How to Find Your First 10 CSA Customers

In 2008, we started a CSA called Shared Legacy Farms with only 12 people.

That was back before there was Facebook. Before social media. Before it was easy to make a website.

If you’re a farmer, and you’re thinking about joining the CSA today, you’re probably wondering…how do you find those VERY first customers?

That’s what this blogpost is all about.

It’s 2019 now. If I had to do it all over again today, would I do anything differently? What advice can experienced CSA farmers give you? 

Read on, my friend.

Tip #1. Start small. Focus on caring about the relationship.

There’s a reason I titled this blogpost “Your First 10 Customers.”

I did not say “Your First 50 CSA Customers.” I didn’t even say 30.

I said ten.

Time and again, you’ll hear this word of advice from other CSA farmers who have walked in your shoes. “Start small.”

Really small.

In fact, a lot of farmers started with 3, 6, 10 people.

Here’s why this is a good idea.

CSA is hard to get right. It takes time to master the timing of crop production so you always have things in the pipeline. You need to learn the ropes and get some growing experience under your belt. You also have to take good care of your people. The customer service needs are extremely high. 

When you start out with a small number, you can better manage the expectations. And when shit hits the fan (and it will), they will be much  more understanding and forgiving if they know they are “founding members” who are helping you start a new business.

Our first 12 customers knew we were rookies when we signed up. We asked for feedback along the way. And they knew that they were helping 2 young entrepreneurs build something from scratch. Because we talked to them regularly (and because there were so few of them), they felt special. And they felt like they were a part of something bigger.

They wanted us to succeed.

I still remember their names: the Sawvels, Eagleshams, Bakers, Hagenbuchs, Hoffmans. 

Here’s another tip: don’t let your CSA be your first farming venture. You should not start a CSA from scratch with zero farming experience.

I know… it’s tempting to grab the fast cash that you get from those deposits. But as long-time Farmer Katie Bishop said: 

“We started with 30 members. Honestly? We didn’t have enough farming experience to start a CSA after only our first year farming… I wish we had started smaller with exclusively people we knew before farming (like friends or family) or we waited for another year to become better growers.”

Although Kurt came from a long line of growers, raising sugar beets and tomatoes, peppers, and melons — we had NEVER grown specialty crops for CSA. And we had several awkward moments that season when veggies never materialized.

“Oh crap! What will we put in the box?”

Fortunately, when you’re small, the damage control isn’t as bad.

Tip #2. Leverage connections you already have, and build your base from there.

We launched our new business off the backs of Bench Farms — Kurt’s parents. They had an established business at the farmer’s market. They also had a successful roadside stand.

When Kurt’s mom told her customers, “My son is coming back to the area with his new wife and baby to start a CSA…” her best people said, “Cool! Sign me up!” We were also able to use her stand and market stall as our first 2 pick-up sites.

Many CSA farmers recommend having a farmer’s market or roadside stand/store first, and recruiting from those core customers.

CSA Farmer Barbara Gosnell said: “Folks who consistently shopped with us at farmer’s market were our first CSA customers.”

Another common tactic is to recruit your first members from family and friends, neighbors, co-workers — people who already know you and trust you.

Go after people who want to see you succeed. They will be willing to offer feedback your first year as you work out your kinks, and often they’ll forego some of the disappointments along the way for the greater good of helping you as their friend.

Farmer Christine Wise wrote:

“Our first year we had 6 CSA members. We wrote personal letters to about 20 families we knew from homeschooling, and staff from a nature center where we volunteered regularly. So they were all people who knew us personally, and how knew how serious we were about being in it for the long haul.”

See how Christine started small (with 6 members) and also leveraged her current relationships with people who would tell her the truth and back her up?

Do it. It works.

Tip #3. Think GRASS ROOTS strategy. Speak everywhere you can.

You will be pounding the pavement to find your first 10 customers, and you’ll be doing it the old-fashioned way… face to face.

I know I teach digital marketing with email drip campaigns and social media awareness.

This is also important to start building in the early years so that you can scale your business.

But at the beginning, you’ve got to pay your dues.

Sarah Mahan writes:

“You’ve got be going out into the community- meeting people, shaking hands and making eye connection. This was before we had a table in a market and we were just starting out. We got a personal connection and got to tell our story. It’s time intensive- but it works especially in the beginning. We went to chamber of commerce events, potlucks in the area, community events, educational talks…

Yes, yes, and YES.

Sarah nails it on the head. There’s just no substitute for face to face connection.

This means you need to look for any and every opportunity to speak to public groups.

Farmer Bree Bacon recommended a long list of places you could show up:

• rotary clubs
• library groups
• gardening clubs
• health fairs
• town community events (like the Apple Festival, Walleye Festival)
• coffee shops
• master gardeners
• Slow Food group
• homeschool groups
• Herb sale
• Seed swap
• Country club (there are $$ people here who love good food)
• Kiwanis
• Parenting groups
• Earth day fair
• non-profit raffle baskets and fundraisers

In fact, we still do this! This week, we are going to the Woodville Library to speak to a group of Library Club Founders about “Life on the Farm.”

