Setting up an equestrian clothing online business successfully takes planning and organisation. We launched our award-winning equine marketing and pr agency in 2011, so we have seen many equestrian clothing brands launch online, some with success but many as failures. Our Equine Marketing & PR Team share their tips for starting an equestrian clothing brand online in this equestrian business blog.
Design For Your Equestrian Customer
Equestrian clothing is something that everyone has in their riding wardrobe. Whether you wear your riding clothes every day or only once in a blue moon, they serve several objectives, including making you feel and look good. For equestrians, the most crucial consideration is that they also serve a practical purpose, such as keeping you warm during cold weather or protecting you from the elements throughout the seasons. Designing for your customer and solving a problem are two essential factors to consider when designing an equestrian clothing range. Ask these questions;
- Who is your customer?
- What disciplines do they enjoy with their horses?
- What age range are they?
- Why can’t they find the products already?
- Are you a luxury equestrian brand or a budget equestrian brand?
All these aspects should be considered in the business planning stage. Does your equestrian clothing brand solve the problem because currently, other brands are more limited in their size range, or is what stylish equestrians love simply out of budget for many horse riders? Planning the ‘who, what and why before launching your equestrian business is imperative to success.
Get Your Production, Timelines And Deliveries In Place
Your designs are in production, so what else do you need to consider? You need to ensure that your delivery timelines are correct. If your production is overseas, often the factory will be late delivering your equestrian clothes, which can have a knock-on effect on the sale and any pre-sales you have taken. Most equestrian brands will try and use more than one factory, so if there is any delay in one factory, they will still have equestrian clothing and accessories to sell earlier in the season! Be prepared to be agile on delivery dates and plan ahead.
Invest In Your Equestrian E-Commerce Website
Selling equestrian clothes isn’t always an easy task online. There are hundreds of established equestrian brands out there already, so you need your brand and website to stand out for all the right reasons. Investing in a professionally constructed website with excellent e-commerce ability is essential. We see many equestrian businesses creating websites on small budgets or creating a website themselves, but this can lead to more problems further down the line; website security issues, SEO problems and site speed complications. Investing in an equestrian e-commerce website at the beginning is money well spent.
Picture Perfect Equestrian Clothing Online
A picture can speak a thousand words, but it can also sell thousands of clothes. Your equestrian clothing online business needs quality photography that is true to the product and shows your website shop visitors just how good your equestrian clothing range is! There is a reason why even lower-level mainstream high street brands such as Primark invest serious money into their photography because they know that if a product is £5.00, it still needs to be photographed like it is worth £150 to pull in online sales. Compare the still-life photography of lower-end brands with brands such as Prada, and you won’t see much or any difference. Investing in your equestrian photography will make the difference between selling or not selling online.
Start Your Equestrian Clothing Online Business The Right Way
Once your website is in place, and your production is in action, you are ready to launch to the equestrian world! Introducing your brand for the first time is a huge consideration. You need to launch your online equestrian clothing correctly; this is where a professional equine marketing agency comes on board. A skilled equestrian pr agency can help your equestrian brand and will know how to introduce your new equestrian clothing line to a new audience through traditional and digital pr or social media marketing. An equine marketing team can help an equestrian clothing online company in many ways; writing press releases to send to the press, obtaining tried and tested opportunities in the media, creating excellent SEO website blog content and growing your brand awareness on social media.
