2.1. Design the marketing plan of a farm or other rural tourism enterprise

“Marketing is the process of determining what customers want, and of using that information to produce and sell a good or service to satisfy that want”. Marketing includes identification of your customer base; a clear description of the goods, services, and experiences offered; and advertising and promotion of your Agritourism business’’.

You need to follow some essential steps while designing the marketing plan of a visitable farm or other Agritourism enterprise. Below are some of the steps to follow:

• Define the product /services of your agritourism enterprise. It is very important to define and promote what products & services you offer in the farm. The visitors must know what to expect when they visit. Define whether it is an organic products farm or herbs farm or animals farm or bee farm and clarify what activities are offered and the experience of a visitor apart from the accommodation facilities. Describe in detail each activity / workshop with the cost per person or for groups, the production process and the general benefits. 
• Build the brand of your enterprise and design the logo with an expert. The identity of your business is very important to present what exactly you are willing to offer and represent your business. 
• Identify your customers. These customers are mostly people from urban areas wishing to spend a day or more in the rural areas and visit farms, wineries, restaurants or similar attractions. Such information may be found through Agritourism/rural tourism associations, regional tourism councils, or local chambers of commerce and other outlets. Be specific in identifying the group of consumers you wish to target.
• Learn more about your market.  It is crucial to create activities and services according to the consumer’s demand.  The important thing here is to identify what types of farm / agriculture activities and goods are popular or increasing in popularity and what consumers are seeking. Networking is vital for Agritourism enterprises especially because they are located in remote, mountainous rural areas away from the public services in the cities.  The majority of European
• Niche. What makes your Agritourism enterprise unique? Promote the competitive advantage of your business. A good example is to promote the story behind it in case it is a family business operated for many years with unique heritage components, or having organic production, or using green methods for organic farming, offer vegan and meat products, unique activities near the nature or with the animals, describe the connection and the benefits of the farm’s activities with the community to attract responsible travellers, bee keeping, mushroom picking, etc. .
• Budget. Set a yearly budget to invest in marketing. This budget could be in a range of 10-30 percent of your yearly gross revenue.

2.2. Promotional Tools

• Build the digital & social media presence of the farm/ rural enterprise – Create and use on a daily basis the Social media accounts (facebook, Instagram, tik tok etc). Use the ones that are friendly to your target market (i.e. young people, seniors, families, couples, food lovers, nature lovers etc). Use quality content (photos of the farm, videos, texts, share reviews of the customers, show the experiences, advertise the offers / events / activities etc)
• Create an interactive and user friendly website – e-shop in case you can sell online goods/services /accommodation.
• Use of reservations platforms – Several popular booking platforms (i.e. booking.com, Airbnb) are available today in order to increase reservations for accommodation offering in farms. Additionally a lot of special interest and farm tourism related platforms have been created for each country. Online shops are also recommended for the farmers to advertise their local products.
• Email campaigns & Newsletters – Repeat visitors are very important. Building and maintaining a good contact list for direct mailings to your customers is important.
• Brochures & Leaflets– The design of brochures, leaflets and other materials, giveaways, gift ideas are also very important. Digital brochures are also popular 
• Fairs, Festivals & Travel Exhibitions – Participation in popular events is very important to keep the contact with the consumers. Travel Exhibitions are very important to learn the new travel trends and to search for cooperation with travel agencies.
• Image and Partnerships in your Community – Creating a favourable public image is important both in attracting customers and in maintaining the ability to draw support from your community. In addition to providing customers, your community can provide you with potential business partnerships, promotion, and publicity. Others in your community can provide goods and services needed for your operation.
• Public Relations – Recognizing the strength of your own stories and communicating them to the media, community members, visitors, and others is important for efficiently and effectively marketing your business