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A new era: How John Deere is harvesting deeper, faster insights with Reach3's Community 2.0

John Deere - Header image John Deere - Header image

About John Deere

John Deere, a global leader in agricultural, construction, and forestry equipment, has a rich history of innovation spanning close to 200 years. The company started with pioneering solutions like the steel plow in the 1830s and evolved into a technology company that applies advanced innovations to its machinery today. This shift is not only reflected in their product offerings but also in how they engage with customers and gather insights to innovate continuously.

Challenges

Challenges

Producers, who spend most of their time in the field or in a combine, were difficult to engage using traditional survey methods.

As John Deere transitioned into a more tech-focused company, they needed to adapt their research to reflect this shift and meet customers where they are: on their mobile devices. 

Traditional research methods were missing on critical, in-the-moment insights that would be most valuable when customers were actively working with John Deere products in real life.

As a global brand with an on-the-move customer base, John Deere faced significant research challenges:

Notable Wins

100+
studies

Conducting over 100 studies each year with global insights communities

Increased
engagement

Mobile-first approach improved participation from hard-to-reach farmers and dealers

Real-time
insights

SMS distribution allowed for faster, in-the-moment feedback from customers

The solution: Community 2.0

To address these challenges, John Deere partnered with Reach3 Insights and Rival Technologies to implement Community 2.0, a next-gen, mobile-first research community designed to foster real-time, contextual interactions with customers. Key aspects of this solution included:

Mobile-first platform: Leveraging SMS over email, the solution reached producers in the field, enabling faster, more responsive feedback.

Conversational research design: Surveys were made more engaging; feeling less like formal research activities and more like natural interactions.

Real-time, in-context feedback: Producers could share more detailed, humanized insights through videos and photos, adding depth and context to the data.

Outcomes - The new platform delivered big wins:

John Deere - Outcomes
John Deere - Outcomes

Outcomes - The new platform delivered big wins:

Faster response rates: Moving to SMS drastically improved participation and response time.

Higher engagement: The conversational approach made the research process more enjoyable, even for busy producers and dealers.

Richer insights: Video and photo submissions provided deeper, more actionable insights, helping John Deere understand how customers interact with their products in real time.

Improved reporting: John Deere benefited from dynamic, visually engaging reports that engaged stakeholders more effectively across its global organization.

John Deere - Testimonial Head Shot

Bryan Dorsey

Manager, Global Research, John Deere

It’s a good way to reach customers who are never sitting still. There's power in these new inputs that are available to us through the phone. For example, the video and in-the-moment feedback helps us understand the 'why' behind the rows and columns of other data we have coming in continuously from multiple sources.

Insight community use cases

John Deere is using its insight communities for a wide range of research studies.

Some examples include:

  • Technology learning stream
  • Dealer expo chat
  • Longitudinal parts purchasing tracking

... And so much more

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Get deeper insights with conversational research.

Request a call with Reach3's industry experts to learn how.