It’s one thing to think you’ve had a successful event. It’s another to hear from your customers that it was a successful event.

At the end of last week’s first ever O.H. Kruse Grain & Milling dealer appreciation day I asked a couple of the attendees what they thought. You can listen to Manuel and Tim, Royal Oaks Feed, who were very enthused and appreciative of the effort that O.H. Kruse put into this educational and entertaining event. They said they’ll be taking back a lot of information they can use. One example they said was how effective the new communication tools have become.

Listen to my interview with Royal Oaks Feed here: Interview with Royal Oaks Feed

O.H. Kruse Photo Album

When you’ve got a company that is three generations old you can bet there are lots of memories. I captured some of those memories of O.H. Kruse Grain & Milling by talking with Richard Kruse, Kruse Feed & Supply. Richard is pictured on the left with his nephew, Kevin Kruse.

Richard started out working in his father’s business and it is all he’s known his whole life. He says that as a boy he remembers waking up to the sound of a grinder going off at about five in the morning. He says it has been a great ride because of the people they have been associated with and who believed in them. Richard says a key to their success is having a belief in all members of their working “family.” There’s nothing he likes better than seeing his customers grow and prosper because that helps them do the same.

Listen to my interview with Richard here: Interview with Richard Kruse

O.H. Kruse Photo Album

Want to have a successful ag retail advertising campaign? Let David Stanley, ConvergeMark, give you some ideas. David was one of the presenters at the O.H. Kruse Grain & Milling dealer appreciation day.

David says “You have to realize you can’t be all things to all people. Really figure out who you can serve best and then find out, What are their interests? What motivates them? What causes them to buy? and then when you understand that you can tailor your advertising message to reach what your customer cares about.” He says so many businesses advertise what he calls “chest thumping” ads that are about the business and not what the customer wants. The focus needs to be outward not inward.

Listen to my interview with David here and learn more from him about deciding what advertising options to use: Interview with David Stanley

O.H. Kruse Photo Album

If you’re in the retail ag business how do you stand out from the crowd, especially when we’re talking about online. Yep. The internet.

That question is one that Terrell Miller, Cattlesoft, Inc. founder, provided answers for during the O.H. Kruse Grain & Milling dealer appreciation day. Terrell conducted two presentations during the day on this subject. The big message is having a presence online and not just a one page website. You need to have information that’s timely and relevant to your customers. Terrell says he’s also been encouraging retailers to provide educational resources online too. We also talked about social media since that ties in to what a retailer is doing online.

Listen to my interview with Terrell here: Interview with Terrell Miller

O.H. Kruse Photo Album

When O.H. Kruse Grain & Milling decided to hold a dealer appreciation day they viewed it as an investment in their dealers and their brand name according to Kevin Kruse, President/CEO. He says it is an opportunity to re-present their brand. Kevin spoke to attendees during the evening dinner.

I spoke with Kevin before dinner and asked him what message he wanted to share with the folks attending. He said, “We’re a family business and that they’re part of our family. We really appreciate and are proud to be doing business with these people. It’s a thank you and it’s a discussion of how we can work together to improve both our businesses. That’s the focus.” Kevin also spoke about the challenges in the feed industry and what he sees in the future for the company.

Listen to my interview with Kevin here: Interview with Kevin Kruse

O.H. Kruse Photo Album

Here’s the happy winner of a new iPad courtesy of O.H. Kruse Grain & Milling. He is just one of the door prize winners at the company dealer appreciation day. In fact, there were a lot of winners. If you signed up for the event text messages we were being updated on winners throughout the day. This prize was awarded during the evening meal.

Presenting this prize on the left is Ashli Cole, Marketing & Customer Care Manager. Ashli was part of the staff that worked so hard to make this a special day for customers. She says that the dealer appreciation day is a sort of culmination of a number of changes and efforts within the company during the last year. She says it’s all about being relevant to their customers in the dynamic market that exists right now. Ashli says dealers were shocked when they arrived at the event expecting to receive a hard core sales pitch. Instead they were greeted in a friendly social atmosphere that included excellent meals, educational seminars, product displays and evening entertainment. So new relationships were formed and old ones developed further. Ashli hopes they came away thinking, “That we don’t just sell feed. That we’re a support system for them.”

Listen to my interview with Ashli here: Interview with Ashli Cole

O.H. Kruse Photo Album

The O.H Kruse Dealer Appreciation Day included a series of educational and information presentations throughout the day. Besides inviting dealer customers to an event to say thank you the company wanted them to come away with valuable information that will help them in their businesses.

One of the presenters is David Parker, Adayana Business Group. David talked on the subjects of “Selling Value in a Commodity World” and “Key Success Drivers of the 21st Century.” I talked with him to learn what he wanted attendees to take away from his presentations. One of those things is how retailers differentiate themselves from all the others to create an advantage in a very crowded market. When it comes to success drivers David says some of them include a focus on operational efficiency, doing an annual strategic plan, a focus on people and a real sales focus.

Listen to my interview with David here: Interview with David Parker

O.H. Kruse Photo Album

O.H. Kruse Grain & Milling customers not only toured their Goshen, CA feed mill but also the new nearby pet food facility. Our tour guide was Ed Cooper, VP, Operations, Perfection Pet Foods.

Ed says they broke ground on the plant only a little over a year ago. Their goal is to build the most state of the art pet food production facilities with a focus on food safety and good quality products. They make a wide variety of products that are made to meet the specific needs of their customers. Ed says they are proud of how they handle the food safety issue and being a can-do instead of a can’t-do company. The facility is being built in two different phases and ultimately will be able to produce up to 320 thousand tons per year.

Listen to my interview with Ed here: Interview with Ed Cooper

O.H. Kruse Photo Album

Dealer customers of O.H. Kruse Grain & Milling got to tour their Goshen, CA facility today. It’s just part of the the first ever O.H. Kruse Dealer Appreciation Day.

Our tour guide for this stop was Danny Reitsma, Warehouse Manager. Danny led a group of us on golf carts around the facility and introduced us to different employees who talked about their particular part of the operation.

Danny says that on the bulk side of things they handle between 200 to 250 truck loads a day. On the packaging side they do between 15 to 20 truck loads a day. He says they are very busy and love being busy. Learn more about the facilities and some of the features it offers in my interview with Danny.

Listen to my interview with Danny here: Interview with Danny Reitsma

O.H. Kruse Photo Album