So you wanted to be in the pet care business? Most of today’s pet care facility owners and managers decided to enter this business because they wanted to work with, and care for, pets. They felt up to the enormous responsibility of caring for another person’s furry family member. So much so, they were willing to put their financial future on the line by investing in their facility, staffing, equipment, insurance, vehicles and all other associated costs. They likely had an intuition that this would be a good business to get into. The data shows this intuition was correct. According to the American Pet Products Association, Americans spent over $58 billion on their pets in 2014 and the industry has grown significantly – year after year, even during a difficult recession.

Then along came the swarms of others that had the same ‘novel’ thought. Even larger investors came seeking this tremendous opportunity. You’ve likely experienced this already – large chains and franchises competing with your business. These are smart and well-positioned companies. They have strong, savvy marketing campaigns and big budgets. If you doubt this, do a Google search for “Dog Boarding” in your own market and it’s likely that you see one or more of these larger players.

If that wasn’t enough, there has been a recent additional surge of investment in the pet industry. During a recent interview for CNBC, I was asked why these national chains are gaining so much traction with investors and pet parents. These companies offer attractive messages of other loving pet parents caring for pets in the convenience of a home for an inexpensive price. Unfortunately, the slick marketing doesn’t mention the obvious risks, and confuses many loving pet parents. As an industry, we have not done a good job promoting the advantages of professional pet care facilities.

Regardless of the intent or abilities of your business rivals, the competitive environment today is tremendously challenging. So if you’re feeling like David fighting Goliath, you’re not imagining it – it is real and, I predict, getting worse. Here are five powerful and proven strategies to compete and thrive in this very tough market place.

Advertise Your Services
Successfully promote the amount of fun and activities pets can experience at your pet care facility on your website and over the phone when you speak with prospective clients. This is essential for many reasons. First, it is to ensure that your prospective clients imagine their pet having lots of fun, not sadly sitting in an enclosure pining for their human family. It’s also financially necessary to successfully promote the activities. Due to the tremendous costs associated with running a quality pet care facility, the additional revenue that these activities generate is necessary to remain sustainable and profitable.

Have a Highly Enthusiastic Owner, Management Team and Staff
Most (human) mothers or fathers wouldn’t want to entrust their child with an unenthused childcare provider. Neither do pet parents. Consciously or not, their every impression of you and your staff represents the quality of the care they imagine their pets will receive. Indifference from anyone on your team can be disastrous. High quality pet care is essential, so is the human care you show your clients.

Be Highly Community Involved
A great way to gain more clients is to become increasingly involved in your community. This provides a powerful opportunity to display your enthusiasm and trustworthiness. Look for fun, well-attended events that will attract your ideal clients and have key, enthusiastic team members attend.

Maintain Proper and Profitable Pricing
Many businesses foolishly think that if they charge less than their competitors, clients will flock to them. This is highly unlikely. Cheaper pricing, combined with the costs associated with delivering higher quality pet care, will likely end in disaster. Meaning, you won’t get paid and the business will fold due to insufficient revenues and rising costs. Pricing says a lot about the quality of services you offer. In the eyes of potential clients, being priced cheaper than your competitors often means the quality of the care you provide is inferior to others in the same business.

Explain Why You’re Better Than the Competition
Why should a pet parent trust you with their furry family member over another person or company? What important safety/health features do you offer? Do you have double-fencing? Advanced air purification systems? Loving, trained staff? These benefits might seem obvious to you and your staff, but unless you inform prospective clients of what superior services you offer, they will often base their decision merely on price and preconceived impressions.

Being passionate about providing high quality pet care is noble. However, that alone is not enough in this tough business environment. Using these five strategic tools, and combining them with your passion for high quality pet care, will help you triumph over your own competitive Goliaths.

Laura Laaman is president of Outstanding Pet Care. OPC helps some of the most successful pet care facilities thrive in highly competitive markets and GUARANTEES THEIR CLIENT’S SUCCESS! If you would like to receive a complementary phone evaluation, contact the OPC team at www.OutstandingPetCare.com or call 1-888-735-5667.

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