Leveraging SEO for outdoor industries to sell directly to consumers is an excellent way to get your business noticed. However, there are challenges that you’ll come across as a business owner trying to use outdoor industry SEO for the first time, which is why it’s important to partner with CSP.
Getting Your Products In Front of the Right People With Outdoor Industry SEO
Right now, as a business owner in this industry (hunting, fishing, camping, biking), you’re most likely using Amazon and Cabela’s, as well as similar retailers, to market your products.
Why? There could be several reasons ranging from not having the know-how to market outside of a retailer to just not having the time to do so. In any case, Cabela’s, or another big-box retailer, will sell the product if you pay the marketing development fee (MDF) as well as a portion of the purchase price to the company.
For example, if you normally sell a product for $20 on your website, you might sell it for $10 to Cabela’s to ensure they can mark it up to whatever price they want to sell it for. And then you’ll also pay the marketing fee.
On one hand, this is a good arrangement because the larger retailer is handling all the marketing efforts, and they already have a captive audience. However, you can actually make more money, improve brand awareness, have better targeting, and build online visibility if you sell directly to consumers.
Why Consider a Direct-to-Consumer Marketing Plan?
The reality is that going direct to consumers with your product is more profitable. You won’t pay the same overhead as you would if you sold a product to Cabela’s or Amazon, but there are more moving parts that you’ll have to take care of on your end.
Many outdoor brands don’t sell directly to consumers because of the effort it would require. However, failing to have your own search engine optimization (SEO) campaign and using another retailer to handle your products means you don’t get the competitive advantage of the data that you could otherwise collect from your target audience.
Instead, Cabela’s, Amazon, or other outdoor retailers get that data, and you’re stuck relying on them to market your product at a rate that reduces your overall return on investment (ROI).
Why You Should Turn to Industry-Specific SEO and D2C Marketing
With today’s websites and digital marketing plans, it’s not necessary to only use those major outdoor industry outlets or pay a marketing development fee (MDF) to larger retailers to get noticed. Going with direct-to-consumer marketing can help you skip those costs and reach more people for a higher ROI on your marketing campaigns.
Additionally, your company gains additional benefits from marketing directly to consumers, such as:
- Access to data for remarketing
- A true omnichannel experience for customers
- Increased profitability for the business
- Expanded brand presence for consumers
And, if that doesn’t sell you on the option, remember this: It’s not a game where you have to choose one route and stick with it. You can start out by marketing through a large retailer to get your products in front of people and then switch to a direct-to-consumer option. Or, you can do both at the same time.
The best part of a mixed scenario like that is that you create more options for people to buy your products. And, when they realize your business has an omnichannel experience online, you’ll be more likely to see improved consumer satisfaction with your products and services for better retention overall.
Partner With CSP for Maximum Results With D2C Marketing
The outdoor industry is all about taking steps to get your products where they can be seen, but you also want to improve your branding and gather the right data to improve your business. When you work with a major retailer, you get some perks, but you get many more when you take advantage of keyword targeting, local SEO, and other tools to improve your online visibility.
If you’re not sure how to take those steps or don’t have the manpower to do it on your own, you’re not alone. Many businesses struggle to figure out how they can make a direct-to-consumer strategy work for them. That’s where CSP comes in. CSP handles everything from outdoor industry SEO services to keyword targeting that helps you capture the local audience. With CSP, your strategy is handled for you, so you can relax and watch the orders come in with no stress on your end. You’ll be impressed by the ROI and margins you have when you’re selling your own products directly to the consumers you want to serve.
SEO doesn’t have to be difficult, time-consuming, or frustrating for your business. Get started on your journey to SEO success by partnering with CSP, an agency that can help your brand to target active and adventurous customers.
