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Running a successful farm business goes beyond offering high-quality products—it’s about understanding the numbers that drive your success. In our recent workshop, Corinna Bench from My Digital Farmer shared the top three sales metrics every farm should be tracking. These metrics aren’t just numbers; they’re tools to help you grow your business, make informed decisions, and improve profitability.
👉 If you missed it, watch the workshop recording for The 3 Most Important Sales Metrics for Farm Growth.
Let’s explore these metrics, why they matter, and how to leverage them to maximize your farm's revenue.
Active customers are the backbone of your business. This metric measures the number of unique customers who purchase during a specific period—weekly, monthly, or seasonally. Unlike your total customer list, this metric focuses on the buyers currently shopping with you.
Active customers are a direct indicator of how well your farm is connecting with its audience. Increasing this number boosts revenue and builds a stronger, more engaged community around your farm.
Example Calculation: If you had 100 active customers in a month and they each made an average purchase of $50, your revenue would be $5,000. By increasing your active customers by 30% to 130 while maintaining the same average purchase value, your revenue would jump to $6,500—a $1,500 increase without raising prices.
AOV represents the average amount customers spend per transaction. It’s calculated by dividing your total revenue by the number of orders within a specific timeframe.
Increasing your AOV is one of the easiest ways to grow revenue without acquiring new customers. A higher AOV means each customer spends more during every transaction, maximizing the value of each sale.
Example Calculation: If your farm generates $5,000 in revenue from 100 orders, your AOV is $50 ($5,000 ÷ 100). By increasing your AOV by 20% to $60 per order, you’d generate $6,000 from the same 100 orders.
Purchase frequency measures how often your active customers place an order. It’s calculated by dividing the total number of orders by the number of active customers within a specific period.
The more frequently customers buy from you, the more consistent and predictable your revenue becomes. Loyal, repeat customers are also more cost-effective to retain than acquiring new ones.
Example Calculation: If your 100 active customers place an average of 1.2 orders per month, you’ll have 120 orders. By increasing purchase frequency to 1.5 orders per month, you’d generate 150 orders—a 25% increase in sales volume.
These three metrics—active customers, AOV, and purchase frequency—work together as what Corinna calls the "Three Multipliers of Revenue." Small improvements in each metric can greatly impact your bottom line.
For instance, let’s say your farm currently has:
Your monthly revenue would be: 1,000 customers × $20 × 1 order = $20,000
Now, let’s improve each metric by 30%:
Your new monthly revenue would be: 1,300 customers × $26 × 1.3 orders = $43,940
That’s more than double your original revenue, all by making incremental changes to each metric!
Tracking these metrics doesn’t have to be complicated. Tools like Local Line make it easy to monitor active customers, AOV, and purchase frequency through intuitive dashboards and reports. By understanding these numbers, you can make data-driven decisions that help your farm grow sustainably.
If you’re not already tracking these metrics, now is the time to start. Set clear goals for each area, experiment with strategies to improve them, and monitor your progress. By focusing on active customers, AOV, and purchase frequency, you’ll gain a clearer picture of your business performance and unlock new opportunities for growth.
Ready to take your farm to the next level? Explore how Local Line can simplify your metric tracking and empower your success.
