To design a successful wildlife enterprise, try describing your business using the four P’s of marketing - product, price, place, and promotion.

Product

Product is what you have for sale. It is what you specifically offer your customers in return for their money.  Sometimes it is difficult to think of “recreation services” as products.  But as far as marketing is concerned, a hunting experience is as much a product as timber from your forest.  Never lose sight of the fact that you expect to create an enterprise; that is, you plan to attract customers to pay for your products and be able make a profit over and above your costs.

Exactly what products do you intend to offer?  A wildlife-based enterprise may include a hunting experience, recreation services such as camping, hiking, bird watching, or fishing, or a combination. Your products should fit readily-available resources, or can be developed after reasonable and feasible modification.  In other words, if doves don’t visit your property, don’t get into the dove hunting business.  On the other hand, should you base your choice of product solely on available resources? Certainly not! The most important component of this decision is your customer.

Product decisions are made much easier by asking one important question—what do the customers really want?  In economics, this question refers to your demand.  If potential customers want a rustic cabin, having a high-end duck hunting lodge complete with meals and hot showers will overprice that demand.   

Find out what wildlife-based enterprises are already available in your area.  In other words, who are your competitors? Have a clear idea of the products that these enterprises offer.  Visit these enterprises as a paying guest.  Evaluate what you liked and didn’t like about your experience.  Then decide if you want to offer the same products or something different than your competitors.

Generally speaking, establishing your uniqueness as a wildlife enterprise is beneficial, provided that customers want what you offer.  Sometimes it is easier to offer a slightly different experience than your competitors, rather than a radically different one.  For example, if your competitors only offer hunting opportunities for hard-core hunters, you may want to think about selling a family hunting experience.

Price

Price is simply what you charge for your products. However, pricing your product is not quite as simple.  Some misconceptions about pricing that can greatly affect the performance of a small business. For example, many think that the lower the price, the better it is for a business.  However, this is not always true.  Effective pricing strategy is extremely important for an enterprise to be successful.

Your price depends a great deal on your product.  Before determining a pricing strategy, evaluate your wildlife enterprise. What are its attributes? Does your enterprise have any unique characteristics that enable you to charge a premium? Understanding your product and its position in the larger marketplace is crucial for effective pricing.  Besides determining your revenue, price also impacts demand for your product which, in turn, determines how much you sell.  Your price is a signal to customers about your product’s value. The price that you charge positions your product among its competitors.

Considering these factors, where do you want to position your product among your competitors?  What do your competitors offer, and at what price?  Based on this information, do you want to compete for the low-end, moderate, or high-end market?  Since these different market segments cater to different groups of customers, deciding your general price up-front will help in devising your marketing plan. Avoid under-valuing your product!  Remember, it is much easier to reduce prices later than increase them. You can even promote these reductions as discounts!

Next, determine your base price by accurately estimating your costs and determining the smallest price that you could charge without encountering direct losses.  This includes “out-of-pocket” expenses such as maintenance of wildlife habitat and roads, fuel for transporting hunters, legal expenses, insurance premiums, and other costs incurred from the enterprise.  Of course, don’t sell at this price because you will not make any profit, and it will lead to indirect losses since you are not getting paid for your time, energy, and efforts.

After determining the base price, add value to your product to meet expectations of your price class of customers.  Examples of such values may be excellent customer support, a family approach to dealing with your customers, offering quality homemade food, sleeping quarters for those who may want to spend more than a day, recreation opportunities for families, or “free” fishing in your pond.  Be creative in refining your product and service so you can make the maximum profit while providing customers a sense of satisfaction that they may not get elsewhere.

Place

Place is where your customers find products that you offer.  If you already own a considerable amount of land and do not have immediate plans to expand your ownership, your place is set – you will have little control over place in your wildlife enterprise.  On the other hand, if you plan to acquire land for your enterprise, you have some flexibility over where your business is located. 

The location of your wildlife enterprise has a significant impact on marketing strategies. Wildlife enterprises by definition are located in rural areas that may or may not offer easy access.  However, traveling to rural areas is an expectation for many hunters where limited access is part of the hunting experience.  Even some hunters may consider remote locations as added value to the experience you are offering.  Property located closer to urban centers offers professionals from the city the opportunity to “get away from it all” for a few days.  Properties located more distantly may provide longer stays for those traveling farther distances, or pick-up services from airports.

Promotion

This probably is the most important of the four P’s of marketing. The success of your enterprise depends largely on how you promote it. Promotion is your vehicle for reaching customers.  Depending on the size of your wildlife enterprise, word-of-mouth or a sign along a highway may be sufficient for a few local clients.  Larger ventures will need effective promotion to make your enterprise a highly sought-after business with a large customer base. With a well-prepared promotion campaign, you have the potential to reach customers who are willing to travel great distances and pay hefty fees to enjoy your products and services.  

A promotion campaign will not only make your customers aware of your enterprise, it can also establish your business’s uniqueness in the minds of potential customers.  How is your hunting experience different from your competition?  The perceived uniqueness of your product could be the reason why a customer will choose your wildlife enterprise.

Today’s businesses have a variety of promotional tools and venues at their disposal. Advertisements in newspapers, magazines, trade publications, radio, television, and websites are options.  Direct marketing tools such as mailing advertisements to hunters can be effective.  Hunting and outdoor trade shows/conventions offer promotional venues for setting up booths and meeting potential customers face-to-face.  Celebrity endorsements may be of value for high-end wildlife enterprises.  However, keep in mind that not all tools are useful to all enterprises, nor are they affordable.  Therefore, select the ones that work best for your particular circumstance and customer base.

It is likely that you will need different promotional strategies for various groups of customers.  For example, an advertisement in a local newspaper or radio station, or even posters around town may be sufficient to attract local hunters.  To reach professionals in large urban areas or a national audience, you can advertise in hunting magazines or the internet.  Brainstorm your options by first listing the names of newspapers, magazines, etc.  Determine the cost for advertising for each option.  Frequently there will be several ways to reach the same group of people.  Objectively evaluate these alternatives based on their costs and effectiveness.  Remember, these costs can directly affect your profit margin. Do not select a marketing tool that your wildlife enterprise cannot afford. On the other hand, you should not select an ineffective tool just because it is cheap. Find the best compromise between cost and effectiveness.