b"AIDEN BROOK Dude, Wheres My Margin?MARKETING, CREATEabrook@seedworldgroup.comseedworldgroup.com THE CLASSIC MOVIEfromThe seed and grain supply chain 2000 Dude, Wheres My Car? fol- has always been at conflict with lows Ashton Kutchers attempts toitself. Every intermediary seeks locate his vehicle after an adventur- to carve as much margin out as ous night on the town. Its definitelypossible. Essentially, the goal has How to Talk to Yournot a good movie, but the franticseemed to be to extract as much as search for something as importantlegally or politically possible. Fines Audience as your car kept coming up in mindand penalties are only incurred as I thought about the seed indus- when the fervor is loud enough for try in 2021. Like Ashton Kutcher,Washington to hear, but even that MARKETING IS HOWyou talk to your audienceseed companies are in a racerarely changes the status quo.while the brand you create determines how or ifagainst the clock to find somethingNew technologies, across both your audience talks about you. If your marketing strat- important to them: their margin. seed and grain, are carving out new egies are successful, how you talk to your audienceA major rebound in commod- segments with new opportunities. and how they talk about you will be synonymous. ity demand and forecasts for a hotEven past closed loop system ideas You can ensure your brand is in line with your mar- and dry U.S. summer pushed pricesare getting new life as innovations keting by asking your consumersif the answer youhigher. Drought in Brazil and mul- in germplasm and grain composi-get does not match up, what could be missing? tiple rounds of frost underpinnedtion now come with competitive-In the current market, one of the best ways to reacha market that looked to offeryielding germplasm. The trade-off your audience is through digital mediums. Your com- improved returns for farmers andbetween yield and quality is closing panys digital presence is one of the main ways yourseed companies. in on zero. The opportunity for true consumers hear your message. If your digital presenceBut, the supply chain wasmargin expansion is here.is not sending the right message or reaching the rightwatching. Input costs chased pricesChoose your partners care-audience, how can your brand grow or convert leadsfor a while. Eventually, they pushedfully to prepare for this next phase. into sales? close to breakeven and put farm- Build relationships with those that Marketing generates leads, sales convert those leads,ers in a bind. Do they price now atgive you flexibility, create optional-and successful branding turns clients into advocates. a margin like last year or hold outity and share in both the risk andYour digital presence can be broken down severalfor a better price? Seed companiesreward. Reduce your dependency diverse ways. The way I like to think about it is thatended up in the same position.on intermediaries and make deeper your website is the backbone, the component thatHigher commodity prices pushedconnections through the supply needs to be the strongest. A backbone without mus- seed costs higher as accessing landchain. These steps will put you in a cles, tendons and tissue providing stability will snapbecame more expensive. In the end,position to demonstrate your valueyour website works in a similar way. Your website'sseed companies were left wonder- to the next generation of seed and strength is supported by content, paid advertising,ing, Dude, wheres my margin? grain innovators. The bulk com-social media and email marketing guiding your audi- Such has been the life at themodity business will always be ence to take the next step toward working with you. razors edge of the supply chain.there but will only ever allow limited A successful digital presence makes it easy forupside while transferring risk down your audience to buy from you. The way we have seenthe chain. organizations generate this seamless path is by defin- By positioning your business ing three core components. as a key partner for a closed-loopAudience system, youll have a much betterMessage chance locating your missingChannel margin.Once you define your audience, you can tailor your message and broadcast on the digital channels your audience trusts. If you build your digital presence focused on theJIM SCHWEIGERT marketing mantra of AUDIENCE, MESSAGE andPRESIDENT, GRO ALLIANCECHANNEL, your team will have a clear path to deliver- @jim_schweigert ing quality content and consistent marketing, making itjim.schweigert@groalliance.comeasier for your consumers to make a purchase decision. GroAlliance.comOCTOBER 2021SEEDWORLD.COM /23"