Passionate pet care facility owners work very hard ensuring the pets in their care are healthy and happy. It’s incredibly rewarding to know that your hard work pays off. Those wagging tails, waddles, and grateful pet owners are hugely emotionally rewarding and make all that attention to detail, hard work, and worrying completely worth it — well, almost.

Only pet care facility owners know the overwhelming emotional, financial and physical costs of owning and operating a pet care facility. Making matters worse, most markets face more competition than ever. The great news is that it’s more than possible to be financially successful as well when you provide exceptional care. Focusing on a few key areas will help ensure your business moves to the next level. Your business can indeed become the business you imagined.

Business owners who understand, anticipate, and embrace new market trends flourish. By doing so, you can increase your revenues as much as 50 to 100%. However, it takes offering the right services to the right pet owners.

First we need to understand the current marketplace. If you haven’t looked at your marketplace recently, it’s time. Have pet owners changed over time? You bet! Despite an incredibly challenging economy, the overall pet industry and the boarding segment in particular continue to flourish. Although each pet owner is unique, most tend to fall into one of three groups: the “nothing is too good for my baby!” group, the “my pet is a family member and I’m willing to take good care of him but within reason” group, and the “it’s just a dog/cat” group.

The top group of pet owners is the “nothing is too good for my baby!” group. This group often feels that their dog or cat IS their baby — not their pet. They welcome being called a pet parent rather than a pet owner. Typical “nothing is too good” owners include D.I.N.K.s (Dual Income, No Kids). Because these couples have two incomes, are busy, and don’t have kids, they will often have more discretionary income than the average pet owner. These clients tend to buy premium goods and services for their baby and often have lots of special requests. It’s not a matter of “What will they buy for their babies?” The better question is “What won’t they buy?” Daycare is booming due to the “nothing is too good for my baby!” clients.

The second group of clients (“My pet is a family member and I’m willing to take good care of him but within reason”) will often want to ensure their pet is well cared for, but they won’t go too crazy. They’ll buy a few extras but not nearly as much as the top group. They want their pet to be comfortable but won’t indulge or purchase over-the-top offerings.

The “it’s just a dog/cat” group at the bottom can represent a large percentage of your market and might seem attractive because of its size. This group of pet owners, however, are more interested in simply basic services. If you rely on their business too heavily, your income and profit margins will become so low that your profits and ultimately your care may suffer. Smart pet care facility owners shouldn’t ignore this segment but attempt to reduce the percentage of the bottom group while increasing the proportion of the top two tiers.

Pet parents feel their pet is as unique as a human child, so offering a full menu of services from playtimes, walks, cuddle times, etc. is essential. A full service menu will allow each pet parent (or owner) to choose exactly what’s right for their pet and their budget.

The kennel industry is taking a very similar path as the human hospitality industry did years ago. When traveling, humans first had very basic rooms and then hotels to choose from. Way back when, do you think many people could have imagined that there would be a booming industry of resorts and spas?

Marketing Your Strengths
A key to success in this industry is having enough clients or market share. Do you care for pets as if they’re your own baby? Do you feel that you offer better pet care than your competitors? Delivering great care is wonderful, but to be very successful, you need to communicate your strengths to prospective customers.

Each pet owner, regardless of the group they fall into, is trying to understand which company to trust with their pet’s care. They call a facility for information, and once they decide on a pet hotel for their pet, they often cry in your lobby. The thought of leaving their baby behind and the fear of him or her being unhappy is a terrible thought.

Is it possible to relieve worrying pet parents? Yes. Is it possible to conquer the competition? Yes. Is it possible to significantly increase revenues? Yes. And here’s the best news of all: promoting your exceptional care and service will allow you to do all of the above.

Threats
Way too many doting pet parents have not yet embraced the idea of “lodging”  their pets — even at top facilities. They still believe pet care facilities are just “kennels” and would not think of sending their babies there. I believe this is one of the largest threats facing this industry. Allow me to show my bias here. For the record, I am convinced that a quality pet care facility is by far the best choice for most pets. Unfortunately, because they don’t know any better, fearful pet parents often beg family or neighbors to watch their furry best friend, hire a pet sitter, or travel with the pet and stay at pet-friendly hotels.

So how do you attract the fearful to flock to your fabulous facility? Adopting similar services to human resorts and spas make it very easy for pet parents to understand and embrace. What do people do when they go to spas or resorts? They exercise, play, and have fun with others. After the resort activities, they might enjoy a trip to the spa for a haircut, facial, massage, or nail treatment. Offering pampering can help create pet’s wagging tails, waddles, and help relieve worried pet parents. Here’s even better news: providing unparalleled pet care can help you realize amazing profits and gain marketshare. Offering fun interactivity and pampering creates a “spa or resort-like” culture and atmosphere.

Adjusting your business model to fill the emotional need of pet parents will help attract new clients who would otherwise be afraid of putting their dog in a “cage.” From a revenue perspective, my clients who implement these services often realize activity revenues in excess of 50 to 100% of their base lodging revenue. Many even double their lodging revenue with activities. So a pet lodging business with annual revenue of $500,000 can realize an additional $250,000 to $500,000 by successfully promoting fun activities. The best news of all is that because my clients are so successful promoting fun activities, they are convinced that the pets in their care are happier and healthier. In addition, the staff is having even more fun playing with pets much of their day.

Since 1989, Laura Laaman, president of Outstanding Pet Care, has been providing world-class consulting and education for the pet care industry. Laura's effective strategies and techniques are proven to boost revenues while empowering pet care facilities and veterinary practices to deliver even greater pet care. Laura became a published author in 1996 and top selling business author in 2002. She is an award-winning speaker, trainer and author.

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