Marketing Your Expertise in a Direct-To-Consumer Business

This is Tim Hammerich of the Ag Information Network with your Farm of the Future Report.

Marketing a direct-to-consumer meat business takes more than advertising. Building trust with customers often starts by being a reliable source of information and expertise. Wayne Swanson of Swanson Family Farms says establishing yourself as an expert can be one of the most effective ways to grow a loyal customer base.

Swanson… “ Most people when they're talking about farming, they're trying to get you instantly into commodity, instantly to supply a store or to supply a restaurant. We tried that and failed miserably. But I always had people calling me for beef. So around 2009, I started doing more intentional sales to people. And so once I then had a demand, a buddy of mine said, ‘Man, just become the expert.’ He said, ‘Don't worry about making money right now.’ He said, ‘If you can become an expert in this space, the trust that you're gonna build with your customers will outweigh the pictures you're putting up or the video you're putting up, because they're gonna be able to sense in you that you, one, are the expert in this space, that you have done the work, done the research, skinned your knee a couple times, and come out of it on the other end so you can make sure they have nutrient-dense products.’”

Learn more about Swanson’s operation at swansonfamilyfarmllc.com.