Simple Strategies to Increase Direct-to-Consumer Meat Sales
Selling meat directly to consumers is a popular method of adding value to established ranches. For some ranchers, selling directly to consumers is even the primary method of sale. Regardless of how it fits into the operation, there are some key marketing strategies that will take sales to the next level when applied correctly.
JT Hammons – Creative Director at Farm Rebel – has built a career around effective and personalized marketing strategies for family farms, churches and now ranchers. He is passionate about helping livestock producers create strategies to effectively market meat and ultimately make more money. His experiences helping ranchers make him a wealth of knowledge in the direct-to-consumer marketing space.
The first component of successfully marketing beef directly to consumers is having the right mindset. “One hesitation people have about selling direct-to-consumer is not being able to charge what they want. However, the type of person who wants to buy directly from farmers isn’t doing it to get the product cheaper. They have other motives that are driving their decision,” says JT. The market size of people willing to pay more for a product is larger than one might think. JT shares, “In any given industry and market there are about 20% of people who are willing to pay for the premium or luxury experience. Those are the people you want to go after, not the people who want to haggle with you on price.” That 20% consists of millions of people!
Once you get your mind in the right place and are committed to the process, you must know your ideal customer within that 20%. The Farm Rebel team breaks the top 20% of meat buyers into six primary buyer types. Two examples are as follows.
Brandt the Griller – Brandt plans his weekends around smoking and grilling meat. He loves football and is an all-American guy who likes WWII history. He is most likely more attracted to grain-finished beef because of his hobby and preferred cooking style.
Patti the Planner – Patti’s life revolves around her kids and is probably a stay-at-home mom. She has goals for her family’s health, buys in bulk and is as organized as it gets. If Patti likes your product, she’ll tell others because she is in mom groups.
Identifying your ideal customer or buyer type is what allows you to hit your goals. “We can’t be all things to all people, so let’s consistently be the one thing to the one person,” says JT. It’s important to know that your ideal buyer is not necessarily who you are. Knowing who your ideal buyer is allows you to find the best places to put your marketing efforts.
To find where your ideal buyer gets their information or hangs out, think about what other hobbies they may have. JT says, “What you’ll find is somebody else already has the attention of these people. You need to find that person or group and tap into it.” A practical example of this is finding foodie groups or even World War II history groups on Facebook and engaging on other people’s posts in this group. This allows you to connect with others without selling all the time or stealing customers from competitors. JT shares the example of posting a question such as, “Does anyone have recommendations for ribeye seasonings?” in the group to create conversations and relationships within the group.
Additional social media strategies include searching hashtags on Instagram and collaborating with Facebook group owners or influencers. Approach the conversation with the mindset of serving their audience and making it a win-win-win situation. Offering to do a giveaway in exchange for email addresses is a common and successful method of collaborating because email marketing is still king.
Social media is trendy and popular, but it serves mostly as entertainment. It isn’t a place many people stop scrolling to read. Emails are a great way to follow up with your social media following in a more informational manner. “85% of farm-to-table products are purchased through email,” says JT. Building an email list allows for the average family farm to reliably make sales each month if they desire to. “We’ve found through private clients that an email list of 2,500 subscribers equals about six figures in sales a year,” says JT.
The full picture of a direct-to-consumer marking plan doesn’t have to be complex, JT encourages ranchers to think through the three M’s: Market, Message and Media. This ensures businesses are connecting the right people, sharing the right message and using the right media.
For ranchers who want to get their foot in the door, start posting real life content on Instagram and connecting with ideal customers and influencers. After that, open up a word document and start writing a sales pitch for the product that answers the following questions.
1. What is the product?
2. What can it do for the customer?
3. Why should they buy from you over others?
4. What should the customer do next to purchase?
Write it out like you talk and put the link to the document in your social media bio.
Get the full picture of these strategies by listening to the entire conversation on the Casual Cattle Conversations podcast.
