Research of CRM Partners
Supplier relationship relies on traditional values
Traditional values remain very important in the relationship between the farmer and the supplier. However, the majority of Dutch farmers indicate that suppliers should share more information about their business operations. These are some of the results of the research report 'Customer relations in the agri' by CRM Partners.
Earlier it emerged that Dutch farmers general confidence increasingly important. Another striking result is that mutual communication is experienced as very important in the Netherlands, while English and German farmers attach much less value to it. In these countries, a more competitive price is much more important.
Annoyances among farmers
Both the Dutch, English and German entrepreneurs indicate that failure to comply with agreements is the number 1 annoyance. In some cases, this annoyance even leads to the end of the relationship. What is also striking is that Dutch and English farmers are more often annoyed by pushiness, while in Germany a late delivery causes more annoyance.
A few things have changed since 2013. In 2013, for example, the unannounced passing by was still in third place, but this annoyance has given way to giving bad advice. The annoyances of late delivery and the provision of unclear or incomplete information have also increased significantly.
Digital means of communication
The majority of Dutch respondents indicate that the majority of communication takes place face-to-face (78%). In second place is contact by telephone (70%). About 30% of Dutch farmers sometimes have contact via e-mail. This last means of communication has really taken off; in 2013, only 7% of farmers used this as a means of communication with their supplier.
A different trend is visible in Germany and England. This is because most contact takes place by telephone (82% and 75% respectively). One explanation for this is that the distances in Germany and England are greater than in the Netherlands. Face-to-face communication is in second place in both countries (59% and 40%). Germany is also the only country where farmers still use fax and/or post to communicate with their supplier.
When it comes to digital expectations, the Netherlands takes the cake. About 62% of the respondents indicate that they will make more use of digital means of communication in the future. This percentage is high compared to England and Germany, because in those countries only 34% and 21% of agricultural entrepreneurs indicate that they will communicate digitally more often in the future.
Information sharing
The majority of farmers in the Netherlands (69%) believe that suppliers should exchange more information. Farmers in Germany are also positive about this (63%). However, in England people are less enthusiastic about this method, where only 46% think information sharing is a good idea.
The differences between the countries with regard to personal offers are large. Suppliers score highest in Germany. There, 90% say they receive personal offers. In the Netherlands (62%) and England (68%) these percentages are much lower.
Kimberly Baker
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