What If Your First Impression Was Your Only One!

By Jane Eckert - Eckert AgriMarketing

Remember when you first started school, and your mom told you how important it was to look and act your very best? That was probably the first of many lessons in the importance of first impressions.

Recently, I talked with a farmer who usually has one, and only one chance to really WOW his customers. One chance, and then he knows that they probably will never return again to his property.

Most of us in agritourism build our business through those important repeat customers, families that return season after season, year after year. And when they return, they’ve brought their friends with them.

So what do you do when you’ve just got that one big chance?

Ali’i Kula Lavender Farms

Alii Chang

Alii Chang is the “lavender visionary” for Ali’i Kula Lavender Farms in Maui, Hawaii. The 50-minute walking tour through rolling fields of lavender is an absolute must for any visitor to the islands. Though lavender is not native to Hawaii, Chang has successfully cultivated more than 45 different varieties for taste and aroma. Nestled along the skirt of Haleakala, the view from the lavender farm is absolutely breath taking.

According to their website, http://www.aliikulalavender.com, Ali'i Kula Lavender is the only place in the world that has certain types of Lavender that bloom year around. "People want to see, touch and learn about Lavender," says Chang. “Lavender is kind of mystical and mysterious to many. We've found that people are interested in learning about lavender, and began offering Garden Tea Tours and Garden Culinary Luncheon Tours as part of our agricultural operation to educate the public of its uses.”

But alas, one visit, and most of Chang’s customers are gone… gone for good in most cases…Hawaii, for most of us, is often a “once in a lifetime” visit.

So then what?

Farm Revenues climb ---Thanks to the Internet!

Ali’i Kula Lavender has found ways to keep those one-time visitors coming back, but now, his guests return through cyber-space. Over 80% of the farm revenues come from Retail Sales and a growing percentage of those sales comes through their On-Line store via the Internet.

That’s right; Ali’i Kula Lavender Farm does everything possible to make sure their customers can find them online again, even if they can’t come back to the rolling lavender fields. The fragrance, taste, and memory of Ali’i Lavender is only a click away at www.aliikulalavender.com.

It is a beautiful yet simple website that invites you to a fantastic, one-of-a-kind experience. And to enjoy it now, before you arrive, or after you’ve gone, click on the products button for a chance to consider their vast inventory of lavender products. From apparel with the raised embroidered Pinau (dragon fly) logo, to body lotions, shampoos, and gift certificates, it’s all there, based on the farm’s primary product, lavender.

Ali’i Kula Lavender aggressively finds ways to attract others to their website and their large inventory of lavender products. Recently, Hawaiian airlines sent out 12,000 flyers to their Elite Membership (comprised of their well traveled customers), asking the recipients to complete a survey on the website of Ali’i Kula Lavender, and in return they would receive a free gift from the Farm. The Farm was told to expect somewhere between a 1 and 2 percent return, or 200-300 responses. Instead, they received 7,000 replies! Of course Alii sent the free gifts, and they were delighted to add 7,000 names and email addresses to their marketing list.

The Farm Market Deserves Our Share

More and more farmers are realizing the power of increasing their profits from the Internet as Ali’i Kula Lavender Farm has done. The benefits are significant! Your On-line store is open 24 hours, and is managed by an “automated” cashier. You don’t have to build another store to operate it, so there’s little impact to your farm property. Imagine, you can have thousands of people visit you without expanding your physical infrastructure. And you can keep in touch with your customers through this fast, new technology. You can tell them about your seasons, your openings, your ripening calendar, and your new fall activities…attracting more new customers, and encouraging your existing customers to come back often. And you can set up an on-line store, selling jams and jellies, salsas and sauces, and much, much more…just as Alii has done

If you never saw much reason to do anything with the computer except add the bills and help the kids with homework, let Ali’i Kula Lavender Farm remind you that there are new customers out there. It’s a new world, with buyers never leaving their homes, yet spending millions and millions of dollars. And the farm market deserves our share!

Steps to take: If you don’t have a computer, get one. If you haven’t “surfed” the web, set aside a few hours each week to look at what other farms are doing on the Internet. If you haven’t gotten a website, figure out how to make one, or have one made.

As you register guests to your farm, ask them for their email address. Save them. This is a fast, very inexpensive way to keep in touch with your customers. After you have a few email addresses, begin sending an electronic newsletter to these customers. Maybe just a note telling them the peaches are ripe, or maybe a nice newsletter with pictures and stories. There is relatively little or no cost to create or have an electronic newsletter created, and there is practically no cost to send the newsletter to your customers and friends.

These are the tools of today’s farmer. The time has come for every farm to plow new ground, with today’s new tools.

Jane Eckert is the founder of Eckert AgriMarketing (www.eckertagrimarketing.com), a full-service marketing and public relations firm that helps farmers to sell directly to consumers, diversify operations and become tourist destinations. She is also CEO of www.RuralBounty.com, a search directory for agritourism farms and ranches in North America. Jane can be reached at 314-862-6288 or you may email her directly.