THE HERB FARM REVISITED
Retailing and promotion
The Herb Farm shop (click to enlarge)
Getting the word out to retailers and customers about The Herb Farm and its products is an important part of maintaining existing business and expanding into other areas. In parallel with the rebranding exercise, attention turned to their existing suppliers and retailers.
Planning to increase the number of retailers stocking The Herb Farm products also became a priority. An extensive period of investigation and research into distribution and marketing led Lynn to decide not to make use a distributer service, but to continue with her hands-on approach. This has proved a very successful policy – by personally making regular visits to introduce her products and support the company's retailers nation-wide, Lynn has seen her network gradually expand to over 100 stores nationwide.
"I've found that there's a great deal to be gained from visiting the retailers on a regular basis to form relationships. It takes time and it's a slow process, but again that's the way the whole business has been built up – rock solid. You could spend a lot of money pumping out all sorts of offers and flood the market with product and probably have huge growth – but the problem then becomes how you will sustain that. So I guess we've chosen to do it a different way – a very personal way."
One of the strategies has been to invite those retailers within driving distance of The Herb Farm to experience a 'Retailers day out'. "The idea is to let them actually experience The Herb Farm brand," says Lynn. "They take part in one of the hands-on workshops and tour the gardens, so they're not just being told about it, they're actually experiencing it – and that makes such a difference."
Sarah's rebranding process incorporated a redesign of the company website. The new website, as well as being an important promotional tool, has an online shopping feature, greatly increasing customer access to their products both nationally and internationally. Sarah decided to work with a local company for the website redesign. "There was quite a bit of interaction involved in the development and it's crucial to find people you can work with, who are easily accessible and who understand your brand and what you're looking for." The final site has been designed so that The Herb Farm staff can update it themselves through an online client interface.
The rebrand also involved refitting the onsite shop, which for many customers is their first introduction to the brand. In the shop, customers receive the benefits of the team's extensive product knowledge and can purchase The Herb Farm's products and those of other New Zealand natural companies. The website redesign, shop refit and new promotional materials were all now aligned with the new aesthetic that the team had come up with.
The re-branding process was completed in 2007 and Sarah and The Herb Farm team have been delighted with the results. "The branding is clean and simple, but also modern and fresh looking. It was timely and it needed to be done and we've had a fantastic response from customers and retailers," says Sarah.
