Marketing your Equine Assisted business, depending upon your personality, can be one or all of the following at times:
Frustrating
Exciting
Scary
Confusing
Detailed
Emotional roller coaster
Fun
Rewarding
Feel free to add any other aspects here.
And I am not even touching into the sales processes yet, which are often overlooked due to the uncomfortableness sales brings to mind.
When you are standing in the middle of your own business, it is easy to assume that your audience gets what you do and who you are because you write about and talk about the process of your work with horses all of the time.
Not so fast. Why would they? Is the process what they need to hear or is it something more that helps make the connection of your horses with the potential clients?
Marketing is a communication process, when done properly, can make the sales process much easier.
One of the many things we do with our clients in Soleful Marketing and Business Foundations is help them get clear on every step of the journey their clients take with them to the desired solutions. Your business has multiple dimensions to it and extracting the information from each of those dimensions takes a little work. Work that is necessary and pays in spades if you are willing to take the time and energy to do it.
We humans live in a three dimensional world with an entire unseen fourth dimension going on all of the time. A dimension comprised of emotions, beliefs, sensations, and a constant stream of thought flowing all of the time. Making meaning out of most everything because we need to in order to feel safe and in control. An invisible world constantly being created in our heads.
The human mind is busy all of the time. I mean, if your mind went blank, how would you know? 😊
Humans are meaning making machines and when solutions are needed or desired, a connection is sought. Which is why you want your marketing clear and really fleshed out to the point of your potential client having the thought, “WOW! This person gets me!”- so that you attract who and what you want into your business.
Common Marketing Misnomers:
1. Marketing to everyone is equivalent to marketing to no one because your message is too general, vague, and sweeping.
2. Believing that you just need to line out the process of what you do in your marketing copy, believe again.
Every step of the journey you take clients through (this includes the time frame BEFORE they hire you) is critical. You want to be clear on the dimensions, especially the fourth dimension (lined out below) so you connect with your ideal clients and motivate them to follow you.
Here is how I view the dimensions in marketing.
Dimension 1: You and the horses
Dimension 2: The clients (you may call this your niche)
Dimension 3: The process of what you do together (your specially branded system of solution(s).
Dimension 4: The problem(s) you solve and the outbound impact of the solution and previous three dimensions. This is the ripple effect I mention in webinars and podcasts. These are often intangible or less obvious at least, and carry the power in your marketing.
It is in taking a deep dive into these dimensions by stepping them out and looking around that strong marketing emerges. You can take the rich information derived from walking through this to develop a well of key words and phrases that are results based to use over and over again. Develop automated responses to nurture the audience and be warming them to the big, “yes” to enrolling. People don't necessarily care about your process. The DO care about what is in it for them.
This deep dive adds life to your marketing. Gets into that mental world (fourth dimension) of your ideal client so they make the connection to accommodate and assimilate your work into their world.
The niche is quite often misunderstood as a demographic. Your niche is way beyond a demographic.
Your niche is comprised of three main components that intersect.
1. The people you serve.
2. The problem(s) you solve
3. The specially branded system you use to solve the problem(s).
Cold markets take time and nurturing, more so than a warm market. Cold market refers to people who don't yet know you and your work. It is akin to meeting someone for the first time and then nurturing the connection, warming them into a relationship of trust and following.
If you have someone else developing a website, emails, or other copy for you and they don’t have this information. The deep understanding of your company and your work – it is their voice, not yours that goes out into the masses. It is their understanding of you that goes out into the world, not your essence and energy. They may understand your industry – that is a GREAT start. They also need to deeply understand your branding, your essence, and the impact you have in the world.
Your marketing efforts need and deserve your attention so that your sales processes are streamlined and strong. If you are already a strong seller, meaning you have electronic processes in place to generate leads and make sales as well as complete confidence in your ability to hold a money (sales) conversation with a good conversion rate – then strong marketing copy and processes will boost your efforts. If you are not a strong seller, you want your marketing to be streamlined and strong.
So, you see there is a win-win to strong marketing copy. The time and energy investment of getting clear on all of the dimensions of your business can mean you and the horses impact larger numbers of humans that need the horses.
Strengthen your sales savvy for sure. That is subject for another conversation however.
We would love to help you with fleshing out the dimensions of your marketing – schedule a time for a brief chat. Click Here To Schedule.