers Stats that Prove Others Believe in the Value

In 2011, 216,714 beef cattle consumed VitaFerm every day -or- 5,418 producers believed in its value

In 2015, 538,379 beef cattle consumed VitaFerm every day, so today the brand is trusted by over 13,459 producers and counting!

What’s It Worth? Let’s Do the Math

Typical Customer Rebuttal:
“OK, fine. I can afford a mineral program, but that
VitaFerm^® stuff is just too expensive”

While the study at Kansas State University estimates mineral costs at $36.50 per cow, per year, it is true that VitaFerm will be approximately $56.74 if using our top-of-the-line VitaFerm lines, Concept•Aid^® and Heat^™. That’s $20 more per cow. Before you walk away, see the breakdown below so you can fully understand how you and/or your customers can’t afford to NOT feed VitaFerm mineral.

What are More Weaned Pounds Worth?
According to Reinaldo Cooke, PhD, Oregon State University, supplementing cows with organic trace minerals led to weaning weights of 519 lbs. vs 466 lbs. for the control (no supplementation but were not mineral deficient), giving the cows with organic trace mineral supplementation a 53 lb. or $74/hd advantage, or a 28 lb. or $39/hd advantage over the inorganics. VitaFerm uses Optimins^® for organic trace minerals in all formulas.

What are Even More Weaned Pounds Worth?

What’s One More Calf Worth?
A 2.5% increase in the calf crop (1 calf per 40 cows), at a 550 lb. weaning weight, would increase the average weight of the calves by 13.75 lbs., and at $1.40/lb., would increase the average revenue per cow by $19.00.

What is Keeping them Cool Worth?

0.4 increase in average days open when beef cows experience heat stress (1.6 to 0 days across the USA)
0.4 more days at 2.5 lbs. of gain per day a calf is on the ground, equates to $1 per cow, per year
Donor cows flush less when heat stressed. The typical flush is 8 eggs per cow. A trial on VitaFerm HEAT with 8 donor cows led to 105 eggs instead of the typical 64 in the year before.

What is Keeping them Grazing Worth?
The average producer feeding harvested hay has a per cow, per day cost between $1.25 to $2.00. More days on grass means less days of feeding harvested hay. This is difficult to calculate, so we will just keep this in mind while determining value.

What else can they say:
“OK, OK, OK.”

Optimins^® Value: $39 more revenue for a heavier calf at weaning
Amaferm^® Value:
– $49 more revenue for a heavier calf at weaning
– $19 more revenue for 1 more calf across the herd
– $1 more revenue for less average open days
A 5 to 1 return before we even talk about forage savings!

The additional investment of $20 per cow translates to $108 more revenue per cow.

Click Here to Download the Understanding the Value brochure that includes all of this information in a format you can share with your customers.

What Does Mineral Supplementation Really Cost?

Typical Customer Objection:
“I understand the nutrition is great… I just don’t have the revenue to cover such a large cost in my operation.”

When cattle producers are trying to cut costs, mineral programs
seem to be the first to go… But should they be? According to Kansas
State University, the average cost per cow, per year is as follows:

According to this cost breakdown:

Year Round Mineral Cost = $36.50 per cow
Mineral accounts for only 3.9% of total cost
Harvested forage is 12.8% of total cost

According to a recent study by Reinaldo Cooke, PhD., Oregon State University, supplementing cows with inorganic trace minerals led to weaning weights of 25 lbs. more than the control (no supplementation but not mineral deficient). Using $1.40/lb., this equates to a $35 per head advantage.

What does this mean?

A mineral program will end up costing you $1.50 per year, per cow (=$36.50-$35)
That is 0.2% of the total cost per cow, per year

Now that you know what it really costs, do the math to find out what it’s really worth – click here.

Help Your Customers Understand How to Properly Compare Tags

Helping your customers properly analyze tags is important when comparing products. Here is some helpful information to help you ensure your customers are comparing apples to apples!

When analyzing feed tags, you must adjust for feeding rate in order to properly compare products. See example charts below.

Protein, Fat, Fiber and Macro Minerals
(calcium, phosphorus, magnesium and potassium) are listed as a % minimum or maximum.

A supplement that is 20% protein would contain 0.20 lb. of protein in each 1 lb. of feed.

Trace Minerals
(copper, zinc, manganese and selenium) are expressed as “ppm” or parts per million.

