The majority of the time, people choose to own or manage a pet care business because they are extremely passionate about animals. They relish the idea of running a successful business while being surrounded by pets all day. These same people, however, unknowingly perform or don’t perform certain actions that cause their business to be de-valued. These behaviors actually cause their prospective clients to think of their business as a commodity – just like every other “kennel.”

“Commodity,” as defined by BusinessDictionary.com, is “a reasonably homogeneous good or material, bought and sold freely as an article of commerce. There is an almost total lack of meaningful differentiation between manufactured goods, such as fuels, metals, and the agricultural products that are traded in bulk on a commodity exchange. Commoditized products have thin margins and are sold on the basis of price and not brand.” That should not be how you would think of your pet care business.

We all know there are tremendous differences in the quality of pet care pet parents have to choose from today. Great business owners step into a prospective client’s shoes when those pet parents are considering which company to trust with their pet’s care.

What makes a great pet care facility? Why should they trust your company and not your competition? Most pet parents don’t know the best questions to ask when seeking care services for their pets. So, they default to what they have been programmed to ask by other consumer interactions – they ask about price and availability.

Most pet care businesses have not yet embraced the huge opportunity that the initial phone call from prospective clients represents to their overall business success (or lack thereof). The initial call is your opportunity to proactively tell new clients what they should care about the most. This is in stark contrast to the typical new client call where someone reactively answers basic questions.

Effectively communicating your company’s superior benefits helps establish trust and puts the prospective client’s worries at ease. Ultimately, a successful phone protocol will differentiate you from your competition, lead to increased client satisfaction, and maximize future revenues as well as referrals. Without a powerful phone protocol, you’re agreeing, by default, that your pet care business is a commodity (and just like that of your competition).

Let’s step outside of pet care for a moment. Imagine you wanted a gallon of milk. You decide to call both a nearby grocery store and the dairy farm that your friend raves about. When you call, you ask if they have your preferred type of milk in stock and how much they charge. The store tells you they have a gallon of whole milk for $3.69/gallon. When you call the highly recommended dairy farm, you learn that they charge $8 a gallon. Without understanding IF the two milks are different, would you actually pay more than twice the price? Unlikely. Your prospective clients won’t pay more for your services unless they understand what you offer, if and how your business is different and better than others, and therefore, why they should pay more for you to take care of their family pets.

How much will pet parents actually pay for high quality pet lodging?

Our industry pricing is likely as low as it is because a long time ago, a very nice person was asked to watch someone’s pet while they went away. When the pet parent returned, they asked how much they owed. The caregiver was surprised and didn’t want to take any money. When pushed, they agreed to take a few dollars a day to cover the cost of food. So, to this day, year after year, most pet care facility owners feel guilty about increasing their boarding rate even by a dollar. If pet care facility owners actually calculated how much it truly costs to deliver exceptional care, it would be much higher than what they actually charge.

The good news, when the quality of care and building amenities are presented properly, that differentiation can help pet parents pay two to five times what your inferior competition is charging.

What can/should you say to differentiate yourself from your competitors?

Pet parents care most about their pet’s safety and happiness. You can assure them by telling them about your business’s important safety features included in your building and company procedures. Don’t assume that because you have features such as hospital grade cleaning protocols or generator backups, that every other pet care company does also. Most pet parents don’t even know how to ask about safety features or what to look for. So it’s up to you to tell them and explain why these features are important to their animal.

One word of caution; sometimes these safety features can bring up scary negatives in the anxious pet parent’s mind. The airlines do a decent job at finding this balance. When conducting their safety demonstration, they often say “in the rare possibility of a water landing….” What you don’t want to state is “in the event of a fire…” because prospective clients will likely imagine the very worst happening from the images you’ve just placed in their minds.

Just as when human children go away to camp, parents feel good about the experience because they believe their child will be active, and therefore hopefully happy. Successfully promoting pet activities to pet parents is essential for many important reasons.

First it will give the decision maker (the pet parent) the peace of mind that their pet will be engaged and happy instead of worrying their pet will be pining away with loneliness for them. Next, pets that are engaged and active mentally and physically are healthier. Our clients are able to quantitatively produce healthier pets with increased activity package sales. Last, and certainly not least, is the increased revenue realized by positively promoting pet activities. It is ridiculously difficult, if not impossible, for a pet care facility to be financially viable without significant activity sales. This is a major reason that so many pet care facilities struggle. They deliver so much more service to their customers than what they are charging. And while some might consider this necessary for good customer service, it rarely is. Unfortunately, this practice of undercharging is usually unsustainable and a recipe for financial disaster.

Timing

How your business’s superiorities are delivered to your prospective clients is critical. This information should not be delivered robotically, quite the contrary. These excellent benefits should sound very conversational and customized to the prospective client’s situation. Sounding relaxed and conversational takes some natural talent and, even more, training and coaching.

It’s important that whomever you have speaking to prospective pet parents delivers this information consistently and concisely. You can promote your company’s superiorities in two-three minutes. Positively promoting pet activities can be done in one or two minutes.

Having a quality control mechanism on these very valuable phone calls is essential. Most newer phone systems or even a Pay Per Click system will allow companies to monitor the quality of these calls. Ensure that you are adhering with all human resource and other appropriate state and federal laws.

Having a concise, consistent and superior differentiation from your competition is a necessary business strategy in this highly competitive pet care segment. Ensuring your business stands apart from your competitors is important and can be the difference between your financial success and failure.

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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