10 Pet Business Marketing Must-Haves That Really Work
Did you know that the pet care market grew from $216 billion in 2020 to $232 billion in 2021? How about that it’s expected to jump to $350 billion by 2027?
If these numbers don’t illustrate the economic sonic boom taking place in the pet industry right now, I don’t know what will.
Working with animals and pet parents has always been amazing, but right now, it’s an even more incredible time to be in the pet business. But just like any other business, a decent marketing plan will be a cornerstone to your success, especially with the budding competition.
Ready to get started? These are the bare necessities for a pet business marketing plan that will keep your customers’ and clients’ tails wagging.
1. Passion
This goes without saying, but if you’re going to run a successful pet business, you should be fueled by genuine compassion for animals.
Starting a business is hard work, and your commitment could be tested by some inevitable challenges. If you don’t truly believe in your product or service (or more importantly, YOURSELF), you may find yourself in burnout early on.
However, if you know with every fiber of your being that what you’re offering makes a positive difference in the lives of pets and you’re ready to share it with the world, you’re already on the right track. Success is knocking at your door!
2. An Established Target Audience
As fun as it would be to sell our products and services directly to the animals we want to benefit, it doesn’t quite work that way. Pet parents and animal people are the ones doing the shopping, and your marketing efforts should be catered to them.
If you haven’t already narrowed down your audience, now is a better time than ever. Think about your current customers and the clients you want to work with.
What pushes them to make a purchase decision? How does your product or service make their lives easier?
By asking yourself these questions, you’ll come to understand your ideal audience’s priorities and how you can solve their problems. Then your marketing can convey that message and show your customers exactly how valuable you are (because you are!).
3. Branding and Design
Your brand is much more than just a logo and a name. It’s what your customers see and how they feel when your e-newsletter pops into their inbox or they notice one of your products on a store shelf.
Studies have proven that people like to do business with brands they’re familiar with because it helps them know what to expect. This is why branding is extremely important and necessary in today’s market, especially in an industry as broad and competitive as pets.
By giving your business a personality and an identity through elements like a tagline, logo, color palette, and tone of voice, you’re helping your brand stand out in a sea of competition that is also vying for your customers’ attention.
If you need help identifying who you are as a brand, ask yourself these questions:
What is our mission?
What are our values?
Who is our perfect customer?
What emotions do we want to invoke in our customers?
What language do we want to use to bring out these emotions?
What stories can we tell that will resonate with our audience?
Who is our competition and what are they doing? Is that working for them?
Remember, consistency is key. Whatever brand you choose, you must incorporate it into nearly every aspect of your business including your customer service, social media, packaging, website copy, and more. Choose something you’ll love!
4. Functional Website
Having a website is essentially a requirement for any business in the digital age, and it’s not difficult to understand why. It’s your brand’s online home, provides 24/7 customer support, and establishes credibility and trust.
At the bare minimum, anyone should be able to visit your website and quickly understand who you are, what you’re offering, and how they can get in touch with you or purchase your product.
If you want to add fun and interactive elements to your website, try things like exclusive deals, testimonials, a photo gallery, or A BLOG (more on that next). These are great ways to grow your business’s online presence and keep customers coming back.
5. Entertaining Blog
Managing a blog not only allows you to share helpful tips and fun stories with your readers, but it will also keep your audience engaged, attract new prospects, promote community, drive organic traffic to your website, convert that traffic into leads, establish you as a credible source of information, and so on, and so on!
Still don’t believe me? Then how about this?
A recent study by HubSpot’s research team discovered that businesses with a good blog had 55% more online visitors and 434% more indexed pages.
Seriously, I can’t stress this enough. HAVING A BLOG WILL HELP SKYROCKET YOUR PET BUSINESS MARKETING!
However, it isn’t enough just to have a blog. Your posts should be strategically organized and contain solid copy that is useful to your readers. You should also create attainable goals for your blog, include imagery, and publish regularly.
Does the idea of investing your precious time and energy into a regularly updated blog send your tail between your legs? I might be able to help!
Take a look at my blog management packages for pet businesses and let’s talk.
