Category:

Welcoming Your Members to Your CSA and Their Online Accounts

3/7/2014

Customers want to help themselves. They are more technically savvy than ever and have come to prefer the DIY approach to solving their issues and answering their own questions. Farmigo helps your customers help themselves through their member account. Here are two quick tips to help introduce your members to their online accounts and how to keep them informed on how to manage their accounts.

Tip 1: The Power of the Sign-Up Confirmation Email

The Sign-Up Confirmation Email is the very first email a member will receive from you after they sign-up for your program. This email holds the power to educate your member on what to expect as well as to introduce them to the concept of their online account. Here is some example text you could use for your sign-up confirmation email.

Suggested Text for Sign-Up Confirmation Email

Hi [First Name] [Last Name],
Thank you for signing up!

Your subscription is confirmed for the following share combination:
[Member's Subscriptions]

Pick-up location: [Pickup Site]
Date of first delivery: [Next Delivery Date]

We have created an online account for you where you can view and manage your subscription with us. Use the email address and password you used to create your account during sign-up to login. To login to your account, click here:
[Link to Account]

In your account, you can (Choose all that apply):

Review your balance and delivery history
Update your contact information
Update your payment details
Send additional payments
Update your subscription
Change your pick-up/delivery location
Put your delivery on hold
Shop our webstore

We are so happy that you are joining us and we hope you enjoy your first delivery. If you have any questions for us, feel free to respond to this email.

Sincerely,
Email Signature

Tip 2: Including the Link to Account in All Email Communication

We recommend adding the [Link to Account] dynamic field at the bottom of every email that sends out through Farmigo. This helps remind members that they have an account they can login to and review. As a best practice, we recommend you include the following information in your email signature:

Suggested Text for Email Signature

Name
Email
Phone Number
Business Name

To login to your account: [Link to Account]
View our webstore: [Link to Web Store]
Follow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/farmname

Tips to Increase Web Store Traffic

2/14/2014

Happy Valentine's Day Farmigo family! This week, we'd like to offer you a couple of tips to help your members fall in love with your web store (who knew Cupid was into marketing?!).

Specifically, we'd like to remind you of the three ways your members access your web store, and two tips to get in touch with them to remind them to shop!

There are three ways that members can access your web store:

Through their account page:
Via a link sent in an email
Via your website

1. The Accounts Page

Members can access your web store by logging into their account and then clicking Web Store in the upper right hand corner.

Did you know? Your preview mode of a member's account is exactly like the member view except for the web store link.

You'll see everything on this member's page except the "Web Store" link circled in red.

2. Emailing Members

While members can access your web store through their account, sometimes a little extra reinforcement really helps.

Consider setting up an email alert or template to send to members with a link to your web store.

You can add the store link using this dynamic field:
[Link to Store]

3. Linking to your Web Store on your Website

Finally, you should be sure to prominently feature a link to your web store on your web site. When members or prospective members visit your web page, this makes it easy for them to navigate towards shopping!

Automatically Remind Members to Shop!
Delivery Date Alert Emails

Automatically remind members to go shopping in your webstore with a Delivery Day Alert email. These emails will automatically trigger a number of days before a members delivery, so you can set one up to remind them to go shopping before the web store closes. For example, if your store access hours close 3 days before a delivery, you should send members an email 4 days before reminding them that this is there last chance to add on to their order this week!

Technical Advisor Tip: This automatic alert is editable, so you can always go in and let members know about new or featured products (maybe a vegetable bouquet for Valentine's Day? Just a thought...)

Encourage Members Who Have Not Placed an Order to Shop
Orders Not Submitted Filter

Reminding members that they can add items from your store to their subscription is a good way to kick-start higher participation from existing members. We recommend sending an email to all of your members who have not placed a store order.

Technical Advisor Tip:
You can use filters in your Farmigo dashboard to send this email only to members who do not have not placed a store order. That way, you can add member-relevant text to the email and avoid spamming customers who are actively using your web store.

To do this, you can take the following steps:
1) Go to Members --> Orders
2) Click on the "Order Status" drop-down tab to filter by Order Status.
3) Select Order Status = Not Submitted, and click "Find"

Presto! This will filter for members who have a subscription but do not have a web order for that week, and you can email them in one batch:

Introducing Members to Their Online Accounts

12/12/2013

When a member signs up for your program using Farmigo, a unique member account is created for them. This presents a huge competitive advantage for you, as members can now control their own accounts by reviewing their delivery history, changing their subscriptions, putting themselves on hold, and even ordering additional add-ons to their normal deliveries. As more and more people get used to the convenience of ordering online, the Farmigo system makes you stand out from your competitors as you can offer customers a level of flexibility and control that was not possible in the past.

The idea of having a CSA account is new to most people, so it is important that you clearly explain this idea to your members. We recommend explaining the concept of the online account in your "Confirmation of Your Sign-Up" automated email. Including information about how to login to your account and what actions can be taken from within your account will help make the transition to an online system easier for customers.

