Critical moves in the competitive pet business world.

It's been very interesting following some of the new, large online pet companies cropping up lately.

First I saw the new company PetFlow.com come onto the scene offering dog and cat food, treats and cat litter with free shipping to customers if they sign up for an auto ship program and purchase up to $69.00 worth of product (and $4.95 shipping if under $69.00). This was ground breaking and definitely a very attractive offer for some potential customers. No company that I am aware of had ever offered low cost or free shipping on high weight pet products on a regular basis.

Then came some of the larger big box stores, like Petco and Petsmart, matching PetFlow's offer of reduced cost shipping on higher weight products like dog and cat food. They, to my knowledge had never done this before, and clearly initiated these offers in response to the competitive market.

A few months ago I learned about Wag.com and it's plan to launch (which is today, by the way). Wag.com is being run by the same team behind Amazon.com, and the successful Diapers.com and Soap.com; both who have business models revolving around 1-2 day very low cost shipping and great prices. These online stores have upped the ante and base standard for online stores. Take for example Soap.com's one-up-manship of low cost 1-2 day shipping vs. Drugstore.com's low cost 10-12 day shipping cycle.

Just yesterday I received an email from PetFlow.com and their new offer for free shipping (not just for their auto ship program, but for one time orders, as well) on orders of $49.00 or more, trying to trump the new Wag.com and their launch offer today of 1-2 day shipping on orders of $49.00 or more.

Competition in the pet business world is really heating up!

What does this mean for pet businesses all over the country? You will have to be creative, be different, stand out from the pack and create a niche to remain competitive. You will need to create a good base of loyal customers that come back time and time again; and tell other potential customers just how great you are! You will have to offer promotions that are out-of-the-box of what you've been doing in the past.

It's not going to be easy...it never is, never has been and never will be. The big guys are working very hard to take away your customers by offering them something that's very intriguing...free shipping, quick delivery, and great prices.

You can be competitive...it will take ingenuity, but it can be done. Contact us today to learn how you can compete!

What the passage of the affiliate nexus tax in California means for pet businesses.

Last week, California Governor Jerry Brown signed a new California budget bill which included several forms of an Internet Sales Tax, including a click-through affiliate tax.

That same day, June 29, 2011, Amazon, Overstock, Zappos and other major online retailers began sending out termination notices to some 25,000 California-based affiliates, notifying them that their relationship will terminate on the date the budget becomes law (which was effective immediately).

In 1992, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Quill Corporation v. North Dakota that states can compel tax collection from companies with a physical presence in their state. This connection is termed a nexus.

Under this bill, an Internet retailer with no physical presence in California would be considered to have established nexus if they operated an affiliate marketing program that allowed or has California residents participating.

These affiliate programs allow individuals and businesses to place links to retailer's websites. When a shopper clicks through one of these affiliate website links and purchases a product, the retailer provides a commission to the affiliate (usually a percentage of the sale).

California isn't the only state in the US to pass such an affiliate nexus law. Other states include North Carolina, New York, Illinois and more. You can find more information and updates of affiliate marketing laws in each state by visiting the Performance Marketing Association.

What does this mean for your pet business?

If you have a pet business (or any business) that provides affiliate marketing and you have affiliates in California, we highly recommend you consult a tax attorney. There are limits on the amounts of sales and other guidelines that may or may require you to comply in collecting sales tax from sales through affiliate and click-through programs advertised on sites based in California.

If you are a publisher or affiliate and live in California (or other states), please visit the Performance Marketing Association website and keep up-to-date on the status of affiliate nexus laws in your state.

Utilizing your marketing tools the most effectively to market your pet business.

There are two very important ingredients to be sure that you are marketing your pet business the most effectively and efficiently.

- Utilizing all your marketing tools in your toolbox to their maximum effectiveness, and;

- Working those tools together to get the most of your marketing time and dollar, and bring your marketing and sales to a much more effective and higher level.

There really isn't one marketing tool that can do it all.

• Public, press and media relations on it's own won't bring you the desired traffic and sales that you need.
• Having a website with good SEO won't be effective on its own in reaching your goals.
• Posting on Facebook isn't enough to network and keep in touch with potential customers and current customers.

You get the idea...

The fact is all the marketing tools in your toolbox are very important in your marketing mix, but none of them on their own will help you reach your goals.

