Mano Chakrapani, founder and owner of Mano Equestrian grew his business through extensive networking and trade shows in Europe. Mano Equestrian is a Singapore-based, small to medium-sized company specialising in the supply of feed and supplement products to equine, small animals, livestock and poultry. Since the company’s inception in 1994, the founder and owner of Mano Equestrian, Mr. Mano Chakrapani, has depended on extensive networking and contacts painstakingly acquired through attending overseas trade shows in Europe to get the word out about his company and its products. “We established long-standing relationships over the years, and we worked on providing personalised services for our customers,” shared Mr Chakrapani. However, the global Covid-19 pandemic put a sudden halt to the days of unfettered travel and, in turn, the expansion plans of Mano Equestrian. “There was no movement,” lamented Mr Chakrapani, referring to the travel restrictions. “Business became bad. We were largely dependent on connectivity and networking. The pandemic brought about the biggest challenge to us because we were stuck in Singapore.” It was then that the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (ASME), of which Mr Chakrapani is a member, introduced Metigy as a potential solution to Mano Equestrian’s problems.

How Mano Equestrian grew Using Metigy to reach new customers beyond Singapore 

Metigy proved to be the breakthrough that Mano Equestrian needed in its marketing efforts. The company has been shifting from a business-to-business (B2B) model to a business-to-consumer (B2C) model in recent years and it has become more imperative than ever to have an online presence. According to Anita Thomas, relationship manager of Mano Equestrian, the company noticed a huge surge in demand during the pandemic for small animal products. “Yes, we have a website to create brand awareness. However, we did not have the proper infrastructure. There was no marketing strategy. That was when Metigy came into the picture and took a notch further for us,” said Anita. “We shared with Metigy what our issues were and where we were. We revamped our website and added an e-commerce function. We had a Facebook page but we did not have other social media platforms. Acting on the advice of Metigy, we created an Instagram account and brought them all together on Metigy.” The new partnership with Metigy paid off for Mano Equestrian. The Metigy team worked out a strategy for Mano Equestrian and recommended the company create Google ads and social media content to highlight the unique selling points of its products. “We got a lot of eyeballs in the first two weeks of advertising on Google,” Anita observed. “After two to three weeks, we suddenly got traction and saw sales. We are happy.” Anita – who oversees international expansion for the business – added that previously, customer enquiries came in through only emails and WhatsApp, and were mostly limited to Southeast Asia and India. “Now, we have even received an enquiry from as far as Cyprus.” Since using Metigy for its online marketing, Mano Equestrian has reported an increase of 15% in terms of traffic and engagement. But that was not the only benefit that Mano Equestrian has experienced. “In the past, Mano had to travel to Europe to attend trade shows. Now, we are just sitting in Singapore and we saved a lot of money,” Anita commented, referring to their savings in travelling expenses while still getting new sales leads. On another advantage of using Metigy, Anita said, “One major plus point is the ease of using the platform. Even a person with limited knowledge, they are able to take things forward. We do not have to dedicate a lot of time to work on the platform 24/7.”

The main takeaway 

“We cannot move back to traditional marketing,” remarked Mr Chakrapani. But, he also recognised that Rome was not built in a day. “We are still learning how digital marketing can take us to another level. Bringing in good partners is very important.” ASME was the bridge for Mano Equestrian and Metigy. It was imperative that Mr Chakrapani was proactive in giving feedback to ASME on the challenges he faced as an SME owner. In turn, the open communication allowed ASME to understand the needs of its members more, craft better programmes and offer appropriate long-term solutions. And, in the case of Mano Equestrian, that solution is strengthening its digital marketing strategy through Metigy. The working partnership between Metigy and Mano Equestrian has helped the team reach new customers far beyond the shores of Singapore – once deemed achievable only through in-person meetings. Through Metigy, Mano Equestrian has discovered a whole new world online. Learn how Metigy can also help your business here. marketing plans & examples, marketing tools & apps, sme marketing.