Get Your Marketing Plan Ready for 2023 - Horse Business Checklist Item 10

As we head into Horse Business Checklist Item 10 – Write a Marketing Plan and Update Your Social Media Channels we have several steps, tips and tools to share with you.

PART I

Key Steps

1. Create a written plan using the outline for the 7 Sentence Marketing Plan (for more detailed instructions check out our guide below)
   
   1. The purpose of your marketing.
   2. How you will achieve this purpose.
   3. Your target-market.
   4. Your business identity/branding.
   5. Your niche and unique value proposition.
   6. The marketing tools you will use.
   7. Your budget.
2. Use a Marketing Calendar to track results. Here's a link to a video of the Marketing Calendar available to our members.
3. Make sure your marketing plan includes strategies for marketing to both potential and current customers.
4. Measure your results each month and re-invest (your time and resources) in the strategies that prove to be the most successful.
5. Write a plan for your whole business and for each customer segment.

Tip: When we say "track" we mean it! To market successfully on a small budget, you must know (not guess) how each marketing strategy is performing. You will be taking an investment approach to your marketing and the only way to make good financial decisions is to base them on facts.

Tip:  New customers rarely just materialize. They go through a step-by-step progression (Stranger - Lead - Contact - Customer). Set up a marketing system that helps you to nurture them each step of the way! This is part of your sales process that we discussed in Checklist Item 8. 

Benefits:
You will develop a system for marketing your business that enables you to consistently attract the best clients for your business.
You will do this so economically and efficiently that it will not only grow your business but your marketing will have a measurable ROI. 

Tip: Devote at least 20 minutes a day to marketing your business (an hour a day is even better, because it gives you time to learn and plan.)  Marketing is something you need to be doing with clarity and consistency. It needs to be forefront in your mind. Keep your marketing in tune by attending our webinars and reading our articles and newsletter tips.  Not only will this keep you abreast of what is working, but it will keep you in a marketing state of mind.  This 'state of mind" will help you to recognize and take advantage of critical opportunities to market and grow your business.

Common Questions:
Q: How long should it take for my marketing to produce results?

A: There are several types of results that you should track. The end result and the indicators that your marketing is working. End results typically take 30 - 90 days (or longer). Indicators can take minutes with pay per click ads like Google or Facebook or when you share content on social media. It is important that you track both the result and the indicators. For example: If you run a pay per click ad (or posted content that you hoped would result in messages, visits to your website or phone calls), you need to know how many people engaged or clicked vs. how many people became a contact vs. how many contacts became customers.  When you know these things, you can then identify any trouble spots (like an ad or content that attracts “likes” but not actions) and continually improve your marketing.  For example, you may find that a piece of content is getting shared like crazy on Facebook but that no one is “liking” your page. In which case you may want to ad a “call to action” that inspires viewers to like your page. 

Q: What is the most important marketing tool or strategy?

A: We think there are three critical "must haves."

1. An excellent website because it is the hub of your online marketing.
2. A strong social media presence that helps you build relationships.
3. Happy current and past customers, because "word of mouth" is the most trusted form of marketing.

PART II

Update Your Social Media Channels and Files
This is a great time of year to go through your social media channels and update information and images. A great time multiplier as you do this is to start a folder that is pre-loaded with images, quotes, or content that you like. That way when you head into your busy season, you won't have to spend time you don't have on finding content.  Here is a link to our favorite image creation and editing tool https://www.canva.com/  

Members and Future Members of Equestrian Professional
One of the most important benefits of being a member of EP is that we understand how different the horse business is from mainstream businesses. Our members gain access to a proven system and collection of tools and resources specifically for professional equestrians that help you to unify your equestrian career and business goals so that you are able to build both a successful career and a profitable business.

Extra Support for Our Members 

The 150 Equestrian Marketing Tools and Jewels - 2021 Edition The 150 Equestrian Marketing Tools and Jewels Ebook is available to all members. It is designed to work with our 7 Step Marketing Plan. With over 150 Marketing Tools and Strategies that really work for people in the horse business you are sure to get a lot of use out of this book! Use it with our Equestrian Marketing Workbook which includes 2 easy to use Marketing Calendars and a Marketing Checklist....More

Why Testimonials Are Worth A Deep DiveElisabeth McMillan In our last horse business tip, we gave you a template for collecting high quality, deep testimonials. This tip, we are discussing how to use this type of testimonial to build offerings that provide more value to your clients and to your own business. It's a win/win. Real life examples are always helpful when learning how to apply a business or marketing strategy. We used our "Deep Dive Testimonial" formula when we were creating a website, pricing strategy and marketing plan for an equine sports therapy business. Here is what we learned together....More

Equestrian Professional's Marketing Calendar Tool Equestrian Professional's Online Marketing Calendar tool enables you to easily create and implement an investment approach to marketing your horse business....More

How to Write A Killer Marketing Plan for Your Horse Business in Just 7 SentencesElisabeth McMillan Over the years, I've learned many marketing philosophies, gained a lot of experience and created my own blended approach to horse business marketing. However, I find that at my core is a thought process that I learned about 10 years ago from Jay Conrad Levinson, during a Guerrilla Marketing Coach Certification Course. It is called, The 7 Sentence Marketing Plan....More