In today's busy, crowded market, marketers and business owners need to leverage multiple best practices of the marketing mix to get the job done.

The most successful companies who are garnering the most results from their marketing are the ones who take advantage of a wide range of marketing tools to promote, reach and engage their current and prospective customers to achieve their sales goals.

But, most importantly these companies take it to the next level by utilizing these tools together and in conjunction with each other to really create a very powerful marketing program.

Contact us today to find out how you can utilize an effective and efficient integrated marketing mix to bring your pet business to the next level.

SEO tips and tricks for local pet businesses

Today we are sharing one of our top tips for localized pet businesses to get higher ranking results on Internet searches.

Have you ever noticed that when you perform a search for a local business in Google, Yahoo, Bing or other larger search engines, you see a few pinned local searches at the top of your search results?

Take 'pet sitter atlanta' for example as a basic search. The first search results you see are several paid search links, but the next results you see are search results from Google Places.

According to Google...

"Each business listing on Google is in fact a giant 'cluster' of information that we get from a few different places: Yellow Pages, for example, as well as other third-party providers. However, the basic information that you submit through Google Places is the information that we trust the most. This means that it will appear instead of any basic information that we get from anywhere else."

One of the best ways for local pet businesses to get noticed through search engines is to add a listing on Google Places (Yahoo! Local and Bing Local, as well). It's very easy to do and can help your effort to be on the front page of Google for search terms related to your local pet business.

All you have to do it go to the following sites and complete the process of adding a page. Be sure and pay particular attention to completing the entire page, along with appropriate categories and key words that are specific to your pet business and location. You can also add photos, videos and more; all items that will round out and create a page that represents the differentiation for your pet business.

• Google Places
• Yahoo! Local
• Bing Local

Another avenue for increasing your Google, Yahoo! and Bing search results, while increasing your opportunity to be higher up in these search engine results is to add yourself to other directories like Yelp, Merchant Circle, Kudzu and more. It is known that Google also pulls information from these other sites to add to the Google Places experience for users.

Don't be shy about asking current customers to review your business on these sites as well, as it can add to the experience that current and potential customers see about your business.

For more information, feel free to contact us to help with additional ways for you to market your pet business, get noticed, increase sales and your customer base.

Differentiation is key to helping your pet business stand out in a busy market

The pet business market is getting very busy. Everyone wants to get in on a growth market...

"According to a recent article in Pet Industry News International, "the pet industry continues to perform as recession resistant, according to the American Pet Products Association, which released its 2010 Pet Industry Spending Figures recently. Overall spending in the pet industry grew by 6.2 percent from $45.53 billion in 2009 to $48.35 billion in 2010."

This is the very reason the pet business is growing. With growth comes a crowded and busy market. Everyone from current successful pet businesses to general big box stores to budding entrepreneurs, wants to get in on a growing, 'recession resistant' industry.

So what's a pet business to do as the pet business industry continues to become crowded and busy?

Differentiate

According to Dictionary.com - Differentiate means...

–verb (used with object)

1.

to form or mark differently from other such things;distinguish.

2.

to change; alter.

3.

to perceive the difference in or between.

Pet businesses need to differentiate, stand out, be different, and in the process get noticed for being cutting edge, ahead of the curve, attract attention, spur sales, build your potential customers base, and keep ahead of the pack; whether that be with their service or their product.

There are a wide variety of ways for you to structure, alter, update, promote and market to differentiate your business to appeal to this growing market. Think about your answers to these questions to get you started on a path of differentiation...

• What makes my pet business different?
• What will help my business, products and services stand out from the pack?
• Does my business fit with the current trends for the pet business market?
• What does my market want?
• What 'out of the box' marketing can I do to get noticed?

And feel free to contact us to learn more about how you can differentiate your pet business and further your market to increase sales and build your customer base.

Great marketing tips included in Pet Age Magazine's June issue from Pawsible Marketing's founder, Leslie May

Be sure and read the article in the latest issue of Pet Age Magazine, "Web-Enhanced Marketing." It's a wonderful overview of how pet businesses can use a wide variety of tools in their 'marketing toolbox' to extend their marketing efforts.

In addition, Leslie May, Founder of Pawsible Marketing, provides some great tips in the article to help you learn to tie your traditional promotions with web-based tools to help your marketing be the most effective possible; and reap the benefits of an integrated marketing program.