Know your target audience. That’s great advice. Unfortunately, many marketers, especially those in the Ag industry, assume that they know their target audience without doing any research.

Farmers are usually targeted by age. This tactic, however, causes marketers to make assumptions about farmers that simply aren’t true. One example of an incorrect assumption is that older farmers aren’t tech savvy. Untrue. And designing your marketing strategy based on this assumption can lead to a significant drop in sales conversions.

Read on to learn some of the most erroneous (and common) assumptions that are made by those marketing to farmers:

• New farmers don’t want to spend a lot of money. It may seem logical to assume that young farmers, or those just starting out, don’t have a lot of money to spend but this isn’t always the case. In fact, many young farmers say they consistently value quality over price. Older farmers are the most likely to say they are exceptionally concerned with price.
• Email doesn’t work well with older farmers. Again, false. Farmers aged 50 to 70 say they are extremely influenced by email. Younger farmers? Not as much.
• Older farmers are not active on social media. While it’s true that more younger farmers are on social media than their older counterparts, don’t make the mistake of thinking older farmers cannot be found on social media. Almost 40 percent of older farmers say that they are active on Facebook, for example.
• Direct mail is outdated. More than 50 percent of all farmers say that direct mail influences their purchasing decisions. Unfortunately, approximately 80 percent of marketers say they no longer use it.
• Unlike some other industries, Ag messaging can be generic. In today’s data-driven world there is simply no excuse for generic marketing messages. And personalization goes far beyond just a customer’s name in a subject line. Crop type, number of acres and livestock are just some of the things you need to know about your target audience of farmers.

One of the most dangerous marketing strategies is broad generalizations and the same is true when it comes to marketing to farmers. Until you really get to know the farmers you are marketing to, you don’t know how to best reach them. Remember, there are no universal marketing strategies that are completely successful so to achieve your goals you must do your research! And farmers are no exception!