The concept of marketing is one of the most misunderstood and underestimated in the equine business world. Although the thoroughbred breeding and retail sectors of the equine industry have a good grasp of marketing practice there is a significant number of business managers within the industry whose marketing strategy begins and ends with an advert at the local saddlers, as and when they need to drum up some more business. This state of affairs demonstrates a complete lack of understanding for what marketing actually is. It is much more than advertising; it is nothing more or less than the way in which the business presents itself to the world.
Marketing definitions often include the use of business jargon such as 'creating demand', 'adding value', 'facilitating customer satisfaction' and 'dynamic relationship' when in fact it is simply finding out what the customer wants, then persuading them that you have got it! Mercer (1996) suggests that modern marketing theory really came about as part of the rise of advertising in the 1950s but that it was not until the 1960s, with the rise in product differentiation and consumer preference, that it settled into its current form.