Farm Manager Laurel Blomquist shared this: “We showed up to local events that were highlighting food as medicine or healthy living, sometimes as a vendor, sometimes as a participant with brochures in hand. These people didn’t always join, but they TALKED about you later and built awareness.”

I LOVE this last sentence… realize that even though your hard work won’t always result in sales, it is not in vain. You are building awareness for your farm and brand. 

And these people you’re talking to?… some of them know your ideal customer avatar, and they will talk about you. Over time, this awareness begins to swell and will turn into conversions.

And don’t forget to use the telephone. 

I closed a lot of sales my first few years by getting on the horn and talking to a lead for 15 minutes, answering questions and sharing our story.

Don’t just rely on an email series to do the job. Face-to-face, person-to-person sales still trumps digital every time.

Tip #4. Join a Foodie Facebook group where your customer avatar hangs out.

This tip is brilliant.

Farmer Sharon Mauzy found over 30 new customers this way. She writes:

“I was part of a local “foodies” Facebook group. I posted asking if a farm were to have a meat CSA, what types of meats would they, as foodies, be interested in.. and would anyone even be interested at all…”

Facebook groups are powerful tools in 2019. You can find a local parenting group, or foodie tribe, or even your local “Talk of Woodville” group and request access.

The key is not to be sales-y all the time in the group. Be a true community member. Chime in and share ideas. Be helpful. Then when you have an offer, throw it in the group.

We did not have Facebook around in 2008, so this is not a strategy I could employ.

If I were starting from scratch today, it would definitely be at the top of my list.

Tip #5. Build a website.

Our website sucked in 2008. That’s partly because it was expensive to get someone to make one. And it was nearly impossible to make one yourself.

Nowadays with tools like Wix, Squarespace, Square, and even WordPress, you can build a simple website without a lot of trouble.

Here’s why I think you need a website… more and more people shop for their stuff online. And if you don’t have a website, your business doesn’t look legit, and it may look old-fashioned and out of touch.

Researching a high-ticket item should be expected. Your customer is going to want to know more. They will hunt at least once for a digital property (like a website) to see if you are for real.

You also need to offer a way to pay online — most of your people will purchase by clicking a button on a website these days — not filling out paper forms.

Farmer Carrie Ann writes: “It’s very important to make it easy for people to sign up. We accepted a few forms of payment right away. Accepting credit cards though your website is absolutely one of the best things we decided to do.” 

A website doesn’t have to be fancy with lots of pages. And if you have lots of other “things” you sell, at least make a landing page for your CSA box.

If you really can’t afford a website, then at the very least you should have a Facebook business page. Which leads me to the next tip…

Tip #6. Create a Facebook page or Instagram Account

CSA Farmer Rose Bisanz wrote: “The other 20 [new customers] I got from Facebook posts, word of mouth and posters. FB was huge for communicating with people initially.”

The real value of the business Facebook page (besides giving you the ability to run Facebook ads) is in the “awareness” and “engagement” phase of the marketing funnel.

Think of all your sources of traffic piling into a giant funnel. Potential customers hear about you from many different sources (like Facebook, Instagram, friends, fliers, word of mouth, YouTube), and it takes some time for them to warm up to you. As they do, they will move deeper into the “funnel” and some of them will eventually be your ideal customer and buy.

You can’t get those customers to convert until they go through the “awareness” phase of the customer journey. So platforms like Facebook and Instagram help you show off your farm, your farmers, and your products — and invite them into that story.

So create a Facebook and Instagram strategy — but don’t get too lost here. Remember, the first 10 customers will primarily come from face-to-face contact with people.

Tip #7. Leverage WORD OF MOUTH. 

We asked our first members who joined to help us find people.

I would say something like, “Patty, you understand what we’re trying to do here. Who do you know that I could reach out to and try to recruit for this venture?”

I would then either ask for them to make the first contact with their friend and see if I could give them a call. Or I would just ask them do the testimonial.

I actually had a challenge that first year to see if everyone could be responsible for sending me ONE new customer. 

I also asked my customers to set up “home parties” — kind of like Pampered Chef or Tupperware parties. They would invite 4 families, prepare food, and I would show up, tell our story, and sign people up. Those worked pretty well!

You’ve got to remember that these founding members have  connections and foodie friends. They know who your ideal customer avatar is. So don’t be shy to use them. They want you to succeed.

Farmer Bridget Zurcher had a similar piece of advice:

“My very first year I trialed 3 families. They all worked with my husband and were very good about giving good feedback to build my confidence for the next year. It was great to try only 3 people to get an idea of what I needed to plant, and when. The second year my customers came from word of mouth and facebook posts.”

Be sure after your first season to collect testimonials! This should become a regular “discipline” even as you scale.

