One of the great drivers of the internet's success has certainly been the initiatives related to online sales. This sales model is present in different segments of the economy, complementing the traditional model and causing changes in the customer's buying behavior.
With the advancement of platforms, business models, integrations, automation, payment methods, digital marketing and services, a consolidated online sales ecosystem was created in Brazil. Therefore, there is a large number of companies that solve problems in this environment, for different market segments and purposes, and agribusiness is also present.
To keep up with all these innovations, it was necessary to create new terms and concepts, such as e-commerce, marketplace, loyalty platforms, multichannel and omnichannel, as we will explain below, using examples from agro:
E-commerce: is a completely online sales business model, from the choice of products to payment, using computers or smartphones. An example of this is when an agricultural store sells its products and services on its own website, without third-party products.
Marketplace: it is also a completely online sales model, but in an online shopping concept, that is, an agricultural products store publishes its agricultural pesticides on the website, while an agricultural implements store publishes its machinery for sale on the website. site. This means that, in the same digital space, the farmer finds several sellers and agricultural items from different segments.
Loyalty platforms: this is a model for exchanging points for various items. That is, through promotions and marketing campaigns, the farmer can accumulate points and later exchange them for items and services. Payment can be fully in points, or partly in cash. These exchanges take place within a website and, in general, are offered for digital agriculture services, for example.
Before commenting a little on Multichannel and Omnichannel, I would point out that any agricultural product store that wants to “set foot” in the digital world must pay special attention to technical assistance. This is important because a rural property has a complex system, such as harvest particularities, different treatment with each animal on the farm, products with different applications, among other characteristics. To help with these particularities, it is essential to have support at the time of purchase, in addition to maintaining the relationship with the customer, even if the service is in the online world.
Multichannel: Multichannel was born long before online sales. Today it is part of any online sales strategy, but also physical sales. Being multichannel means having multiple fronts of communication and relationship with the customer. Having a physical agro store where the attendant welcomes the farmer at the counter to buy agricultural parts, for example, is a front/channel. Another front is when the supervisor of that store negotiates with his customers and sends offers via WhatsApp. We can consider a third front when one of the sellers in this store visits rural properties to sell parts. Having a website for selling agricultural parts is also another sales channel/front. In short, there are several sales and relationship channels and the multi-channel strategy tends to adapt to the wishes of customers.
Omnichannel: it is an evolution of multichannel. In the omnichannel model, all sales and relationship channels are integrated, that is, interconnected. It's as if the farmer chose his agricultural parts at the service counter, negotiated the final price via WhatsApp and payment would be made via the shopping site. That is, it provides a unique, easy and functional shopping journey for the consumer.
Permeating and evolving within these concepts, 3tento launched its Marketplace in September 2022, with a total focus on rural producers and easy access to quality agronomic information. An example of this is that in the agricultural pesticides published on the platform, the information on the package inserts is simplified, in addition to providing research information and photos of farming problems, unlike the traditional photos of product packaging.
Allied to this, the 3tentos Marketplace structure has a team of field specialists, who provide face-to-face assistance, and a team that provides support via WhatsApp 24 hours a day, thus facilitating technical assistance and sharing management information.
In addition to this, the Marketplace also opens up the possibility for the company's customers to publicize and offer their products for sale, such as machinery and trucks.
In this way, the 3tentos Marketplace is another service front for the company, moving along with the digitization of the field and attentive to the needs of the rural producer, the central point of the 3tentos ecosystem.
