8 Sure-fire Ways to Farm Shop Success

1 Emphasize quality and provenance
Time to boast. If your meat is reared in the field behind you, if you are a hub of local food, let people know about it

2 Exploit your unique selling point
Whether your USP is local food, high quality goods or just personal service, you can’t do too much to set yourself apart from your competition. Customers should leave with a strong idea of what makes you different and what your strengths are

3 Diversify with a broad commercial outlook
Visit other farm shops to find out how they add extra revenue streams. Cream teas, ice cream, farm trails and non-food items can all increase turnover

4 Promote seasonal produce
Seasonal produce is something farm shops do well. Exploit it and make sure your customers know what foods to expect in each season

5 Respond to customer demand
Listening pays dividends, as does the ability to react quickly to customers’ demands

6 Build strategies to grow customer loyalty
Loyalty cards, invitations to events, discount schemes can all create regular custom

7 Tap into agritourism and ‘day-out’ culture
Farm shops are very often leisure destinations. Are you doing enough to support this? Think refreshments and catering for children with food and amusement

8 Promote rural economy through education
Make your customers feel part of the food chain. A better understanding of how their food is produced is likely to see them shopping with you rather than with an anonymous supermarket

Image courtesy of Cranstons