Toro Pioneers Influencer Relations to Grow Commercial Business

“We like to joke that we make tall grass short,” says Michael Happe, vice president and general manager of the Commercial Division at Toro Co.

In fact, caring for turf is a lot more complicated than that – and critically important – when you’re a golf course or a stadium. These commercial customers seem to recognize that and reward Toro with about a 10 percent premium for many of Toro’s products because they appreciate the ways Toro can help make their turf just a little bit better and deliver better TCO. Happe told members of the Business Marketing Association here in Minneapolis this week that such customer loyalty has ultimately been created through strong multidimensional relationships built over many decades.

Clearly, “social networking” predates Twitter and Facebook.

Toro equipment at St. Andrews - courtesy Toro Co.

Happe considers People to be the “mysterious fifth P” of marketing but it’s clear that it’s not just a trite saying. I was actually rather fascinated to learn the degree to which Toro leverages influencer networks to grow their business. My firm, Weber Shandwick, has partnered with Community Analytics to help clients quickly identify influencers that matter, but Toro has nurtured its own

network over a long period of time, and it’s delivered business results.

Golf is Toro’s biggest business and they’ve been serving it since courses motorized horse-pulled reel motors in the 1920’s. Through the decades, the company has invested a tremendous amount of effort creating advocates from individuals that have never bought their products.

These influencers are people like golf course architects, irrigation designers, consultants, universities and associations. Toro has a corporate accounts person who spends nearly all of his time just on these influencers. They are an integral part of the Voice of the Customer process, with their own Toro-sponsored events, meetings and networking opportunities. As a result, when customers call trusted advisors for advice, inevitably these people tell them they can trust Toro.

Influencer relations for Toro is also about unleashing Toro experts to do more than selling. Some of the most important business development employees at Toro don’t sell equipment. Like Dr. Jim Watson, who became a go-to guy for Toro for nearly six decades whenever customers had turf problems. He helped the Chicago Parks Department solve an emergency turf issue at Soldier Field in the early ‘90s when they needed to lay new sod over sand without roots, two weeks before the first Chicago Bears game of the year. He advised the Chicago Parks Department that they could get through the season by cutting the sod several inches thick so it would stay in place during football play despite the lack of roots.

Or John Singleton, a Toro employee who for decades became the go-to-guy for irrigation issues for golf architects like Robert Trent Jones, and put this comprehensive service ahead of selling. They were successful because of their relationships.

Channel partners, ad agencies, market researchers – the way Toro engages with all these groups reflects the high value they put on deep, interdependent relationships.

Today, Toro has a leading share in the golf industry. The recession has been difficult and they’ve had to cut back on some of these efforts to make it through, but Toro’s CEO has been with the company for 32 years, knows what sustainable success requires, and has instilled it in the culture of the company. It’s a good reminder of the limits of quarter-to-quarter business management.