Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76FEBRUARY 2017 SEEDWORLD.COM / 41 THERE SEEMS TO be a software appli- cation for almost everything and lots that do similar things.  It is important to note that the soft- ware application you choose is a vital tool that will help your seed business operate effectively, doing the mundane record keeping and calculating and summariz- ing data that provides the information you need to help you run your business.  Choosing the right software solution is worth spending time and effort on. Having recognized the need for change and embarking on a process to select a software application for your business, what are the key things to look for?  First, select the five most important business improvements that the solution must provide. For example: tracking parent and plant- ing for seed production, better visibility of seed production estimates, ensuring grower payments are accurate and on time, tracking lots and quality in inventory, accu- rate visibility of inventory and availability, standardization of the data for reports against production, inventory and orders. Next, identify the scope of what the software must cover and specific business needs and requirements in collaboration with the people in the different roles and departments in your business. For example: manage production con- tracts with the ability to track bins and quality of the raw seed on-farm, track all inventory movements and adjustments, review quality information across all sam- ples for lots and inventory, record and track cleaning, bagging and other costs against the seed being processed, automatically price orders using zonal price lists, etc.  You also need to work closely with the BUSINESS MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS Square Peg, Round Hole? VINCENT VENEZIALE SEED SOLUTIONS PRODUCT MANAGER, CULTURA SEED SOLUTIONS @culturatech • vincent.veneziale@culturatech.com • cultura.com software vendor. Investment in software is for the long term and you need to have a relationship with the vendor for many years. So choosing the right software vendor is as important as the software itself. So what do you need from your software vendor? Domain knowledge and experience in the seed industry, implementation sup- port and training throughout the proj- ect and beyond, aftercare and on-going customer service and help desk, cus- tomization service and regular software updates to meet current and future busi- ness needs. Software and technology never stand still for very long. Your business will also most likely look very different in five years’ time, so the software application you choose needs to stand the test of time. KEEPING PEOPLE COMING back to your blog or website is one thing — get- ting them to subscribe or identify them- selves is a whole other kettle of fish. That’s why it’s important you take the time to create quality content to build your audi- ences’ trust/confidence in your expert status. Once they have seen the value in what you provide, you can take your con- tent marketing to the next level and ask for their contact details in exchange for access to your valuable content. While in-person events hold the top spot for content marketing effectiveness, to drive lead capture, there are other ways to connect with your audience. Here are the three top-ranked content marketing tactics that can help you build your audi- ence/customer base. Webinars — Webinars have a high suc- cess rate at producing warm, targeted customer leads. Of course, the success of a webinar will depend on whether it offers anything of real value to people. Make sure your topic is relevant to your audience and you have a strong presenter. The last thing you want is your attendees multitasking or taking a break from the session. Also, record your webinar — this is instant video content you can use for people who couldn’t attend. Surveys after the event are also a good way to create collect feedback and build engagement. Ask what they want to hear about next and use this feedback for your future con- tent marketing efforts. Case Studies — Case studies can tell sto- ries — good stories. It can be a success story of a product or service, or a solu- tion (or solutions) to a particular problem encountered by customers, complete with the steps to fix the issue. Although many CONTENT MARKETING Content that Captures LINDSAY HOFFMAN DIRECTOR CLIENT SERVICES, CREATE BY ISSUES INK @IssuesInk • lhoffmani@IssuesInk.com • IssuesInk.com marketers have an aversion to case stud- ies, they are invaluable in turning plain readers into buying customers. White Papers and Guides — While this format of presenting information has been around since before the content market- ing craze, it still works. To create a suc- cessful white paper, it’s important to have strong content (not a sales pitch), sound research and sources, relevant and timely information and the added ingredient of your expert point of view, which demon- strates you are a go-to resource. With the right strategy you can gate your whitepa- pers, using them as a lead capture. There are many ways to use con- tent to generate leads. Take the time to determine what benchmarks you will use to measure your success, but ultimately what matters most is that your content drives your audience to action.