4 Creative Marketing Tactics from Successful Farms
Farms in all 50 states find success marketing online and in-person with a variety of tactics, including weekly newsletters, social media posts or physical flyers and word-of-mouth. There are endless opportunities to market your business, but creative marketing strategies can help your Farm stand-out, attract new Buyers and increase conversion.
We recently asked successful Farmers from across the country for creative marketing strategies that helped spur the growth of their business. From interactive marketing efforts to getting Buyers involved, here are 4 creative marketing tactics to increase sales for your Farm business:
1. Encourage Interactive Marketing
To make your Farm stand out in your community, encourage interactive marketing efforts in-person and online. If Buyers get involved, and are encouraged via friendly competition or incentives, their friends, family and network will also be exposed to your Farm marketing efforts.
Marketing tactics that get your Buyers excited to shop your products and interact with your brand will promote loyalty. Josie Rozum of Dan and Debbie’s Creamery (IA) invites her community to participate in a March Madness ice cream bracket, where they try various ice cream flavors and vote their favorite one, until it comes down to one winner.
Other Farms have encouraged followers to participate in trivia on social media for a discount. This will draw Buyers to your page, and encourage them to interact with your brand, while educating them about your Farm, sustainable agriculture or another topic of your choice.
Physical marketing assets such as stickers, magnets or pens can also help promote your Farm business. Buyers will think about your products when they see or use these assets, and it may spur questions from their friends and family, spreading the word about your Farm. You can also hand out punch cards to your in-person customers. For every 10 booth visits, they can receive $10 off, encouraging recurring purchases.
2. Spread the Word with Local Partnerships
Identify the places where your local Buyers (or potential customers) frequent on a regular basis - daily or weekly. Inquire about setting up a booth outside of a local park that is frequented by families in your area, or share flyers with homeschool groups. Offering a pick-up location at a local church may attract attendees to try your Farm products.
Partner with other local businesses to attract new Buyers. Offering a $20 discount on a Protein Bundle Box to new members of a local gym will not only allow potential Buyers to try your products, but may also attract more gym customers. Win-win! Partner with a local bakery to include fresh baked goods in a dairy Subscription for extra value.
You can build bundle boxes with other local Farms that grow complementary products. This will create a well-rounded box that Buyers will appreciate, while giving business to both Farms. A Produce Farm may partner with a Pastured Poultry operation to offer a full dinner box at a premium price.
Giving your community volunteer opportunities will allow them to understand the hard work that is put into growing your products. Once they appreciate the task of growing sustainable products, they will be more inclined to support your business. Give schools in your community the option to bring kids for field trips. You can let them try a task, such as cleaning veggies or feeding animals, and they will tell their parents about your Farm.
3. Build Hype Around Subscription Sign-ups
No one wants to miss out on a limited time opportunity. Build upon the fear of missing out (FOMO) around Subscription sign-ups to encourage Buyers to sign-up immediately (so they do not get left out). Benoit Family Farmstead (MO) creates hype for Subscriptions by only offering a 1-week sign up period to their newsletter subscribers. This not only allows for them to quickly know how many Subscriptions they will be preparing, but also spurs more email and newsletter sign-ups.
Another Farm offers prior subscribers a promotion for every social media platform they share a photo of their Subscription box in (NextDoor, Instagram, Facebook groups). This spreads the word across various channels for new customers, and encourages Buyer loyalty and retention. Be sure to include certain high-demand products exclusively in your Subscription boxes.
4. Make your Buyers your Marketers
You can please Buyers while making them the marketers of your Farm. Offer a promo code or free items to Buyers who share your products online. Provide ingredients for them to share a recipe with their followers, friends and family. Those who know them will trust their opinion, leading to your Farm store.
Read: Double your CSA Members
Ask for Google Business reviews from past Buyers, including an incentive for those sharing photos. Post customer review on your website, in social media, or on flyers for your Farm store. Potential Buyers will trust the opinions of others in the community, and it will build loyalty between your brand and the reviewers.
Conclusion
Your marketing does not have to be boring. While these 4 creative marketing tactics do require some planning and effort, your Farm can readily implement these ideas for little-to-no cost. Take the time to plan out marketing strategy and campaigns, then see what works best to attract and retain Buyers in your community.
Barn2Door offers software for Independent Farmers to create and promote their brand, sell online and in-person, and save time managing their business. If you’re curious to learn more, watch this 5-minute video.