It’s not new for businesses to use the internet to market or sell their products. However, selling online has become more mainstream than ever as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak. The pandemic has pushed many aspects of life online causing a significant rise in e-commerce shopping and a massive shift in digital commerce. That said, farmers that sell their products on the web, rather than just relying on the traditional local markets, are able to introduce their farm and offerings to a larger number of potential customers and bring in more revenue. The internet offers endless possibilities to diversify how and where you sell, advertise your agriculture products, keep in touch with existing customers and connect with new ones.
Let’s take a look over proven benefits of marketing agriculture products on digital channels and a number of tips to successfully sell online.
ADVANTAGES OF SELLING ONLINE
- You can expose your farm business and products to a wide range of potential customers.
- Keep people updated with what’s going on with your farm – from business events to the launch of new product range and marketing promotions.
- Unlike physical stores that are open for set hours, your business and products are accessible 24/7, allowing customers to search and buy anytime, anywhere they want. This saves time and money you would usually invest in marketing and selling.
- Make it easier for customers to search products, view product images and comprehensive product details, get insights into customer reviews, which can be a struggle for customers when shopping with offline stores.
- Build strong long-term relationships with customers and maximise engagement around your farm business.
KEY CONSIDERATIONS FOR MARKETING YOUR FARM ONLINE
- Branding: When selling online, building a brand that is distinguishable is inevitable. If you want your business to be on top of customers’ mind, you must create a unique image for itself so people can easily remember your brand. Your website is the permanent online representation of your business – make it effective with an intriguing, responsive design and engaging copy that present your farm business well.
- Cash in on social media platforms: A dedicated business page or account on social media channels like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, can work wonders for your marketing. Setting up a social media presence for your business will help connect and engage with your target audience to build awareness and brand loyalty. You can even post your agriculture products on Tumblr and Reddit for people to know about your offerings, post about your farm and spread the word about business. Creating a blog about your farm where you post regularly about your business, offerings and other relevant topics can inspire interest and engagement in visitors and encourage them to buy from you.
- Guide people to your website and social media channels
No matter how intriguing your website or how active and strong your social media presence is, if people don’t know about it. Optimise your website to show up higher on search engine pages, so people that are most interested in your business can easily find you. If you are present on social media, add social media icons on your website to direct people to your channels and connect with your for better engagement. Also, consider listing your business on local online marketplaces and farm portals. Adding your website and email address on all your farm-related print materials, signing up with websites that point to local produce and using an e-newsletter that links to your website are some other practices you can implement to build awareness about your farm.
- Ensure Seamless Customer Service
Customer retention is an inevitable aspect of running a successful business. You not only want to bring in new customers and make sales but also retain them to build loyalty and ensure long-term revenue from them. And the best way to do this is to providing exceptional service to your customers. When you market your farm or agriculture products online, potential customers can reach out to you at any time with a query or request; so your customer service team should always be ready to attend to customer online and respond in the most friendly and timely manner.
CONCLUSION
If there is one thing that this pandemic got right, it has to be the surge in e-commerce shopping, and hence, increased marketing opportunities for farms and agribusinesses. As people continue to prefer shopping online over physical stores and local markets for their daily food and grocery needs, it has become more important than ever for farmers to create a website and social media presence. While you take your farm business online, do not forget to capitalise on big data farming solutions from a reliable firm. If you are planning to market your farm online or need guidance related to database sales, KG2 is just the right platform for you. Let our professionals assist you with decision-making with our data-backed advice and services.
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