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The pet grooming business is a big and growing market. Here are 4 ways for your business to stand out to your furry friends and their humans.
Owning a pet grooming business, like any other business, is hard, but you do it because you love pets, like dogs and cats. In fact, it may probably even be the reason why you started your business in the first place.
You’re not alone – the pet grooming industry has been growing steadily throughout the years. In 2020, the American Pet Products Association discovered that pet owners spent an estimated $8.1 billion on pet services, including grooming. That’s a big market!
That also means competition is rife, and the struggle to grow your business is even exacerbated by the day-to-day problems concomitant with having employees, handling pets, and marketing your services. However, it is through this struggle that you can bring out the best in your business and show your customers its sole purpose: to clean and care for all pets!
Luckily, there are multiple ways you can grow your pet grooming business. You can undertake multiple approaches, or just focus on one.
Upselling your services
Think of a fast food restaurant. When you order a burger, they always ask, “Would you like fries with that?” and many people say yes. This is called upselling, or offering an additional product or service to your customer. When you personally offer additional services to your customers, there will always be some of them who will take up your offer. In your business, use this opportunity to offer additional services to your customers, like flea removal or skin moisturization.
Another option would be to package your services. That way, you can offer your customers an all-in-one grooming experience for their furry friends without paying for each service separately. When you bundle services together for one price, customers are also inclined to focus less on the cost and more of the value of the compiled services. For example, you can offer a relaxation package that includes also a therapeutic bath, massage, and even a limited edition scarf or bow! How cool is that?
Create a customer loyalty program
Did you know that a 5% increase in customer loyalty will result in an average of 25-95% profit? On average, loyal customers are worth up to 10x more than their first purchase. That’s because when customers discover a company that satisfies their needs and provides excellent customer service, they tend to stick to that company. Having a customer loyalty program increases your chances of retaining customers by giving them incentives to be loyal to you, aside from your products and services.
How should you apply a customer loyalty program in your business? Well, since pets should be groomed regularly, you already have an easy starting point. You can incentivize your customers to have their pets groomed regularly by giving their pets a free bath for every 6 grooming sessions they have at your shop. You can also have them subscribe to your newsletter for special discounts.
Increase your marketing efforts
These days, it isn’t enough to be a great service provider, you also have to show people why you provide great services if you want to attract new customers. The easiest way to increase your marketing efforts is through social media. Take for example Instagram – posting pictures and videos of the pets you’ve groomed regularly will show potential customers the quality of your services through real results. You can also optimize social media marketing through advertising. Facebook Ads is a very powerful advertising tool that is also fairly easy and cheap to operate.
When you’re in the business of providing services, word-of-mouth marketing is very important, arguably even more important than digital marketing. That’s because people trust recommendations from people they know. How exactly do you apply word-of-mouth marketing in your pet grooming business? First, you can start by having a customer referral program, wherein customers successfully refer their friend to your shop and receive a discount for both them and their friend. Second, you can give your customers a discount when they leave reviews on your Google, Facebook, or Yelp page. These two techniques will boost potential customers’ confidence in your business and expand your presence online and in person.
Make appointments easier for you and your customers
One of the challenges of owning a pet grooming business is accommodating as many customers as possible with limited staff and facilities. Additionally, there are days with more appointments, and there are days when you have time for more appointments. For customers, knowing in advance what time their pets will be done will save them time and energy. Luckily, there are software that make scheduling appointments easier for you and your customers. Supertap was made for service providers in mind, with a special website dedicated to accepting appointments, scheduled and on-demand, and communicating with customers through real-time chat. It also provides you with an app where you can see your appointments, your staff’s schedules, and chats with customers and staff.
Ultimately, doing this will translate to more sales and more loyal customers, making it a worthy investment if you want to make your business grow.