Are dog groomers charging the correct price?

Having a thriving pet grooming business is not always so straightforward.

From my own experience, to achieve the desired success for your business, there are a number of factors that count; the most important one that so often goes overlooked is PRICING.

Pricing your dog grooming service can be trickier than you think.

The way you price out your services will impact your cash flow, and if not done correctly, can badly affect your business's growth.

The words "pricing increase" instill fear into many pet groomers, with many not charging what they're worth.

Pricing a pet grooming service is generally harder than pricing products because you have to grapple with your own experience, insecurities, and the specifics of each groom.

On top of that, Pricing is complex, but the good news is there are many ways to get strategic on your Pricing.

Before you choose your strategy, it is essential to know who your ideal client is and how much they are willing to pay, and understanding how your existing clients perceive your business will also help you determine how valuable your services are in their eyes.

Let's explore pricing strategies:

Market-based Pricing

Market-based Pricing is the most common in the industry, and it is very appealing to the pet owner who shops based on price alone because it is based on the going rate for the industry.

You might decide if you are more or less experienced and whether you should be charging higher or lower than the average respectively.

The problem with this strategy is that you don't know the competitor's situation: Specifically, are they making money or not? You don't know what the competitor's overheads are or if they have invested in equipment and software that helps them get the job done better, faster and smarter.

This pricing strategy can also be used by businesses that want to send a message that their service is superior, by charging more than their competitors.

Cost-based Pricing

Cost-based Pricing is where you build your Pricing from the ground up – based on your vision of what you want to earn and how you want to work.

This becomes the minimum you need to charge to pay yourself a salary without burning out and is a straightforward pricing strategy. The downside? This may cost you money if you set a lower price than what your customers are willing to pay.

To adopt this pricing strategy, you need to calculate the cost of delivering your pet grooming services and top it up with a profit margin.

Cost-based Pricing is particularly useful when you have multiple different products and can be very powerful when used with Value-added Pricing discussed next. 

Value-added Pricing

Value-added Pricing is where you can offer extra value from additional services that you add to increase the price and differentiate an offer; i.e., like a deep conditioning treatment, teeth clean, or a spa treatment.

Value-based pricing

Value-based Pricing is the ultimate pricing goal for your Pet Grooming businesses because it is about the value you provide and the skills that you have to offer. For example, if you are an expert in hand scissoring or are a multiple award-winning dog groomer, you have an authority that your competitors might not have.

You may use exclusive products, have a boutique operation, a unique spa shop, or your business delivers services that stand out.

When you start to price your services based on their value and not on your hours you can begin to scale your business growth exponentially without working more hours. Under a value-based pricing strategy, a business bases its product or service prices on how much consumers value the offerings.

Bundled Pricing

Also known as Packaged Pricing, this strategy involves bundling various services together and charging an all-in-one price.

If done correctly, this is a great way to upsell more services and boost your profits.

Choosing the right name for this service is a must, as you are selling the ultimate Pet Grooming experience.

For example, when a client asks about your services, you offer the ultimate package first.

You can decide on the name you might want to allocate, but one example is the Deluxe Pet Grooming experience, that includes a conditioning treatment, 10-minute massage, and teeth clean, for perhaps $90 where your regular price for these services individually might cost the client, say $105. Therefore the bundle option is saving the client $15.

Membership Pricing 👇

Membership or VIP packages is becoming very popular in pet salons or luxury pet spas, and lots of businesses have been taking advantage of this strategy.

There are many ways to design your membership package. A popular approach is implementing a VIP bath membership, paid monthly by automatic payments.

This strategy has many advantages:

• Guaranteed cash flow.
• Increased frequency and consistency of repeat appointments resulting in easier and faster grooming sessions, given the dogs are less dirty coming in.
• Automated booking and rebooking of appointments.

Easy Busy Pets software offers the only mature memberships feature, and you can learn more about it here.

Hourly-based Pricing

Used by many groomers, hourly-based Pricing can be good for groomers that are starting up.

This strategy focuses on the cost of the service rather than the value you are offering, which opens you up to price haggling with customers. But it can also mean you aren't being rewarded for your professional growth.

This strategy is to calculate the price by first testing and working out an estimated time that each groom and breed should take, then set your hourly rate by the time taken.

There are a few things that should be considered before choosing a pricing strategy. Learning about your target customers will help you understand the value or services they are looking for. Calculating the right cost of your services will help you determine whether you should charge less or more. If your overheads are low you can charge a more competitive rate, but competing on price won't be viable if your costs are high.

If you are a new business looking for clients, charging less to penetrate the market may be the right strategy. If you are already an established provider, offering packages, memberships and extra services is a great option.

Remember that there is a difference between price and value.

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