Incorporate SEO
If you’ve delved into the world of digital marketing before, it’s likely that you’re familiar with SEO (search engine optimization) and understand its significance in fostering a website’s authority.
For those of you who are new to SEO, this is the best way to explain it.
When your website, copy, and blog are optimized to be discovered by search engines like Google, you’ll appear higher in search results, which in turn increases your online visibility and organic traffic.
The best part? It’s completely free and available to anyone!
Several factors go into an effective SEO strategy, but these are some of the most crucial for ranking:
Keywords
Content (blogs, website copy, etc.)
Security and accessibility of website
Page loading speed
Mobile-friendliness
Links
Authority
Need a little inspiration or direction? These SEO tips are hailed by experts and proven to deliver results.
Google Business Profile
When you enter the name of a specific business into Google’s search bar, you’ll notice a box on the right side of the screen that displays details about said business including its location, operating hours, service options, and more.
This is a Google Business Profile, formerly known as Google My Business. These have become more important than ever as it’s often the first place your customers will go to find your information, especially if your business has a brick-and-mortar location.
Be sure to set up your profile so your business will appear in Google searches, Google Maps, and Google Shopping.
Google does have specific requirements and steps to follow, so read the Business Profile instructions to successfully set up your account.
Keep in mind that Google Business Profile is only available for businesses that have contact with their customers, such as a store or a consultant. If you run an online-only business, Google Ads and Google Analytics will be your best friends.
Well, second to your pets, of course!
Social Media
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know what social media is. Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube… The list goes on and on, and it’s projected to only keep growing.
To put it simply, if you aren’t marketing on social media, you’re missing out on a FREE and EASY way to connect with your audience.
In fact, 73% of marketers believe their social media marketing efforts have been “somewhat effective” or “very effective” for their business.
I know that the social media frontier can be intimidating if you’re not sure what to do or where to begin (and after working as a social media marketer for over two years, I can understand why), but luckily for those in the pet industry, we already have a competitive edge.
Truth be told, pets and animals are all the rage on social media, and that is not changing anytime soon.
People love to see photos and videos of happy puppies, watch heartwarming rescue stories, and discover homemade dog or cat treat recipes. This positive content lifts people’s spirits and gets circulated very quickly.
Heck, some pets became internet sensations overnight or achieved celebrity-level influencer status with just one post (yes, I’m looking at you, Willow the Corgi).
I’m not saying all you have to do is make a single post and you’ll suddenly start trending on Twitter, even though it’s totally possible. What I do want to convey is that a well-thought-through and effective social media strategy can dramatically grow your brand awareness and help you build a loyal fan base.
If you’re not sure where to start, this social media marketing guide has a ton of great information you might find useful.
Email Marketing
Contrary to popular belief, emails are still relevant and a tried and true digital marketing tool.
When used correctly, emails are an essential part of a buyer’s journey and allow you to build relationships with current, new, and past customers so you stay top-of-mind.
Of course, you’ll want to enrich your e-newsletters with content that keeps people engaged and away from the “Unsubscribe” button. Here are a few ideas that I’ve used in my own newsletters that drove great results:
Exclusive blog posts
Deals and discounts
YouTube videos
How-to guides
New product announcements
Sneak peeks
Event recaps
User-generated content
Attend Conferences and Networking Events
I love going to conferences! Not only does it allow me to travel, but I get to meet so many like-minded people who share my passions and learn from the ones that inspired me.
Attending a conference or networking event within your industry is a great way to sharpen your skills while learning new ones, meet people in the position to open doors of opportunity for you, and make lifelong friends.
I still talk to some of the people I met at a travel conference three years ago consistently!
There are hundreds of conferences that you could attend and learn something useful, but some of the most well-known in the pet industry are SuperZoo, Global Pet Expo, and the National Pet Industry Trade Show.
Let’s Amp Up Your Pet Business Marketing Together
Now that you know the basics of a pet business marketing plan, it’s time to put it into action. Send me a message about your organization’s blog or marketing copy and I’ll deliver the fun, informative, and SEO-optimized content that will make you paws-itively stand out.