The importance of change in marketing your pet business.

Marketing has never been as challenging as it is now, and all bets are that it's going to continue to be challenging. It's a conversation I've had frequently with clients over the years.

I remember 'back when.' I grew up in an entrepreneurial family.

My father owned and operated a family shoe store in a small town from the time I was born, until I was into my 30's, grown and established with a career of my own. This family shoe store serviced a community of 7,000 for many, many years and was 'the place to go' for shoes for the entire county.

I saw lots of changes in my years helping my father run his business. I remember vividly the annual sales that he used to hold. He would run a full page, color advertisement in the local newspaper, and people lined up around the block for the doors to open on the day the sale started. 'Back when' that's all it took to make a big sale successful.

As years went by, thing changed. Competition moved in, a large 'not to be named' discount chain opened a store on the outskirts of town, people started traveling to a larger town in the next county to shop at the new 'mall.'

That's when my father's business changed dramatically, and so did business for many of the other shops in the community. Many went out of business, but my father had the forethought to alter how he marketed in a changing environment. And that's where I learned that when things change, you have to change with them to remain successful.

'Back when' communities were tighter and closer knit, there wasn't an Internet, there wasn't a local mall, people didn't travel for shopping trips to larger cities. They supported their local businesses and stayed closer to home, getting their news from the local newspaper and radio station (if your community was large enough to have one.)

The World is a very different place now. We have the Internet, we have online shopping, we have many places where people can go to shop and purchase everything they need all in one place, competition is overwhelming.

What does all this mean? It means that marketing your pet business has to change with the times to be and remain successful. You need to market differently, find ways to stand out from the crowd, market in locations where people frequent, whether that be online or offline and create a good base of loyal customers that will share your great story. Marketing in the digital age is a very different ballgame than it was 'back when.'

Yet, it is very possible to be successful over time in marketing your pet business in a constantly changing environment. How? By finding and creating innovative ways to market to your specific target audience, have the forethought to anticipate changes and trends, and take action quickly, effectively, efficiently, and cost effectively.

Photo credits: Change.