Branding at the farmer’s market – and why it’s important
Why is branding important at the farmer’s market? As a vendor you are competing with multiple businesses at the same place and at the same time – so branding becomes a key role for standing out amongst your competitors and attracting your customers.
Branding is not a simple task so I wanted to share just a few easy wins for branding at your next market.
Brand Values – It starts with you
Business owners are notorious for focusing on their customers and not themselves. Do you have personal values or business values? We all do – we just don’t realize it.
I encourage you to sit and think about this, write them down and stay true to them. It’s been 15 years and I literally just wrote mine down, you can read them here: https://thecultivators.ca/who-we-are
With your brand values in place, it’s now time to start thinking about your brand positioning.
Brand Positioning
How are you different from all the vendors at the market? How are you an important community resource? How do you stand out? Here are a few ideas that may help – but make sure they align with the values you come up with:
- Put your phone down. Stand up and look people in the eye when they approach you – be friendly and inviting.
- Have a professional logo, a branded booth, and branded packaging on your products.
- Offer free branded samples that people can easily take with them as they browse the market (make them stand out so others ask about it).
- People want to buy products at the market, offer a bag or tote with their purchase so people aren’t limited to their hands.
- Offer a product giveaway and have people submit their emails to enter – old school style, in a box.
- Donate to a cause you believe in with every purchase you get – and advertise this.
Develop a Brand Identity
Be instantly recognizable and stand out from the other vendors – having a strong professional brand will help.
This includes a logo and colour palette, signage, packaging, website, a branded vendor table, and social media presence to name a few. All of these elements need to have a consistent look and feel.
If you’ve tried the above on your own in word or paint, and now feel it doesn’t represent your brand to the fullest, I am here to help.
I offer free consultations over zoom or email, email me at hello@thecultivators.ca
