3 Tips to Access More Customers for your Farm during Back-to-School Season
Back to school season means that many families are getting back into the routine of dropping off and picking up kids from classes, practices, and other on-campus activities. Your Farm can increase Brand awareness and access more Buyers by offering convenient pick-up options after school. Make it easy to purchase and pick up your Farm products, offer sustainable alternatives to school-lunch programs, and present options for students to directly engage and learn about farming.
Offer Convenient School Pick-up Locations
Your Farm can become a part of the routine of families with school-aged children, by making it simple to pick-up your products after school. Families often have their schedules built around pick-up times and shuttling children from one school activity to the next. Your Farm can select a location that you know is frequented regularly by your existing and potential Buyers.
Schools are one of the most frequented areas in the community. Farm pick-ups proximate to local schools also increase Brand exposure for your business, which can help attract other like-minded Buyers. Bring a chicken, piglet or baby goat on occasion if you want to really attract new Buyers, while educating children about how their Food is grown and harvested.
The convenience of School Pick-ups also enable your Farm to save time and personally connect with loyal customers. Did you know that 59% of Buyers visit a school at least weekly? In fact, 80% of all Buyers visit a school monthly, which makes bundle box subscriptions easy to purchase and convenient to pick up without any disruption for your Buyer (while increasing recurring cash flow for your Farm).
The places that Buyers frequent in your community on a regular basis (aka the “Local Loop”), can become convenient and central locations for selling your Farm products and offering pre-orders for pick-up.
2. Offer Healthy Meal Alternatives for Students
School lunchroom options often lack nutritional value and freshness. When your Farm-fresh products are offered for purchase and pick-up outside of the school, you are improving access to healthy food alternatives for children and their families. In fact, 8 out of 10 parents would prefer to offer their children a sustainably-raised product (versus conventional food options).
Your Farm Pick-ups can readily fit into the routine schedule for families, especially when they are accessible after school. A one-stop-shop for parents to grab their children and your local products can be a game-changer. Your Farm can enable families to actually skip the grocery store and get time back in their day, while also simplifying efforts for your business, too.
Consider pricing and packaging options, too, that cater to family meals and school lunches. Offering healthy food alternatives can help spur more sales for your Farm, while also sparking the curiosity among school-aged children and educators about local products. This could even open up doors to participate in the classroom, offering education and insights to school-children about your Farm products and practices, while building more trust with Buyers in your community.
3. Go Beyond the School Pick-up Line
School Pick ups offer your Farmers many distinct marketing opportunities and advantages. With a captive audience of existing and potential Buyers navigating the school campus, be sure to promote your Farm business with signage on your truck, van and/or trailer. Be sure your Farm logo, a QR code and your social media handles are visible at all-times - especially in high-traffic areas. With every purchase, include your business card (with a QR code) in every bag or box.
Offer a promotional incentive for each Buyer’s first-time purchase for pick-up, when they pre-order online. That will help your Farm collect more emails, increase pre-orders and streamline your pick-and-pack efforts that day.
Additionally, be sure to promote your Pick-ups online and tag the Social Media handles of each school venue. Ask existing customers (parents or teachers) to share with other parents in any private Social Media groups affiliated with the school. Sponsor local sporting events and celebrations associated with local schools to help attract alumni and other school supporters, to grow your market even further.
Consider inviting school classrooms and teachers to on-farm events for educational field trips or family events. Inviting Buyers to your Farm increases transparency and helps to build a trusting relationship, while also educating children about the circle of life.
Bringing animals and products to the school for classroom events offers additional educational opportunities for students, educators and faculty. Handling your products can pique students’ interest, their appreciation of farming, and the importance of sustainable agriculture.
Offering volunteer opportunities for older students and their families at your Farm can help build a stronger connection in your local community. Additionally, many secondary students need to gain volunteer hours for their school. There are endless opportunities for how you can grow your Farm business through partnering with a local school, while educating your community.
Conclusion
Local schools can offer your Farm a long list of opportunities when it comes to expanding your business. Offering convenient Farm Pick-ups proximate to local schools is a great starting point to help attract more customers, while increasing brand awareness.
To learn more about other tactics to help your Farm increase sales and access more customers, read this eBook: Grassroots Marketing Tactics Every Farmer Should Know
Barn2Door provides an all-in-one solution to help Farmers sell direct - online and in-person. If you’re curious to learn why successful Farms run on Barn2Door, watch this 5-minute video.