Status: Not Active
Partnership: 2 years
Resources: 2 FTEs
The Challenge
Decrease the farmers’ dependence on the sales team
Cargill is a dominant player in the agribusiness world, handling a quarter of all U.S. grain exports. They approached us with a redesign of a longstanding, well-designed, and usable mobile application. Why? Because they were converting less than 2% of their sales digitally. We had to uncover the discrepancy—why isn’t a usable, feature rich product working?— and decrease the reliance on their already stretched sales team.
The Work
Here’s how we helped Cargill
Key activities:
Discovered why farmers needed more than transactions in the app; creating the contract was easy, deciding to create it was hard.
Redesigned the application from the ground up, presenting the right data at the right time for better decision-making.
Developed a new, accessible mobile design system.
Collaborated with engineering to create an AI voice engine modeled on the communication style and content of Cargill’s sales team.
Crafted a guiding voice within the mobile app that walked users through key actions and was deliberately designed to build confidence and trust.
We started where the decisions happen — in the field and on the phone. By interviewing farmers and listening in on sales calls, we uncovered the real questions that needed answers before any deal was made. These weren’t just transactions; they were decisions built on trust, timing, and clarity.
Armed with those insights, we sketched early wireframes, shaped user flows, and designed interfaces that felt as intuitive as a conversation with a trusted advisor. We built a flexible design system that could scale across teams and tools, ensuring every interaction felt consistent and purposeful.
But we didn’t stop there.
We saw an opportunity to do more — to use AI not as a gimmick, but as a guide. Our strategy empowered Cargill to surface the right information at exactly the right moment, tailored to the individual on the other end. Whether it was a farmer weighing a big decision or a salesperson building a relationship, the system delivered with precision and relevance.
This wasn’t just about design — it was about delivering confidence when it mattered most.
Farmers didn’t lack data; they lacked confidence
The more information they were given the more paralyzed their decision-making became. The data had to be curated for them — presenting only relevant data — just like a conversation with their sales rep. This meant designing an interface rooted in personal, conversational, high-touch interactions rather than a merely transactional framework.
| checkThis… | closeNot That… |
|---|---|
| waving_handWelcoming Like you are being guided on a journey | back_handHostile Like you are being talked at |
| eye_trackingFocused You are seeing what is important | scatter_plotScattered You are lost in the details |
| eyeglasses_2Transparent The reassurance of a holistic market view | domino_maskBlindfolded The feeling that you’re only seeing the raw data |
| airSpacious Have room to breathe and explore | arrows_inputClaustrophobic Like you’re in a cluttered room |
| sentiment_excitedFriendly Like you’ve started a conversation with a trusted resource | phishingManipulative Like you’ve entered a form-based transaction |
| for_youUnique Like it’s personalized to you | contact_supportUnfamiliar The feeling that this is built for someone else |
| shapesSimplistic At ease, like you’re approaching a multiplication table rather than calculus | calculateConvoluted Like everyone else might understand but you, so you accept it as correct |
| groupValued Like you belong here | format_list_bulletedTolerable Like it is merely getting the job done |
Farmers have FOMO: 70% of selling is done at the worst prices
Farmers tended to wait for a better price and then panic-sell at the wrong moment. Timely, relevant data could help, but only if they trusted the application. Demonstrating benevolence and reliablity became essential—farmers had to believe we were acting in their best interest. We earned that trust through design and interaction patterns that were clear, consistent, and predictable.
Research shows trust is built from perceptions of benevolence, openness, fairness, reliability, honesty, and competence.
“I love it…especially the crowd stuff—that analytical stuff—haven’t found anything else like it.”
Farmer Quote from Usability Testing
The Impact
An innovative twist on a transactional framework that gets to the root of the problem
We identified a critical gap between the digital experience and the real-world sales process: Cargill’s digital tools needed to reflect the same care and expertise their salespeople provided in person — because for farmers, each transaction represents months of hard work and dedication. Our strategy focused on enriching the user journey by integrating more meaningful touch points — including education, encouragement, and benchmarking — to foster trust and provide value beyond the transaction.
