You know their faces, not their email addresses
The couple who buy lamb every spring. The woman who comes for asparagus the week it starts. The family who order a turkey every Christmas. The man who asks every August whether the plums are in. You know them all by sight, and they would love to hear when their favourite thing is ready.
But when the first asparagus is cut, all you can do is write on the chalkboard outside and post on Facebook, where the post reaches a fraction of your followers. Half the regulars find out a week later, and some find out when it is over.
Why farm shops struggle to keep in touch
Most customers pay by card and leave. The till does not know who they are. The website, if it has a sign-up form, collects a handful of emails a year. A paper sign-up sheet by the till gets filled with handwriting nobody can read. And even when you have a list, sending a message feels like a job for a marketing department you do not have.
- The till records sales, not customers.
- Paper sign-up sheets are illegible and get lost.
- Social media posts reach only some of your followers.
- Customers want to hear about some things and not others.
- Writing a newsletter takes time nobody has in peak season.
What the missing list costs
Seasonal produce has a short window. When customers who would have bought it hear too late, the sale is lost and the produce may be wasted. Christmas pre-orders fill more slowly when you cannot remind last year's customers. Events such as lambing weekends or pumpkin picking rely on word of mouth. And regulars drift to the supermarket in the months when nothing reminds them you are there.
A farm shop's seasons are its best marketing. Without a way to tell people, that advantage goes unused.
The customer list and messages we build
- A quick opt-in at the till on a tablet or a QR code on the counter, and on your website: name, email or mobile and the things the customer wants to hear about, such as asparagus, lamb, Christmas orders, PYO, events.
- Clear consent wording and an easy unsubscribe on every message, with the choices stored against each customer. Your privacy policy and consent approach are yours to decide, with advice if you need it.
- A simple message screen: choose a topic, write two or three lines or pick a drafted message, add a photo from your phone and send to people who asked for that topic, by email or text through a service such as Mailchimp, Brevo or Twilio.
- Drafts suggested for regular seasonal moments, prepared in your voice from past messages, for you to edit and send.
- Links from messages to your pre-order forms, booking pages or online shop, so the response can be counted.
- A small report: how many people are on the list for each topic, how many opened or clicked, and pre-orders or bookings that came from each message.
| Seasonal moment | Who hears | What they get |
|---|---|---|
| First asparagus | Asked for asparagus or veg news | Short message and photo |
| Spring lamb ready | Asked for meat news | Message with pre-order link |
| PYO opens | Asked for PYO | Booking link |
| Christmas orders open | Asked for Christmas | Order form link |
| Lambing or pumpkin event | Asked for events | Ticket link |
A season with the list in place
The asparagus comes in on a Thursday. That evening you take a photo, write two lines and send it to the people who asked for asparagus news. On Saturday, the regulars arrive asking for it. In October, last year's Christmas customers get a reminder that ordering is open, with a link to the form.
Because customers chose their topics, they are not bombarded, so fewer unsubscribe. And because each message links to a form or page, you can see which messages bring people in and which do not.
Does this sound like your shop?
- Regulars find out about seasonal produce too late.
- Your only way to reach customers is social media.
- There is a paper sign-up sheet by the till, or there used to be.
- Christmas orders depend on customers remembering to ask.
- Writing a newsletter never gets done in peak season.