With an agritourism operation you are marketing an experience. Study the agritourism market in your area, determine where you want to fit into that market, identify the customers you want to attract, and develop a plan for promotion of your agritourism operation.
Rutgers Bulletin E337, Marketing 101 for Your Agritourism Business, summarizes the basic principles of good marketing: the need to clearly understand and define the products being offered on your farm, approaches for developing appropriate pricing, the formulation of product placement strategies, and promotion.
This checklist gets you started.
The Market in Your Region
- What types of agritourism activities and goods are popular or increasing in popularity?
- What changes and developments in the agritourism market are predicted?
- What are the going prices for activities and goods that the market has “discovered” for agritourism? Your business plan gives you an idea of your break even point for a particular activity or product – can you make a profit at the “going price”?