Marketing ideas

[firetech]

I mostly sell at farmers markets and gate sales. What are some of the things you do to get the most sales for your time. We are always nicely dressed, a clean brightly colored table cloth I like yellow,eye catching and shows off the syrup well. We give samples 3 out of 4 buy I use a plastic spoon and a trash container no one wants a stick spoon in there pocket. Good signage, maple syrup info sheet from our State Assc, and little cook book for a $1 has gone over well . We sometimes have random pictures from a scrap book out to see the sugarhouse and operations. And I'm picky about the markets that get good traffic flow. I always set up a canopy so I'm shaded and the syrup is to. Is there anything missing???

[Dill]

A sap bucket makes a good trash can. It even comes with a hanger.

[gmcooper]

Sounds like your doing a great job already. Have you tried giving out samples of something made with syrup? Has to be something easy to handle that way, and have the recipe available for them to take home? That seems to be one of the hot trends now at markets is to show them what they can do with your products that is easy to make.

[JuniperHillSugar]

Has anyone tried a self-service roadside stand? I would be worried about "walk-offs". We are starting with eggs and goat milk, but would like to offer syrup as well. For sure marketing/sales completes the cycle of sugaring as I see it.

SUGARMAKER'S TRIFECTA

A) NATURE'S PRODUCTION (Sugarbush quality, weather conditions) - B) MAN'S (or woman's) PROCESSSING ABILITY(Tapping, Evaporator/Fuel, Bottling) - C) MARKETING/SALES/GIFTS/PERSONAL USE (Some income to allow for improvement in Production & Processing)

If we take out any one of the three requirements, then we really don't have a reason to continue. No Sap = No Syrup, No processing = No Sales, No Use/Sales = No need to produce more.

Even at a Hobby scale I think that we can make it pay for itself in just a few years.

[Mapleman(Greg)]

they have a high window so you have to stretch a little but they say for the most part they don't lose alot to walk aways

[brookledge]

Seems like I remember someone from New York or maybe Pa. that had a self serve set up and they got rip off. Certainly would likely have more cash in it at times compared to vegtables
Keith

[Bucket Head]

My buddy and I used to sell his honey and my syrup at a roadside self-serve stand at his parents house. It was a great way to sell product. We had a few missing units and one instance of vandalism which was not good, but we also had hundreds and hundreds of trouble free, no-effort-involved sales. I have thought about doing it again out front here. Yes, theres a chance of theivery and vandalism, but you take that same chance if you were running a store or gift shop-type business. If you live on a road that has a fair amount of traffic you'll be surprised as to how many sales it will generate. It might be slow to start, but once your "regulars" get established and start telling family, friends and coworkers, and they start telling people, you will see sales- guaranteed.

Steve

[802maple]

I know a couple guys that sell syrup roadside, self serve. They said that they used to get ripped off every once and a while, but it was cheaper then hiring someone to watch it all day or for them to take a day off from work. One of the guys bought those fake security cameras from Northern Tool and he hasn't had any thefts since.

[michiganfarmer2]

I mostly sell at farmers markets and gate sales. What are some of the things you do to get the most sales for your time. We are always nicely dressed, a clean brightly colored table cloth I like yellow,eye catching and shows off the syrup well. We give samples 3 out of 4 buy I use a plastic spoon and a trash container no one wants a stick spoon in there pocket. Good signage, maple syrup info sheet from our State Assc, and little cook book for a $1 has gone over well . We sometimes have random pictures from a scrap book out to see the sugarhouse and operations. And I'm picky about the markets that get good traffic flow. I always set up a canopy so I'm shaded and the syrup is to. Is there anything missing???

sounds liek you have some good ideas

[michiganfarmer2]

I know a couple guys that sell syrup roadside, self serve. They said that they used to get ripped off every once and a while, but it was cheaper then hiring someone to watch it all day or for them to take a day off from work. One of the guys bought those fake security cameras from Northern Tool and he hasn't had any thefts since.

very interesting idea

[220 maple]

I usually set up at 3 local festivals, I post a maple season factoid sheet. Ex. How many gallons of sap gathered, how many gallons it took to make a gallon of syrup this Spring, how many trees tapped, or how many taps? I always end the sheet with a question. Last year I told them how much sap was gathered and how many gallons it took to make a gallon. Then I asked them how many gallons did we make? This year my sheet gives them the amount of sap gathered and how many gallons it took to make 1 gallon. Then I asked them if they could figure out the Sugar Content of the Sap? I gave them a hint. 1% sugar would require 86 gallons of sap. The hook that stops them in their tracks is the amount of sap gathered. Print it in BIG BOLD LETTERS.

Mark 220 Maple