A winning marketing strategy can increase a pet business tremendously.
According to the American Pet Products Association, in 2009 over $45 billion was spent on pets. In order to acquire some of the money people spend on their animals, a business needs to get the word out, and that means that there should be some kind of marketing program in place.
Promotional Items
No matter what the pet business might be, using promotional items enhances customer awareness. While some promotional items might be less than ideal for pet businesses (such as pens, for example), others can be really useful. These can range from high-dollar items such as dog T-shirts with your business name on them to the more moderately priced dog bowl with the business logo on it. The advantage here is that while a pen is only used on occasion, a pet T-shirt or dog bowl will be seen on a daily basis.
Social Networks
Social networking can be a useful aspect in marketing a pet business. Search the social networks for areas where your business might attract interest. For example, you might follow individuals on Twitter who have posted comments about their pets. Then you can make those individuals aware of what your business has to offer.
Blogging
Blogging has become an important part of the Internet--and in making people aware of new trends, new products and new stores. Pet businesses that create well-written blogs with useful content will find search engines picking up on the site and driving traffic to them.
Brainstorming
When you're attempting to create a new business presence, brainstorming is an important aspect in the entire marketing strategy. When brainstorming, ideas are "shotgunned" in rapid-fire succession without any form of censorship. Then the ideas are examined and played with. One example of an idea that may evolve during a brainstorming session--if one of the services your business offers is walking dogs--would be to leave a slip leash with the company name and phone number on neighborhood mailboxes, since postal regulations will not allow items to be placed in mailboxes.
Cross-Promotion
Another marketing technique a pet business can use would be to locate other pet-related businesses in the area and work out a mutually beneficial promotion program. If there is a pet store that is lacking a service that your pet business provides, you might advertise in the pet store and in turn, might pass along pet store brochures to your customers.
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