The pet-care service industry is on fire. Each year, more and more pet lovers are inspired to turn their passion for pets into professional work. But unfortunately, for existing pet-care business owners, the competition to acquire and retain customers is fiercer than ever!
Small businesses can continue to maintain and even grow their businesses by integrating a brand loyalty program into their pet-care business. Brand loyalty programs show your customers that you value their business, are invested in building long-term partnerships, and want to reward their repeat business, so they stick around for years to come!
Having the right pet-care software system digitally managing the details and the data of these programs is one of the best and most efficient ways to bring your new small business to the next level - and make it even easier for your customers to do business with you.
Your new or boutique-sized pet-care business can grow and scale more quickly and efficiently with the help of a loyal customer base who is also invested in your company’s success.
Check out the top five brand loyalty program ideas for your pet-care business to learn more.
Why are customer loyalty programs important?
Brand loyalty programs serve a few purposes and benefit prospective, new, and repeat customers differently.
If you own a pet-services business, there's a good chance many of the animals in your care are repeat customers. Once pet parents find a groomer, daycare or boarding facility that they like, with a staff who their pet adores, they’re less likely to make a change. Creating a brand loyalty program is a great (and profitable) way to capitalize on this stream of repeat business and offer your repeat customers a little something extra for continuing to trust you with all of their pet’s needs.
Newer customers who may have only taken their pet to you for services once or twice may also be intrigued to stick with you and become true repeat customers if there’s an incentive.
A brand loyalty program can boost your bottom line a boost, is by enticing new customers to make that leap and try your services. By leveraging the power of word-of-mouth referrals, you can build your community with the help of pet parents who have been with you for years.
Finding creative ways to retain these long-term customers, like with a brand loyalty program, is crucial to finding new customers and getting them to take action by booking a service with you.
Here’s an interesting customer acquisition fact:
The cost of acquiring new customers through avenues like marketing campaigns is more expensive than the cost of retaining customers with customer loyalty programs.
How do I administer my pet-care brand loyalty program?
Tracking a pup’s daycare reservation or a kitten’s boarding stay with thick notebooks and binders is a thing of the past. Similarly, when you create your new pet-care brand loyalty program, you won’t have to worry about manually tracking coupons or discounts with paper and pen. Instead, integrating a digital software solution into your pet-care business’s operations means tracking these details for you and your staff!
Administering the rewards your clients rack up couldn’t be easier when everything from pet profiles, client payment information, invoices, reservations, and client communications are managed with pet-care software like Revelation Pets. In addition, our easy-to-use software can directly deliver rewards like free nail clippings, an extra doggy spa treatment, or a birthday discount to the client’s online account.
The rewards will show up in their profile the next time they log in and can be applied directly to their next visit! Easy!
Small business owners should be able to spend time building relationships with their four-legged and two-legged clients, not spending all of their time managing tedious paperwork.
5 best brand loyalty programs for pet-care businesses
Point Redemption Systems
Point redemption systems work on a “spend more, earn more” model, where a customer receives points based on the number of dollars they spend with your business. For example, for every $50 a customer spends, they receive 10 points. These points can then be redeemed for services like a night of boarding, a free day at daycare, or extra grooming amenities like nail trims, washes, etc.
One of the great things about point redemption systems is that you, as a small business owner, can also target your point redemption system for use on services that may not be getting the traction you want, with the idea that clients may be incentivized to try new and different services like an afternoon in the daycare play pool if the service is “free,” aka, they can redeem points to use it.
You can also set up a point-based system to redeem discounts on retail items, stays, or, well, anything!
Discounted Services
A pet-care brand loyalty program with discounted services as one of its benefits is another excellent way to engage your customers. For example, you may consider setting up a member benefit that gives a pup a 50% discount on their next daycare stay after their 10th visit.