An important part of integrating Farmigo with your website is placing your Sign-Up and Login buttons in a prominent place on your website. Using Facebook or Amazon as examples, we find that it is customary to put the sign-up or login buttons at the top right of your website.

Below is some design inspiration for you! You may click on the images to enlarge them.

Building Customer Loyalty

9/27/2013

Growing up, your parents always told you to “Make new friends, but keep the old ones.” This principle remains true for business practices as well. In many ways, keeping existing customers is far more important than recruiting new members - and Farmigo helps you do both!

Read on to learn more.

How Farmigo Can Help You Communicate

6/21/2013

The email feature built into your Farmigo system is a powerful communication tool that can help you to:

Target a specific group of recipients
Create templates that are automatically personalized for each recipient
Make your message stand out with formatted text
Track email history for your members
Communicate on the go using the Farmigo mobile app

Read on below to learn more.

Big Updates! Payment Management & Dynamic Fields

11/30/2012

Over the past month we have released a lot of exciting new features to the Farmigo software. Because there are so many, we decided to present a whole bunch of them to you in this week’s big Tip of the Week! Look for Tips in the upcoming weeks about more exciting features!

Read on to learn more about:

Members can now update their own payment information
Check is available as store payment method
New dynamic fields for emails

New Process for Members to Reset their Password

11/8/2012

When a member signs up to your program, they create a Farmigo account at the same time. A member’s Farmigo account and password may be used universally with all Farmigo systems.

On Wednesday, the Farmigo software development team released a system update that streamlines the process for a member to reset their password in case they forgot it. This new process is outlined below.

Getting Acquainted: Familiarizing Customers With Your Policy and System

10/11/2012

One of the largest battles CSAs face when recruiting new members is persuading commitment-phobes to sign up. The contemporary food system has created an environment in which consumers have grown accustomed to flexibility and control in their food purchases. Farmigo has tried to incorporate this element of flexibility into the CSA system by allowing members to manage their own accounts.

This week’s tip outlines how you can use your different tools to educate and inform members on the inner-workings of your CSA system. The more connected and involved they feel in their CSA investment, the happier they’ll be!

CSA Terms and Conditions

Terms and Conditions are critical to establish trust between members and producers. Individuals who are placing a significant amount of money upfront want to be kept informed of all farm policies. People appreciate transparency. Even though most individuals may not read the terms in their entirety, their presence alone is assurance of a company’s values and policies - eliminating any fear of hidden business practices.

While there is a link to your Terms and Conditions in the sign-up process, we also recommend clearly posting your Terms and Conditions on your website. This way members may access them anytime.

Consider how bringing your program online will change things for your members. The policy is a great place to explain how the new user interface will allow for a bit more flexibility for your customers. The policy is also a good place to explain to new customers the idea behind community supported agriculture. What else can go in your policy?

What is the refund policy?
What is the cancellation policy?
What happens when a member misses pick-up?
When can members add items to their orders?
When can members change their delivery location?
When can members put their account on hold?
Any special policies, rules, instructions that are unique to your operation

Policy Examples:

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

FAQ sites can be a huge help for members looking for quick answers to common questions. Additionally, it saves you from an overwhelming inbox of repetitive and time-consuming emails. When compiling your FAQ section, consider emails that you've received from members over the past few months. What are people asking the most?

What happens if I forget to pick up my share?
What happens if I need to go on a planned vacation?
Can I split my share with somebody?
How do I change pick-up locations?
Can I substitute items in my share?
Can we visit the farm?

Facebook

Use Facebook to post videos and photos, which people may also share on their personal walls. You can link people to relevant articles, news stories, or blogs to try and rally interest in the alternative food movement; as well as provide members with up-to-date information on additions to your farm.

Telling the farm story: Was a baby cow just born? Post a picture!
Selling additional produce: The web store closes at midnight! Make sure you login and place your order [Link to web store]
Reminding customers to make changes to their accounts: Going on vacation for the July 4th weekend? Make sure you put yourself on hold by Sunday.

Facebook is a wonderful promotional tool for your business. People can like, comment, or share your Facebook page. This then appears on their Facebook News Feed, alerting their friends and giving you free advertising! Personally, I know that I tend to be much more interested in organizations that are recommended to me by my friends, than organizations I happen to stumble across on Google or other internet sites. Use facebook to post special coupons to entice people to sign up or offer a bonus for people who share or like your posts.

Let's grow together - Let's share our knowledge

How do you use facebook? Have you found any promotions to be particularly successful? What works for you?

Share your comments below.

How Filters Help You to Take Action

8/3/2012

Uh oh! Johny didn’t secure the blueberry harvest last night. In the morning you discover that the animals have raided several boxes. Now you only have enough blueberries harvested to meet the demands of a only few pick-up locations. You will not be able to deliver blueberries to members who pick up at Brooklyn Beet ...

Farmigo is here to help you manage this crisis! Today’s tip focuses on how the filters featured in multiple parts of the Dashboard can help you to quickly pull together the information that you need and take action.

