How to Market Your Pet Business – Pet Communities, Press Releases, and Events

I had a great call with Leslie from Pawsible Marketing last night. Leslie began her specialty pet marketing consulting business on the advice of a friend. She found that she loves working with pet business owners as it fits with her love of pets and is a fun business.

She now works with pet business owners nationwide to set them up with a business marketing plan in which she outlines a set of customized marketing tactics.

Here are a just a few of the tips she shared with me on the call:

1) The most common marketing mistakes made by pet business owners are a lack of planning and consistency.

2) All business owners should have a library of marketing documents available in both online and print form. The documents in your marketing library should include business cards, a brochure or website, email signature, press release template, and promotional giveaway items.

3) Your marketing budget should be flexible and change to fit with the life stage of your business and your business goals.

4) One of the best ways to network with pet owners is to find hidden pet communities such as online forums, and local pet newsletters, and to get actively involved in community pet events.

5) To get free publicity through the TV, radio, and news media you need to develop a creative “hook” that makes your business unique and newsworthy

6) When setting up your marketing plan you need to step back and examine your business objectively, determine the realistic potential your market, and determine which products and services pet owners are most likely to buy.

It’s not too late to share in the other valuable tips from Leslie. Just join up as a member of the Pet Business Success Circle and you will receive a downloadable mp3 file of the call, full written transcript, and my action checklist that will make sure that you implement the ideas in your own pet business.

Owning a pet business does not guarantee you success, but it is generally not difficult to set up your own pet business adn many who own pet businesses love the hard working lifestyle and the closeness to pets. You will have to compete with those who may be better trained, may have lower cost structures and those who “pretend” to have your skills and experience when they do not. (eg not all those who advertise themselves as groomers are actually Groomers).

There are also key skills that all dog industry professionals should possess. Here are some of the most critical skills and abilities for those hoping to work with dogs professionally: Basic Dog Handling and Training Skills, ability to recognize behavioral signals.

Animals can be somewhat unpredictable when they are under stress or in an unfamiliar environment, like when they visit the veterinary office or the grooming salon, so it is important to be attentive and stay aware of the animal you are handling at all times.