Crisis Management for Your Horse Business

With the impending Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak causing mass self-isolation, quarantines and event closures we are all concerned. Not only for the welfare of our health but also for our small businesses. All major equestrian events have been cancelled including Sydney’s Royal Easter Show and Victoria’s Jumping with the stars, with many more unlikely to go ahead. So in this crisis, where does this leave your equestrian business?

We have narrowed down some ways to keep your business going even if you and all your customers are in self isolation.

If your equestrian business has an e-commerce store, then you could take advantage of an increase in online traffic. With more people stuck at home footfall in physical shops is decreasing, however, this creates an opportunity for online shopping. Consider;

Running a Sale – Consider running a sale to encourage more customers to shop with you. This doesn’t have to mean discounting all your products. Why not offer free / discounted shipping during this crisis time if customers spend over a certain amount?

Highlight in-stock products – Show your customers exactly what products you have in stock and ready to go. If your customers cannot get to a physical store at least they know that they can get your products quickly.

Social Media – App up your social media posts. More people sitting at home, means more people to see your social media posts. Try and relate them back to your e-commerce website. Or run a dynamic add highlighting your product list.

You know all those things around your house or farm that you have been putting off? Now is a great time to do them!  Fixing fences, replacing rails, building new arenas.

Blogs- We always recommend to our clients to write blogs for their websites. Blogs are a fantastic way to certify yourself as an expert in your field. They help educate your audience and usually answer questions that your customers have. Finally, blog work wonders for your SEO.

Google likes websites that are constantly adding new information and making big changes. Its algorithm sees these websites as having the most up to date information and therefore will rank these websites higher. However, moving a few words around on a page doesn’t qualify as a big enough change to google so you need to look at adding new pages of making big changes. The easiest way to do this? Writing new blogs.

If you do have to be self-isolated take this opportunity to sit down and write. Get ahead of your posts so that they are ready to publish at a later date.

Website content – Read through all the text on your website. Check for any information that might need updating or content that you could add.

Social Media – If you have found that your business has quietened down, it could be a great time to get on top of your social media scheduling. Sit down and plan some engaging content for the next few months and schedule them in so that you don’t have to think about posting. We recommend using Hootsuite or Zoho Social to schedule social media posts.

Automated Emails – Make your life easier when normal life does return. Marketing automation enables technology to take over those repetitive tasks like replying to emails and order confirmations. Set up your automated emails now whilst things are quiet and you have extra time on your hands. Examples of automated emails you can set up;

• Welcome new subscribers – When somebody subscribes to your list or makes a purchase from you let them know they are welcome. Introduce them to your business and your top products or services.
• Reward customer loyalty
• Recognise milestones or birthdays
• Send personalised confirmation and notification emails.

Read our full blog on Marketing Automations here.

We know that this is a tough time for businesses of all sizes and the future is a little bleak. ut things will get back to normal and if nothing else at least we can get as organised as we can when it does. It’s important to remember that when times are tough marketing costs are usually the first to go. However its exactly in these times that marketing is essential to stimulate customers.

If you are struggling in this crisis and need advice please contact us here.