Selling the Farm Experience

So, it’s late summer and you’ve got sweet corn and tomatoes out front in your farmstand. You’ve got apples in the orchard ripening for pick-your-own season. You’ll soon be pressing cider and baking apple pies. But are you really selling those things? Or are you actually selling something a little less tangible?

Think about it. Why would a customer drive miles out of their way to come to your farmstand when they can pick up all of those things, plus everything they need for dinner, not to mention health and beauty aids, greeting cards and motor oil, at the supermarket? The farm experience, that’s why.

That’s your edge over today’s mega supermarkets, big box supercenters, and wholesale clubs. Where else can a consumer chat with the person who grew their food, enjoy the country scenery, let their kids pet some farm animals, and maybe bring the whole family to pick apples? Combine that with fresh high-quality produce, baked goods and other items and you’ve given folks a reason to go out of their way.

The growing popularity of agri-tourism illustrates that there is a demand for the farm experience such that people will plan their vacations around it. Experts say that this demand springs from the desire to reconnect with our rural roots and the land, even as each new generation of Americans get further from those roots.

Now, all of this may not be news to you. More and more farmers are doing whatever they can to enhance their customers’ farm experience and are capitalizing on this trend. On one end of the spectrum are those farms that have converted almost the entire operation to “agri-tainment” and sell few, if any, actual farm products.

While something that extreme may not be for you, there is a range of things that you can do on a smaller scale to enhance your customers’ farm experience, including:

Appeal to the senses. Creating visually attractive product displays is a no brainer for farmstand operators, but have you thought about how your stand smells? Baking pies, mulling cider, or roasting corn on-site will greet customers with an irresistible aroma. And let customers sample featured products so their taste-buds can convince them to buy.

Make a date with your customers. Plan regular events that will give customers something to mark on their calendar. A fun event will not only give customers a reason to come to your farm, it will give them a reason to spend time there and buy products.

Make your customers feel welcome. If you’re around the stand, be sure to introduce yourself and greet customers personally whenever you can. But since you probably spend most of your time in the field and in the office, make sure that your staff is trained to be friendly and helpful.

Educate your customers. Display literature on how your crops are grown, recipes for preparing any unusual produce you sell, or a seasonal harvest calendar so folks aren’t expecting local strawberries in April. Offer cooking demonstrations or gardening workshops.

Be consistent. Your business is based on fresh high-quality locally-grown produce, but don’t skimp in other areas. For example, if you want to offer hot mulled cider on chilly autumn days, make sure it’s the real thing and not a powdered mix. Customers want to feel that everything they experience at the farm is authentic.

Let them help. The concept of pick-your-own has been around a long time, but perhaps there are other things with which customers can “help.” Pressing cider with a hand-crank, feeding farm animals, milking a cow, planting and, of course, harvesting are all chores that visitors might actually pay to experience. Be sure to consider safety and liability issues when you decide which farm activities people will experience.

Share your natural resources. Consider allowing neighbors and tourists to hike, cross-country ski or snowshoe in your orchards or woodlands. Team up with area naturalists or educators to offer nature walks or wildlife talks. Encourage artists and photographers to capture the scenery around your farm.

Marketing the farm experience is a concept that’s catching on nationwide, but farmers here in the Northeast may be better positioned to profit from the idea than anywhere else with a large number of highly-educated consumers close at hand.

So, understanding that you’re selling far more than fruits and vegetables, and understanding what customers are really looking for when they come to the farm, will help you to be a better marketer.

Copyright 2004 by Diane Baedeker Petit
This article originally appeared in the January 2004 issue of Growing magazine.