Navigating Variable Harvests
As a farmer, you know that calculating your yields isn’t an exact science. Whether you specialize in produce, meat, dairy, or a combination of all three, there’s no way to predict how much of each product will be available to sell to your customers.
That’s why your farm e-commerce and POS solution should make it easy for you to sell your goods by weight.
Selling by weight lets you sell every last ounce of your product and allows your customers to choose an amount that works for their budgets and meal plans.
To ensure your farm e-commerce platform will be compatible with your plan to sell perishable products by weight, here are a few tools to look for:
- Flexible Quantity Options: Your e-commerce platform should let your customers customize their orders and choose the exact quantity of meat or produce they’d like to receive. Offering multiple options allows families of all sizes to purchase from your farm, whether they’re planning a dinner for two or stocking their chest freezer.
- Scale Integration: Choosing a farm e-commerce solution that integrates directly with a scale makes it easier to package items like meat accurately and ensure that the correct weight is reflected in your inventory and sales records.
- Label Printer Integration: Labeling your products keeps your farm organized and creates a more convenient experience for your customers. Make sure to choose an integrated printer for labels that include each item’s product information, exact weight, and package date.
With these tools at your side, you can make the most of your farm’s inventory and easily sell your products by weight.
Protecting Perishable Inventory
Another major challenge that farmers face is managing perishable products.
Chances are, nearly every item you sell is perishable in some way. Meats should be frozen or used within a certain time frame for maximum freshness, produce should make its way onto a plate before it wilts, and products like eggs and butter should be handled with the utmost care.
Fortunately, the right farm e-commerce platform makes it easy to keep track of your perishable products.
To offer customers the highest quality meats and produce, choose a farm e-commerce and POS system with real-time inventory tracking. This feature allows you to keep a constant eye on your stock levels and ensure that products are selling within their freshness window.
Another way to guarantee the best deliveries is to learn perishable shipping best practices. Take the time to learn about the types of packaging and insulation available, and decide which will work best for your farm’s unique shipping needs.
Offering Flexible Options
If you’re hoping to grow your customer base, you need to offer a wide range of options to accommodate all kinds of shoppers. Here are the main types of sales your farm should be prepared to handle:
- In-Person Sales: To appeal to customers who prefer to shop the old-fashioned way, select a farm e-commerce solution with a fully functional POS system. This feature lets you sell your products to customers who visit your farm physically instead of virtually.
- Home Delivery and Curbside Pickup: Nearby customers who value convenience might opt for local delivery or pickup. Your farm e-commerce platform should allow you to accommodate those customers.
- Nationwide Shipping: For customers who are farther away but still passionate about supporting your farm, you can offer shipping either through your farm’s delivery fleet or a nationwide service like UPS.
- Subscriptions: Offering subscriptions is a great way to make the most of your loyal customers. You’ll have guaranteed sales, and they’ll receive high-quality meats and produce regularly. Make sure your farm e-commerce platform is equipped to manage subscriptions.
- Wholesale: Planning to boost your farm’s sales through wholesale? Your e-commerce platform should enable you to sell to individual customers and wholesale buyers.
Appealing to this wide range of customers involves clearly communicating with them about your pricing. Along with letting shoppers choose how they’d like to receive their orders, your farm’s website should also make it easy for them to see the different prices they’ll pay depending on their order type and location.
One way to help customers calculate their shipping costs is to create pricing groups that coordinate with geographical areas.
For example, if your farm is based in North Carolina, you might charge one price for customers in North Carolina, a slightly higher price for customers in surrounding states, and another, higher price for customers who need delivery across the country.
Offering a wide range of order fulfillment and pricing options will help you build your customer base and share your farm’s products with the broadest audience.
Expanding Your Farm’s Reach
Your farm e-commerce tool plays a critical role in attracting new customers to your farm and fueling repeat business. Let’s take a look at a few essential features your e-commerce platform should include to help you achieve these goals:
- Website Builder: Having an attractive, user-friendly website where your customers can learn about your farm and place orders is a key ingredient for your business’ growth. Your farm e-commerce platform should make it easy for you to build, customize, and update your website.
- Marketing Integrations: Stay at the top of your customers’ minds by sending regular newsletters about your harvests and promotions. Your e-commerce platform should include integrations that allow you to create and schedule these notifications in minutes.
- Promotions: Your e-commerce platform should enable you to plan sales-boosting promotions and offer unique incentives like referral codes and coupons.
