My Digital Farmer Podcast - Episode 291: Debrief on the CSA Early Renewal Campaign Results

Release Date: December 11, 2024
Host: Corinna Bench

1. Introduction to the Episode

In Episode 291 of the My Digital Farmer Podcast, host Corinna Bench delves deep into the outcomes of her annual CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) Early Renewal Campaign. As both a CSA farmer at Shared Legacy Farms in Elmore, Ohio, and the founder of MyDigitalFarmer.com, Corinna shares invaluable insights aimed at helping fellow farmers enhance their marketing strategies to boost leads and sales.

[00:00] Corinna Bench: "Every year I run an early renewal campaign to my CSA members. This year was no different. And in today's episode, I'm going to share with you the awesome results of that campaign."

2. Overview of the CSA Early Renewal Campaign

Corinna emphasizes the significance of this campaign, noting it as her biggest promotion of the year. With seven or eight years of experience, she highlights the importance of consistency and refinement in running successful promotions.

[03:25] Corinna Bench: "This is the one that I've been running for years and years, seven or eight years now, over and over and over again. And it feels really good to be able to tell the story every year that, hey, this simple process that I have been rinsing and repeating continues to work."

3. Promotional Strategy and Offer Details

The campaign was meticulously planned, running from October 20th at 7 AM to October 27th at 10 PM, a deliberate seven-day window to instill a sense of urgency. The primary offer included:

• CSA Renewal Price: Increased by $20 from the previous year, priced at $590 for an 18-week season without emphasizing the price hike.
• Bonus Gifts:
  • A $10 value package of free chicken sausage from collaborator Anderson Farms.
  • A PDF of the top 40 recipes from Shared Legacy Farms' history.

[06:45] Corinna Bench: "I raised the price by $20 from last year, but I didn't point any attention to that. I just said here's the price."

4. Add-On Products and Their Impact

Beyond the standard CSA shares, Corinna offered add-on products to enhance the main offer:

• Egg Shares: Limited to 120, a highly sought-after addition where spots often sell out within minutes.
• Flower Shares
• Fruit Shares: Noted as having the highest margin, though sales were lower than expected.
• Coffee Bean Shares: Included a bonus free coffee drink from Maddie and Bella's.
• Artisan Cheese Shares: Featured a free block of smoked butter from Boss Mouse Cheese, significantly boosting sales.

[13:50] Corinna Bench: "We sold a lot more cheese. The smoked butter was a huge hit this year."

5. Creating Urgency and Engagement

Corinna employed various tactics to generate excitement and prompt immediate action:

• Golden Egg Challenge: Hidden golden plastic eggs in some shares, granting winners early access to purchases.

  [10:15] Corinna Bench: "If you got a golden egg, you got to cut in line and pre-order your CSA before the cart opened."

• Freezer Challenge: Encouraged community members to prepare and freeze produce, fostering engagement within her private CSA Facebook group.

• Daily Questions and Giveaways: Engaged members with daily prompts and prizes like sourdough loaves and cookies.

• Seven Days of Giveaways: Each day during the campaign, a prize was awarded to a random purchaser, incentivizing early and continuous participation.

• Reveal of the Chicken Share Partnership: Announced a new partnership with Anderson Farms, adding another layer of excitement and anticipation.

[14:30] Corinna Bench: "The launch felt like an event and the prizes made it feel exciting and fun."

6. Promotion Timeline and Execution

The campaign was structured meticulously:

• Pre-Launch (September 22nd - October 4th): Included the Freezer Challenge to warm up the community.
• Launch Week (October 20th - 27th): Active promotion with bonuses, contests, and engagement strategies.
• Post-Launch (November 1st - 7th): Targeted the CSA wait list with a secondary promotion, although with lower conversion rates.

[12:10] Corinna Bench: "The person who won the prize had purchased that day, as luck would have it."

7. Breakdown of Sales and Results

The vegetable shares were the primary focus, with 350 spots available. The sales distribution was heavily front-loaded:

• Day 1: Sold 286 shares.
• Remaining Days: Sold an additional 22 shares over seven days.

