Selling Beef Subscriptions Online
Overview
As an Independent Farmer, offering Subscriptions to your products is a sure way to build recurring cash flow and delight Buyers, while ensuring all your inventory is moving through your store. Beef Box subscriptions provide farmers with consistent monthly revenue and the opportunity to sell various cuts and products together --- and reduce the need for freezers! Subscriptions are easier for both the Farmer and the Buyer, because routine orders provide the opportunity for planning and consistency for both parties.
People are accustomed with Subscriptions (e.g. Netflix, Spotify), so offering your Products will be something most Buyers will be comfortable with from the get-go. Note, 90% of what Buyers consume is the same things week-over-week, month-over-month. By offering Beef Subscriptions, your customers will have the ability to make a purchase once, and have guaranteed orders each week or month. Learn the best practices for selling your Beef Subscriptions online:
Why your Farm Should Sell Beef Subscriptions
Subscriptions are the best way to manage your inventory and ensure products are consistently being moved through your store. You can sell bulk meat, or pair various cuts together to move every part of the cow. As the Farmer, Subscriptions provide flexibility in terms of what products you are combining per order, while providing better consistency for both revenue and inventory.
Subscriptions offer your Farm the opportunity to streamline your inventory management, versus one-time-purchases and ala carte orders of specialty cuts. You can move more product at once (increasing average order value) as opposed to selling out of highly-desirable specialty cuts (e.g. filet mignon, rib-eye) and having others stuck in the freezer for months on end. Consider offering high-demand items only in subscriptions or as an inducement or reward for purchasing a subscription. You can do this by either highlighting Beef Box contents with featured specialty cuts (e.g. t-bone steak, porterhouse), or by offering speciality products that can be “unlocked” with a Beef Subscription purchase (e.g. a private store, only accessible to subscribers) . Either alternative will help entice Buyers to commit to a Beef Subscription --- giving them special benefits --- while giving you more control over high-value items, and more consistent cash flow.
Marketing your Beef Subscriptions
Build upon the fear-of-missing-out (FOMO) by offering Beef Subscriptions for a limited time, or a limited quantity. Successful Farms offer a specific time period or a limited quantity that Buyers can purchase their Beef Subscriptions so they can plan exactly what needs to go to the processor, and line up fulfillment dates. By planning ahead, Successful Farms move all their product the same day they pick-up from the processor and eliminate their dependence on freezers to store less desirable cuts.
Market your Beef Subscription sign-up in newsletters and social media, including a countdown and sign-up link so Buyers have an easy way to navigate to your store. Pre-selling your boxes will provide Buyers with food security and certainty that all of your product is accounted for, with payments secured in advance. Your loyal followers want your Farm to be successful, so target them to line up your initial commitments (e.g. consider targeting “Insiders” first, before making Subscriptions generally available).
Read: How to Sell Beef Cuts
Barn2Door allows Farmers to set up automatic order reminders, so your existing customers will receive consistent communications about your Subscription offers. Include the chance to add-on high-demand items onto a Subscription purchase, such as dairy, eggs or a value-added product (e.g. beef rub, seasoning or herbs). These upsells will attract Buyers who may be wary to sign on if the box is missing their favorite products. Add-ons also give you extra cash flow in a single order.
Packaging your Beef Subscriptions
Many Successful Farms often position a Herdshare to move Quarter, Half and Whole cows through monthly fulfillments, either paid-upfront or pay-as-you-go. Buyers will be pleased to receive various beef cuts each month, and your Farm can rest assured that your freezers will be empty at the end of the Subscription term. Your Farm can also offer Beef Bundle boxes with a mix of cuts each month.
Offering a Farmer’s Choice Subscription box will give you the freedom to make the pairings, instead of packing dozens of different Buyer choices. Both options help you move harder to sell products by pairing them with high-demand items. You are the expert of your products, so Buyers can trust that you will give them the best options from your Farm store.
Within the Subscription box, offer a mix of familiar and unfamiliar products so you can move more of the animal. Consider mixing ground beef, secondary cuts (e.g. roasts and stew meat) and primal cuts (e.g. steaks) as an inducement to purchase a Subscription box. While Buyers may be more familiar with primal cuts versus secondary cuts, you can encourage them with recipe cards to try newer items. To raise awareness, offer a local chef or blogger a free Beef Bundle box to post videos cooking the various products, then include them in your marketing assets to attract and encourage Buyers.
Take into account what box sizes and fulfillment options will be most enticing to your local Buyers. Do not give them too many options to overwhelm customers, but give offerings that you can manage, and will suit the majority of your Buyers. Many Farms will survey their local customers to see what are the most attractive options in their community. Popular options may include 10, 20 and 40lb boxes of mixed cuts for Retail Buyers (for households of 1, 2 or 4 people). Offering pick-ups and deliveries (for a fee) will allow Buyers to choose an option that works best with their schedules.
Conclusion
Successful Farms sell Beef Subscription orders to secure recurring cash flow for the business, have more control over their inventory and offer Buyers more convenience and food security. Farmer’s Choice Subscriptions enable you to move a whole beef through your store and streamline your order fulfillment process. Consider box sizes and fulfillment options local Buyers will expect from your Farm. Increase your Farm sales and ease of management with Beef Subscriptions.
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.