Prior to the appointment of Bret Lieberman as vice president of New Holland North America in 2015, the global farm equipment manufacturer experienced a fair amount of turnover in executive positions throughout the mid 2000s, making the communication of a consistent message to the dealer network a difficult task at times.

With fall harvest mostly complete and the holiday season in full swing, it's prime time to reflect and appreciate. But amidst the flurry of year-end projects — at work and at home — it’s not always easy to find the time or the spirit.

Ben Garton was the leading voice during a roundtable on key performance indicators in marketing at the 2018 Dealership Minds Summit in Iowa City, Iowa. He contributed to what evolved into a fascinating conversation about his leads and what he does with them to ensure they are attended to. Garton is the chief marketing officer for Garton Tractors, a 10-store New Holland and Kubota dealership in California.

As the world around us has become more digital, the way your farm customers seek out information and even interact with each other has changed. They too have become more digital. Farmers aren’t necessarily making their daily trip to the coffee shop to visit with each other anymore.

Proving your marketing ROI, why is it important? For me, I think we’re still fighting for relevance in the industry. Budgets are smaller than we’re used to in other industries. The ability to prove your return on investment on what your ownership is giving you to grow the business is key to growing your marketing department, growing relevance in the industry and growing your budget over time.