Add-On Shares Sold:

• Cheese Shares: 100
• Coffee Shares: 57
• Egg Shares: 157
• Flower Shares: 58
• Fruit Shares: 151

[15:00] Corinna Bench: "I sold 286 vegetable shares in day one."

8. Budget and Return on Investment

Corinna kept the promotional budget lean:

• Bonus Gifts: $900
• Prizes and Giveaways: $370
• Total Spent: $1,270
• Total Revenue: $286,493

This translates to a Cost Per Lead (CPL) of $3.27 and an impressive Earnings Per Lead (EPL) of $738.

[14:50] Corinna Bench: "That tells me that this particular CSA customer list is incredibly profitable, incredibly valuable."

9. Earnings Per Lead (EPL) Analysis

EPL is a critical metric Corinna utilizes to assess the value of each contact on her list. For the CSA members targeted in this campaign, the EPL stood at $738, reflecting the strong profitability of her dedicated customer base.

[14:10] Corinna Bench: "If I just look at the people who were pitched this renewal campaign, each of those people on that list are worth $738."

10. Reflections and Learnings from the Campaign

Corinna shares several key takeaways:

• Goal Alignment: Setting specific, strategic goals led to targeted actions and successful outcomes.
• Focused Promotion: Emphasizing high-margin products like the cheese shares resulted in increased sales.
• Community Engagement: Interactive challenges and contests fostered a vibrant, engaged community.
• Handling Setbacks: Although fruit share sales were below expectations, Corinna views this as an opportunity to refine future strategies rather than a setback.

[19:30] Corinna Bench: "If you run a promotion campaign, sometimes you’re not going to hit your goals. You’ll miss the mark. That doesn't mean you can't try again."

11. Strategies for Future Promotions

To address underperforming areas like the fruit shares, Corinna plans to:

• Conduct Customer Surveys: Understand preferences and reasons behind lower sales.
• Run Targeted Promotions: Reintroduce add-ons with adjusted offers to better resonate with customers.

Additionally, she emphasizes the importance of pre-launch activities to ensure customers are primed and ready to purchase, leading to higher conversion rates.

12. Overview of Wait List and Secondary Promotion

Following the primary campaign, Corinna approached her wait list with a separate promotion run from November 1st to 7th. Despite consistent engagement, the conversion rate was lower at 10%, yielding $11,095 from 14 sales out of 145 contacts.

[22:40] Corinna Bench: "I want to point out that sometimes different types of lists will give you different conversion rates."

This disparity underscores the importance of nurturing both existing customers and new leads with tailored strategies.

13. Total Campaign Results and Conclusion

Summing up both the primary and secondary promotions:

• Total Revenue: $299,978
• Total Orders: 335
• Average Order Value (AOV): $2.5 products per order

Corinna concludes by highlighting the power of data-driven strategies and the necessity of continuous learning and adaptation to maintain and enhance business growth.

[27:15] Corinna Bench: "One of the great things about running an early renewal campaign at the end of October is that you know where you stand by the time you get to the end of the fiscal year."

14. Resources and Tools

Corinna utilizes a Google Doc promotion planner, detailing daily tasks and ensuring systematic execution of campaigns. Additionally, she offers a course titled "Early Bird Campaigns that Convert", designed to provide comprehensive guidance on running successful CSA promotions.

[29:30] Corinna Bench: "I have all the different things mapped out. It kept me organized and it really allowed me to not think about it all the time because I wasn't worrying if I was going to forget something."

15. Final Thoughts

Corinna wraps up the episode by encouraging farmers to analyze their promotional data meticulously, celebrate successes, and learn from areas needing improvement. Her holistic approach combines strategic planning, community engagement, and continuous optimization to achieve remarkable business outcomes.

[30:45] Corinna Bench: "Remember, I believe in you."

Note: For more detailed strategies and access to Corinna's promotional tools, listeners are encouraged to visit MyDigitalFarmer.com and explore resources like the Early Bird Campaigns that Convert course and the Farm Marketing School membership.