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6/23/11

How to market your pet business

Everyone who has pets knows you have to feed them.  With the exception of the pet rock from the 70's, those animals have to eat.

Which is where a pet or feed store comes into play...

I mean, sure, you can buy food from a grocery store, but most of the time they only sell garbage.  You know the old saying "garbage in, garbage out?"  Well, if you've ever cleaned up dog poo from your back yard, you know the concept all too well.

I sell good quality food to pet stores, feed stores, and some chain accounts.  THIS is where you should go to buy food.  Not the grocery store, not the big red bullseye, not Wallyworld.   Why?  Because that is where you buy better food for a good price.

But, sometimes it's not a pleasant experience to go into these stores...

Some stores are clean, organized, and well-run.  You are greeted when you enter the door.  All of your questions are thoughtfully and completely answered.  They are there to help you in any way imaginable.  These are the stores I love, because they have a passion for what they do.

Try doing into the big W and asking someone in the pet section the difference between crap A and crap B.  "Well this bag is $15.99, and this one is $17.99..."  That's about all they can offer.

A good store will tell you which food is ideal for your animal, your budget, and your lifestyle.  They will be able to educate, inform, and (if done right) keep you as a customer for life.

But there are stores that don't quite get the message.  Their store is cluttered, and smells like ass.  They're not helpful.  They sell a limited amount of styles, so it's their way or the highway.

So far after 3 days, we have visited mostly good stores.  People know what they're doing in Idaho.  There was one store in my hometown that wasn't on the company's customer list, so I wanted to visit...

I mean, hey... first week and I can sign up a new customer?  Sounds fun.  Let's do this.

We walk into the store, and immediately we are overpowered by the smell of old dirty balls.  This store smells awful.  We were in and out in 30 seconds, because the owner only sells "high premium, high margin items" to his customers....  funny, we sell those items too... and your shelves look pretty empty.

It made me wonder how he stayed in business.  There was only one customer in the store, and she walked out empty-handed.  The building was run down, hasn't been cleaned up in ages, and it smells like geriatric man-berries.

Oh well.  He had a competitor down the street who was much more receptive.  His loss.
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19 witty retorts:

Tony Van Helsing said...

Man berries? Smells like ass? Old dirty balls? There is a definite underlying theme to this article.

The Angry Lurker said...

That's the way it is now, somebody else will get your money.

Zombie said...

An awesome business idea! Everyone loves pets! lol.

Speakers Reviews said...

unfortunately I do not have pets

Drake Sigar said...

See if you can find a wisened old man with a beard, for then you will have struck gold my friend.

Haven said...

Geriatric man berries. Ah! I hate that hahaha, so gross.

Astronomy Pirate said...

So in other words, his store smelled like pet food?

Salted Plum said...

This was very informative, I learnt a lot.

Sharon Day said...

I went into a country feed store/antique shop (yeah, they put them together) in a rural town a few months back. I was astonished by the smell (and the bags of opened feed mice had been ransacking) and nearby a table set up with antique tea cups for sale and jars of local honey (questionable?) Ew! I remember thinking it was like something out of "Wrong Turn" movie's shack. Just creepy-rama. Oh, and I caught sight of one of the tricky mice getting feed out of a dog food bag. I'm sure it was poor quality, but then country mice are beggars and can't be choosers.

Anonymous said...

Pet rock! I new a kid who had one in 8th grade. Eventually, he was suspended for training his pet rock to be an "attack rock." LOL

The Frisky Virgin said...

To me, pets are essentially family members, so I want to know they are getting the best possible. Walking into a store that smells, where people haven't a clue what they're talking about just screams BAD FOR YOUR PET!

This is a great post! :)

Charlene said...

My inquiring mind asks: Do you personally have Geriatric man berries or have you had your face near some of these a lot? SMILE

Unknown said...

You have some great advice!

Technosauce said...

A colorful choice of description, I'll give you that.

Dwija {House Unseen} said...

Brandon, I used to be a buyer for one of those specialty pet and feed stores (in SoCal)...so I know EXACTLY what you're talking about! Hilarious :D

Aaron M. Gipson said...

It sounds to me like that stinky place you went to might be a front for a meth lab. I have never really been into dogs, but I've had a few cats my time and I never trusted the food at Wallyworld either. I always figured if Taco Bell was good enough for me, it was good enough for my cat...

THE SNEE said...

You are cracking me up with your travel stories! Do you sell pet food out this way(New England)? You can get good blog fodder here too, if you find yourself in these parts.

Lori Dyan said...

Geriatric Man Berries is my new nickname for my husband.

LilPixi said...

Hey, we're not certain on the possible health advantages of geriatric man-berries. Don't knock it till you've tried it.

This whole comment just went horribly wrong & downhill from the beginning.

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