Preparing Small and Mid-scale Farmers to Enter Food Hubs, Groceries, Restaurants and Cooperatives

Transcription

1 Preparing Small and Mid-scale Farmers to Enter Food Hubs, Groceries, Restaurants and Cooperatives

2 Inform Your Buyer, Build Your Brand David Ross, co-founder & CEO, FarmersWeb This PowerPoint presentation is a companion resource to the curriculum Baskets to Pallets available by request at Photo courtesy Kent Family Farms, Lisbon, NY

3 Build your brand How can I market my farm and products? Have general information about your farm and products at your fingertips Farm history, logo, location, production methods, contact info, pictures. Help inform your buyers and build your brand Use this info in written or verbal form to engage potential new buyers or provide it to current buyers who want to market your farm on their menu or in their store Use this general information in combination with your weekly/bi-monthly availability list s to market your farm to buyers

4 Farm Profile Page Example

5 Other ways to market your farm Other ways to market your farm and products: Your website, Facebook Page, and Instagram Convey general info to buyers and keep them engaged & informed Seasonal product announcements, happenings at the farm, specialty products education, and product pictures Chefs and other wholesale buyers like to see pictures too, this is better place to provide that than on your availability list Pictures of farm or products are more relevant to these buyers than of you or your family FarmersWeb, Market Maker, Local Harvest, and Agrilicious have free online profiles Can increase your farm s online exposure with buyers beyond just your website or Facebook page

6 Farm Website Example

7 Farm Facebook Page Example

8 Inform buyers What info do I need to know to tell my buyers? Availability list Products, quantities, case sizes, and pricing Weekly blast and/or online availability When new products are in season How can they order from you? Phone, , text, online or all of the above Ordering Parameters Delivery zones, days, lead times, & order minimums Payment methods accepted Credit card, COD, and terms Buyers need to easily be informed on all of the above Makes you easy to work with

9 Custom Availability List Example YOUR FARM LOGO YOUR FARM NAME & TODAY S DATE

10 Excel Availability List Example

11 Farmer Thoughts on Marketing We have flyers, brochures, a website, a Facebook page. That s about it. We don t really do Instagram or any of the newer things at the moment. - Cross Island Farm "We have a website, a Facebook page, and use the marketing tools available through FarmersWeb. We sometimes bring samples when we meet with potential new buyers. - Cascun Farm I have insulated bags with my logo on them and I would bring [samples], and then have marketing materials in my bag. That way, chefs could try the product at home or at their leisure. I ve had buyers find me through my website, which I ve worked hard on. I don t think I ve ever really picked up any sales through Facebook. I ll do a MailChimp blast before I ll do Facebook Mulligan Creek Farm

12 Farmer-Buyer Video Series Wegmans Food Markets and Blackman Homestead: Intro, Expecations & Marketing Youtube Clip (5:54 min)

13 Customer Management & Record Keeping

14 Customer Management Have a system in place to manage your orders Having a system in place from the beginning for how you manage incoming orders and customer requests is key to not getting overwhelmed How do you allow buyers to place orders? What do you do when that info comes in? Flexibility Order add ons, order shorts, and credit requests Communication Clearly quickly communicate any issues to buyers Check in with buyers from time to time, personal connection Create a system that works for you but also makes you easy to work with for the buyers

15 Order Management What information do you need to collect with orders? Basic info: Customer name, date of order, delivery or pick up date, order items (quantities and case sizes) Additional info: Any special requests (cuts, packing, sizing), or special delivery instructions Special pricing, discounts, applying previous credits Have a method of collecting this information from buyers with their orders Both for online orders if you offer that and for orders that come in other ways ( , phone, text) It s recommended to offer at least 1 other way of ordering even if you offer online ordering Harvest lists, Packing slips, and Invoices can help you gather and keep track of this information

16 Harvest List Example

17 Packing Slip Example YOUR FARM LOGO Order Delivery Date BUYER INFO

18 Invoice Example Due date YOUR FARM LOGO Buyer Info Order detail & Total $ owed Your Info Detachable form to send back with payment

19 Record Keeping Sales records are a key component to the success of your business Know what your buyers ordered Top buyers, top selling products Compare year to year Compare wholesale vs retail channels Know which buyers have paid and which have not Systematic detailed invoices, records on both sides Track paid orders vs those outstanding If you allow orders in multiple ways, payments in multiple ways, and special pricing, keeping track of all this without a system in place from the beginning can be difficult and result in lost revenue.

20 Software: Online tools for small businesses

21 Software: Farm Centric Software for Wholesale CSA, Crop Planning, and Food Hub focused software and online marketplaces not included

22 Farmer Thoughts on Customer Management: I think it s honesty, integrity, and one contact person throughout the entire process. I m the person you place your order with, I am the person that packs your order, and I m the person that delivers your order to you. It creates less room for error. If there is an error or for some reason someone is dissatisfied with a product, I am in a position to make it right at that moment. To me, that is the key to success: the integrity of the relationship and being available to my customer. They don t have to track you down. Mulligan Creek Farm The two most important aspects of customer management are maintaining a personal relationship with the buyer and reliability. We always make ourselves available to the customer but we rely on software to efficiently manage their orders and records, minimize errors, and increase our reliability. -Cascun Farm