Market entry strategies for digital tools in agriculture

08/10/2023

Did you know that in agriculture nowadays not only plants but also data grow on a large scale? After all, modern agriculture is a high-tech business in which digital models play a particularly important role. For the success of such programs, a well planned market access strategy adapted to the specific situation is of high importance. In particular, achievable prices and expectations of potential customers must be evaluated.

Digitization is making ever greater inroads into agriculture. After all, most machines now have corresponding interfaces with which data and information can be shared and exchanged. The market for digital solutions in the agricultural sector has grown accordingly in recent years. For example, the use of such models in the U.S. quadrupled in the last 20 years. The development in Europe was similarly dynamic. In the meantime, for example, over 90% of livestock farms in Germany use their smartphone for herd management. Prediction models for yield and fertilization are particularly well established in the agricultural market. But, the application areas are expanding more and more and now extend in particular to the prediction of plant or animal diseases. Fungal diseases in particular are becoming an increasingly important focus in arable farming.

However, market access for manufacturers of digital products is particularly difficult in the agricultural sector. After all, farmers only have very limited capacities to test new digital products. The willingness to pay is also not always directly given, but must in part first be developed through a tailored offer and low access barriers.

For this reason, it is particularly important for the developers of the corresponding software to know the wishes of their target group as precisely as possible.

Important questions that must be answered here are, for example:

Which functions do customers attach particular importance to?
Should the tool generate a quick overview or are detailed configuration options of high importance?
Which marketing form is most promising (stand-alone product, bundle, modularity etc.)?
Who is the main target group and how high is their willingness to pay?
Are there multipliers such as advisory rings or cooperatives that can facilitate market access and what strategies can be used to attract these players?

Detailed knowledge of the current market environment is particularly important because failed market access and disappointed customers can often lead to an image loss that is almost impossible to repair.
With the help of a detailed market analysis and market entry strategy, providers of digital models can thus successfully distance themselves from their competitors.

Within the scope of a detailed market analysis, Schlegel und Partner can help you to identify an adapted strategy for the market access of digital products for agriculture.

Are you interested in further information?

Please do not hesitate to contact us:

Dr. Isabelle Symonds
Phone number +49 6201 9915 10,
isabelle.symonds@SchlegelundPartner.de

Martin Beck
Phone number +49 6201 9915 11,
martin.beck@SchlegelundPartner.de