One part per million is the same as one milligram per kilogram
1 kilogram = 2.2 pounds
Must know feeding rate in pounds to truly compare ppm

Vitamins A, D and E
are expressed in IU/lb.

An IU is an International Unit and is based on the effectiveness of a particular vitamin.
A supplement that lists 100 IU/lb. of Vitamin E, fed at 5 lbs. per day, provides 500 IU’s per day.
A supplement that lists 800 IU/lb. of Vitamin E, fed at 4 oz. per day, provides 200 IU’s per day (4 oz./16 oz. = .25 times 800 IU/lb.)

September 2016 – Letters from Lisa

ADD VALUE TO YOUR MARKETING IN A DOWN CATTLE MARKET

During the past few years, beef producers have been experiencing record high prices. However, according to “Money” magazine, “Beef prices, which have been increasing for years, recently hitting rates high enough to inspire outbreaks of steak thefts at supermarkets and even the return of cattle rustling, are finally coming down to earth.”

Down to earth? The magazine goes on to say the decline in price is not because demand for meat has decreased, but because cattle are fatter? The author has obviously never gone through calving, dealt with VFD or tried to find feed when a drought or flood is at hand. He calls prices “down to earth”; the beef industry calls them challenging. In any case, producers will have to take steps to improve margins, and we will have to market our products to them in a way where they will see the added value of using BioZyme^® products.

Value is a funny thing. There is no doubt that in the absence of value-added marketing, virtually any product’s price can be driven down to the most bottom line – price. The problem? When you are only selling price you’ll never be able to sell value. Adding value requires creativity, innovation and a willingness to out-work your competition. But the real sad truth is that if you continue to sell the way you always have, price will continue to rule. So, make a change before your competitor does! As the famous confederate general, Nathan Bedford Forrest, once said following a battle, “I won because I got there firstest with the mostest!” You need to do the same thing. The question then is, what do I do? Step one is to keep marketing top-of-mind. Most of us cut marketing in tough times – DO NOT DO THIS! In addition, make sure you incorporate these eight strategies into your marketing plan:

1. Set expectations high – just accepting that times are challenging, therefore, sales will be down, just isn’t OK.

2. Never stop studying – the products, the market, the attitudes, etc.
– in every down turn a new millionaire is born.

3. Find your light bulb – if you are turned on, the customer will
be too.

4. Make sure you can differentiate yourself – be faster, cheaper or
have a sharper focus on customer service.

5. Build your spokes – hire passionate, experienced team members
and work with the best partners, like BioZyme, to ensure a great
product and customer experience.

6. Be bold – just do it!

7. Plan ahead – five minutes of planning saves 30 minutes of doing.

8. Really understand the products you sell.

– What are the features?

– What benefits do they offer?

– Who will buy them?

– How can you easily match their traits with the customers’ needs?

A value-added attitude must result in an active mind with “Just DO IT” actions! After watching the Olympics this summer, being motivated should be easy. Let’s go get ’em!

A Producer Meeting Sure to Produce Results

It makes sense to align marketing strategies with positioning products, and producer meetings are a great way to get your brand in front of customers and potential customers. Invite them to your store, showcase your products, provide them some valuable information that might add profitability to their outfit, and offer them refreshments. And, before you know it, you have just shared your brand with a group of people who need and want your services and products.

In addition to promoting specific products, producer meetings are a great way to let producers learn more about you and your business. Time is a precious commodity. Make sure your producer meetings are time-sensitive to what your customers are dealing with. Prior to breeding season you might address pre-breeding and cow nutrition; weaning is a critical time in an animal’s life, so host an informational meeting prior to weaning to showcase products that will help reduce stress and promote gain.

The Sure Start^® Program is one program that you can promote at a producer meeting. It was designed as a simple program to keep calves healthy, eating and performing. The three step program is an easy sell, but you have to get the program out in front of people in order for them to notice, then ask about and finally utilize the program.

Our statistics show that overall growth for dealers that held a producer meeting is 78.8%. By following these simple steps you can easily host a Sure Start Weaning Producer Meeting or a meeting with the topic of your choice.

Reach out to Your Area Sales Manager to Discuss the Date and Location
Our marketing team can help with invitations and posters to let your audience know about the meeting. Details about the event and who you would like to send the invite to must be received three weeks prior to your event.

Request a Sure Start Weaning Marketing Package
Call Jody Purvis, Sales Support Coordinator at 816-344-5755, and request a Sure Start Weaning Marketing Package. We’ll send you literature and signage for your store and meeting.

