CLAAS agricultural machinery: new website elevates customer experience to a whole new level.

CLAAS is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of agricultural machinery. Headquartered in Harsewinkel, Germany, the company is the global leader in forage harvesters. CLAAS also holds European market leadership in another key segment: combine harvesters. CLAAS is globally successful with tractors, agricultural presses, and grassland harvesting machines. Their product range also includes cutting-edge agricultural information technology. CLAAS is renowned for its exceptional and award-winning customer experience. 

The company was presented with a significant opportunity to elevate the user experience to an entirely new level for all users. But that wasn’t all: The team also aimed to separate the frontend and backend, adopting a "headless" approach. The main advantage of this approach is that the same content can be displayed across different channels, such as apps, websites, and social media - without needing to adjust or manually integrate it into each channel's interface. Additionally, the company wanted to move its content to the cloud to leverage the benefits of this approach. The international CLAAS project team from IT, Digital Channels, and Global Marketing departments eagerly anticipated a brand-new, modern website. These teams aimed to present content with new, modern website features to engage their target audiences more effectively. The goal was to create clearer navigation and higher usability for both content creators and users interested in products. 

CLAAS has been increasingly focused on automation as a key topic for the future. With the relaunch of the website, the CMS (content management system) automatically translates into the respective languages of the 160 countries where CLAAS operates. The image database, product information management (PIM), and integrations with Vimeo and YouTube are all integrated. The headless approach helps make CoreMedia more effective as an editorial tool - independently of the frontend. 

This has also made internal processes more efficient, as established approval workflows can be directly mapped in the backend. A revolution for CLAAS! Product approvals and quality checks, for example, now run automatically on the website. The days of manually updating data in different systems are gone. The company saves time at various stages in the content supply chain. And this is just the beginning of automation. 

After the new design was created by Axel Springer Corporate, arvato handled the technical implementation. The improved product ("increment") was regularly tested by CLAAS users and continuously adjusted. A stress test was also conducted. After all, the architecture must remain stable even when several thousand users suddenly want to use the system simultaneously. Test result: passed with flying colors! 

With the new website, claas.com, CLAAS targets five key audiences: farmers, product enthusiasts, contractors, job seekers, and the press. While farmers often begin their journey with the brand through dealerships, other audiences typically use the website directly. But the trend is clear: customers, especially younger farmers, are increasingly seeking to inform themselves about agricultural machinery online and even configure products digitally. A shift in B2B sales is also confirmed by a 2024 McKinsey study, which shows that around 80% of decision-makers now prefer initial digital contact. B2B customers research online before seeking in-person conversations. 

In this context, CLAAS's digital experience stands out, perfectly meeting the needs of its target audiences: Intuitive usability is a key factor. The "mobile-first" approach is fully realized, focusing on information display, user navigation, simplified navigation, and overall user experience on mobile devices. After all, the societal shift toward more mobile internet usage has also reached contractors and farmers. B2B websites must now be mobile-optimized, as these audiences often configure machinery while on the go or on-site with colleagues. 

A third important aspect of the digital experience is the ability to provide customers with all the information they need quickly and at the right time - when they're making their purchasing decisions, the information must be easy to find. This is where the headless approach really shines. 

With the switch, around 5,000 CLAAS dealers are now directly integrated into the website, rather than through an iFrame. This has turned the dealer search into a central feature, now also enabling radius searches. Dealers' machines are directly displayed, and additional details like contact information improve the overall customer experience. The CLAAS product configurator is another central digital touchpoint. Customers can configure their machines and receive a code, which, along with their specific requirements and preferences, can be used to discuss the pre-configured product with the dealer. The final purchase remains with the dealer. 

The new CLAAS website made a spectacular debut! Right after launch, it skyrocketed in search engine rankings. The reason is simple: The new website technologies and the optimized content, which offer real value to visitors, captured the interest of search engines. 

“CoreMedia is an absolute game-changer for us! It’s a central building block in all our digital solutions for managing content and presenting it to the right target audiences. For over two decades, we’ve been continuously improving with CoreMedia to deliver relevant content where it needs to be seen,” says Vito Rollo, Head of Customer Insight (Global IT) at CLAAS, full of enthusiasm.