Case Study: Cream of the Crop (Precision Agriculture Tools)
The Problem
The state of the agricultural industry is the most challenging it has been in three decades, pressing farmers to explore new ways to become more productive while also cutting costs. The strategy team at a growing agricultural tool provider was looking at developing new precision farming tools (including satellites and telematics) as a way to help their customers step into this new technologically-enabled generation of farming and farm management.
To successfully integrate new precision agriculture tools into the company’s product suite, the team required deep insights into their customers’ specific needs and purchasing decision process. Specifically, the team needed help understanding which precision agricultural products their customers were already using, and which potential partners would be best suited to help them develop their new product offerings.
Critical Issues
Niche Scientific Perspectives Broad Market Knowledge Licensing Insights Needed
The Solution
Maven recommended conducting an Electronic Survey to gather feedback and insights from farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers with direct experience using precision agriculture tools. A few of the Survey respondents had particularly compelling comments, so the team followed up with a series of in-depth Telephone Consultations to dive deeper into the specific strengths and weaknesses of the current products on the market and to discuss their anticipated needs and production outlooks.
After analyzing these insights, the team felt confident they could quantify the benefits of the new products they were considering. To begin developing these products, Maven recommended launching a follow-up Electronic Survey targeting experts in telematics, drones and precision agriculture tools in order to identify and screen potential partners. Once again, the team conducted Telephone Consultations with some of the respondents to discuss whether they would be good partners to assist with bringing their new products to market, leading to the successful identification of three strong partner candidates.
“Maven dramatically accelerated our innovation process as we move from a pure machinery company to one that provides cutting edge technology and services.”
– VP of Strategy
