How to Find Buyers in Your Local Loop
As an Independent Farmer who spends long hours on the Farm, it can feel overwhelming to find and capture local Buyers. Your customers already have established daily errands, routines, and habits in your community — this is their "local loop." To build a thriving business within your local community, discover four (4) strategic opportunities to expand your reach, strengthen your brand awareness, and turn convenient touchpoints into recurring sales.
Farmers Markets
A Farmers market is the ideal place for your Farm to engage local Buyers in person and convert them to loyal customers online. The benefits go beyond the food you sell at markets; it is the ideal place to shake hands, collect emails, and begin building long-lasting relationships within your community.
How to capture more Buyers at the market:
Branding: Provide all your market employees with Farm-branded shirts and hats that feature your name and logo. Your team’s personal appearance directly reflects on your Farm’s brand and will increase your brand awareness to Buyers.
Email Collection: Capture emails for free at checkout with the Barn2Door POS. Additionally, keep a QR code posted and a sign-up clipboard at your table for Buyers to join your email list.
Local Business
Promote yourself as a local business and showcase your high-quality Farm products. People want to invest in their communities and reduce their impact on long supply chains. In fact, 9 out of 10 Buyers prefer to support a local business. You can build a trustworthy reputation in your community by promoting your Farm as a local business and staying top of mind when grocery day rolls around.
Strategies to get involved with other local businesses in your community:
Wholesale Buyers: Reach out to local restaurants, food trucks, coffee shops, bakeries, cafes, and diners that are interested in purchasing your products wholesale. Creating wholesale partnerships in your community will not only increase your Farm's revenue but also foster community relationships.
Additional Opportunities: Consider all the other places your Buyers frequent — gyms, CrossFit studios, yoga studios, barber shops, salons, nurseries, dentists, doctors, chiropractors, and a myriad of others! Strengthen your local brand presence by going door-to-door and distributing marketing materials to ideally situate business partners. Suggest their venue as a convenient pick-up or drop-off site to drive foot traffic, and/or consider collaborating on community pop-up events.
“It is easy to forget that we Farm to provide better food for our communities. The more we work together, the more food we can provide that is wholesome and nutritious.”
— Lois (PA)
Local Churches
Today, 65% of Buyers regularly attend their local church 1-2 times per week, and 68% of potential Farm-food Buyers believe that supporting local churches is important. If you are a member of a local congregation or denomination, consider partnering with your church to establish a pickup location, participate in community events, or explore new advertising opportunities (e.g., church bulletins or flyers) to connect with their congregation.
Consider working with your local church to offer the following:
Pick-Up Location: Consider offering church parking lots as pick-up locations. Many Farmers find success with food pickups not just on Sundays — but at different times of the day or week!
Bulletin Board: Print a simple 4-by-6 flyer to pin onto your church bulletin board. On the flyer, include your Farm logo, social media handles, a QR code linking to an email sign-up form, and a URL to your website.
“We have found consistent pickup locations; for example, “meet us at this church parking lot every fourth Monday at 5 o'clock,” gives people confidence they can put in orders anytime between now and then, and they can get their product routinely.”
— Peter (ND)
Local Schools
Families are ideal customers, as they have many mouths to feed and prioritize their children’s health. In fact, 55% of Buyers believe supporting local schools is important. Reach out to school administrators to explore potential partnerships, such as establishing a pickup location, sponsoring school events, or contributing to school auctions.
Tactics to build a successful school partnership:
Pick-Up Location: Consider offering school parking lots or curbs as pick-up locations; Buyers can ‘select’ school pickup when checking out of your online store.
Sponsorships: Sponsor a local school event or youth sports team, and/or donate your Farm products to an upcoming community event (e.g., fun run, charity drive, auction). This generates deep community trust to build positive brand awareness for your Farm (e.g., “official burger” of the Local High School Football Team).
Field Trips: Consider offering school field trips to your Farm to educate your community about the importance of locally grown food and to expand your contact list. Give every visiting parent a take-home flyer with a QR code offering a "welcome discount" on their first bundle box to encourage purchases.
Learn More: Pay Less, Make More: Farm Marketing Guide
Conclusion: Get Involved In Your Local Loop
From Farmers markets to school parking lots, concentrate your marketing to raise brand awareness in your local loop to stay top of mind in your community. Don’t jump in on a whim; be intentional with an eye towards acquiring your target customers. Start small, pick one or two local loop opportunities to focus on, and use them to build a loyal customer list that will support your Farm in every season.
Barn2Door provides Independent Farmers with the software to make more money, ditch the office work, and look like a pro. If you’re curious to learn more, watch this 5-minute video.