Perform Repeated Actions Faster

In unique circumstances, you may need to make changes to the accounts for a large group of members. Filters help you to quickly identify and display the relevant group of members that you need to adjust.

For example, you’ve decided that you will remove blueberries from the orders of members who are picking up at Brooklyn Beet. First you go to the Orders module (found under the Members menu). Then you set to Location filter to “Brooklyn Beet” and Items filter to “Blueberries”. This will narrow the group of members with orders from 14 to 5.

Before filter

After filter

Now you may click on the first member in this filtered list and look under the Order tab of her member card. You remove blueberries from her order and save changes. Then, looking in the upper right-hand corner of the member’s card, you see 2 back-to-back blue arrows. When you click on the one on the right, you flip immediately to the Order tab of the next member so that you may quickly make the same adjustment.

You then go to the Payment tab of the first member in the filtered list and $5 of Farmigo Credit. Again, you use the 2 back-to-back blue arrows to quickly flip through the Payment tab for all members in the filtered list.

Target Group Emails

When you would like to send the same message to a specific segment of your membership, you may use filters to identify the segment and then use the Email button found in the upper right-hand corner of the Accounts, Subscriptions, Orders, or Waitlist modules of your Dashboard. To create a more personalized message, you may start by creating a template in the Connect module and inserting dynamic field in your message.

To respond to the “Blueberry Situation”, for example, you can go to the Connect module (found under the Market menu) and click the green plus sign in the upper right-hand corner to create a new template. Then you may add dynamic fields, such as [First Name], to personalize the message.

Return to the Orders module (found under the Members menu) and set the Location filter to “Brooklyn Beet” and the Items filter to “Blueberries”. Then click on the Email button in the upper right corner of the Orders module. The “To:” field will indicate which segment of your membership will receive the message. Then you may select the template that you just created and click SEND.

Email Feature Enhancements

7/27/2012

As Farmigo continues to grow, we are helping more and more CSAs and programs to communicate with their members. To handle the increasing traffic on the Farmigo servers, we have taken several steps to improve the system and prevent emails from being marked as spam. This week we implemented a new system for managing email traffic that provides your program with your own virtual email address.

How does the virtual email address work?

When an email is sent to a member via your Farmigo Dashboard, the “From” field is automatically populated with an email address that is associated with the Farmigo server. The email is then sent from your Dashboard through the Farmigo server and into the member’s inbox.

When the member replies to this virtual email address, the reply is sent via the Farmigo server and into your program’s inbox.

What your members will see

Previously, when a member received an email from you sent via the Farmigo Dashboard, the From field showed your program’s name and “info@farmigo.com” as the sender.

Now, emails will no longer be sent via “info@farmigo.com”. Instead your member will see an email address that uniquely identifies you in the Farmigo email servers. This email address follows this template:

farmigo.[your Farmigo URL]@farmigo-csa-hr.appspot.com

For example, if this is the link to my Dashboard:

http://csa.farmigo.com/dashboard/oldmacdonaldfarm

This is now my virtual Farmigo email address:

farmigo.oldmacdonaldfarm@farmigo-csa-hr.appspot.com

We encourage you to ask your members to add your virtual Farmigo email address to their list of safe senders.

<<Previous

Welcoming Your Members to Your CSA and Their Online Accounts

Tip 1: The Power of the Sign-Up Confirmation Email

Suggested Text for Sign-Up Confirmation Email

Tip 2: Including the Link to Account in All Email Communication

Suggested Text for Email Signature

Tips to Increase Web Store Traffic

1. The Accounts Page

2. Emailing Members

3. Linking to your Web Store on your Website

Automatically Remind Members to Shop!
Delivery Date Alert Emails

Encourage Members Who Have Not Placed an Order to Shop
Orders Not Submitted Filter

Introducing Members to Their Online Accounts

Building Customer Loyalty

How Farmigo Can Help You Communicate

Big Updates! Payment Management & Dynamic Fields

New Process for Members to Reset their Password

Getting Acquainted: Familiarizing Customers With Your Policy and System

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Facebook

How Filters Help You to Take Action

Perform Repeated Actions Faster

Before filter

After filter

Target Group Emails

Email Feature Enhancements

How does the virtual email address work?

What your members will see

Categories

Archives

Tip 1: The Power of the Sign-Up Confirmation Email

Suggested Text for Sign-Up Confirmation Email

Tip 2: Including the Link to Account in All Email Communication

Suggested Text for Email Signature

1. The Accounts Page

2. Emailing Members

3. Linking to your Web Store on your Website

Automatically Remind Members to Shop! Delivery Date Alert Emails

Encourage Members Who Have Not Placed an Order to ShopOrders Not Submitted Filter

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Facebook

Perform Repeated Actions Faster

Before filter

After filter

Target Group Emails

How does the virtual email address work?

What your members will see

Subscribe to the tip of the week mailing list

Categories

Archives

Automatically Remind Members to Shop!
Delivery Date Alert Emails

Encourage Members Who Have Not Placed an Order to Shop
Orders Not Submitted Filter