Chick Days will be here before we know it. For many farm and home and feed stores, chick days turns into chick weeks or even months, as the stores order chicks in advance and carry inventory from March through May, or even longer. Some might have chicks in-stock while initial supplies last, and others, like Weiss Milling (see Dealer Spotlight), might custom order chicks. You can make chick days a way to reach new markets that you might not think of during other times of the year.
Be a one-stop Shop
You’ve got the chicks. Make sure you’re stocked with all the necessary items that a first-time or even a repeat chick-buyer is going to need. Do you have the bedding? Feeders and waterers? Feed and health supplements? Coops and fencing? By making it convenient for the buyer, that shows you’re there to provide service, which could lead to a repeat customer for other products, even those not chick-related, in the future.
Provide Education
Consumers are hungry for education. They want to know the best way to care for their chicks to the best of their ability, and they want information in an easy-to-read format. They want to know about feed, water, housing, egg laying and general flock health. Since chicks don’t come with a label that contains all this information it is your job to provide the label information. Create a handy FAQ Sheet that is easy to follow, has all the information you would want to know about raising backyard birds and your business contact information. You might even provide a website with further flock information like www. backyardboost.co.
Educate your Employees
Part of providing customer education starts with educated employees. Before coming to work at BioZyme, I worked as a part-time farm store vendor and set up chick drinkers and feeders in chick days displays in the Chicago suburbs. I remember two college-aged girls oohing and aahhing over some baby chicks, who asked one of the farm store employees if she thought the chicks would be ok in the apartment as they got older. The employee replied “definitely.” I don’t know that I’d want five or six grown chickens in my apartment or if they would actually thrive without fresh air and sunlight, let alone what the landlord would think! Be sure you and your employees know the city ordinances for surrounding towns – do they allow chickens in backyards or not? Know how much space an adult bird needs, know about waste management protocols and provide good, sound advice.
Use Social Media
Social media is a great way to create excitement about your chick days event, especially if you have dedicated an opening weekend or first few days to launch your event. Use your various social media platforms to get the word out that you have chicks or announce their arrival dates. Photos and videos of baby animals are great attention grabbers and will catch the eyes of those scrolling through their news feed. Use a Facebook Live for in-store promotions or even for educational snippets during and after chick days to keep in front of your customers. Keep the excitement of backyard birds going long after chick days through social media with user engagement: have your customers post photos of their grown chickens, share their success stories or other funny stories of raising chickens.
Chick days are almost here. With people still staying home and looking for hobbies and ways to feed their families, you can use chick days to gain traction in your business, provide another service to your community and market your business to an audience that you might not traditionally reach. Once you reach this chick day audience, remember to ask if they have other animals that you might be able to help them with like dogs, cats or horses. Animals lovers regardless of species will appreciate doing business with a company that shows care that comes full circle and can supply them products for all their animals’ needs.