SEPTEMBER 2018 GERMINATION.CA 41 INVESTMENT IN SOFTWARE and technology can help to trans- form a business’s processes and data to really support driv- ing value and growth. Three key things that software and technology can drive growth through are: • Improving efficiency and increasing productivity • Strengthening data utilization • Better service to your customers For this you need software that can: • Help reduce the time wasted on mundane administra- tive activity, re-keying data into multiple disparate systems and eliminate manually tracking the flow of work through the business. • Bring all the data your business relies on together into a centralized data source so that it can be easily accessed for inquiry and reporting. • Plan shipments more effectively, track inventory avail- ability and quality, and price and process invoices and set- tlements accurately so that your customers always receive high-quality product on time. BUSINESS MANAGEMENT 3 WAYS TECHNOLOGY SUPPORTS BUSINESS GROWTH Vincent Veneziale, Product Manager, Cultura Seed Solutions @Vince_Veneziale • vincent.veneziale@culturatech.com • culturatech.com All this does not just come “out-of-the-box”. You also need a technology partner that really understands your businesses needs and works closely with you to help real- ize your goals with the software. Through our continual engagement with our custom- ers, we respond to evolving customer needs and develop new features and products that add value by focusing on the same key drivers that our customers do to help them succeed. If you are investing in software to help you run your seed business, it’s not only about choosing a product that meets some basic need in a single area of your company. You really need to think about how the software will help drive efficiency, productivity and decision making so that it helps improve the whole of your business exceed expected growth. A technology partner that will help make all that happen is essential to success. IN THE PAST, I faced the challenge of trying to sway public opinion. I did lots of research finding stats and scientific studies to help make a case. I spent hours crafting mes- sages for each different audience using the research as my inspiration. I had a comprehensive marketing-com- munications plan for sharing the message(s). Yet with all of the research, internal company dialogue, and work, the results were unimpressive. A mentor gave me some of the best communications advice I have ever received. When emotion comes into play, facts matter less. I had been trying to sway opinions with facts, without recognizing the underlying emotions or experiences that form those opinions. Opinions are deeply rooted in emotion and human experience. To sway opinions, one needs to move beyond facts; beyond science. To sway opinions, you need to consider the human element. Agriculture is a perfect example. When communicat- ing with the larger society, agriculture as an industry tends to focus on factual data and science. A scientific approach may work in some instances. However, if the goal is to change opinion, we need to move beyond CONTENT MARKETING PEOPLE DON’T WANT SCIENCE — THEY WANT STORIES Kelly Saunderson, Client Services Manager, CREATE by Issues Ink ksaunderson@issuesink.com • issuesink.com science. As an industry, we need to relate on a human-to- human basis. Instead of spending a lot of time on how or what, as an industry we need to remind ourselves why. Why are we in agriculture; why do we do what we do? What is our purpose, and why should anyone care? Basic universal human needs like food, clothing, and shelter are all provided through agriculture. By focusing on how or what from a scientific perspective, we’re creat- ing a disassociation or distance with the audience. One of the best ways to move communications beyond science is through storytelling. Stories provide the human connection. Stories human- ize. With a good story the audience places itself within that story. Stories make us experience information. This is where the magic happens. Storytelling fosters perspective- taking and shifts opinions. So, the next time you are trying to change a cus- tomer’s opinion or having a discussion on the “state of agriculture” with someone who has a different opinion than you, consider telling a story.