COLUMBIA, Mo.— For small food and farm businesses, marketing is a vital part of growing sales and building customer loyalty. Yet for many producers, marketing often takes a back seat to production, finance and other daily operations.

To help St. Louis area food and farm entrepreneurs set actionable next steps to market their business, MU Extension will host “Marketing With Purpose To Build Sales and Loyalty,” a free hands-on workshop. This event is 5-7 p.m. Thursday, July 24, at the St. Louis metro area MU Extension center.

“Marketing is critical for success, regardless of your scale or niche,” said MU Extension’s TaylorAnn Washburn, workshop organizer and presenter. “This workshop is designed to help producers understand what makes marketing work and how to be strategic in ways that work for their business.”

Attendees will engage in individual and group exercises to learn about marketing concepts and plan strategies that lead to sales and customer loyalty.

“Hands-on learning helps business owners turn ideas into action,” said Mallory Rahe, MU Extension associate professor and co-presenter. “We want attendees to walk away with actionable steps they can implement in their marketing efforts and see real results.”

During the workshop, participants will also learn about farm loan programs available through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency, Rahe said.

This workshop is free, but registration is required to ensure space and materials. Learn more and register at muext.us/marketingwithpurpose.

This workshop is supported in part by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency through project award number FSA23CPT0012862.