Focus On Customer Needs To Drive Results

For those who do not know Ball Horticultural, it’s a privately held juggernaut based in West Chicago with thousands of employees and global operations.  Most industry pundits would characterize Ball as the world’s most successful horticultural company.  It has R&D, plant breeding, and growing operations across the globe.

It breeds and produces high-quality plants for homes and gardens in Europe, Asia Pacific, The Middle East, and North and South America.   It has world-class distribution systems.  Its sales force is recognized regularly as the most knowledgeable in the business. It has a highly successful publishing operations and much, much more.

Few companies are as good at listening and acting on greenhouse grower needs as Ball.  Whether through events, industry education, and frequent in-person meetings, Ball has its fingers on the pulse of global horticulture. 

Despite its size and global footprint, Ball is able to interpret insights and act quickly to develop innovative solutions for the world.  The result?  A world-class company with differentiated products and services. High global customer satisfaction.  That results in outsized market share and profits. 

Here are some action points you can implement to grow your business:

• Listen to customers – Every successful enterprise has its own way of getting customer feedback. One important key is retaining and institutionalizing this customer feedback within the enterprise.  Too often, it doesn’t get shared, or is forgotten/lost and not acted upon.
• Translate needs to market advantage – Every successful enterprise knows and is focused on its customers’ needs. One important key is to focus on underserved needs that have fewer competitors.  Too often, many companies are exclusively focused on major needs that everyone else has identified.
• Innovate product solutions — Every successful enterprise has some sort of a new product development system. One important key is to understand how to remove barriers that negatively impact speed to market and overall innovation.  Too often, processes are perceived as “set in stone” and unchangeable.   

Do you need help gaining customer insights? Give us a call we can help!