What if I told you that attracting a visitor to your farm shop, attraction, or rural business could cost as little as £1.60? And that this tiny investment could turn into a basket spend of £15, £20 or even £50?
It sounds too good to be true, but it isn’t. It’s the £1.60 Rule, and it’s changing how rural businesses approach their marketing.
Where does the £1.60 come from?
Tash recently joined an insightful webinar with Tony Sefton, hosted by NFAN – National Farm Attractions Network. One of the poignant points he made was about marketing spend. He suggested that you should aim to spend £1.60 per visitor. Not a click, a visitor (someone who physically turns up).
We thought this £1.60 rule was unbelievably powerful to help businesses streamline and allocate their marketing spend (as well as justify it).
So why is the £1.60 rule powerful?
A customer who arrives because of a well-placed ad:
- Is already “warm”
- Has intent
- Is more likely to buy
- Often becomes a repeat visitor
If a single visit costs £1.60, and the customer spends:
- £10 = 525% return
- £20 = 1,150% return
- £40 = 2,400% return
There are very few investments in business with that level of return.
Where should you spend your £1.60?
The channels that deliver this result most reliably are:
- Meta (Facebook and Instagram) Ads
- Google local search ads
- TikTok for younger families
- Email remarketing ads
The trick is targeting locally, using content that feels organic rather than corporate.
The secret? “Come Today” messaging. Ads that say:
- “Visit this weekend”
- “This week only”
- “Fresh in today”
- “Open from 9am!”
…perform far better than generic branding posts.
Urgency works.
How to turn your £1.60 into long-term loyalty
Once you’ve paid to get the visitor in the door, your job is to keep them.
Ways to do this:
- QR codes at the till
- Loyalty cards
- Offer them a free hot drink on their next visit
- Follow-up email sequences
- Instagram “welcome” highlight reels
A well-designed customer journey means you only pay £1.60 once, and the customer keeps returning.
Your marketing budget doesn’t need to be big; it just needs to be smart.
Some businesses think they need £10k ad budgets – You don’t.
You need:
- Clear messaging
- Smart targeting
- Good creative
- A compelling reason to visit
If £1.60 could bring a visitor to your door, the real question is:
Can you afford not to spend it? Then the results will follow.
