A bit of consumer analysis - Equine Loyalty Card

VictoriaEDT

VictoriaEDT

Well-Known Member
Joined
16 June 2005
Messages
3,310
Location
Somerset
www.equinedental.co.uk
Right,

here is the link to the company....best read it before you read my post to make sure you fully understand!

http://www.equineloyalty.co.uk/

This company approached me recently to see whether I would be interested in offering their members a discount. Now this company is in its infancy and to me it sounds like it could really set off with the right marketing (which it sounds like they are doing by going to Bramham, hickstead, badders, HOYS etc and a soon to be page in HH).
But what do you all think? if they can get some good retail stores, vets, EDTs, feed murchants and master saddlers; I think it could be great for the equine consumer.......every little counts and all that. EL have already stipulated that they are only aiming to go to well respected master saddlers, EDTs and vets to make sure their members get a good service.
They have offered me Somerset, Dorset, Devon, Wilts and I am considering Hants/Surrey. Is becoming a member something you would be interested in? before I make my decision to accept their offer.
 
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It looks very professional and if there were plenty of local services to me then I would definitely sign up (if I had a horse, which I don't!)

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Ha
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yes a horse usually helps in this instance!!!
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probably not

if im looking to buy something i'll look around for the best price/offers/sales etc. so i wouldnt necessarily use the companies involved, just as i wouldnt pay more for something at sainsburys i can get cheaper elsewhere - just becaue ive got a nectar card

one of my local saddlers has a loyalty card scheme, but i rarely go there any more as ive found cheaper places/better places
 
I probably wouldn't. Like abracadabra I look around for the cheapest price when I am wanting to buy something. I also thought there was something like this years ago and they went bust leaving a lot of unhappy people. Not this company though
 
same for those, no.
but for a different reason this time, not for the cheapest bid...id still use reliable existing people, wouldnt change to peeps because they were on a scheme and it might get me a discount
id rely more on testimonials, word of mouth from other horse owners when using health care proffessionals (sp)
 
My thoughts are that it's a good idea in theory - however, why don't you just offer a loyalty scheme yourself and promote it through local vets / farriers? You'll achieve the same end but with the added bonus of personal recommendation. If you need help organising it then drop me a PM.
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hmm, thats a good idea.

Re "equine loyalty card" I was thinking seriously about doing it because I do think it is a good idea when money is tight at the moment for horses owners and if the company can get some good names involved it could be v successful and beneficial to all nationwide.

They have stipulated though that they only want well respected practitioners on board, which is good.
 
Fair enough but why would someone miles from your area want to use you? Presumably you are being charged for being on the ELC website?

I still think it would be more cost and time effective to link up with all the vets / farriers / livery yards / tack shops in your area and do your own loyalty scheme.

The other thing to bear in mind that if not enough companies / people sign up for this site then what will happen to the money that you've already paid them? I'm quite sure you're unlikely to see it back.....
 
Equine Loyalty arent charging me anything, they charge their members £20 per year and use me/others as an incentive to join.....all they ask is that i give their members a discount.

All worth thinking about though.....thanks!
 
well if they arent charging you youve nothing to lose

mmm, unless it doesnt work out and the scheme closes (as quote from above)

-<<I also thought there was something like this years ago and they went bust leaving a lot of unhappy people.>>

will you be associated in the public mind?

have they confirmed who else will be involved? if they are all well respected professionals that have already joined it seems like a good idea to me

sorry not much help, just typing out loud
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I find that if you are loyal to a shop/service provider then they give you a discount anyway, without having to buy a £20 card. Also, they say they only want respected parctitioners on board but have they actually asked you much about you and your business? How do they know? It sounds like a marketing ploy to me, give you a complment to get your interest so to speak.

IMO you are better off looking after your own business by giving discounts to people with several horses or who are loyal to you. For example, you cant discount everyone and it could annoy customers that have several horses by giving someone with a card a discount but not them. They are then more likely to shop around to others who will give them a discount. If you give card owners a discount this may prevent you from offering others a discount otherwise you may as well reduce your prices to everyone. Does this make sense?
 
i didnt think of it like that....another good point!

