- Marketing a Pet Grooming Business: Examples & Strategies
Top challenges of pet grooming marketing
Most small-sized pet grooming businesses face challenges when trying to market their business. Some of the most common ones are:
1. Resource utilization
One of the biggest problems that pet grooming businesses face is resource allocation. Resources such as time and money can hinder them from marketing to the degree they want to.
When you're running a pet grooming business, you don't always have the time or money to market your services to potential clients and satisfy current ones.
But the good news is that you don't need a large budget or endless hours. You can market your business and generate new clientele just by creating a solid strategy and utilizing technology that fits your needs.
2. Marketing on the right platform
Various social media platforms allow businesses to reach their target audience where they're most active. However, most small businesses feel overwhelmed with their options and attempt to market on every platform. This results in you spreading yourself too thin and wasting time on platforms that won't generate any results.
To ensure that you're using the time you have efficiently, discover where your customers hang out. For a pet grooming business, your target audience is most likely on platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, where pictures play an important role in attracting potential clients. Platforms like TikTok and Twitter won't likely be as successful for finding local customers.
Research your competitors and see what platforms they're active on and using to generate traffic.
3. Staying consistent
With multiple obligations, sometimes it's difficult to stay consistent with marketing.
Lovable pets need your attention, clients are coming through the doors, numbers need to be crunched, and so much more. And with each obligation, staying active on the platform of your choice starts to feel inconvenient.
However, by not having an active presence on social media, you make it harder for your prospects to find you and easier for them to find your competitors. One alternative is to create and schedule your social content in advance, so you're always active, even if you're not.
3 examples of pet grooming businesses with great marketing
We've discussed some of the major problems that pet grooming business owners run into when trying to market themselves. Now, let's look at some of the marketing strategies businesses in the pet grooming industry are using.
Example 1: DEN Urban Dog Retreat in Los Angeles, CA
DEN Urban Dogs is a premier pet care business focused on wellness, servicing multiple locations throughout California. It offers grooming, boutique pet products, nutrition, pack hikes, doggy daycare, and training and puppy camp!
The Wag Shack offers various pet services in the Texas area such as grooming, daycare and overnights, except that they've branded their offering to reflect their franchise!
Bark N Bubbles Doggy Day Spa exclusively offers professional pet grooming, luxury full-service bath, self-serve bath, and nail trimming services to the Hyde park community in Chicago. They focus on targeting their respective audience using hashtags.
9 smart ways to market your pet grooming business
Now that we've covered how some businesses are marketing their pet grooming business, let's discuss how you can market yours.
1. SEO optimize your website for the cities and neighborhoods you serve
When looking for pet grooming services, the majority of prospects will use a search engine to find businesses near them. And by optimizing your site with local SEO strategies, you make the process painless for them to find and contact your business.
2. Inspire customers to post about your business on social media
You can also let your customers advertise for you. Easy Busy Pets let you take photos of pets during their appointments then share them with pet owners. From there, it makes it effortless for customers to share your photos on their Facebook account with content that includes your business name and links back to your site.
3. Run Google search ads, even with a low monthly budget
Running ads is probably the last thing you want to do when on a budget. The main reason most small businesses shy away from utilizing paid advertising is that they believe they need a substantial budget.
But the truth is that you can run a successful campaign even with a low monthly budget. The key is to:
Some businesses with a healthy budget can jump into PPC campaigns without conducting extensive amounts of research beforehand.
Unfortunately, when your budget is low, you have to be realistic about the results you can get and the keywords you can use. One of your first steps is to see how far your budget can take you for the results you want. Once you've done your research, you need to focus on your strategy.
One option is to focus on one keyword at a time. While you won't get the same results if you were targeting multiple keywords, remember that you have to start somewhere. Keywords to consider are ones that have enough volume to generate traffic but aren't one of the top keywords that can lead to your ad ranking poorly. After you've started your PPC campaign and have some metrics, you can see if the keyword you chose is providing you with the leads you expected to receive. If you're not getting the results you want, determine what's going wrong, and optimize your strategy.
4. Send direct mail to pet owners in your area
While direct mail may seem old-fashion, it's still an effective form of marketing.
A study discovered that 73% of Americans prefer brands to contact them via direct mail because it's easier for them to read at their convenience. And consumers typically receive hundreds of emails per day which they don't typically open or interact with.
Plus, with direct mail, you're likely to face less competition since most businesses keep their marketing efforts strictly digital. Some ways you can connect with the pet owners near you is by offering them timed coupons. Or you can share information and tips about their pets that they can use. Consumers are more likely to feel part of your community when you incorporate direct mail into your pet grooming marketing efforts.
5. Start a referral program
One way to generate leads that's free is to ask your current clients to recommend your business to other dog lovers they know. And for each person that they refer to your business, you can offer discounts on your pet grooming prices. Here's an example of one pet grooming business referral program:
Asking your customers to review their experience with your business can provide various benefits for you. For one, you can increase your social proof by having customers review you on search engines such as Google. Additionally, it can also help you rank better because reviews include uniquely worded content that search engines prefer and long-tail keywords.
Here's one example of how reviews can help you on Google:
Feels like a lot of work? We strongly agree. Click here to learn how to automate customer reviews.
7. If you offer mobile grooming services, optimize for this keyphrase
Pet grooming and mobile pet grooming aren't the same thing and shouldn't be treated as such when marketing your business. Add mobile everywhere your business has a presence such as your website, Google profile, Facebook page, Yelp profile, etc.
Then your business is more likely to generate more qualified leads if pet owners are looking for "mobile pet grooming services near me" as opposed to trying to rank for just "pet grooming services near me".
8. Bring your business card or flyer to local vets
Another method you can use when trying to start your pet grooming marketing strategy is handing out your business cards. Business cards give prospects something physical to remember your brand by and help it stand out. And one way you can get them out is by partnering with local vets in your area.
Pet owners that go to the vet might also need your services but never heard of any pet groomers nearby. By partnering with a vet that they know, it grants you with "trust by association.". Similarly, the local vets you partner with can also benefit from this marketing technique that results in qualified leads.
9. Sponsor a local no-kill shelter
You can also market your pet grooming business by sponsoring a no-kill shelter or monthly food programs near you. Not only do you get to support causes that you believe in, but you can also increase your reach via visible signage in or around their store.
Another option you can take is instead of sponsor signage, you can ask for workers to hand out your flyers with new pet adoption paperwork.
Ultimately, your main goal is to ensure that you have a healthy flow of clients coming into your business at all times. And with these tips, you can start your marketing strategy today, so you can start seeing the results you want.