Corro – is on the move. The e-commerce website that offers horse care and competition products that originally launched in July 2019 and went offline is now back to offer customers what they need to provide the best care for their horses. “I feel like my area code is where my car is, because I’ve been living out of my car at the moment,” said Riesa Lakin, CEO of Corro. “I'm traveling a lot. I've been based out of New York City for about 15 years, but recently I'm spending a lot more time wherever my customer is.” From Florida to New York and California, Riesa is on the road connecting with customers – which sums up one of the focus areas for this exciting digital resource – the customer experience.

“I’ve been riding horses since I was little and that included riding camps and the local lesson barns,” shared Riesa. Once she got hooked at the age of 10, she started out as a hunter rider and then went to a barn that offered hunter jumpers. She started riding a jumper and hasn’t looked back since. “I found a need for speed, and it was fun - you either keep the poles up or you don't. So, I really enjoy that.” However, even with her love of jumpers, Riesa is dying to sit on a quarter horse again. “That industry and sport is so cool.”

Corro: A Curated Marketplace
“Corro was created on the premise of being a digital native; an e-commerce company through and through,” Riesa said. What started as a one-stop destination for horse supplies has become a more curated marketplace of both well-known and up-and-coming brands that have been tried and trusted by their team of equine experts to ensure they’re not only good enough for their horses, but their customers’ horses as well. “One could argue the care is very different, depending on the discipline but when it comes to the basic products from shampoos, conditioners, and fly spray, there's a lot of similarities, whether you are riding English or Western and if you're a weekend warrior, or you're a top competitor.” In the beginning Corro found it hard to offer the full assortment customers were looking for in one place because it became a lot of different products. Each discipline has a wide range of equipment that is used. “So, we took a step back and asked ourselves, what is it that our customers need? And we felt it was the reliability, ease, simplicity, and having someone you can pick up the phone and call. We are focused on providing a more curated marketplace of products that we truly stand by.”

Corro is also invested in educating their customers, with plans for a lot more content coming soon. “What works for me may not work for you, but we're going to give you all the information we can to help you make a more informed decision.”

Brand Ambassadors
“We have a Team Riders section of the website to highlight some top athletes that we partner with that features their bios and more importantly their horse care philosophy and favorite products.” Riders include Shayna Simon (dressage), Victoria LaCagnina (hunter/jumper, equitation), Nick Haness (hunter/jumper), Josh Tishman (reining), Megan Kepferle (3-day eventing & dressage) and Sydney Collier (para dressage)—with some exciting new additions coming soon.

Team Corro – Quality over Quantity
“We have a fun, insightful, fresh new team. These are people who have been grooms for top riders. They've been barn managers. I have people who jump Grand Prix or Mini Prix. I have people who compete in the meter jumpers, not really looking to do much more than that. One of our employees is a professional cutting horse trainer, but he's now pivoting into a sales career at Corro and he's really loving this side of things instead of buying and selling horses. Corro gets you because we are all horse women and men just like you, and it's really about quality over quantity,” said Riesa. She is also proud of the team that she built and to handle any problems customers may have. “We are here to solve your problems.”

“If you need returns, no problem.” Corro has an easy return process and is focused on empowering the customer to feel good about their purchase. “I feel like we all know what works until we have that one horse who has a skin condition or a cut that's just not going away on its own, and then next thing you know, you're knee deep in research. The goal is to take the guesswork out of product purchases.   Our experience and expertise mean you can turn to us and we can help simplify that research process,” explained Riesa.

“You don't have to join the Corro community, we want to join YOUR community. We completely revamped the website and started from scratch,” shared Riesa. The Corro blog will relaunch soon, as they migrate over to a new platform. “I think at the end of the day, it must be easy. It can't break, orders can’t be delayed, you know, even our Autoship process, we've changed platforms, we've switched it up. I guarantee you; you will see the difference on the website, the merchandising, finding what you need when you need it, the education, and more.” Corro wants to be that resource for you to help discover not only the big brands that you know and love but also introduce you to the small brands that offer amazing ingredients and high-quality products.

Going ‘All In’ on the Customer Experience
“At Corro we are dedicated on going ‘all in’ on the customer experience and that includes human interaction plus chat bots on our website to make your experience easy.” With the use of AI technology, Corro has automated responses to frequently asked questions, plus it can handle order processing and communications. “Even with the use of technology, we pride ourselves on having humans be there for our customers. Our industry is very, very small and there's nothing better than picking up the phone to call or text or email someone directly. Given that focus, we’ve built out our customer experience team bigger than before to be there for customers who in some cases will place an order on the back of a horse.” Fundamentally it’s really building the business around the customer and what their needs are. “I really hope that's going to be the experience you see with the new Corro. What I really hope that our customers get is a superior customer experience, online experience, shipping experience, fulfillment experience, and customer service experience.”

Standing Out in a Crowded Marketplace
Riesa understands the marketplace and said, “Everyone does their best in the equine retail space, including all our competitors – they do things well. For Corro, we're very solution-based, like a logistics company. We're there to listen to the customer and be solution oriented. What is the struggle? What are your issues? And how can we fix it?”

E-Commerce Advantages
“As an e-commerce company, we don't sell what we don't have and that's the standard that I hope to achieve. Proper inventory management shouldn't let you buy anything if it’s not in stock. If for some reason that happens, we're going to move hell and high water to drop ship it to you to get it to you one way or another. I think that's the customer experience that people deserve.”
Corro is not only investing with its customer service, but they are also investing in a new warehouse and shipper. “The proof is that you’ll get your order a lot faster. If it's on our site, and you buy it, it ships out right away. We do offer drop ship, obviously, for some brands it's easier just to ship it directly from the manufacturer. I think that's kind of what we're trying to do differently because you don't have three weeks if you need shampoo or fly spray, you need it when you need it. We operate this business like a real business, and we know digital because that is our core storefront.”

“We also want to help bring transparency to the industry from pricing to inventory and everything in between. Not only are we real horse people behind this company, but we are customers as well. We have a high standard for the level of service we expect whether it’s in the horse world or outside of it. So, we hold this company to those same high standards. Our philosophy is to have transparency with our customers and are happy be on a call anytime to answer any questions or help problem solve. At the end of the day, what I tell my team is that honesty and transparency go very far with customers,” said Riesa.

Shop Corro online today - Use this Special discount code: TECHEQ10 for 10% off your first order PLUS, they are currently running a free gift with purchase and a sale on blankets and fly products.

Follow Corro at:

Facebook: @corroshop
Instagram @shopcorro