I am assuming they looked on my website and saw the testmonial from a well known event rider but then they also knew that I was the lecturer in dental science at Hartpury and that is not on my website......so not sure where they found that out!!!

People always know far more about you than you think!
 
Hi All,

We noticed a recent discussion on the forum regarding 'Consumer Analysis - Equine Loyalty' and thought it would be easier if we dispelled a few myths straight off, and at the same time explain exactly what EquineLoyalty is, and how it helps the riding public.

As you may have noticed, one of our services very sensibly asked a few questions to see what people thought of the concept before they joined us.

EquineLoyalty was set up as all of the team (bar one) worked in the equestrian industry. We saw that many of our favourite shops were struggling and also that many horse owners, including our own friends and family were struggling financially with the cost of their horses. We also know that no one, if they can help it, wants to let go of their horse, so the usual way around it is to get another job to earn more money. However, thanks to the global financial mess we all find ourselves in, there's even a waiting list for jobs that you would normally walk straight in to. (I know this, friends have tried to get them!)

So, EquineLoyalty was born as a means to help both consumers and the trade. By negotiating with tack shops and services throughout the UK we are able to bring you savings and discounts usually unavailable.
The list of tack shops is continually growing and also the services. Basically, we asked riders what they wanted discounts on and if we can organise it, we do.

As well as the discounts and privileges current available for being an EquineLoyalty member, our members keep suggesting services and discounts that are necessary with the upkeep of horses.

The whole point of this program is to try and make life a little easier for as many people as possible. I know how heartbreaking it is to have to lose a horse through financial means and believe me, it puts you off having another as you don't want to have to put yourself through that again.

We are not linked with any previous voucher scheme nor do we have anything to do with them. We found out about them during our research before starting the program.

A lot have people mentioned that if you use a particular shop then you can get added discounts and we are not saying don't do this by any means, it’s a way of saving money, the only difference with us is that you can use your card nationwide so if you go to a show in another county etc then you can still get the discount in a shop you may not know. Plus all the additional benefits of savings on insurance, dentistry etc means that an EquineLoyalty card saves you money on many different aspects of your equine based spending.

Also the added benefits are still growing, for example we are now linked with the BHS and also an insurance company which gives extra discount to our members.

We want this 'club' to work for YOU the consumer and we are all very friendly here and are willing to listen to what you want/need from us.

If you want to see something added that we haven't yet thought of, feel free to contact us.

I hope that clears up a few things and as mentioned do feel free to continue asking questions and we will answer them including your ideas and things you would like us to do for us to help you all out in this current economic meltdown.

Thanks for reading and we look forward to your comments and thoughts
 
Well, I'd be interested in finding out how Equine Loyalty will pick 'well respected' purveyors of goods and services?
Secondly, people aren't loyal - as supermarkets found out with loyalty cards - instead they now use them to compile consumer profiles, and perhaps sell the information.
Would EquineLoyalty be selling personal information to other companies to enable direct marketing?
Thirdly, EquineLoyalty appears to believe that equine consumers pick products/services using price as the differential - this isn't true for me. I pick firstly by geographic area - in the case of services - then by reputation, and only lastly by price. For products, I would be more likely to do an online search for the cheapest source.
I would suspect I would never get my £20 back.
S
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Well, I'd be interested in finding out how Equine Loyalty will pick 'well respected' purveyors of goods and services?
Secondly, people aren't loyal - as supermarkets found out with loyalty cards - instead they now use them to compile consumer profiles, and perhaps sell the information.
Would EquineLoyalty be selling personal information to other companies to enable direct marketing?
Thirdly, EquineLoyalty appears to believe that equine consumers pick products/services using price as the differential - this isn't true for me. I pick firstly by geographic area - in the case of services - then by reputation, and only lastly by price. For products, I would be more likely to do an online search for the cheapest source.
I would suspect I would never get my £20 back.
S
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I agree with all the above.
 
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