Hang Signage in Your Store and Create a Display Area
A display area could be as simple as putting a Vita Charge^® Counter Display next to your till or creating a pyramid of Vita Charge Stress Tubs

Send Out a Text Message Reminder
So many people communicate via text message these days. Email a list of cell phone numbers to Katie Vaz, Marketing and Communications Manager at kvaz@biozymeinc.com, and we’ll send out a reminder to all your contacts the day before the meeting.

Host the Meeting
Your ASM will give the presentation, but it is nice to have a few producers there that can give a testimonial about how well the program has worked for them.

Follow Up
Follow up is important to any good marketing effort. Make sure you have all attendees fill out a contact card at the meeting. These cards should be given to your ASM ASAP. We’ll send out a follow up card and make sure these potential customers are included in any future national marketing campaigns. Don’t forget that a personal phone call can go a long way in securing the order.

Trust and Experience Help Dealer Position Products

Personal testimonials and relationship building have been equally important in positioning BioZyme^® products to customers for one novice dealer in southeast Iowa. Cecil Reed, who became a dealer in January, says the fact that she and her family have had personal success using various BioZyme products helps her marketing strategy. The producers in her area build a stronger trust factor when they hear about her personal experiences, and that helps build relationships and sell product.

“Once the growers know that I have had success using the products on mine and my family’s operations, I find out the grower’s goals for their operation and suggest products with their goals in mind,” Reed says.

The marketing tools that BioZyme provides allow Reed to back up her testimonials with research and product facts, which help position the products. She has posters and brochures grouped by product lines in her office, and she carries literature in each vehicle so she has something to put in front of potential customers, giving them something to read and think about after she leaves. She adds that direct mail is part of her future marketing plans since so many producers in her area still rely on the written word.

“I have found it beneficial to have posters hung around my office and buildings as they strike up questions and conversations,” she says. “I also really like using the flyers to hand out to customers that want to use our products. When I am able to get something into the hands of potential customers it keeps them thinking and keeps their interest sparked.”

Reed grew up near Bloomfield, Iowa, on her family’s diversified farm that included cattle, row crops and a sheep flock that allowed her and her sisters to show competitively at the local, state and national levels. She graduated with an agronomy degree from Iowa State University in December 2014 and within the next year married and started her business, NexGen Ag Solutions. In addition to selling BioZyme, Reed also sells Pioneer seed.

“Adding value to your farm” is the tag line for NexGen Ag Solutions, and carrying value-added products for the producers in her area is important to Reed. With producers watching their expenses and questioning the prices of BioZyme products, Reed can share her personal success stories. She says her go-to message is the “Amaferm advantage” because it does increase digestibility, and in her area where forage quality isn’t superb, this message really hits home.

Another testimonial she shares is for Vita Charge^® products, especially Liquid Boost^®. She says her dad treated a freshly-weaned lamb crop that went off feed with these products, and he witnessed immediate results when they started eating again the next day. Reed said her dad was sold on the products.

“The products are simple to use, and yet cover a diverse audience,” she says. She said after attending the recent dealer retreat in June, she was impressed that the same HEAT supplement works for producers in the extreme heat of Louisiana and other Southern states. When she shared those endorsements with her own customers, they were convinced that the product would work for them, and it has.

Reed has been aggressive in sharing her vision for the products. She has a business Facebook page, where she shares information with customers and potential customers, has used radio advertising and newspaper articles to inform growers that she is a dealer and talks one-on-one with people in her area. She is sponsoring awards at the Davis County Fair – a bag of Sure Champ^® – for the grand champion overall steer, heifer, wether, ewe, barrow, gilt, buck and doe. She also plans to have a hospitality area at the fair with cold drinks for the exhibitors where she can talk about BioZyme and its products. She says in the future she would like to host producer meetings to educate producers as well as exhibitors and their parents of the benefits of various BioZyme products.

Reed plans to use the CONNECT Online store more heavily in the future. She predicts that CONNECT will benefit her Vitalize^® horse customers since many of those products have a lower feeding rate and are not reordered as often, as well as assist her with inventory control.

Cecil Reed is a true believer in the BioZyme products and the differences they make in livestock. With her winning attitude and belief in the product, she has positioned the products in the spotlight for many producers in her area. “As long as I build trust with my customers, and trust helps build relationships, it is easy to position the products,” she says.