Pet-care businesses can use discounted services for members to their advantage by offering targeted discounts during periods of the year that are slower than others to boost revenue. If you anticipate that January and October will see a slump in sales, offering this discount to members during these months can help you plan and prevent that loss of revenue.
Providing member-only discounts also makes the customer feel valued and that they have exclusive access to benefits other guests don’t.
Birthday Deals or “Gotcha” Day Deals
Who doesn’t love a birthday deal? Birthday brand loyalty program deals are an easy way to stay in contact with guests and offer discounts on services, products, or retail items. Many daycares will also provide a complimentary birthday treat or add-on service items for doggie birthdays. In addition, they’re great for generating social media content.
To help make everyone feel included in this discount, and for those pet parents who don’t know their pet’s birthday, make the offer valid on the customer’s birthday instead.
Give this popular brand loyalty program a pet-friendly twist by adopting (pun intended) a “gotcha day” deal, where member’s pups or kittens who were adopted from a shelter receive a free celebratory treat or a pampering spa treatment on the day they took their freedom ride to their new furever home.
The good news about using software like Revelation Pets is that information like birthdays and “gotcha days” can be added to a pet’s profile and tracked, making it super easy to implement this type of program.
“Refer a Friend” Deals
“Refer a friend” deals are a great way to expand your customer base, especially for a pet-care provider. Pet owners don’t just trust anyone with their pet. The first time many owners drop their dog or cat off at a boarding facility, they’re worried sick. Having a referral from someone they already trust, like a close friend or family member, goes a long way in alleviating that stress.
“Refer a friend” deals are win-win wins. The customer is rewarded with receiving points, a discount, or even a free boarding night or daycare stay for emailing or texting a friend. The new or prospective client receives a referral from someone they trust, and you build customer loyalty (and, hopefully, a new client!).
Rewards for Philanthropic Behavior
At the local level, small businesses are built on community engagement. Your staff know your repeat customers by name and know their fur babies just as well as their own.
Adding a social activism segment to your customer loyalty program is a way to reward loyal customers and pay it forward in your local community.
Value-driven customer loyalty programs can offer customers discounts when they donate to a partner non-profit like an animal rescue or by allowing customers to donate the points they accrue to a local charity your business is partnered with.
This is a way to give your community a positive boost and help those who need it most, but it demonstrates to your clientele that you, as a small business owner, are invested in the broader success of your community.
To sum things up
Digitally managed brand loyalty programs for small business pet-care companies are a hassle-free experience for you, your staff, and your clients when using Revelation Pets pet-services software. Customers who choose to engage in customer loyalty programs aren’t just getting the satisfaction that the company they’re doing business with truly values their business. Still, this confidence often turns them into great brand ambassadors!
A popular pet-care brand loyalty program can also help you weather seasonal lulls by targeting these customers with special discounts, deals, points incentives, or “refer a friend” promotions. But, the best part, besides how happy your two- and four-legged clients will be! Is that all of these member-exclusive perks can be managed with your Revelation Pets software!
And for a service-oriented, customer-facing business like yours, this makes signing members up even easier! So whether you only offer grooming, manage a cattery, or have a mini pet-care empire in the making, Revelation Pets has got you covered every step!
Additional Resources
Want to learn more about improving customer loyalty, increasing brand awareness, and other important strategies for your pet-care business? Dive into our other additional resources:
- Creating Customer Loyalty At Your Pet-Care Business: 5 Tips. Creating customer loyalty in your community goes a long way to help sustain and build your business, even if times get tough. Check out these five tips to retain customers for the long haul!
- Key Pet Industry Trends for 2021 and Beyond. Every year, Pet owners spend nearly $100 billion (that billion, with a B!) on their pets. See the latest pet industry trends that will inspire you to add new services and trendsetting amenities to your pet-care business!
- How to Market Your Pet-Care Business: 7 Effective Tips. This guide has everything you need to market your pet-care business, from creating an engaging website to offering fun activities for pet lovers.
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