In the past, people kept pets because it was practical. Some owned a dog to warn others of strangers, while others took care of a cat to control the mice population on their property.
These days, however, many people adopt pets as members of their family. Cats, dogs, and other types of pets provide their owners with companionship and support. In turn, pet parents make sure that their fur babies are healthy, happy, and have every chance to live their best life. In fact, 33 percent of millennial homebuyers have admitted that the desire to provide their dogs with a good home is the primary reason why they decided to buy their first residential property.
These days, it’s not unusual for pet parents to choose brands and products that offer more benefits to their furred companions. The trend continues to contribute to the rising sales figures of pet-related products, and businesses that deal with pet merchandise and services are enjoying higher profits.
But what if your business is not directly connected to the pet industry? How can you position your company so that you can also benefit from the increasing sales of pet products?
The easiest way to go about this is to partner with a brand that mainly deals with pet products and services. With all this in mind, here are some marketing strategies that you can carry out by collaborating with a pet-related company:
Product and Service Tie-ins
There are different ways to go about finding the perfect pet product brand for your company to partner with. For starters, you can think about pet products or services that can be paired with your business.
If your company is a furniture specialist, you can partner with a manufacturer of wholesale dog beds. You can then provide your customers with a matching dog or cat bed as a freebie for every purchase from your shop. If you sell laundry products, you can partner with a manufacturer that’s well known for designing pet clothes. You can offer to include free detergent samples for every pet clothing item purchased from that pet clothing shop. If you provide salon services, on the other hand, maybe you can work with a pet grooming services provider. You can then offer discounts to customers who are willing to get your salon’s services or that of the pet groomer that you partnered with.
Expanding Your Merchandise
Aside from partnering with well-known consumer brands in the pet industry, you can also get in touch with a pet product manufacturer and directly order customized pet products for your business. Instead of a product tie-in, you can put your efforts into expanding your product line to include items and services that can be used by pets and pet owners. If your company specializes in manufacturing textiles and designing clothes, then why not add pet clothes and fabric accessories to your product lineup?
Alternatively, you can commission pet products that are not related to your business but bear your company’s colors and other branding elements. If you run a coffee shop, for example, you may not be able to offer your beverages to your customer’s pups. However, you can still sell dog toys that are inspired by your offerings and bear your company’s logo. Your customers, then, can enjoy their favorite drink while their pets can play with a stuffed toy that looks like your beverage product.
Supporting Pet-related Causes
Your business does not have to be pet-related for it to contribute to charities and activities that champion responsible pet ownership and animal welfare. You can show your support for these causes by being present in pet-related events hosted by rescue centers and other pet-friendly organizations in your area. These types of events also give your business a good opportunity to use the branded pet products you commissioned as giveaways, raffle prizes, or donations to a worthy cause. If you don’t have custom pet products in your list of merchandise, you can still contribute to the cause by offering cash or in-kind donations, which may include your company’s main products and services.
Distributing Pet Toys and Accessories
If you’re having a hard time finding a suitable cause to donate to within your neighborhood or service area, you can distribute your branded pet products yourself. Again, partner with a manufacturer that specializes in designing branded pet products and order items that your pet-owning customers will use and appreciate. Use these pet-friendly items to boost your promos or to entice your customers to keep on bringing their business to your shop. If they can reach a certain checkout total or earn points during their transactions, throw in a branded collar, leash, or pet bandana as their prize. They’ll appreciate the freebie and the fact that you took the effort to come up with products that will delight their furred family members.
Partnering with pet-related businesses and organizations in your area will allow you to establish your brand as a familiar name among pet owners. Follow these strategies, and your business will soon be able to reap the benefits of acknowledging the needs of the pet owners among your customer base.
