Many Small Farms Start an Online Store for the Wrong Reason

Did you know that acquiring a new customer can cost 5 times as much as retaining an existing one?

Did you also know that a 5% increase in customer retention can boost profits by 25%?

Those numbers come from studies across retail and small businesses. You already have customers who know your produce. Keeping them coming back is often easier and cheaper than finding new ones every week.

What can you do right now to encourage your existing shoppers to buy from you again?

Email newsletters help, especially if you already send them. But they take time to write. And even then, the call to action matters.

Instead of just "See you at the market this Saturday," you could say: "We have your usual favorites ready. Preorder now, and when you pick up, we'll have a sample of the new vegetable we just harvested."

That small change gets customers to commit in advance and gets them excited about trying something new. It turns regular buyers into more reliable ones.

This is where a simple online store, like Tangaza, can help.

On market day, you can also set out the free "Preorder Online" sign holder we send to our customers. Shoppers see it at your stall without you having to say a word. When they visit the page, they are encouraged to share their email so they can get notifications about store openings and reminders about when to order. Most can finish ordering in under 5 minutes.

Shoppers who use Tangaza receive pickup reminders and store-opening reminders with what is offered that week. This solves the common problem of customers forgetting what you have available between market days, making them more likely to keep buying from you rather than going elsewhere.

Many people say you should start an online store to get more business. That can be true. But for most small farms, the bigger win is using it to hold onto the customers you already have. Frequent preorder customers are great candidates to become your CSA members.

We are always looking for ways to help you retain customers, and we would welcome your ideas and feedback.