The Smoothest Ride ... Tips, Articles, and Stories For The Paso Fino Horse Enthusiast
Horse
Sense and Business Cents
Marketing Your Equine Business
by
Lynn Gallup,
www.smoothride4u.com
You have started an equine business, and enjoy what you are doing. If you're a business you need a marketing plan to generate a customer flow and income to make your enterprise profitable. So start with these important questions after you have identified and established your business product or service.
-
Have you researched your target customer base?
- Can
you meet those customers needs with your product?
-
Who is your competition for those customers' business?
- Have
you developed a service-oriented business dedicated to meeting your
target customer's needs?
The way to your business success is to go the extra-mile to give your customers high quality, competitive priced products and services. You will have to spend money to make money through a targeted marketing and advertising plan. You want to attract new, and more importantly keep your current customers returning to you for more business. So what can a business owner do for effective, cost-efficient, and simple marketing ideas?
Survey your customers.
- Why do they buy from you?
- How do they use your product or service?
- What do they like and dislike about doing business with you?
- How do they compare
you with like businesses?
Be prepared to make any changes needed in identified problem areas.
Follow-up
on every sale.
Regularly evaluate your customer needs for change or needs. Develop a
mailing list, and thank customers for their business.
Re-examine
your target customer regularly.
Narrow your marketing niche as necessary to be able to serve that customer
better. Tailor your product or service marketing plan also to attract
new prospects in that niche.
Have
free sample or gift available.
Most everyone likes a free sample or token gift. A token of their visit
or doing business with you is welcome to take home. Advertising specialty
items with your business name and contact info should be available.
Offer
special incentives with a limited time offer.
Coupons or special offers for a product or service discount can generate
attention to what your business product or service is about. Be sure though
it is a genuine discount from what the normal cost is so their is a realized
savings to the customer. Everyone likes a deal.
Build
awareness of your business through sweepstakes, donations, and raffle
drawings.
These provide excitement for the chance to win your product or service
at a minimal investment on the customer's part. Also, it creates a desire
for your product or service even if the person is not the winner. The
non-winning person may follow-up with doing actual business anyway. Generate
the publicity about the actual winner afterwards.
Promote
your business with identity signage.
Have your business name, slogan for product or service, and contact info
easily seen or available...on your vehicles, banners at horse shows, stall
decorations, handout promotional literature.
If your business is seasonal, extend special offers. For a longer term vision, consider a second complimentary product or service line.
Marketing is a year round job and requires constant attention to detail to satisfy your customers' needs. Consistency and constancy of your marketing program is important to develop and maintain your customer base. Be creative with your ideas to stand out from your competition!
Lynn Gallup was introduced to the Paso Fino breed in 1975, while owning a Half-Arabian at the time. She began actively showing them in the Atlantic and Piedmont regional Paso Fino shows in the mid-70’s. She owns Gracewood Farm Paso Finos in New Hill, North Carolina, home to about 17 Paso Fino horses, where she continues to train/breed her own Paso Fino horses. Lynn is a multi-gaited horse breed show judge: Paso Finos, Rocky Mountains, and Kentucky Mountain Saddle Horses, and a Registered "R" Judge with USEF. The “Tips” are learned from hands on experience and attending clinics over the years involved with horses. Lynn’s website “The Smoothest Ride” went online in 1997, and offers helpful and informative tips, articles, and stories for the Paso Fino horse enthusiast. New URL: www.smoothride4u.com.