Virtual Assistant and Online Marketing Advice for Petpreneurs
Loosing a client or customer may feel weird sometimes and then you start wondering…”What did I do wrong? What company will they be using now? What does my competitors have that I don’t?”. When developing your pet business strategy it is very important to identify what your competition is offering. You can then identify an opportunity to leapfrog over your competitors.
Despite the bad economy, the pet industry in the United States is growing at a steady pace. With this industry booming, it is very important to evaluate your competition, especially prices. I’ll leave you with a very interesting quote by Professor Oliver Chatain from the University of Pennsylvania: “The more friction there is, the harder it is to leapfrog. If you’re much less efficient than your competitor, it’s going to be very hard to leapfrog. However, if you’re not too far [behind], and if a new technology comes up, you… might be able to leapfrog over your competitor. But you will have to carefully manage competitors’ and customers’ expectations to pull that off.”
As a pet business owner, do you evaluate your competition on a regular basis? I know I do!
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Kimberly Gauthier
July 30th, 2009 at 12:06 pm
Actually I do, regularly. There is amazing competition in my area and they are so talented and it’s intimidating. But I always remind myself that I do candid and fun (we all do) but my photography brings out the personality of the animals (feedback I’ve received from everyone) and THAT’s the ticket. Not everyone can accomplish this; capturing the soul (corny, I know, but true and necessary).
I’m also affordable. In this economy, I was to respect everyone’s pocket book. I’m new and I don’t want to alienate people by coming out the gate charging high rates. And this is a nice edge to have, because pet photography is spendy, but our pets are our kids and they need pictures taken too - good ones. I’m happy to provide that service to everyone!
One day, not too far from now, I’ll be famous and I can charge on a sliding scale and I’ll travel all over photographing fantastic pets! And world peace!!!
Joan
August 2nd, 2009 at 8:49 am
You rock Kimberly! You have the passion in what you do and that’s the key to success.
My friend Danielle wrote a great ebook about How to Define Your Market Profile. I can email it to you if you want.
Kimberly Gauthier
August 3rd, 2009 at 9:56 am
That would be fantastic. I would be very intersted in reading what she wrote. I’m always trying to soak up as much as I can about marketing! Thank you!!!
Joan
August 3rd, 2009 at 4:01 pm
Kimberly, how do I get your email address?
Kimberly Gauthier
August 3rd, 2009 at 8:24 pm
Got the ebook, so I guess you got my email address
Thanks so much!
Joshua - PetSittingOlogy
August 6th, 2009 at 7:17 am
Great article, as always, Joan. I think it’s imperative to keep a close eye on what your competition is doing. The trick is then knowing what to do what that information.
At the very least, I always try not to copy what I see them doing, but rather find how I can do something like that, only better… or different.
It also helps to evaluate what makes you unique. Because that will certainly be something your competitors can’t or don’t offer that you can use to win more clients.
For example, getting an idea from Kimberly’s line of work, if I’m a pet sitter who also does pet photography, I’d tell each potential client, “Oh, and since I’m also a professional pet photographer, I set up a little photo shoot and provide each of my clients with some pictures of their pooch. No extra cost, of course.”
And really all you’d have to do is snap some pictures, upload a few and email them to your client. It’s a win-win.
-Joshua
Joan
August 6th, 2009 at 4:39 pm
Joshua, you are absolutely right! Clients want to see different aspects of the “professional” service. Thank you so much for posting that great comment!
Danielle Chonody - Working with Pets
August 19th, 2009 at 2:21 pm
Thanks for passing on my ebook Joan. It’s a free gift so feel free to post the link wherever you feel it would be a good resource.
Anyone else interested in “How to Define Your Market Profile” can download it right here: http://www.petbusinesssuccesscircle.com/HowtoDefineYourMarketProfile.pdf
Hope you enjoy it and I’d love to hear your thoughts!
Danielle