Everyone enjoys a good incentive now and again. When you go to the grocery store, do you clip coupons for your favorite products? If a restaurant is offering a free drink with your meal, are you more likely to eat there than an establishment where you will have to pay two bucks for a Diet Coke?
Incentives are as good as currency in business, but they are often overlooked in the horse business. It’s like riding instructors and horse trainers think they are above the this practice. Or maybe they just don’t see how it can apply to them.
If you can harness the power of incentives in the horse business, you’ll see a corresponding uptick in income. I promise.
For example, maybe you’re a riding instructor and you’d like to teach more students. You’ve advertised in local papers, put up flyers in the tack store and spread word of mouth. But your classes still aren’t full.
Your existing students represent an untapped resource. Provide incentives for them to bring in more students, and you’ll have cut your work in half.
Tell your students that for every new rider they bring in, they get an extra lesson free. They get more riding time, you get a new customer. Tit for tat.
Or you could advertise a free lesson (or half off a lesson, whatever) to each new student who signs up for a month of classes. You’re guaranteed the future income (you can even require they pay in advance), but the student feels he’s getting a better deal.
Incentives can be used in every facet of the horse business. If you’re a farrier, for instance, you could offer free trims to new customers. If you’re a horse trainer, offer a free thirty-minute assessment ride. Try to harness incentives where all you give away for free is your time; that way, you’re not actually out money as you attempt to make money.
Brainstorm incentives with your staff and come up with unique ideas to draw in more customers. The more unique, the better.
You might also like:
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Marketing Plan - How to Even Out Horse Business Revenue
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Competitive Analysis - Reducing Employee Turnover in the Horse Business
About the Author: Laura Jane Thompson is the Chief Equestrian Officer of Riding Instructor University and the Feature writer for the horses section at Suite101. She believes that any horse business can succeed provided its owner practices smart strategy.
