Yet, every time you add another app, you add more manual work to your day to consolidate information between systems. There's a learning curve, a separate fee, and potential integration problems, and each of these leaves you needing something ELSE to get them all to talk to one another.

Critical Components of the Best Dog Grooming Business Software

Fortunately, modern dog grooming booking software can help you keep everything in one place. Instead of a separate website with its own hosting and maintenance challenges, you can have a pet grooming website that works with your pet booking schedule, your client communication, and even your customer reviews.  

Your pet care business operations require ten or so functions, depending on how you list them out. There's the marketing side, the client communication side with scheduling and onboarding, and there's the payment piece, and, oh yes, the pet grooming and styling element.

Each relies on the other, and when they're simple and easy to manage, your pet care business processes are smooth as glass. That leaves you and your staff more time to care for the people and pets that are the reason for your business.  

Doesn't that sound like less headache? Here are the core functions of the best pet-care management software.

1. Customer Relations  

Most people get into the pet care industry because they love animals. Animal love is a definite requirement, but that doesn't let you off the hook of dealing with people. After all, the dogs and cats don't pay their bills, make their grooming appointments, and get themselves to your shop.

Instead, you need easy ways to attract customers, let them know how to share their pet's information with you, schedule appointments, get paid, follow up for reviews and referrals.  

It starts with robust software. 

Communication

How does your prospective customer first reach out to you? What's your process for communicating with them? What first impression do you make?

Consider the initial message from a prospective new customer inquiring about appointments for their favorite floof. How does it typically happen for you now? Does a message come in, and they receive an automated response that it's received, and you'll get back to them shortly? Or, do they wait for hours or days for a response? Obviously, the best first impression is a timely response. That way, they can feel they've checked something off on their "to do" list and feel confident you can help.  

You can offer online booking to streamline the process further. Want to automate your onboarding for new customers? You can do that too! 

CRM (Customer Relationship Manager)

How do you handle the dog grooming scheduling process? With a new client, you'll want their dog's vaccination records, dog breed, age, and styling preferences. If you can handle all that through your pet-care management tool, you show you're a modern business that can offer terrific personal service.

Keeping all of your records in one place also makes it easy to give access to your groomers or other staff who need access to client notes and their appointments for the day. Automating your dog grooming booking system also prevents double-booking and reduces no-shows because it sends automated reminders.  

2. Marketing Your Dog Grooming Business (with Software)

Marketing is a big topic but let's break it down into these simple basics.

• How do people find out about you?
• How do they interact with you?
• How do they buy?  

In the online world, most dog groomers rely on a combination of their website, social media, and customer reviews. Your website is your hub where prospective customers come to check you out. They want to see where you are, pictures of your facility, and loads of positive reviews.

Our one-stop dog grooming software system helps.  

Your website is the cornerstone of your pet grooming business online, but websites can be complicated. Building the site is one thing but making sure it has the functionality you want is another. For example, if you have integrated dog booking appointments with smart scheduling and client communication, it's easier to manage your schedule and client communication.

Search engine optimization or SEO helps you get found in your area. 

Social Media Marketing

Dog groomers have excellent subject matter content to share! You can show pups in the bath, before and after photos, pup of the week, how to trim a dog's nails; there are so many ways you can put fun and helpful content on Facebook and Instagram. 

One dog groomer has a "big dog" contest showing the biggest dog clients in her bathing tubs. A Great Dane in a bathing tub (with soap suds) is a scroll-stopper for sure!

Some pet care providers don't ask for customer reviews, and they forget, or it seems awkward. We get it!

But if you have a dog grooming booking system that automatically asks your clients how happy they are with their pet's styling and service, then you're far more likely to get a two-paws-up recommendation. And if you're worried you'll get a negative review on Google? Don't be. You can see the reviews before they go live. And if you do have an unhappy customer? It gives you the chance to follow up with them and see what you can do to soothe them.

If 72% of people use Google reviews to choose a local business provider, it makes sense to have a good presence.

3. Invoicing / Payments

Make getting paid on time and efficiently a core business process with smart invoicing. From taking payments online to tracking your best customers, your pet care business software can make the bookkeeping and accounting part of your business easy.

You can see which of your services produces the most revenue with a click. Which of your customers too. You can easily get key business insights and have the information you need to make intelligent decisions.  

In Summary

Simple systems repeated make for a well-run business. You wouldn't start every groom wondering how to start it, would you? The dog wouldn't sit still that long.

You can transfer such process thinking to every step of your business with the help of an easy-to-use dog grooming business dashboard that keeps track of everything in your business. The beauty of modern dog grooming booking software is you have everything you need at your fingertips to run a profitable pet care business.  

Contact us today for a personalized demo and see how it can transform the business side of things and free up your time.