Happy May, and this means spring is in full swing. We’ve had over 4″ of rain so far in April, which started off with complaints of dry weather and has ended with puddles. Spring is also a time for me to get things in order. New systems are created like the new brooders to house more baby chicks at one time. Old systems are dragged back into the sunlight to see what kinks need grease and what needs fixing. With the help of Gampi, we’ve been making use of the rainy days to get all the boxes, box liners, syrup jars, and other assorted inventory sorted in the barn. Our barn ceiling is 16 feet and we’re finally able to make use of that vertical space.
I’ve also been trying to find order in my body and health. Good thing I have willing companions for my morning exercises. If there is anyone with experience dealing with sciatic pain, I have been stumped trying to find relief from pain and discomfort…except in times like in this picture. Send me an email with any suggestions or thoughts.
Then there is an order of a different kind: the ones that come in every week and keep our business going. And behind every order is a customer that found us either by searching the internet, social media or most likely by word of mouth. So when I sat down this winter to budget out the numbers for the year, plan the production numbers and check that against our goals I was confronted with a new question for our business: how do we grow our customer base to people we don’t know?
I am used to the trust and confidence you can build when meeting someone face to face. For example when I meet an interested customer on a meat delivery trip I can show them what our meat looks like, I can explain what we do and answer any questions. Similarly at a farmers market I can gauge interest and answer questions. With covid receding but still a presence, and with our home delivery many potential customers will never meet me, they may just find our website and base their entire customer experience on that alone.
I thought I would ask for help from our most trusted marketing department: you our existing customers.
New and improved Customer Referrals.
I have plugged this idea before, but after spending thousands of dollars last year on Facebook and Google ads with little to show for it I’d like to try this again with bigger incentives:) Here are the new customer referral details:
1. For each customer that you refer and makes a purchase you will receive $20 in credit.
2. Each customer that you refer will also receive $25 off their first purchase with us.
I’ve set up an instruction page on how to find your referral link and where to check your referral credit. Help us spread the word, save you and your friends some money.
Spread the Word. Tell your friends, family, colleges, local school forum, church community. We all have a few email lists that we use to communicate with our various groups and communities, consider sending out a quick note to let folks know where you get your meat, how you like it and how they can get started.
Example of a quick email:
Hey there, we want to let everyone know that we get our meat directly from our farmers at Reber Rock Farm. They raise Pastured Chicken and Pork and they only feed Organic Grain. Their Beef only ever eats grass. Ordering from them is easy and they deliver right to my door every week. It is an easy way to keep the freezer stocked with the best meat I can find and support a local farm.
Just click on my referral link (your referral link here) and you can save $25 on your first order.
Try sending this out at work, at your local school, to your local church group.
Any way you can help us spread the word really helps.
Reber Rock Farm Blog 