With extensive knowledge in the ram and sheep breeding industry, it’s only been in the last 12-18 months Hamish Chandler, Chandler Livestock, has begun to push the marketing of his livestock.
He and his wife Leanne have been in business together since 1998 and began developing their sheep enterprises in 2000.
Having bred their own merino rams for the last 12-13 years, Hamish said a conflict of interest through his positions with Sheep Genetics and Meat and Livestock Australia stopped them from their own marketing.
“...at the time it was probably best not to go and try marketing rams in competition to sheep genetics…we have been breeding rams for quite some time but have only registered the stud, gone public with what we are doing and started looking at how do we try to sell the rams in the last 18 months or so.”
At the time they were breeding their own line of rams as they couldn’t find what they were looking for; they wanted high-performance, resilient sheep that did well with little management, produced a 17-micron clip, and had good carcass and fertility rates - amongst other traits.
“The local studs were doing a great job of breeding sheep that suited the environment and suited where we are in the Northern Tablelands of New South Wales, but we were looking for higher performance,” Hamish said.
“I was looking to breed really resilient sheep that can thrive under tough conditions and can put up with worm burden, limited management…a sheep that doesn’t take too much work to look after.”
This success then led the pair to add White Suffolks to their enterprise, offering clients another option to breed for market specifications.
Having successfully bred the animal they wanted to sell, Chandler Livestock reached out to Mallee Marketing to prepare a marketing plan and get clear on their message.
From not being able to market his business for many years to having to develop a client base as quickly as possible, Hamish found this quite a challenge.
“We want to sell sheep to like-minded people who are wanting to do the same as we do.”
Marketing and communicating their why, why it’s useful for the client and doing it in a way that aligned with their values was important to Hamish.
“Marketing doesn’t need to be all about ego and standing up in front of people and saying how fantastic you are - that’s not what it’s about.”
The pair had to learn how to market in a way that’s authentic to them, how they talk and do business - their website was the first big step.
“This was the first point of call with the anchor and reference point to look at. We’ve had really good feedback from those who have found and accessed it.”
“The bit I like in this approach that Mallee Marketing is advising us on is there’s much more modest ways of communicating and getting your information out there.”
They’ve started with a blank canvas and have done significant research to see how other similar businesses conveyed their message.
“We can’t be experts, we all have a million other things to do…we looked at how it should be done, who is doing it well and who isn’t.”
Hamish said marketing was also about developing clients, customer service, building that base and then connecting with them.
“You have to take ownership for the marketing of your business and treat it as part of the business rather than an optional extra. That’s how I see it.”
While he has a long way to go and lots to learn, Hamish said when it came to learning something new - in any situation - it was important to ask lots of questions, find people who can help you with those decisions and understanding.
“Bite off more than you can chew and chew like hell.”
Written by Chelsea Ashmeade, Ashmeadia.
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