Sales and Distribution of Agricultural Products: 5 Opportunities for Your Company's Website

Restrictions from the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing martial law have disrupted the operations of agricultural companies. Before the war, the export of agricultural products was one of Ukraine's main export channels and a critical source of foreign currency. According to USM data, in 2021, agricultural and food products made up 40-50% of the country’s total exports.

Monthly revenues from these exports reached around $2.3-2.84 billion, with plant-based products alone contributing $1.3-1.62 billion.

Since February 24, 2022, export revenues have significantly dropped:

• export of agricultural and food products declined by 3.84 times (from $2.84 billion to $0.74 billion per month);

• export of plant-based products decreased by 4.63 times (from $1.62 billion to $0.35 billion per month).

The companies most affected were those that focused solely on traditional, in-person interactions without investing in digital marketing. In these challenging times, going online is no longer just a trend but a critical need. 

• Failing to recognize the real potential of online sales in a highly competitive market is leading agribusinesses towards a disastrous path.

AGRO Marketing specialists have prepared an in-depth resource that addresses the sales challenges of farming businesses, the importance of having a dedicated agribusiness website, and the effectiveness of online sales for agricultural products.

What Challenges Does Agribusiness Face in Product Sales?

  The primary concern for agricultural companies is ensuring regular sales of a predetermined volume of products. 

This challenge arises from several industry-specific factors:

• Low consumer appeal of products due to the lack of standardization in farm produce. As a result, supermarkets are generally not interested in working with small-scale producers.

• Underdeveloped storage and logistics technology and the lack of businesses for processing and storing vegetables and fruits, leading to significant crop losses by spring.

• Lack of wholesale buyers for fresh farm produce. The role of these buyers is to place orders with producers, organize the transportation of crops to a central base, and distribute them to retail outlets.

To address these challenges, a comprehensive approach is essential. This approach should combine the creation and promotion of agriculture-focused websites, improvements in logistics, enhancement of product quality, and more.

A Company Website – The Key to a Profitable Business

Experience shows that the question "Does an agricultural company need a website?" has only one correct answer. According to Kantar and Group M, 66% of retailer-customer interactions happen online. Approximately 37% of consumers browse store websites and apps before making a purchase. The second most popular touchpoint is search engine results (28%), followed by email advertising (21%). Therefore, an official website is a must for every type of business, including agriculture.

In today’s world, it’s nearly impossible to imagine a successful, growing company without a website. Informing potential clients about your operations, presenting pricing options, and enabling online orders are just a few of the functions a website can serve.

Your products may be superior and more affordable than those of competitors, and you may offer the best deals and highly effective promotions. But if your competitors have a website and you don’t, you’re losing potential customers and, consequently, profit every day. Without a website, the world doesn’t get to know you; your brand suffers in terms of visibility and image. Additionally, you have limited capacity to gather data on potential clients. You lack a landing page for directing advertising traffic and the tools needed for clear analytics. That’s why some businesses fail to achieve their desired results, despite investing in various audience engagement tools.

5 Key Benefits of Your Agribusiness Website

Let’s take a closer look at the benefits that a website can provide for agribusiness.

• Unlimited Reach for New Clients

Your company may be based in a specific city, region, or country, limiting its reach. However, the Internet erases geographical boundaries. 

A website enables your company to enter the global wholesale agricultural market because:

• your company’s 24/7 online presence is accessible from anywhere in the world;

• you don’t need to invest in opening new offices outside your region;

• client acquisition and retention can reach a new level.

With a website, you can attract a global audience and expand your client base.

• Centralized Information

For an agricultural company, a website serves as an information hub, a virtual office where visitors can find structured data about your operations, products, or services.

• It introduces clients to your company and subtly explains why you are trustworthy.

• Clients can access a full catalog of products or services at any time.

• Customers can easily find store addresses, contact numbers, supply and return policies, as well as submit inquiries or request callbacks.

With your own web resource, you can communicate with clients, partners, and process orders seamlessly.

• Potential for Sales Growth

A physical retail location has its limitations – hours of operation, product assortment, and processing capacity. Online, however, allows you to:

• engage with your target audience in real time;

• respond quickly to inquiries;

• help clients choose products and make decisions on purchases or partnerships;

• promptly inform customers about new arrivals, discounts, and sales events.

All these advantages mean one thing – with a website, you can sell more than you could without one.

• More Effective Advertising

A dedicated website for an agricultural company is the most profitable and effective advertising tool.

• When it comes to client communication and generating sales, search engine optimization and targeted advertising outperform traditional methods like distributing flyers or outdoor advertising.

• A website can serve as a standalone advertising platform or as a valuable addition to ad campaigns.

• With your website, you can accurately measure the effectiveness of your advertising efforts.

It’s worth noting that the cost of developing a website is similar to the one-time printing of product catalogs in small quantities or renting a billboard along a major road for just two months. However, these traditional marketing tools rarely reach your target audience. Interested customers are more likely to find you through search engines or referrals.

• Competitive Advantage

Searching for information online has become second nature for most people today. Consumers often research products and reviews online before making a purchase. Give customers the chance to find you instead of your competitors.

•  If you’re one of the few in your niche with a website, you gain a significant edge from the outset.

This advantage applies whether you’re a large agricultural company with a broad product range or a small family business – a website levels the playing field for business success.

Online Sales of Agricultural Products: New Market Opportunities

In the online marketplace for agricultural products, many companies have completely shifted away from traditional distribution networks, instead selling agricultural products through online stores and dedicated digital platforms.

Online platforms tailored for e-commerce feature interactive pages that allow users to find products that meet their needs, place orders, and make payments anytime, from anywhere. Therefore, the primary requirement for maintaining demand is the shift to online sales.

• Sales can be managed through a personal website, which doesn’t need to be built from scratch but can be created using convenient website builders, as well as through marketplaces. The most well-known of these are Prom.ua, OLX.ua, and specialized platforms for agricultural businesses, such as VAS (ua.vas.trade) and SPILCA (https://spilca.com.ua/).

An online platform is essentially a portal that provides a list of product names along with their quality and quantity specifications. This creates a global marketplace for agricultural products, where sellers can conduct online sales, advertise, and receive orders directly through the internet.

• This platform should be exclusively focused on the sale of agricultural products, goods, and services.

Today, every agricultural enterprise can have its products featured on the shelves of online farm stores or in the catalogs of aggregator websites that connect producers with buyers. Additionally, it is beneficial to explore online resources where government and commercial tenders are published.

The advantage of having your own website over using a marketplace is the ability to add more information about your brand (building trust, showcasing socially responsible business practices, and demonstrating professionalism). Additionally, you can set up internal tracking tools for analytics at any time. Remember, a detailed analysis of collected consumer data is key to understanding your audience and their needs, which, in turn, drives business growth.

In Summary

Selling and distributing agricultural products online provides the opportunity to reach more potential buyers and discover new partners.

The team at Agro Marketing Agency knows how to increase the profitability of agricultural campaigns by boosting sales through effective online marketing. Our experts will assist you with every step of the process — from website creation and design to optimization, allowing you to add information with just a few clicks, track customer movements, and capture their attention again. To receive a consultation on website development, please fill out the form (insert link).