10 Ways to Stand Out at a Farmer’s Market
Farmers markets are an excellent way for farmers, crafters and local artists to showcase and sell their products directly to consumers. However, it can be challenging to stand out from the competition in a crowded market. Here are ten free or close to free things you can do at a farmers markets to stand out:
Samples: Offer bite-sized or sample sized samples of your produce to encourage customers to try before they buy. A garden raised carrot tastes different (in SUCH a good way!) and some may not know that. Even a take home sample has a greater likelihood of bringing them back next time for a purchase.
Business Cards: Have business cards on hand with your company name, website, and contact information, so customers can easily reach you beyond the farmer’s market hours. Business cards can be printed at home in a pinch! Check out these 5 FREE editable business cards for small business owners!
Social Media QR Code: If you use social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram to promote your company, Print a QR code to get people following you and connecting with you throughout the whole week. Familiarity sells, so having your company pop up on their feeds all week will increase chances of them purchasing from you.
Recipe or how-to Cards: Create recipe or how-to cards using your produce or product, and hand them out to customers as a way to inspire them to try new things. (Think dinner or bubble bath).
Product Displays: Use creative displays to showcase your products, such as placing them in baskets, crates, or colorful cloth.
Signage: Use signage to highlight the unique features of your product, such as organic, locally grown or unique to your city!
Customer Loyalty Programs: Create loyalty programs to reward repeat customers with discounts or freebies, a punch card for the market season that gives them a free product after 5 purchases could be enough to get the repeat business.
Branding: Develop a unique brand identity for your farm by creating a logo and using consistent branding across all marketing materials.
Newsletter: Start a newsletter that customers can sign up for to receive updates on what's in season, upcoming events, and promotions. This is best via email, and yes, surprisingly people still read emails and they’re still the best newsletter plan.
Personalized Customer Service: This one is totally free. Get to know the person shopping and the person “just looking!” Engage with them, build relationships and answer their questions.
For more, here’s our favorite vendor booth products on Amazon!