BASF RENEWS ITS COMMITMENT TO AGRICULTURE.Editor's Note Editor's Note (foaled in 1993 in Kentucky) is an American thoroughbred Stallion racehorse. He was sired by 1992 U.S. Champion 2 YO Colt Forty Niner, who in turn was a son of Champion sire Mr. Prospector and out of the mare, Beware Of The Cat. Trained by D. : In July July: see month. 2000, BASF BASF Bar Association of San Francisco (since 1872; San Francisco, California) BASF Badische Anilin und Soda Fabrik (German chemical products company) BASF Builders Association of South Florida Corp.'s acquisition of American Cyanamid American Cyanamid was a large, diversified, American chemical manufacturer. Lederle Laboratories, maker of Centrum and Stresstabs vitamins, was Cyanamid's pharmaceutical division. Davis & Geck was the company's medical device division. was completed. The newly formed management team quickly initiated plans for blending the two organizations for the benefit of their customers and to ensure a smooth transition into the 2001 growing season growing season, period during which plant growth takes place. In temperate climates the growing season is limited by seasonal changes in temperature and is defined as the period between the last killing frost of spring and the first killing frost of autumn, at which . Rick Patton Pat·ton , Charley 1881-1934. American blues singer and guitarist who wrote several blues standards, including "Mississippi Boll Weevil Blues," and helped pioneer the Mississippi blues style. is BASF's marketing manager, customer strategy. He and George Fennell, marketing manager, product strategy, were instrumental in leading the charge to organize sales and marketing in the new management group. American Cyanamid is just one of BASF's recent acquisitions in the agricultural industry. The company also has acquired Sandoz, ExSeed and MicroFlo to strengthen its ability to serve the agricultural market. AM: How have your marketing efforts been received thus far by customers? RP: Our customers have been very positive about the "new" BASF. It's easy to say you're going to be customer-focused, but our approach to the market ensures it's more than lip service lip service n. Verbal expression of agreement or allegiance, unsupported by real conviction or action; hypocritical respect: . We have designed a clear program that demonstrates our commitment to agriculture. Customers have told us that our program's clarity has helped them plan for this growing season and that they appreciate the clear-cut expectations we've outlined. Our Performance Guard program also has reinforced our message of customer commitment. It defines specific weed-control recommendations. If those recommendations are followed but retreatment becomes justified for labeled weeds 1. weeds - Refers to development projects or algorithms that have no possible relevance or practical application. Comes from "off in the weeds". Used in phrases like "lexical analysis for microcode is serious weeds." 2. , BASF will pay for herbicide herbicide (hr`bəsīd'), chemical compound that kills plants or inhibits their normal growth. A herbicide in a particular formulation and application can be described as selective or nonselective. costs. This has been especially well-received by farm managers as they look to minimize risk. AM: What challenges do you face as your company has significantly more products in its portfolio and attempts to create unique marketing strategies to separate itself from the competition? RP: One benefit of this acquisition is that we have a much broader array of products. It's also a challenge, as we do have more products that "fit" similar markets. Having this product mix has allowed us to segment our products based on geographic needs. We've prioritized the various products and communicated this with our distribution channel. It has helped us all stay focused. We've spent a lot of time with our sales force determining the best way customers can benefit from this expanded product mix. By offering a three-tiered incentive structure that clearly defines differential financial rewards, the channel should recognize the portfolio focus we have created by aligning a·lign v. a·ligned, a·lign·ing, a·ligns v.tr. 1. To arrange in a line or so as to be parallel: align the tops of a row of pictures; aligned the car with the curb. the products with corresponding service, market, resources and sales force. AM: How are you marketing products to growers? Does the Internet Internet Publicly accessible computer network connecting many smaller networks from around the world. It grew out of a U.S. Defense Department program called ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network), established in 1969 with connections between computers at the play a role? RP: BASF is committed to the traditional dealer network. Our channel partners are a critical factor in our success, and we are strong advocates of the role these people play in the success of agriculture in general. We see the Internet as an excellent marketing tool. We are focused on e-marketing rather than on e-commerce e-commerce, commerce conducted over the Internet, most often via the World Wide Web. E-commerce can apply to purchases made through the Web or to business-to-business activities such as inventory transfers. . We have specific Web sites for some products, including www.extremecontrol.com and www.pixplus.basf.com. These sites enable growers to access product-specific information on their own terms. AM: How are you using your Web site to communicate product/service news and information to customers? RP: Our corporate Web site, www.agproducts.basf.com, provides product information, press releases, technical manuals, safety data, tradeshow schedules, etc. Growers also can submit questions and get answers from technical representatives within 48 hours or less. We have a new Web site for our Harvest Partners preferred customer program, www.harvestpartners.com. This gives dealers and growers an opportunity to access their account, check their Harvest Points award credits, order premium items and learn how they can earn more points. AM: Spring planting is fast approaching. Any advice for marketing professionals on rolling out a "new" company in a short amount of time? RP: The key to successfully rolling out a "new" company in any amount of time is having a clear vision that is supported from the top down and throughout the organization. You can't roll out a new company in a vacuum. BASF had an overall plan, and everyone worked off the same plan. Marketing, sales, logistics, systems -- we all shared the same vision and worked together to ensure that BASF was ready for the 2001 growing season. BASF is truly committed to agriculture. It's demonstrated by the success of this rollout and by our acquisitions of companies like American Cyanamid, Sandoz, ExSeed and MicroFlo. Our shared corporate commitment to agriculture has made this rollout a success. |
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