How to Soft Launch your Farm Store to Buyers
Before you announce your online Farm store to your entire community, it is wise to ‘soft launch’ it to trusted Buyers to receive their input on the shopping experience. Gather friends and family that you trust to give you honest feedback, and give them access to shop your products prior to your public announcement of the store.
See what works for your Farm sales and what needs to be changed ahead of a hard launch. This will help you know what to expect before you have an influx of orders, and you will know what expectations to set for future Buyers for a streamlined shopping experience.
Build a Trusted Base of Buyers
Prior to the launch of your Farm store, you probably have several people who know your plans to sell your products. This may include trusted family, friends, loyal customers and neighbors. These are a desirable group of Buyers to target for a soft launch if you are new to product sales. They will also offer honest feedback for improvements.
Form a group of 10-20 Buyers, to keep your initial orders manageable, while still giving you an opportunity to pack various products and fulfillments. Ensure your group of ‘test’ customers also align with the Buyers you plan to target within your community (e.g. families, busy customers, households). Plan out your goals for your soft launch, and how you plan to implement your findings prior to a hard launch. Note that your soft launch can occur over a few weeks, so you can leverage feedback and plan ahead for your hard launch to the community (sooner vs. later).
Market your Online Store to a Select Group
Ensure your selected group of test Buyers are aware that they are accessing the ‘soft launch’ of your online Farm store, so they can provide honest feedback (recognizing any hiccups can be resolved ahead of your hard launch). Collect the customers’ emails to plan a marketing campaign to test the best methods to attract repeat purchases. You may also give them flyers with QR codes that lead directly to your Farm store for easy ordering, as well as product descriptions, your Farm values and mission to better introduce them to your brand.
You do not need a Farm website to begin selling your Farm products. The beauty of having a separate online Farm storefront means that you can sell before your website goes live, and it will be less overwhelming to Buyers. Instead of having to click through a bunch of website pages they can simply go to a single URL to browse your inventory. This will allow you to test your products with a soft launch prior to finalizing your Farm brand to the public. Think of restaurants - they do not simply open up their doors to the general public when they first open.
Test What Works for your Farm
Ask your group of test Buyers to give you feedback on their shopping experience, inventory options, fulfillment schedules and product quality. You may choose to send a feedback form in an email, or simply contact them after your soft launch to discuss changes that can be made ahead of your hard launch. The main goal of your soft launch is to make changes before you are juggling 100’s of orders. This will allow you to become more comfortable with your schedule of packing and fulfilling orders and simplifying your packaging and pricing options early on.
A soft launch is an opportunity for your Farm to be experimental and see what Bundles and Subscription offerings may work for your local Buyers. Take the time to get comfortable with the software you are managing your online store on, and test different features, such as promos, gated items and Buyer types. As you expand your business, analyze what delivery routes will work best for your schedule and Buyer locations, where to set up additional pick-up locations within your local loop and form partnerships with other small businesses.
Set Expectations for Farm Buyers
After gathering feedback from your group of test Buyers and resolving any operational workflows, you can have confidence in setting expectations for future customers during your hard launch. You will gain a better understanding of why certain fulfillments are more worthwhile than others, and why Farmer’s choice offerings work better than a la carte orders. This will help you better set up guidelines for local Buyers to shop and receive their purchases. This will be your best opportunity to build rapport with customers and establish yourself as the domain expert with respect to your Farm products.
Send personalized thank you notes to those who participate in your soft launch, especially those providing feedback for the betterment of your Farm business. Consider all of their requests and suggestions, as it is better to have 2 people asking for a change in your Farm store rather than 100. Work out the kinks that surfaced during your soft launch to prepare for the hard launch of your online Farm store.
Conclusion
Planning a soft launch of your online Farm store prior to making an announcement more broadly to the general public and social media will build your confidence around future sales. You can better understand and manage Buyer expectations when you have a trusted group of customers test your store and product offerings. Set goals for your soft launch, establish who will have access to your inventory and set expectations for shopping, fulfillments and feedback to best make use of your time and efforts. Then, you will be prepared to share your Farm products with your entire community.
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.