This article, written by Archer Creative, was also published in Chaff Chat.
Want to fast track successful marketing for your horse business? It’s time to get back to basics with a simple marketing plan, so you can drive more sales and acquire more customers.
When it comes to effective equestrian marketing, let’s get one thing straight: you don’t need a large team or a big budget, you need a simple, results-driven and straightforward approach.
A successful marketing plan must be scalable. From large international companies to family-run businesses, effective marketing is the key cornerstone to making sales. And making sales means your equine business is growing.
So, where do you start?
Part One, Part Two and Part Three of this four-part series outlined the essentials of effective equestrian marketing – from writing your marketing plan, to selecting your promotional channels, to impressing your customers with a polished brand. Now, we bring this series to an end with a discussion on the relationships that strengthen your equine business.
Referral Programs
There is a wealth of psychological evidence behind why we find our friends’ opinions more trustworthy and influential than the claims businesses make about themselves. Perhaps this is not only due to our dislike of traditional advertising, but to the fact our families, friends and co-workers can understand and relate to us better than companies ever could.
So, how do equine businesses harness the power of word-of-mouth marketing?
It starts by turning to your most effective marketing mouthpieces – your customers – and incentivising them to promote your equine business. From simple refer a friend offers to ongoing partnerships, what’s most important is your referral program is honest, transparent and desirable.
If your equine business genuinely has a great product or service, then positive reviews are going to spread naturally. However, this doesn’t mean referral programs aren’t an important marketing tool. Take a deeper look at your equine business and who will best represent you. Then, find a way to reward those who can actively boost your profile.
Joint Ventures and Partnerships
Business relationships in the form of joint ventures and partnerships can have immense benefits for your equine business when entered into wisely. There are many forms these relationships can take – from collaborating on a single product to an ongoing referral program between two businesses whose services complement each other.
Protecting your equine business is paramount when entering into new business relationships. Any successful and fruitful joint venture or partnership must be based on a written and signed agreement between both parties, which outlines goals, expectations and activities. Each party must adhere to their responsibilities and obligations to ensure its success.
If your equine business is looking to promote a product or service, boost sales or reach a new audience, then a joint venture or partnership could be the right answer. Consider your overall goals and core values, research and select possible partners, then approach them with a professional proposal aimed at mutual success.
Reviewing Your Marketing
Finally, it’s crucial you plan consistent intervals to review your marketing plan and the goals you’ve set for the year. You should commit to reviewing your marketing every quarter as a minimum and regular marketing meetings should involve every member of your team, particularly those in sales.
As you roll out each marketing campaign over the next 12 months, you must take time to review their success. Clickthrough rates, impression rates and reach are some of the key performance metrics for online marketing, while checkout codes, landing pages and call tracking can help you measure print’s success.
Reviewing your marketing plan means you’re prepared to make changes as opportunities arise, new competitors enter the market and your marketing budget increases. Measuring the performance of your marketing throughout the year will tell you if you’re achieving the results that are important to your equine business and show you where your advertising dollar is best spent.
Looking for some outside support? Don’t wait for success, create it — with the experts in equine marketing, Archer Creative. To learn more about how we can help you exceed your growth goals, call us on 1300 077 126 or visit www.archercreative.net.au.