Your best source of leads will ALWAYS be your own current members. So build in a mechanism into your business that encourages these testimonials to happen and expects your customers to find new leads for you.

Farmer Vickie Fryman said: “ We posted pictures on Facebook and used testimonials from customers about our fresh produce.”

Brilliant use of Facebook. These also work well as ads.

You can learn more about how to create effective testimonials here.

Tip #8. Make brochures and fliers. Invest some time here.

Because you’re doing a lot of face-to-face sales and pounding the pavement in your early years, you will need something to give your prospects.

That’s why you need a good paper-flier-marketing asset.

I say “marketing asset” because it could be a variety of things:

• trifold
• postcard design
• business card (I’ve used them as coupons or as lead magnets)
• poster
• brochure
• one page flier

Once you have your paper marketing asset of choice, you are going to put it wherever you can think of…

I put them in health food stores, the post office, library, grocery stores, gyms, my chiropractor’s office, high end restaurants, my parent’s farm stand — basically wherever I could find a cork board or a willing business.

I still remember stuffing a bunch into a manilla folder with the words “Take one”, then pinning it to my post office cork board. They went like hot cakes.

You’ll also want to leave a bunch in your purse or in your car. Bring them to events that you staff. Bring them to the farmer’s market to pass out.

Farmer Laurel Blomquist wrote: “Since we are focusing on hyper-local members, we went door to door with a bag of sunflower seeds, a letter explaining who we are, and our business cards to 250-300 of our neighbors.” 

You could even try mailing them through EDDM (Every Door Direct Mail) — although I think facebook ads would be a better use of your money. Or stuff them into your local paper as an insert.

You’ll spend more money on brochures in your early years. But with resources like canva.com (a free graphic design tool) and vistaprint.com — you can easily and affordably create postcards that will do the trick.

One more point: keep your messaging on these paper fliers simple. Resist the urge to try and stuff everything and the kitchen sink on the paper. Show a picture, identify the basic offer and value proposition, and show where they can learn more. Let your website do the heavy lifting in terms of explanation.

Tip #9. Make one of your pick up sites at the farmers market.

The goal is to have a highly-trafficked area where your customer avatar is already hanging out.

Our CSA box is a beautiful plastic nesting tote with our logo/sticker on it. Our customers pick up the box and carry it through the market as they continue to shop. Sometimes it’s even on the back of a little wagon. 

This creates curiosity among the crowd. “What is that? Where’d you get that?” And it becomes a talk trigger.

As we grew bigger, our boxes would stack like a wall behind us under the tent. Passers-by would stop and say, “How can I get one of those?” Which gave us an opportunity to give a pitch.

Bottom line: your pickup site can help you sell more shares. Foot traffic is key.

Bonus tip: collect email addresses at the farmer’s market.

While you’re there passing out your boxes, be sure to collect the contact information of anyone who stops and asks about it. Don’t just give them the pitch and let them walk away!

We have a notepad that we give to the lead and ask them to fill out their name, email, and phone. And we ask them if we can call them later to follow up. 

CSA Farmer Lara Miller said: “I collected email addresses while at the farmers markets for folks that wanted to sign up for our farm’s weekly newsletter (most folks would want to sign up when I mentioned that I include recipes). I then market the CSA in our newsletter in the winter and spring.”

Oh Lara… you’re after my digital marketing heart! You are doing this exactly right! Once you get that email address, be sure to write a regular weekly email to everyone on your list just to keep the relationship alive.

To learn more about how to write emails that people will open, you can watch this video.

Tip #10. Leverage Joint Venture partnerships — find other products that complement yours.

About 6  years ago, we had some entrepreneurs approach us about building a grass-fed meat business. They befriended us and after a few months, they pitched us with an offer…

Can we be your egg share producer?

That led to a later partnership where they also began to sell their meat to our members at 2 of our drop-offs, and a Turkey Share. This was a great add-on to our business because it served our customers even better and made our brand stronger by aligning with a new powerhouse business.

Weber Ranch essentially got access to our hard-earned customer list. But they were very smart… they knew our customer was also their customer.

We’re considering doing the same thing with a new milk creamery in town for this coming season.

Who in your town already has your customer’s attention? Can you form a partnership with them? 

Weber Ranch did so, and it jump-started their new business big-time. It also helped ours, because they attract customers who are also OUR customer avatar.

So there you have it. Ten ways you can get your first 10 customers. Was it helpful? If so, share this article with someone who needs to see it.

If you’d like to watch the video training version of this content, you can find it on my YouTube channel here.

(Subscribe to my channel while you’re at it!)

I also recommend you download my Checklist “The Top 10 Marketing Assets” you should have as a CSA farmer. This list will tell you what I think are the best places to start as you grow your CSA marketing strategy.

Like what you see here? Join my private Facebook group for CSA farmers where I show up each week to teach an in-depth training on CSA marketing.