b'JOE PENTLICKIVICE PRESIDENT & COO, OLIVER MANUFACTURING KETTY NILSSON joe.pentlicki@olivermanufacturing.comolivermanufacturing.comPRESIDENT, NOROGARD @NorogardABketty@norogard.comnorogard.com Letting Customization Lead InnovationWhy Experience is the MostCUSTOMIZED.Just for you. Tailor-made. Personalized. How many times have you come across those words in marketing materials and Valuable Product You Offer advertisements during the past year? Its nearly impossible to avoid them as mass personalization has become a reality for businesses and consumers.I HAVE WRAPPED UPa busy season of travel. 2019 has broughtEmpowered by social networks and digital loads of opportunities for us to meet with representatives and cli- devices, consumers more and more are dictat-ents and great meetings have taken place. My last stop of 2019 was ining what they want, when and where they want it. Chicago for the American Seed Trade Associations CSS & Seed Expo.Its not a stretch to say that personalization is no At NoroGard, we ended our year with a traditional Swedish cel- longer a luxury; its expected as part of service.ebrationSaint Lucys Day (Dec. 13). According to legend, Saint LucyThe one place where this is in its infancy is the brought food and aid to Christians hiding in the Roman catacombs,healthcare industry, and Im excited to see more wearing a candlelit wreath on her head to light her way, leaving heradvances made in this area. The opportunities here hands free to carry as much food as possible. seem endless from doctors on demand to DNA The story reminds me a lot of what we in the business of agriculturetesting with prescription diets and lifestyle plans, do for the world. The task of feeding the globe is not a small one, andand from diabetes tracking to online therapy.what makes my work worth it for me is to know that I have a small partPersonalized service is changing consumers to play in doing this. expectations and the way businesses do busi-Indeed, that was a big takeaway from this years CSS & Seed Expo inness. As a family-owned manufacturer thats been Chicago. Brett Sciotto of Aimpoint Research spoke to attendees aboutpassed down through the generations, weve been The Farmer of 2040, what characteristics they possess, what theydoing personalized service and customized prod-value and what that means for those who provide products and servicesucts before it was the cool thing to do. to them. Unlike companies that are defined by set They have a completely different view than what we are used toparameters and rigid procedures, we are open to serving, and they certainly have a different view than a lot of institutionsnew ideas and testing new things. We are willing to of agriculture are prepared to serve, Sciotto said. These farmers arework with customers to solve their challenges. In going to be educated. They are going to have a high business IQ. fact, we enjoy and take great pride in working with They are going to be focused on ROI, and if you want to be a supplier,customers to make their concepts a reality. This you better be, too. You better be as smart or smarter than they are. not only keeps us sharp, but also keeps us inno-To me it sounds like a description of any European farmer of today.vatingand this keeps us delivering in new ways Highly educated, technology-oriented, running their farm like any busi- beyond what we ever imagined. ness with high ROI. They manage agriculture integrated with GPS andSome might say agriculture has long been sophisticated IT-systems. personalized especially at the farm level with DTNs The days of telling others how to do things are over. Just like whennews and weather service, soil tests, and prescrip-you buy a new TV, customers no longer need a salesperson to tell themtion mapping. Digital advances allow for each all the details about the product they want. They can find the specsfield zone to have its own prescription for fertilizer, easily enough on their phone. What they need a salesperson for is tohybrid or variety and in-season applications. Think offer them insights and supporttwo things that only come with expe- about how you can take your customers experi-rience and knowledge of the industry.ence to the next levelit could be something In 2020, remember that. Im confident that if you bring that and trulysimple like a follow up phone call or something add value, youll see success in your business! more complex like a chat bot to answer questions on demand.40/ SEEDWORLD.COMFEBRUARY 2020'