3 Steps to Your Farm’s First Order
Serving 1000s of Farms in all 50 states, at Barn2Door, we know which tactics work to drive the first order for your Farm. Between spreading awareness about your products, staying top-of-mind to prompt consistent purchases, and being available on all channels – there are three tactics that work together (every time!) to help drive the quickest response from local buyers.
Getting your first order on Barn2Door is the first milestone – for many Farm owners to help build their business. After you do the pre-work, including adding Inventory, configuring Fulfillments, and optimizing your Farm store, it’s time to start promoting your Farm Products for sale. When Farms follow these steps, they lay the foundation for long-term success:
1. Create a Promo for First Orders
Promos are proven to be effective – helping Farms attract more customers, increase sales, and acquire more emails. When coupled with the Fear of Missing Out (aka FOMO), Farmers create interest and urgency in their products. One of the best ways to leverage FOMO is with promotions for your products.
After launching your Farm Store, offer a First-Time Purchase Promo to attract new customers. Not only is the key to drive first orders, but it’s also to capture the contact details of new Buyers (mainly emails), so you can engage them with marketing to prompt future purchases.
If you already have customer emails, include the promotion in a Farm Newsletter – offering 10% off their first order (10% is typically the most common amount for first purchases). If you don’t have customer emails, use a Newsletter pop-up form on your website or a QR code (used for in-person opportunities) that links directly to a Newsletter sign-up form. In exchange for their email, offer 10% off their first order.
Promos are enticing, and a cut-off date or a limited number of uses (first come, first serve) can increase the likelihood of customer orders.
Promo Examples: WELCOME_FARMNAME10, HELLO_FARMNAME10 for 10% off!
2. Launch Your Google Business Profile
To spread awareness of your Farm business, grow your local customer base, and establish yourself as a professional business, it’s essential that your Farm appears in Google Search and be visible on Google Maps.
When Farms leverage Google My Business, they become more discoverable locally – for potential customers and out-of-towners alike. So when they search “Local Farms near me” and your Farm is nearby, your Farm will appear on their Map (both Google Maps and WAZE for navigation), and they’re more likely to stop by or place an order online.
As soon as your Farm store is live, it’s essential to create a Google My Business profile. Why? Someone looking for local Farms will find your store and shop from your business. Additionally, when you grow your customer base, having a Google Business Profile makes it easy for customers to search and locate your store.
Follow these instructions to start building your Google Business profile now:
3. Announce Your Store on ALL Channels
One of the keys to your success is to make sure your Farm Brand is present on all channels – online (web, social, and email) and in-person (farmer’s markets, pickup location, and drop-off points). Regular communication and in-person interactions will keep your Farm Brand top-of-mind, helping to spur more frequent purchases.
Start by asking friends and family to place orders from your store. Getting those around you familiar with how to shop from your Farm online will be a win! Once you’ve announced it to your immediate contacts, it’s time to share with everyone else! Send a bulk email to your customers and include the first-time promo code. Copy, paste, and personalize the email template below:
Hello!
We are excited to share that we took a big step toward making ordering easier from our Farm. Now you can always see what’s available, add items to your cart, choose your preferred delivery option and place your order! Anytime! You will receive an Order Receipt and Order Reminder email the day before pickup or delivery (and so will we!). We are excited as this will help us stay organized, track inventory, manage payments, and never miss an order! Please give it a try!
Check it out (please bookmark!): [ insert the link to your store here! ]
Thank you for supporting our Farm.
You should also post to Instagram or Facebook to inform other followers of their ability to purchase directly from your Farm store. Set up automatic Email Order Reminders so that customers are reminded to shop from your Farm (which will generate consistent purchases). Remember, it’s essential to always be collecting emails so that you can grow your customer base. The more emails you have, the more chances of orders being placed!
Barn2Door provides an all-in-one solution to grow and manage your Farm business. If you’re curious to learn why successful Farms run on Barn2Door, watch this 5-minute video.