4 Farmers Market Mistakes to Avoid
Farmers Markets are a great way to interact with your local community, build a base of loyal Buyers, increase Brand awareness, and form partnerships. However, there are several mistakes that successful Farmers are glad to share with others to avoid. To ensure a profitable visit to the Market, follow these best practices to minimize your losses.
Tom of Bennett Farms (MI) visits 20+ Markets during peak season, and recently shared his best practices for Market days, including what to avoid to maintain positive outcomes. Listen to his advice about the 4 most common mistakes made at Farmers Markets:
1. Selling at the Wrong Farmers Markets
Choosing Markets is a critical process because each one differs from the next. You want to ensure that the Markets you attend have a substantial turn out, including Buyers that are willing to pay a premium, and are well established as a trustworthy venue in the community.
Tom advises Farms to steer away from free Markets, and be willing to pay for a Booth at more established ones. Often, free Farmers Markets may result in little exposure, meaning a lack of foot-traffic and high-paying Buyers to make it worth your time. You may waste more money than you make on product losses and sunk labor costs to attend, set up, and take down your booth.
Do your research about Farmers Markets in surrounding areas to ensure that a booth is worth your time and money. Choose locations in affluent neighborhoods to secure premium prices, which will enable you to serve other lower-income communities in the future. You can’t afford to be generous until your Farm business is profitable (otherwise, you’ll go out of business quickly).
2. An Inconvenient Booth Setup
Your booth setup is crucial at the Market. Buyers will be drawn to an organized, streamlined booth. Provide clear signage for your Farm, product coolers and your contact information. Tom recommends making your shopping instructions clear to avoid confusion and unnecessary questions from Market shoppers. Limit the variety of your products at the Market, which can cause decision fatigue for Buyers. Bring your most popular items, and if Buyers want something else, direct them to your online store to access more product inventory.
Tom clearly labels his prices on the packaging of each product, so Buyers can self-serve shop and he can man the checkout. He posts a banner in the back of his booth that informs Buyers of his Farm name, location, how to shop and other avenues to purchase online (e.g. a QR code to the online store and newsletter sign-up). With no signage, Buyers may bypass your booth or be overwhelmed and abandon a purchase.
Your coolers should also be easy for Buyers to find and access any products they want or need. Chest freezers may require your Buyers to dig through them to see what is at the bottom. This can be hard to scale, since it takes Buyers more time to find products and can cause chaos, rather than labeled coolers.
3. An Inefficient Booth Pack Up
Packing up prior to the end of a Market could result in a loss of customers. You want to be available and attentive at all times while the Farmers Market is open to make customers feel appreciated, building trust and respect.
If you pack up early, that may cause commotion for other vendors, causing strife among other attendees. Tom recommends packing up everything at once before pulling in your truck to ensure you do not waste your workers’ time, or make packing up more difficult for other booths.
Tom recommends never skipping a Market, even if the weather is less than ideal. You may miss out on many Buyers, some who are counting on your attendance (and your products), which gives other Farmers the opportunity to acquire your customers.
Selling out of a product could also lead to a loss in customers. Tom recommends always bringing more than enough of what you know may sell out, and planning ahead if stock runs low. Buyers will purchase that product, whether it is from you or another Farm.
4. Not Building Loyalty with Buyers
Make sure your booth is recognizable at the Farmers Market, including appropriate branding for Buyers to identify your Farm at a distance. Make your signage easy to spot, and always include QR codes that lead to your website and email sign-up. This will ensure that you can nurture any relationships made at the Market through online sales and communications.
Tom has seen many Farmers spend more on merchandise than they are making at the Market. You can save the merchandise for loyal customers, and offer that as an incentive for Subscription Sign-ups (for pick-up at the Market!).
Telling Buyers they will get a free tote with every Subscription, or a One-Time-Purchase over $150 will ensure you can cover the cost of the merchandise, and entice them to make a bigger commitment. For every email sign-up, you can give the customer a sticker to thank them, and for a reminder of your Farm when they get home.
Conclusion
Farmers Markets are a great way to sell to Buyers in-person, create relationships in your local community and meet other neighboring vendors. There are many ways to be successful at the Market, however, there are 4 common mistakes to avoid. Your booth should be easy to shop, lead Buyers to shop on your online store in the off-season and be profitable. Avoid the mistakes other Farms have made to have an efficient and effective day at the Market.
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.