Best Practices for the Farmers Market
Bennett Farms, Michigan sells pastured proteins direct to their community. Through in-person and online sales, Tom Bennett has maintained a 6-figure business while supporting his six kids. Tom serves 29 Farmers Markets a week across three states during peak season. Over 7 years, he has cracked the code on best practices for seamless booth prep, attracting new Buyers and converting customers to online sales.
Listen to Tom’s Farmers Market Best Practices:
Choosing the Right Market
Farmers Markets are a sure-fire way to gain a quick return and create local, in-person relationships. However, there are a lot of logistics involved, so it’s important to ensure the Market is worth your time.
Tom recommends Farmers Markets in nearby cities. Focus on those that attract a substantial amount of Buyers, and typically have more affluent consumers. Smaller Markets may result in little to no return, and instead cost your Farm time and money to set up without anything to show.
It is crucial to form a good relationship with other vendors, especially if you will see them week after week. You can ask questions and form partnerships once trust is established. Market Managers often control who has a booth at their location. Tom encourages his employees to be respectful of the managers to ensure they maintain a positive relationship with the Market.
Farmers Market Employees
Tom hires high school and college students to run his Farmers Market booths. The employees are paid an hourly rate and a 5% commission on the sales for that day. He finds that this keeps the employees vested in the job, and engaged with customers to encourage more purchases.
He gives more tenured employees their first pick of market times and locations, building loyalty and commitment to their position. Giving employees goals or creating competitions between Market locations will encourage more sales and enthusiasm at the booth.
When packing up for the Market, organization is key. Tom recommends having all employees meet on the Farm the morning of a Market to load the van. Then, the van can drop off products and employees at each location, creating a streamlined setup process. Tom is able to share information to all the locations through a group chat, but tells his employees that customers should never see them on their phones.
Farmers Market Booth Setup
Tom maintains a consistent setup at each Market location, so no matter where his employees are located, they are familiar with running the booth. His setup includes ten 30-quart coolers, a Farm point-of-sale (POS) and cash box, and a banner with his logo and store information. A POS is critical, given that 98% of Buyers prefer to pay with a credit card or mobile wallet (Apple Pay or Google Pay).
Tom puts his coolers in an ‘H’ formation and keeps placards in front of them for Buyers to easily identify products. This encourages self-service, eliminating stress for employees serving numerous Buyers at once.
Prices are labeled on each package by weight, so Buyers do not have to ask booth workers the cost of various items in the coolers. This gives the Buyers the independence to shop on their own time and not feel confused or rushed, which effectively can make your Market booth more efficient.
Selling at the Market
It is important for your Farm Brand to stand out at the Farmers Market. Use a banner and signs to attract Buyers to your Farm, giving them information on your products, practices, location and where to shop. Bennett Farms includes a QR code on their banner to their online store for easy access to online sales.
Giving Buyers the option to self-serve encourages the independence needed to shop by themselves with your online store, even if some products are sold-out at the market. Make sure your employees are ready to answer any questions and help build relationships by remaining personable.
Tom recommends always bringing enough product to sell. As a Protein Farmer, he believes that if you sell out of a product, your Buyers will go to another booth to shop, potentially losing loyalty to your Farm. Similarly, missing a market due to weather could result in losing new and existing Buyers, who will shop whether or not you are there to sell.
Pick-ups at the Farmers Market
Offering pick-ups for online orders at the Market will help your Farm form face-to-face relationships with Buyers, even if they shop virtually. Buyers may shop around for other products at the Market when they arrive to pick-up their order. It is crucial to keep the process streamlined to avoid confusion over pick-up orders and regular inventory.
Tom prints off the receipts for the pick-up orders on a given day, and packs the products into an insulated tote. He then attaches the receipt to the front of the tote, so employees can easily see who the order belongs to and what the package includes. Pick-up orders are kept under the checkout table at their Farmers Market booths so Buyers can hop in line and conveniently grab their products.
Convert In-Person Buyers to Online
When meeting new Buyers at the Farmers Market, share your Farm story, products and practices to build loyalty. Once a relationship is established with your Brand, you can convert those in-person Buyers to shop online, fueling purchases in the off-season. Encourage email sign-ups via a QR code to ensure you can market to these new Buyers and keep them in-the-know with Farm updates.
Tom gives new customers an incentive to shop his online store by offering a $5 promo code off their first purchase (automatically sent in his Farm newsletter). To ensure his employees are encouraging email sign-ups to convert Buyers, Tom pays workers $1 per email they collect, prompting them to ask each new customer for their contact details. Building rapport with customers in-person and online will secure their loyalty to your Farm, prompting repeat purchases.
Conclusion
Serving at local Farmers Markets helps your Farm establish a foundation in your community. You can meet current and potential Buyers, form in-person relationships and gain new partnerships. Markets do not have to be stressful to plan, set up and execute. It is important to implement best practices for organization and a streamlined purchase experience for your Farm, and the Buyers.
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