Written by Josie Reeve
F2F 2.0 offers many new and exciting resources and updates to better support the hardworking farmers market managers and programs it supports. One tool which has been updated with this version is the Visitor Survey Tool, a tool designed to support markets in collecting and managing information about the makeup of their customer populations. F2F 2.0 makes collecting and using this data in useful ways more streamlined and efficient.
The Visitor Survey Tool is a handy tool that can automatically upload data into the F2F toolkit. Visitor survey data collection is a process that happens at farmers markets by talking with visitors. These surveys can be conducted by the farmers market manager, or market volunteers. F2F 2.0 makes it possible for volunteers without their own accounts to directly upload their data into the system. This update will help streamline the process and remove barriers to collecting data. The updated version further streamlines the data collection process by offering both an online collection tool, for markets with reliable internet connection, or an alternative option. For markets without internet connection or where using paper surveys is preferred, market managers can easily upload data after collection using the updated 2.0 interface.
The data collected by the visitor survey tool can be personalized to a specific market to meet their needs. Examples of data collection points include things like visitor mode of transportation, frequency of market visits and predicted spending at the market. These surveys can also be used to assess the economic impact the market has on surrounding businesses and travel radius of customers. When collected over time, these metrics can showcase trends or patterns that can be used to make improvements, or be used when applying for grants and funding. The convenience F2F 2.0 provides with this tool is the ability to easily gather and aggregate data, which can be automatically converted into graphs that showcase this information.
One area where this tool will have a direct real-world impact is through Farm 2 Facts’ partnership with the Southern Piedmont Climate Smart Project. This long term research project is focused on aiding farmers in adopting farming methods which support the local ecosystem. This project is also looking at how to best market and promote these climate-smart goods. F2F 2.0 will be used to collect visitor survey data to measure consumer response to climate-smart agriculture at markets which are a part of this program.
The team at F2F has developed a number of tools to support market managers and other users of F2F 2.0 while making the transition. A short video demonstration which walks a user through the updated tool using the interface can be accessed on the F2F YouTube page or through this link. For other questions, reach out to the team at info@farm2facts.org. We look forward to helping make this transition smooth for you!
