Association Website Offers Something New
Maybe “Something New” isn’t the correct phrasing. While the wording has become somewhat trite, let’s just say “All New.”
For over ten years, the website of the Farm Equipment Manufacturers Association, FarmEquip.org, has been THE site for ag equipment customers and manufacturers alike.
If you’ve gone to the website in the past few days, you’ve discovered that it has received an entirely new make over. The Website Committee, chaired by Janea Danuser with Danuser Machine Co., including members Nick Jenson (Thurston), Mike Kloster (Worksaver), Don Chick (Five Star Marketing), Mark McKee (Special Products) and Steve Pesik (Miller-St. Nazianz) have done a marvelous job of making the website more “user friendly.”
During the past many months, this committee has been working diligently with staffer Vernon Schmidt and our outside supplier of web services, Advantech Consulting Group, to make the website easier and more intuitive to use. Although implementation of the entire site is not yet fully completed, we think you’ll agree that it’s rapidly developing into the most user friendly site in the ag industry. (This, despite the fact, that it doesn’t take full use of “the purple mountain’s majesty this editor wanted to see.)
The first thing you’ll notice, your customers — farmers and ranchers — don’t have to go through multiple pages which are of interest only to our Regular and Associate Members. By simply entering the site via the “Farmers & Ranchers” portal, they can easily access either whole goods manufacturers (Regular Members) or products they’re seeking. And, when searching for products, they don’t need to know the exact phrasing we use. For example, if they’re searching for “Air Seeders,” farmers and/or ranchers do not need to use the exact term “Air Seeders.” Simply typing in “Air” or “Seeder” will do the trick.
New areas for members under “Member Resources” include a “Distribution Index” which shows all the states and countries covered, services offered (warehousing, light manufacturing, etc.) and languages in which they can communicate. This is a handy guide to manufacturing members for all of our Marketing Associates.
Another brand new area — “Supplier Bid Requests.” Also shown under “Member Resources,” manufacturers seeking bids on specific products or services can simply click on that component (i.e., Cultivator Shanks) and quickly determine what companies supply these. You can then simply submit your needs and specs to one or more of these firms supplying these products for competing bids.
An entirely new “Media Center” is now being made available. Company press releases offering new lines of equipment can quickly be posted on the media center, something formerly unable to show in the Shortliner. And, if you are hoping that media editors decide to include a photo of your equipment in an accompanying story (other than the ubiquitous green machine), this is an area on which you can post stock photos of your machines. It gives worldwide editors an entirely new opportunity to use other farm equipment in action.
The old and popular services are, of course, being retained. Archived Shortliner newsletters, the daily Informa Policy Reports, convention registrations and programs, government links, drought info, ag links, convention info — they’re all still there and are now searchable by word. Under “Farm Shows,” members may now more easily explore which shows are being held in what parts of the country.
Changes listed previously are just part of the “new website.” Please enjoy the new site and let us know if you have any feedback. We’re working on it!