Re: [Alpacasite] Marketing

I have a one hour ride to work and the back again. My husband does the driving. So the paper work goes a long way on these rides. Also at work I do not get to the computer and so myself and co-workers again need the paper work to read. When I get these magazines, ads, auctions my co-workers see them and pick them up to read.

Lisa Robin Olsen <AlpacaAtlantic@aol.com> wrote: Howdy,

Sharon, about your comment, "The AOBA has charged a fair price for a
nationwide advertising program in the Farm and Ranch guide program
that has no equal anywhere else."

I'm not sure if that's true or not.

Have you looked at AlpacaNation's "Alpaca Farm & Breeders" guide
lately??? I can recall when AlpacaNation first hit the streets. It
always seemed to be nice alternative for average-sized farms that
didn't want the hassle of maintaining their own web site. Man have
things changed!!! I like to be able to pass along recommendations
to my customers so ran a few numbers, and was amazed at what I
found. In some states, AlpacaNation's listings exceed those on
AOBA's Farm and Ranch Locator (web site). I only checked a handful,
but in the state of Ohio alone, there are 230 listings with
AlpacaNation, and only 83 listed with AOBA (Farm & Ranch Locator)!!!

I'm not endorsing AlpacaNation, I'm not a member, and my web site is
as old-fashioned and cheap as they come (self-done in HTML on free
AOL server space) – it's just that I hate to see AOBA bypassed as
the primary marketing venue.

What if we stepped back and took a look at things in a different
light.

Have any of you ever sold an alpaca to a customer that wasn't
computer-savvy??? I haven't. Every single person I've made a sale
to has "met" me first through my web site. How they got there
doesn't matter right now – the point being that I think most would
agree that the majority have access to computers and know how to use
them.

I can't help but to wonder if we even need to be sending out a paper
FRG. Sure, we may miss out on 5% of our possible market – but seems
a huge expense to reach such a small group.

Why not use AlpacaNation as a model. Might be embarrassing to us
die-hard AOBA types – but they've got something going on that's
working. They're capturing our target market: computer-savvy folks
that want information, want it NOW, and want complete information
without having to hunt and search. The AOBA on-line Farm & Ranch
Locator gives you contact information with links. AlpacaNation
gives you everything you could ever want to know about the farm,
with………..I don't have to go on – I'll bet good money everyone on
this group knows exactly what they give you, as most already belong.

The point is, that for $495 I can get a listing in the FRG that may
or may not be sent out to callers, along with contact information on
the AOBA web site – or for $500, on AlpacaNation I can get a full
life story, along with ads, photos, bells and whistles. Hmmmmmmmmm.

I'm currently working with two of our customers in developing their
marketing strategy – and I honestly can't sell either of them on
AOBA! You can guess where they're going.

We may not be losing our membership, but I think we're losing
marketing dollars as many new breeders are investing elsewhere.
Oregon is another state: 88 on AlpacaNation, and only 51 on AOBA's
on-line listing. If we can't capture our own members, how can we
sell ourselves effectively to potential customers???

I'm just thinking here, and it's late (or early) so cut me a bit of
slack – but if you were a potential newbie and saw a copy of the FRG
(spiffy ads and contact info), and noticed that it had less listings
than you could find on AlpacaNation (spiffy ads and complete info) –
would you ever pick it up again??? And if you had a limited
marketing budget and knew that AlpacaNation was attracting a larger
audience than AOBA – where would you spend your money???

It may sound like I'm trying to sell AlpacaNation – I'm not. I'm
just brainstorming……………

Warmest Regards,
Lisa Olsen

Alpaca Atlantic of TN: Full-time Ranchers, Full-time Commitment,
Full-time Support!
Manchester, Tennessee
Phone: (931) 728-6945

Web Site: http://www.Alpaca-Atlantic.com
E-mail: AlpacaAtlantic@aol.com

Opinions and postings on this list are the sole responsibility of the person posting the message. The accuracy and content of each message in no way reflect the opinions of the administrator or Yahoo.

List administrator - Rick Horn - All American Alpacas alpacas@alpacaweb.com
http://aaalpacas.com

TO CHANGE OPTIONS visit http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Alpacasite/join

SPONSORED LINKS
Business finance course Business to business finance Small business finance Business finance consultant Business finance schools Business finance schools

---------------------------------
YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS

Visit your group "Alpacasite" on the web.

To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
Alpacasite-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com

Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.

---------------------------------

Jim and Sharon Dear
St. Lawrence County
Potsdam, New York
Alpacas came home 9-11-04
THE DEAR ALPACA FARM
www.dearalpacafarm.com

---------------------------------
Yahoo! Shopping
Find Great Deals on Holiday Gifts at Yahoo! Shopping

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~-->
Put more honey in your pocket. (money matters made easy).
http://us.click.yahoo.com/F9LvrA/dlQLAA/cosFAA/jO1qlB/TM
--------------------------------------------------------------------~->

Opinions and postings on this list are the sole responsibility of the person posting the message. The accuracy and content of each message in no way reflect the opinions of the administrator or Yahoo.

List administrator - Rick Horn - All American Alpacas alpacas@alpacaweb.com
http://aaalpacas.com

TO CHANGE OPTIONS visit http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Alpacasite/join
Yahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Alpacasite/

<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
Alpacasite-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com

<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/