Approximately 300 industry representatives gathered in Saskatoon, Sask., Feb. 16-18 for the 2016 Canadian Association of Agri-Retailers (CAAR) conference. The three-day event featured an opening day Retail Management Workshop and a full slate of speakers, as well as a trade show where some 50 companies manned exhibit booths.
Delaney Ross Burtnack, CAAR president and CEO, used the venue to announce a new website for Canadian retailers at www.produceandprotect.com/, and also the launch of a customized program in partnership with the Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council called AgriJobMatch (https://agrijobmatch.ca/) to recruit veterans and others into agriculture-related jobs.
Dr. Allan Gray of Purdue University discussed the results of a large commercial producer survey of some 1,700 farmers to measure the loyalty of growers to their retail providers. The survey found that loyalty to seed brand exceeded loyalty to crop protection brand. With fertilizer, however, Gray said there is less brand identity, so producers valued the relationship to their retailers much higher across the board.
While 60 percent of respondents reported that they are loyal to their local retailers, fully 50 percent said they would switch to another retail provider for a 10 percent cost savings, Gray said.
The survey also asked farmers to rank price, product performance, and retailer relationship in order of important for a range of products. Growers ranked product performance highest for seed and crop protection products, with price topping the list for fertilizer.
“Retailers significantly over-estimate the loyalty of their largest producers,” Gray said. “For retailers, the right product/service/value combination builds loyalty and strengthens relationships with producers.”
With a theme that has gained traction at several recent industry events, Emerson Csorba, director of Gen Y Inc., talked about how millennials view their work and job life, and how retailers can create work environments that enhance productivity and involvement from a millennial workforce.
Csorba identified several factors that define the millennial employee: the belief that work must provide personal meaning and fulfillment; low loyalty to their employer and an unwillingness to commit; and a sense of entitlement and a belief that upward mobility is quickly attained.
“Millennials live in a world characterized by a plethora of options,” Csorba said, noting that most millennials have a fear of missing out on opportunities and rarely stay with one company for longer than five years. “More choice is not necessarily good. It is impossible to do remarkable and meaningful work if you’re thinking about doing something else.”
Csorba advised the ag retail attendees to develop their own Gen Y advisory boards to meet regularly to discuss workplace environment with senior management; to develop career frameworks over the long term for young staff so they know what progression looks like at this organization; and engage young staff in marketing workshops to identify shared values and purposes. “Millennials want to work for a company that means something,” he said.
Justin Funk of the University of Guelph identified several major trends that are affecting the relationship between retailers and their farmer customers. These include farm consolidation; supplier consolidation; the shortening of the supply chain through direct producer-to-farmer selling; changing farmer demographics; advancements in technology; and instant access to information.
Funk discussed the results of a recent Canadian farmer survey that found just 37 percent believed their dealer was an “important part of their management team,” with just 13 percent saying that would only use products recommended by their dealer, and only 18 percent saying they would be willing to pay more to buy from their local retailers.
Funk said the average grower in Canada receives five sales calls per month, has 8.5 dealers and five manufacturers “actively and routinely” calling on them for business, and is buying products from an average of 4.7 dealers and 2.8 manufacturers.
While acknowledging an increase in “perceived dealer parity” among growers, Funk said retailers can differentiate themselves through their people, with honesty and technical competence rating highest on the scale of valued sales attributes.