Building long-lasting customer relationships takes commitment, trust and service between the seedstock provider and the customer. In many cases, representatives of marketing services nurture strong business associations. Creating a solid relationship does not begin and end on sale day.
Matt Spangler, beef genetics specialist at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln, says building relationships with customers begins when seedstock producers are knowledgeable about the cattle they sell and how genetic improvement occurs. “At the end of the day, they’re not selling bulls or females; they’re selling genetics,” Spangler argues. “They need to be educated; then they can educate their clientele.”
One of the most productive ways of educating buyers is one-on-one conversations in the off-season, long before sale day. The seedstock producer discovers how the client’s cattle are performing, learning about production benchmarks and ways clients can improve their operations. Then they can discuss genetic traits the buyer should focus on and how to balance that with other needs. Visiting customers several times during the year helps them understand the seedstock supplier cares how their genetics perform.
A pleasant purchasing environment and hospitality are key on sale day. Photo courtesy of Marty Ropp and Allied Genetic Resources
“We’ve seen competitive customer service increase,” Spangler reports. “There was a time when customer service meant you’d deliver bulls and provide a discount if customers picked them up. Now, customer service has extended to seedstock producers helping ranchers market feeder calves, buying feeder calves and feeding them out or helping them market culled bulls. Those customer service activities build stronger relationships with your customers.”
Spangler cautions that not every seedstock supplier can feed a large group of customers’ calves because they lack facilities or the relatively large amount of capital needed for such an enterprise. Fortunately, seedstock producers can offer consultation, such as nutrition programs for cows and calves, synchronization protocols or marketing strategies. A seedstock provider should do as much as possible to ensure he is the first person ranchers contact when they have a question.
The seedstock producer cannot be an expert in all areas, but he can recommend specialists to his clients or seek the answer and relay the response to the customer.
Social media is another way of keeping constant contact, particularly for younger producers. The seedstock supplier can provide educational web-based resources to clients or alerts about upcoming educational events or future sales. It is a type of advertising, but it can also be a way to connect with clientele in a deeper and different way outside of cattle. Connecting personally, remembering birthdays and anniversaries, is an advantage. People inherently want to conduct business with those they know and trust.
“Relationships start with the seedstock provider having a business or operational goal centered around improving profitability or sustainability, which means they’re around for a long time for their customers,” Spangler advises. “His or her job is to improve his customers’ profitability.”
Marty Ropp, CEO and business development specialist at Allied Genetic Resources, says seedstock providers only offer two value propositions to their customers – genetic improvement and service. Everything a seedstock producer does for customers falls into one of those categories. Basic service can start with a pleasant purchasing environment, including nice hospitality. More importantly, it should also include professional bull development, friendly and affordable delivery terms – and today, must include a reasonable warranty.
“We help seedstock providers service customers,” Ropp explains. “Make sure the product you’re producing for them fits their present and future needs. We can sell a product that’s average-quality, but we can’t maintain that relationship over time. The number one piece of service that maintains customer relationships is communication.”
Seedstock producers often fail to visit clients because they are working, just as their clients are. They both deal with labor, management and long-range planning. They are often parents occupied with children. Because everyone is busy, communication falls by the wayside. It usually ramps up right before the sale.
Marketing services can enhance customer relationships. “Marketing services have improved,” Ropp reveals. “In the past, a marketing service was more of an adversarial relationship. The marketing service job was to get the most dollars possible, and the customer was supposed to buy because they were the best cattle. From a customer standpoint, he became the third party. This goes against everything we believe.”
A better philosophy is for the marketing service representative to spend as much time working with the customer as the seedstock provider. The marketing service provides each customer options, services and value-added strategies.
Value-added strategies include helping sell feeder calves or other animals the customer owns. Ropp works closely with video marketing companies that offer value-added programs to specific groups of cattle. These amenities compel buyers to spend more money, becoming loyal customers of that seedstock producer.
Seedstock suppliers can work with ranchers with excellent reputations using their seedstock provider’s genetics. “That’s good for your business [and reputation], and those folks are easier to build a relationship with,” Ropp explains. “Get more involved with their operation. Partner with them on cattle or equipment. The beef producer should be able to say, ‘That’s not just a place where I buy bulls. That’s my partner in the beef business.’”
Customers also share responsibility in building and maintaining a relationship with their seedstock supplier. “Choose your seedstock producer based on the services he provides, the quality of animals he sells, his commitment to service and his reputation,” Ropp advises. “It will affect the value of your cattle and what you do in the long term. Make sure these cows work in your situation because if you become the long-term customer of a seedstock provider, your herd will become very much like his.”
Mark Cowan, Brangus breeder and president of Cavender, Draggin M and Partners (CDP), urges seedstock producers to maintain complete sets of records and provide purchasers with as much information as they need to make a logical buying decision. A seedstock supplier must understand the data and how it might affect commercial customers.
“My goal as a seedstock producer has always been that I want my customers to be the most educated and the most knowledgeable commercial producers in the industry,” Cowan reports. “We provide seminars on expected progeny differences (EPDs) and their use, genomics and their use, the tools we use such as ultrasound, feed efficiency, carcass traits and how it affects the product they are selling.”
Cowan says seedstock providers often fail to ask and take essential steps to discover where their customers are in their operation. That is an important part of the job. Many bull sellers will offer the five best bulls to a buyer. However, the tenth-ranking bull may be better suited to a specific customer’s needs than the top-ranking bulls.
“If the only experience customers have is at your place on sale day, then you’re probably vulnerable to that customer going elsewhere to buy their seedstock,” Cowan concludes. “This business is a relationship business, and it’s incumbent that you build a relationship. You have to know people and the needs of their cow herd. Become a part of what they’re trying to accomplish.”
Cowan likes a quote from the salesman and motivational speaker, Zig Ziglar. “You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help other people get what they want.”
Cowan advises seedstock producers, “If you help your customer succeed, then you never have to worry about that customer going anywhere else to buy bulls.”
