Direct to Consumer

Just before Christmas, the USDA released the results of its first Local Food Marketing Practices Survey. The survey asked about the marketing of food directly from farm producers directly to consumers, retailers, institutions, and a variety of local food intermediaries such as distributors and wholesalers that market and sell locally branded products.

Despite months of sales disruptions across every retail category, people are now eager to “get out and do or buy something.” Agritourism activities and events remain popular this year, abet different in activities and protocols. Cashless and online ordering are now the expected forms of purchasing. Holiday shopping for anything from Halloween costumes to Thanksgiving turkeys, and even Christmas gifts, has already begun.

Every December I enjoy reading food trend predictions for the coming year from a variety of sources such as the Specialty Foods Association, the American Restaurant Association, Packer magazine, and a host of foodie blogs. There’s no doubt that customers’ appetites, buying preferences, and cooking preferences will drive what we should produce and market. While predictions of interest in charred foods, algae grown proteins, and insects as a food source trending as “micro livestock” are interesting, there is solid support for the following food preferences in our region.

Despite the colder temps and slow start to the growing season, farmers markets, roadside stands and on-farm markets, need to get ready for sunnier days and the first flush of customers looking for fresh local produce, fruits, and other locally produced foods.

Memorial Day and the July 4th holiday are behind us and Labor Day will be here before we know it. This triumphant of summer holidays is just a prelude to the busy fall and holiday season ahead. These are your money-maker times and the pressure is on to push sales, manage additional workforce, deal with the whims of Mother Nature, and try to still find time for family and friends. You’re stressed and it’s easy to let everyone know it- family, customers, and your workers.

Christmas has not been canceled for 2020! The September 2020, issue of the Mastering Marketing newsletter featured tools for holiday planning.This article builds on those tools and features making specific marketing strategies for the 2020 Christmas season.

Unreasonable customers are always a pain, but they're especially prevalent and stressful during the holiday shopping rush. To help you cope with difficult shoppers this holiday season, consider these seven tips from customer-service experts.

How, when, and where should you start your marketing efforts? The process can be overwhelming- should I market my brands, what about social media posts, and who will buy my products? To help you organize your marketing steps, it is vital you have a marketing statement. You may have heard this statement called, “Your Elevator Speech”.

While the holiday season may seem a ways off, the line between when customers shop and when they take offense to holiday décor in stores is becoming a blurry one. The National Retail Federation reports that every year, about 40 percent of customers begin their holiday shopping before Halloween.

“Networking” and “Word of Mouth” referrals are the most effective way to reduce out of pocket costs and cultivate a clientele. The valued opinion of influential customers is the most important and cost effective promotion that a business can develop. Surveys show that new customers recruited by existing customers are more loyal and profitable. In fact, studies show that 85% of Likes through social media and purchases are made through referral marketing rather than from advertising.