Source: Avant Marketing news release
St. Louis, MO – We are witnessing a very tough year for agriculture, as predicted by Avant Marketing Group’s analytics in December 2024. The USDA predicts a $6.1 billion decrease in crop receipts and a $12 billion increase in input costs. This not only affects farmers, but all businesses that support agriculture. Livestock markets remain strong, but unfortunately, cattle inventories are the lowest since 1951.
According to Avant Marketing’s Online Farmer Panel, 25 percent of participants are “very pessimistic” about the 2026 ag economy with another 33 percent “somewhat pessimistic”.
“This is not a good mindset for farmers as they begin planning for the upcoming year,” states Mark Vogel, Avant Marketing Group. “I have lived through four recessions – two in the building products industry and two in agriculture. With each recession, marketing budgets were cut to match estimated decreases in revenue or profit.
“Yet, some marketers understand that the economy is cyclical, and down years can provide market share increases for long-term success if smart strategies are put in place,” according to Vogel.
Noting that we all have more limited marketing budgets, Avant Marketing suggests several strategic investments that will have long-term payoffs:
1. Understand your customers and how the ag economy is affecting their purchase and planning decisions. In tough times, brand and product loyalty is jeopardized. When the high cost of crop inputs is matched with low commodity prices, farmers are forced to make trade-offs based on their financial situation. During a recession, gathering data directly from your customers through surveys can provide valuable insights into their evolving needs and spending habits. This information can help you adjust your marketing strategy, brand positioning, and messaging to meet your customers’ changing demands, ultimately driving loyalty and revenue.
2. Focus efforts on customer relationships. Increase contact and communications with your core customers. Become an ally and offer more than just your product or service. Be a consultant with focus on their profitability – assisting them in making the right choices at the right time.
3. Utilize lower cost marketing tools. Make use of today’s communications technologies for customer outreach. Increase the frequency of the effort. Stay top-of-mind with your core customers. But don’t substitute technology for human contact – your sales force plays an extremely important role in times like these.
4. Understand that your messaging needs to adapt to your customer needs. Key buyer values in a recession include value, return-on-investment, and trust (something that has to be earned with every contact point with the customer).
5. Most importantly, don’t employ strategies that can negatively affect your long-term success.
About Avant Marketing Group
Avant Marketing Group is a premier custom market research and planning firm with focus on the agriculture industry. Celebrating its 21st year, the firm offers comprehensive research tools, including qualitative and quantitative research methods.
