Eight years of farming has led me to one very uncomplicated conclusion : To be a successful farmer you need to be able to grow your food , of course , and do so profitably . But more than anything , you take to be able to grow client relationships . This , above all else , will keep your line afloat .
What limit a “ in force relationship ” is different for every farm and every farmer . That said , today I extend some methods to break client relationships that will keep the great unwashed need to tolerate you year after year . On our farm , making certain that we maintain human relationship with our customer — be they chefs , domicile cooks , or retailers — is as important to surgery as planting or harvest home . This all starts with one very authoritative qualifier :
1. Be Genuine
Do n’t build client relationships like an algorithm would . Rather , be sincerely interested in your customers and their lives . Learn the figure of their kids , take a arcsecond to chat with them at market or at drop - offs . Not only will you give them a personal connection to your food , but you will gain a personal connexion to where the solid food goes every week . Perhaps from that you may also gain newfangled melodic theme for how to better conduct your business and serve all customer . It ’s worth noting that this embodies what agriculture was historically all about . For years before grocery entrepot , masses who could n’t grow their own food had relationships with the people who could .
2. Respond To Email Messages
This might sound obvious , but it can be difficult in the meddlesome time of year to set away the time to thank someone for a message , or to admit that you read it . Taking the time to make indisputable sure they know you got it helps build customer relationship .
3. Respond To Social Media Comments & Messages
4. Share
Refrain from uncover too much about the fiscal struggles of your farm or anything that will make your customer feel uneasy , but when you utter with people , tender facts and anecdote from your life that might better unite them to you . you could be appropriate at first , but if a customer asks questions , finger free to keep mouth . pose a floor with the intellectual nourishment they grease one’s palms will avail them to revalue it all the more and also build customer relationships .
5. Show Up
For many larger farms , it is operose for the farmer to be at every CSA drib , eatery delivery or market place . But the face of the farm should attempt to be there sometimes , maybe rotating through the markets and talking to the people who corroborate the farm . If it ’s unvoiced to imagine schedule that into your twenty-four hour period , think of it as an opportunity to study how best to serve your patron . you’re able to also attempt to work people out to the farm more often so they can meet you and jazz you better .
6. Start A Facebook Group For Your Farm
It is such a simple affair , but bug out a Facebook group for your farm — peculiarly if you go a CSA — is a gravid way to have exclusive interactions with your customer and for them to have sole interactions with each other . They might apportion recipes and stories or ask interrogative sentence of you . Do n’t waffle to engage with them . “ Like ” their contributions , comment often and start treatment . build client relationships in these way increase the note value of the product and increases the quality of it as well . All that ’s expect from you is to worry about those who support you — not a difficult labor for a passionate farmer .
