E-newsletters help keep sales and marketing on track

There are lots of reasons to publish a monthly e-newsletter. Keeping in touch with your customers, generating interest in your products and attracting business to your webstore are just a few of them. One reason that we generate a monthly newsletter is that it holds us to a schedule for our business. When you are running a small business you are often wearing many hats and days go by quickly. Issuing a newsletter makes you stop and assess your sales and marketing, each and every month. If you know your newsletter is due in two weeks, you have a self imposed deadline to update your web site, get that new product ready or register for the next trade show.  

Here is our monthly newsletter checklist:

• What new products do we have?
• Do we have any product specials?
• What new designs do we have?
• Are we offering any new services?
• Have we updated our pricing?
• Are the new products, product specials and/or new images on the web site?
• What events are approaching?
• Are we planning to attend the event?
• Are we exhibiting at the event?
• Are we sponsoring the event?
• Are we registered for the event?
• Are we affiliated with any non profit organizations that are hosting an event?
• Have we completed any significant work for a customer that we want to announce or promote?
• Are our customers using our products in interesting ways?
• Do we have any new marketing tips this month?
• Do we have any new articles we’ve written?

If you go through this exercise and can’t come up with any new developments for your business, it could be an indication that things are getting stale. It may be time to reevaluate your products, pricing and promotions. Use your monthly e-newsletter as a way to keep sales and marketing fresh in your business!

Eat Local Food Alphabet

More then ever before, local food is becoming part of many school food programs across the country. School Food Service Directors and Teachers involved in Farm to School Programs face the added challenge of keeping kids interested in their programs while they are introducing them to fruits and vegetables.  Many children only know fruits and vegetables as they appear in their favorite fast food.  We've heard stories about students who didn't know potato chips were made from a vegetable, or have eaten catsup but never seen a fresh tomato. How do you market your school food program or teach kids about good nutrition?  We spent a lot of time thinking about these questions, and came up with some ways Eat Local Food could promote nutrition education.  We are very excited to present our new  educational products for kids:  the Eat Local Food Alphabet memory card game, and the Eat Local Food Alphabet poster.  

Fruit and Veggies A to Z, a Memory Card Game

Kids will have great fun learning the alphabet along with 26 fruits and vegetables! Includes favorite locally grown fruits and veggies while introducing some new ones, too!
Fruit and Veggies A to Z is a memory card game designed for one or two people. The game is played by placing the cards in a square playing area face down, then players take turns flipping
pairs of cards over. On each turn, the player will first turn one card over, then a second. If the two cards match, the player scores one point, the two cards are removed from the game, and the player
gets another turn. If they do not match, the cards are turned back over. The object is to match more pairs of cards than the opposing player.  Fruit and Veggies A to Z has 26 unique pairs of cards representing each letter in the English alphabet, making 52 cards total.  Recommended for ages 3 and up.

Frutas y Vegetales A to Z, A Memory Card Game English/Spanish version

Frutas y Vegetales A to Z is a memory card game that offers the same features as Fruit and Veggies A to Z but has the added bonus of presenting each fruit or vegetable in both English and
Spanish. Kids will love learning their fruits and vegetables in two languages! A great teaching tool for bi-lingual instruction. Frutas y Vegetales A to Z has 26 unique pairs of cards representing each letter in the English alphabet, making 52 cards total. Recommended for ages 3 and up.

Fruit and Veggie Alphabet Poster

Our Fruit & Veggie Alphabet Poster is a bright, colorful addition to any classroom, lunchroom or child’s bedroom.  Kids will love learning their alphabet along with 26 fruits and vegetables!

These products can be customized with your name and logo for your school, organization or business.  Please call us at 734.341.7028 to order or for more information.  You can also see our Farm to School banners now available at www.eatlocalfoodstore.com.

Buying Local Supports the Local Economy

 Interested in selling your produce to local restaurants and schools?  Have a fantastic family recipe that you just know will be a big seller on the market?  You might consider attending this low-cost all -day workshop on How Buying Local Helps Support the Local Economy.  Louise Mikesell-Wireman,  Direct Marketing Specialist for The Center for Innovative Food Technology (CIFT) sent us this workshop announcement the other day.  We are planning to attend and thought others in the Michigan/Ohio area might be interested in participating.    

From the  CIFT(www.eisc.org):

How Buying Local Food Helps Support the Local Economy 

It seems local is no long a buzz word. Everyone is touting buy local, from the bank, appliance centers and of course fresh local foods. Come and hear ideas on how to get local into the schools, how you can purchase from a farm, hear local farmers and producers tell their story about selling to those who live around them.  

So save Wednesday November 18th, 2009 for this workshop.

Toledo, OH – The Center for Innovative Food Technology, CIFT, is sponsoring a day long workshop for farmers, producers, food service venues, and those interested in buying and eating local. It will also be of interest to business and economic development professionals exploring local food connections. The workshop will be held on Wednesday November 18, 2009 in the Ward Pavilion at 5100 W. Central Avenue at the east end of Wildwood Preserve between Corey and Reynolds roads.

This workshop will focus on multiple areas: how to connect local produce to the restaurants and other food service venues, how to get more local foods into the schools, selling directly to the consumers, niche markets, community support agriculture, and how to produce the family recipe into a product to sell.

Presenters at this workshop will include retired chef, restaurant owner and local food advocate Parker Bosley from the Cleveland area, Deb Eschmeyer an Ohio advocate of the Farm to School National Organization along with presentations from participating members of the Northwest Ohio Fresh Network.

This workshop fee is $20; bring two canned goods for the Toledo Seagate Food Bank and the fee is $15. The event will start at 10:00 a.m. with walk in registration starting at 9:30 a.m. and will adjourn at 4:00 p.m. Local refreshments and lunch will be served. Registration to this event is required. To register for this workshop or for additional information, please call Nancy Hansen at 419-535-6000 or email lmikesell-wireman@eisc.org.

The Center for Innovative Food Technology provides technical solutions to companies involved in the nation’s largest and most economically significant industry – food processing. 

Hope to see you there!

Louise Mikesell-Wireman

Direct Marketing Specialist, CIFT