Differentiating in Short Supply Chains
For several years now, the context has been favorable to short supply chain marketing, and more and more producers are taking a liking to it.
This type of marketing has many undeniable advantages such as control over production costs and direct contact with customers.
However, it should not be forgotten that it is also a very time-consuming organization and that standing out through the short supply chain can be tedious.
To develop a unique marketing approach and differentiate oneself in short supply chains, one can act at different levels, depending on :
- Their specificities.
- Their capacities.
- Their desires.
At the production system level
It is essential to conduct a market study to understand the environment, the production of other farmers if you want to differentiate yourself or ally (cf : Attracting and retaining customers in short supply chains).
The advantages of this study are multiple. It is not only about limiting the risks of entering a saturated market. It can also allow you to get closer to your neighbors to market together, that is to say offer a more diversified product catalog to potential customers allowing to :
- Reduce prospecting time.
- Be more attractive to prospects with a more diversified offer.
- Pool very time-consuming tasks such as deliveries.
At the product level
Is it possible to increase the added value of your products? Processing your products can be a good way to guarantee your difference and increase the shelf life of fresh products (Marketing and processing in market gardening).
There are several levers to set up a processing workshop on the farm :
- Outsource product processing to a craftsman.
- Rent a processing workshop nearby for a few hours a week.
- Set up a processing workshop on your farm.
Be careful, you must study the market well because these solutions can quickly become costly.
Apart from processing, if you already have original products or those with atypical production methods, do not hesitate to highlight them.
At the visual identity level
It is a key lever to easily stand out.
Our visual identity must be unique and striking.
It will shape consumers' first impression even before they have tasted the products.
At a minimum, you should set up a small business card (with your logo, that's best), the farm name, and especially the contact details (email address, phone number, social networks, website depending on habits…).
You can also produce flyers or customize your packaging.
For this, there are different options :
- You can create your own visual identity with specialized software like Canva.
- You can call on a professional.
At the customer experience level
Putting yourself in your customers' shoes to offer them a simple purchasing experience can also make a difference.
If you develop farm sales, everything must be clearly indicated :
- Parking for customers.
- Location of the sales point.
- Opening hours of the sales point.
As much as possible, try to offer hours adapted to your customers' constraints (after work or on weekends potentially).
If you offer to deliver to your customers, they are delighted but be careful, you must be organized not to exhaust yourself :
- Define the delivery geographic area, minimum order amount, and shipping fees.
- Organize your vehicle to avoid wasting time searching for packages.
- Plan your route to save time, with the Mapotempo tool.
- Remind your customers the day before delivery of the order amount and delivery time, for example by automatic SMS.
Make sure to keep your information up to date.
For example, if you sell on a marketplace like Pour de Bon, do not forget to update stocks so customers can always get what they ordered. In case of stock shortage, explain the situation and offer new products as substitutes.
Tools now exist to share our product catalog with all our customers so they can reserve available products themselves, at the right time for us, for pickup at a drop-off point or delivery, in 3 clicks.
To start and test marketing, it is possible to set up a Google form.
Then, do not forget to share this order form to get the most visibility possible : Share your order form on all digital services.
All these attentions can really make a difference with customers.
At the communication level
The last parameter to stand out is communication.
Talk about yourself and people will talk about you.
An excellent lever for effective communication is social networks.
You do not have to use them all; choose the one you are most comfortable with and that your consumers use (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram…).
- Publish regularly to create a real community. Find more details in this article : Using social networks to promote direct sales services.
- Communication can also be done through paper media : flyers, business cards, and event organization.
In any case, the best is to be visible in as many places as possible to attract the most potential customers and set up communication that reflects us.
You must create a "universe" that is your own so that consumers can quickly identify us. Note that consumers appreciate putting faces and actions on what they eat.
So do not hesitate to share photos of yourself and information about your production methods; this is also what will make you different from another producer.
In any case, what is important to keep in mind is to set up a marketing system that reflects us and to highlight it in the eyes of our customers.
We are all unique in our own way; it is important that our customers notice it and find the particularity that will make them come back.
Sources
This article was written thanks to the kind contribution of Sucrine Club.
