When Melanie of Shakefork Community Farm wanted to secure early renewals and much-needed off-season revenue before winter, she turned to Farmhand for support. In previous years, managing renewals required weeks of setting up Google Forms and email campaigns—a time-intensive process that left little room for strategic planning.

This year, Melanie approached her renewal campaign differently, focusing on efficiency and member engagement. The results? A 60% renewal rate and over $40,000 in sales in just two weeks. Here’s how she did it.

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The Goal

Melanie sought a more streamlined and impactful way to secure sign-ups while generating off-season revenue. With Farmhand, she was able to better strategize her campaign, freeing up time to focus on connecting with her members and delivering an exceptional CSA experience.

The Strategy

With Farmhand’s guidance, Melanie adopted a five-step approach to elevate her renewal campaign and engage her members:

1. Delegate Customer Support
   By outsourcing customer support tasks, Melanie reclaimed over 7 hours per week. This gave her more time to focus on high-impact activities, including training her team, strategizing, and engaging directly with members.
2. Offer Flexibility
   She introduced member-friendly options such as seasonal skips, account holds, and flexible payment plans. These options gave members the freedom to customize their CSA experience, making renewals easier and more appealing.
3. Build a Strong Presence
   Melanie stayed connected with members through personal notes, social media updates, and face-to-face interactions at pickup sites, fostering a deeper sense of community and trust.
4. Focus on Quality & Variety
   She ensured her farm delivered consistently fresh, high-quality produce while adding variety and special products to excite members and build loyalty.
5. Enhance the Member Experience
   Using Farmhand’s tools, Melanie launched a multi-step campaign that replaced her time-consuming Google Forms with a polished, engaging process. Her campaign included:
   • A series of emails
   • Flyers with QR codes for easy sign-ups
   • A raffle for early renewals, which generated buzz and incentivized action.
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The Takeaway

Melanie’s story highlights the power of leveraging the right tools and strategies to create a more efficient and exciting renewal process. By streamlining her efforts and focusing on member engagement, she reached what Farmhand calls The Cultivation Point—the moment when CSA members shift from a transactional mindset to feeling deeply connected to the farm.

In just two weeks, Melanie achieved an impressive 60% renewal rate, far exceeding the industry average. She also brought in over $40,000+ in renewal sales, providing a significant revenue boost before winter.

By transforming her renewal campaign into a seamless and engaging process, Melanie turned what used to be a time drain into an efficient, revenue-generating success.

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