What would Anna and Clara say to a Farmer?

During my exploration for ideas in the UK recently, I visited the Coal Drop Yards, a recently developed retail leisure complex behind King’s Cross Railway Station in London.

None of the retailers there were farmers, hence this was a good opportunity to look at marketing and retailing objectively and search out ideas that could be adapted to the farm scenario.

The store that really stood out to me was Sostrene Grene, a gift shop aimed at women looking for home improvement ideas. The product range included home interiors, furniture, kitchenware, children’s room, school office, arts and crafts, table settings, seasonal food and accessories.

It is a relatively small store, but full of ideas. It has a boutique store layout that encourages consumers to visit every department, and its merchandising style is impressive. What really interested me was the signage strategy. The signs were based on a conversation between two characters, Anna and Clara. One of these characters was the expert and the other the novice. They had a conversation about the product on display below them. As a result of this conversation, they advised the reader on what to purchase and how to purchase it.

The result of this strategy was :

• The customer lingered longer looking at the merchandise on display.

• They subconsciously engaged in the conversation themselves, agreeing or disagreeing with the comments.

• The retailer could focus the customer's attention on specific products

• The store was easily able to upsell due to the conversation.

• The average sale increased.

This concept was excellent, but you may be thinking, what has this got to do with agritourism?

Imagine that on your farm, Anna was the farmer and Clara was the farmer's wife. They had a conversation on signage next to your product on the product on display.

Anna could question what you did with a specific product. Clara could suggest a recipe. Below the conversation board were the ingredients to make a specific meal.

The opportunities are wide-ranging. The key is it personalises the visit for the consumer and engages them in the unique features of your farm.

To be successful, the signage would need to change regularly; I would be changing them once a month. This may be the key to the success of this strategy.