by More than ever, people are paying attention to where their food is coming from. That’s led to growing interest in supporting local grocery stores, butchers, and other small food businesses.
While these partnerships are great, there are various ways farms can reach consumers directly. The more avenues you take to engage with people, the more of them you can turn into loyal customers.
With the right marketing approach, your farm business can get more customers, increase sales, and grow with confidence. In this article, we’ll cover how to market meat products, the importance of digital marketing, and seven marketing ideas to get you started.
Why Digital Marketing Matters for Independent Farms
Online shopping used to be solely for clothes, books, and gifts — but much has changed. Accelerated by the pandemic, people increasingly search for fresh food online. Not only that, but many customers are looking for ethical, local alternatives to big-brand supermarkets.
To reach those customers, the best thing a farm can do is to take their business digital. Digital marketing refers to how businesses connect with customers and sell goods online. Marketing takes many forms, and the best strategy for one business might not work for another.
However, to ignore marketing altogether is to miss a huge opportunity. A consistent digital marketing strategy can help your farm:
- Increase revenue
- Build your brand reputation
- Give you better insights into your customer preferences
- Grow your business
The goal of marketing your meat products isn’t necessarily to compete directly against bigger businesses. We recommend you don’t do what the big brands are doing. Instead, think about what you can do differently — what unique value you can offer that they don’t.
7 Great Ideas To Market Your Meat Products
There are many ways to market meat products online and in person. The ultimate goal of your marketing strategy shouldn’t be to reinvent yourself but to highlight what already makes you great.
Here are seven ideas to get you started.
1. Sell Online With a User-Friendly Website
We’ll start with the tip that will ultimately have the biggest impact on your business — selling online. Selling meat online is a great way to introduce new people to your products while boosting sales.
Create a website that is easy to navigate and mobile-friendly for best results. Take the time to write about your farm and products, including how you raise animals and any other details that customers may find important. You'll want to address whatever people are curious about in person on the website.
However, selling meat online isn’t as simple as setting up a website with some pictures. Use an e-commerce platform specifically built for selling meat and other fresh foods. Your online sales platform should include features like:
- Real-time inventory tracking: As you expand online, you’ll need the ability to track the exact weight of meat in storage and adjust the amount automatically as you make sales. This will help you avoid stockouts and disappointed customers.
- Sell by weight: Set the price per pound in your system and quickly weigh and price meat selections.
- Delivery and shipment support: Meat requires faster, climate-controlled shipping to reach its destination safely. Work with an e-commerce solution that offers you competitive rates for 2-day and overnight shipping.
- Subscription support: Subscriptions are popular with customers and a great way to upsell — but not every e-commerce platform supports them out of the box. Use a solution that natively includes customizable subscription support.
Finally, whether you sell meat locally or nationwide, make sure you follow meat shipment best practices.
2. Curate Selections and Gift Boxes
One of the reasons people love local businesses is friendly customer service and expertise. Extend that feeling to the meat you sell by creating curated selections and gift boxes. A friendly recommendation might also encourage customers to try more specialized cuts they might otherwise be intimidated by.
For example, put together a barbecue pack with cooking instructions or a box with a selection of different sausages for the holidays. Be creative!
You can easily do this with an e-commerce or point of sale (POS) system that supports custom barcodes and SKUs. That way, you can make new product selections without manually pricing them out every time.
3. Attend Local Events and Farmers Markets
While your digital footprint is essential, you shouldn’t discount the importance of your local community. Sign up for local events and attend farmers markets to get some face time with customers.
Bring cards and signs with your business name on them and a link to your website. Even if people aren’t ready to buy from you that day, they might visit the website later. You can also bring a tablet or have a paper signup for your newsletter.
If you are making in-person sales, use a mobile POS system that supports contactless payments to make checkout easy.
If there aren’t many local events in your area, why not host your own? Show people around the farm while cooking up some steaks or burgers. When people go to order meat, they’ll remember both the taste and the friendly faces.
4. Partner With Other Local Businesses and Restaurants
Local businesses that work together succeed together. Look to partner with independent grocers, butchers, and other food shops. You’ll both generate some extra revenue from working with a more established business while spreading more awareness about your brand.
Remember that awareness works both ways. If a local butcher regularly buys from you, shout them out on your website or social media to build extra goodwill.
Last, many restaurants have embraced farm to table and may be looking for farms to source their meat and produce. These partnerships can provide a regular source of income and help spread awareness whenever someone reads your name on the menu.
5. Start a Newsletter
A newsletter is a great way to show off your personality and let people know what you have on offer. The newsletter doesn’t have to be long, it just has to be regular. Send something out once a week and include weekly discount codes or offers that link back to your website.
If you start a customer loyalty program, encourage those customers to opt into your newsletter. Better yet, track the sales on your website to see which products and offers are most popular and tailor your newsletter's content accordingly.
6. Post Regularly on Social Media
Social media has become an important marketing tool because it brings businesses and customers together. Regularly post about your farm and staff, and don’t forget to point them to the website.
Encourage customers to tag you in the meals they’ve made using your products and feature them on your feed. Many people now use social media as a form of customer support, so make sure you respond to feedback and answer questions (even if they’re negative).
Related Read: How To Increase Farm Sales: 4 Tips and Tools
7. Try Out New Promotions and Discounts
Many customers want specialty cuts and bulk quantities of meat for big events and holidays. Capitalize on this by creating tailored promotions. For example, you could offer a discount on bulk orders of chicken wings around the Super Bowl.
Customers on the fence about ordering might bite if you offer the right promotion, so regularly change things up. Discounts are also a great tool for managing farm inventory. If you are overstocked on chicken breast or flank steak, set up a limited-time flash sale to keep the inventory moving and boost sales simultaneously.
If you find a particular cut taking up space in your freezer, cut the cost to encourage a sale.
A Final Tip: Let Your Personality Shine!
While many of these tips involve taking your farm into the digital world, that doesn’t mean you should become a robot. See your digital presence as an extension of your business. It’s a great way to tell people your story and share your passion.
Building a website or increasing your social media footprint won’t automatically equal success. People are eager to interact with others, not emotionless brands and sales robots.
Don’t be afraid to inject some personality into your online presence. What people love about visiting your farm and learning about your products should be exactly what you highlight online.
Simplify How You Sell Meat Online With GrazeCart
Independent farms have much to offer customers looking for high-quality, ethically sourced meat. Many people would love to support your business, they just need to know where to look.
Marketing your farm gives potential customers what they’re searching for — but you also need to deliver the online experience they expect. That’s why partnering with the right food e-commerce solution is a must.
GrazeCart was created by farmers and is specifically designed to simplify how small and mid-sized food suppliers sell online. With a no-code website builder, subscription support, shipping partnerships, and more, we have everything you need to effectively market your products and increase sales.
Try out GrazeCart for free today to see how we can help your farm’s online business grow.