You’ve gone through the process of setting up your business, now it’s time to bring the customers in.
Business Queensland has some excellent tools to get you on the right track to marketing your business.
https://www.business.qld.gov.au/running-business/marketing-sales/marketing
For tourism business specific marketing advice visit:
Business Queensland will guide you through what you need to do around:
- Product – Is your farm stay meeting the expectations of the customers, or do you need to offer more
- Price – Is your pricing strategy working, and are you competitive
- Promotion and sales conversion – What platforms or activities do you use to reach your target market and does this convert to any sales
ACTION: Review the checklist below and visit the Business Queensland website to understand how to market your business.
Marketing your business
Understand your farm stay product
Your farm stay product is arguably the most important component of your marketing strategy. Providing your target market with a product and experience they want will ensure your long term success.
A visitor that feels welcome is likely to return and recommend you to others. You can create a welcoming experience by:
- Greeting your visitors with a smile and a friendly welcome
- Spending time with the visitors and showing them around, especially on arrival
- Making them feel at home and providing special touches such as a welcome note
Visitors will love the experience of staying on your farm, and there are many ways you can create a unique atmosphere that speaks to your farm life such as:
- Furnishing your guest rooms to create an ideal atmosphere – e.g. antique furniture
- Installing artwork that reflects or highlights your farm
- Keeping things rustic if your experience is geared towards authentic farm life
- Creating a modern environment if you’re attracting more luxury or upmarket guests
- Considering colours, for example if you’re offering a romantic getaway, you may keep your rooms dark and moody
Offering unique experiences and activities on your farm will certainly keep visitors occupied and encourage them to stay longer. However there are other ways you can give your visitors an experience to remember such as:
- Offering something they might not expect such as a bottle of wine and cheese platter on arrival, or specialty soaps in the bathroom.
- Offering honest advice about local activities and attractions, and being available to chat through options
- Collaborating with local attractions to act as booking agents. Visitors will appreciate your knowledge, and you may even be paid commissions for bookings
- Allowing visitors to provide feedback on their stay (usually online), which will encourage other visitors through word of mouth
Ensure the price is right
Price is an important part of marketing, as it determines profit margins and influences supply and demand.
Deciding on price isn’t always easy. Price optics can influence the types of visitors you attract, and what visitors perceive about your product. Consider aspects such as:
- Positioning your farm stay brand as a cost leader, beating competitors on price
- Attracting visitors who are seeking a luxury product and reaching a high end market by charging more
- Types of inclusions in your price such as meals, experiences, etc.
Once you have defined how you want to position your pricing carry out research to determine what your competitors in nearby regions and other states are charging.
Check online prices, collect flyers and brochures, and research competitor specials and promotions. This type of data will help you price your farm stay at the right level.
Your prices are likely to be influenced by seasonal cycles, and supply and demand, and you’ll need to regularly review and update your prices depending on these factors. If you find demand levels sitting at the extreme of no guests or the other extreme of having full occupancy, this may well be a signal that you have not set your price optimally for that point in time.
Occupancy data is essential to review your seasonal performance, so keep good records from the start.
Promote your farm stay
There are many ways to promote your business. This may include advertising, direct marketing, social media, trade shows and exhibitions, public relations and media, and special promotions.
When promoting your business you need to understand:
- Who your target market is
- What media they use
- What they value most
Below are summaries of useful ways you can start to promote your farm stay.
Establishing a farm stay website will give your visitors greater visibility of your product, provide relevant information, and allow for online bookings. Make sure you:
- Choose a reliable web hosting service and a user-friendly website builder or content management system like WordPress.
- Design the site with a welcoming and rustic aesthetic that reflects the charm of your farm stay
- Include high-quality photos or drone footage of the accommodations, farm activities, and scenic views to entice visitors
- Clearly outline the amenities, pricing, and booking options, and make sure to integrate an easy-to-use booking system
- Include a blog or news section to keep visitors informed about events, special offers, and farm updates
- Optimise the website for search engines (SEO) to increase visibility and consider integrating social media links to connect with a broader audience
You can employ a web developer to design your website in which case you can apply for a government grant that will fund you to set up and manage your website. Grants are released at different times of the year, so keep an eye out. https://www.business.qld.gov.au/running-business/support-services/financial/grants/schedule
Leveraging social media and consumer-generated content can significantly boost the visibility and appeal of your farm stay. Encouraging visitors to leave feedback and recommendations will promote confidence in your product.
- Create engaging profiles on social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest, where you can share stunning photos and videos of your farm, activities, and experiences
- Encourage guests to share their own photos and stories by creating a unique hashtag for your farm stay. This provides authentic content and builds a sense of community among your visitors
- Highlight positive reviews and testimonials on your social media pages to build trust and attract new guests.
- Run contests or giveaways to further increase engagement and reach
- Consider running paid advertisements
Listing your farm stay on booking or search platforms will help you reach a larger audience. Consider platforms such as:
- Australian Tourism Data Warehouse
- Airbnb
- Booking.com
- Youcamp
- Stayz
- Farmer Stays
Word of mouth is a powerful marketing tool as it builds trust and credibility through personal recommendations. When visitors share their positive experiences with friends, family, or on social media, it creates a genuine and relatable endorsement that is often more persuasive than traditional advertising.
Visitors may choose to leave feedback on your social media sites or on other platforms such as Trip Advisor or Google Reviews. Negative comments can be just as powerful as positive ones, so consider how you will manage these. If you do respond, make sure it’s not defensive of aggressive. If the review has been falsely posted, you can lodge a formal request to remove it.
Seeking marketing advice
Tourism bodies are funded to help market tourism operators and products, and to support tourism businesses. These bodies include GSD, Tourism Tropical North Queensland, Tourism and Event Queensland, and Tourism Australia.
Tourism Tropical North Queensland offers training and mentoring programs such as the International Trade Ready program.
https://tourism.tropicalnorthqueensland.org.au
For more information on tourism business marketing support visit:
Business Queensland also offers mentoring and training programs to help your business in areas like digital marketing.
https://www.business.qld.gov.au/running-business/growing-business/business-mentoring/mentoring