Business bloggers get more website traffic than those that don't.

Did you know businesses that blog average 55% more website visitors than those that don't?

Blogging as part of your business can not only drive more traffic to your site, but it can also position your company as a thought leader within your pet business segment.

It's also a way that potential and current customers can be more connected with your company, understand your brand, your product and your service, and you as a business owner, and provide amazing product/service feedback.

It's never been as important as it is now in gaining the trust of your potential and current customers, especially in the pet business industry. With all the recalls of late, pet lovers are cautious, wary and unsure of who they can trust. It's your job to reassure them that your pet business product and service is safe, healthy and good for their pet; and blogging is certainly a wonderful way to do that, as well as connect with your audience and build the trust your prospective and current customers want and need.

If you need help in establishing a successful and powerful blogging program, feel free to contact us for a free 30 minute evaluation and discussion about how we can help your pet business be more successful.

Is your pet business market declining? How you can successfully market to the shifting demographic of pet product and service buyers.

For the first time since pet industry statistics have been tracked, pet ownership is down in the United States.

Just this month the American Veterinary Medical Association provided a sneak peak at the 2012 Pet Ownership Demographics as part of their Sourcebook that will be available this fall.

In 1988, the first year the survey was conducted, 56% of U.S. households owned a pet as compared to 62% in 2008.

Growth has been steady in pet ownership, however the latest AVMA's report indicates, 'Americans had 2 million fewer dogs and 7.6 million fewer cats at the end of last year (2011) than at the end of 2006."

Their survey also indicates most pet owners have dogs at nearly 70 million, or 36.5% of U.S. homes. Cats are in 30.4% of homes at 74 million.

This is in comparison to their 2006 statistics indicating the canine population dropped from about 72 million in 2006 to 70 million in 2011, a 2.8 percent decrease, while the feline population fell by 9.3 percent, from about 81.7 million in 2006 to 73.1 million in 2011.

What are the factors precipitating the decline in US pet ownership? There are several factors, we believe.

The first being the economy. Since the decline of the economy starting in 2007-2008, many US households have seen a decline in income, topped with higher expenditures, job loses and more.(simplified). As individuals encountered more difficulties in finances, pet ownership declined as less pets were brought into homes.

The second precipitating factor is the aging baby boomer population who have historically become four-legged parents as their two-legged kids have left home. The baby boomer generation has been the primary pet purchaser over recent years. As the baby boomers age, and their pets reach old age and the end of their lives, this aging population is less likely to add another pet to their family.

With population growth hovering around percentage growth rates of .90 over the past years and predicted to range from .90 to .70 percent in years leading to 2050, where is the market shift to indicate this decline?

Taking into account the pet business market, which historically has been women between the ages of 25-55 primarily, you can see a shift occurring in the overall population growth within these ranges. Within the general population, the number of women in age ranges of 35-45 has been declining over recent years.

In addition, the number of women, ages 15-34, has been leveling and/or slightly declining in recent years. Compare this with women, ages 45-65 (which has been the pet business market over the past 15-20 years) has significant growth rates over many past years.

What this means is that the market for pet business products and services will be declining slightly in years to come.

So what is a pet business to do?

The coming years will see a shift in who purchases pet business products and services; shifting from the present day market of women, ages 25-55, to the upcoming market of women currently between the ages of 8-51.

This next generation of purchasers of pet products and services include the 13th Generation or GenX, who are presently 31-51 years old, and the Millennial Generation or GenY who are  presently 8-30 years old.

The Ethics Resource Center has put together a great study on the behaviors and characteristics of these various generations in comparison to the Baby Boomers.They indicate:

• While Baby Boomers (also classified as the 'Me' Generation) were raised during a time of economic prosperity and are classified as hardworking, idealistic and committed, they are also classified as self-centered, workaholics that have a sense of entitlement.
• The GenX generation is entrepreneurial, flexibile, creative and comfortable with technology, yet are cynical and skeptical, question authority and are sometimes considered more 'lazy'. 
• The GenY generation is very tech savvy, are skilled multi-taskers and appreciate diversity, yet have a short attention span and are not loyal to organizations, segmentally.

This would indicate that the present and recent past way of marketing to the pet business market which is/was to appeal to their pet's sense of entitlement and the idealist vision of pets as four-legged family members and pushing loyalty, is beginning to turn to the present and forward thinking marketing tactics for GenX through 'proof in the pudding,' 'what's in it for me,' educational through an easy means of communication via technological advances, such as social media and the Internet, will progress even more to quick, pointed, flexible, social and visual messaging through even more advanced technological means that satisfy the GenX lifestyle.

It's not difficult to market to those we know and understand. What will be a challenge is understanding those generations that come after us and how best to reach, interact and satisfy their wants and needs to keep your pet business successful in future years.

For help in planning your future marketing strategy, tactics and messaging, feel free to contact Pawsible Marketing for a 30 minute exploratory discussion about how we can help your pet business.

Sources: AVMA, APPA, Google Public Population Data, Ethics Resource Center, Wikipedia. Photo/chart courtesy of Janet Loehrke, USAToday. Photos courtesy of Sean MacEntee and Yukari.

Reinvention is key to successfully marketing your pet business!

To keep up with your prospects and customers busy lives and most effectively reach and connect with your target audience, re-invention is key to the marketing success of your pet business.

There may be times when the marketing tactic or promotion that worked so well for your pet business last month or last year, just isn't bringing you the results you expected this year.

That's why it's so important for you to keep up with what your audience wants and needs, as well as marketing tactics and promotions that they like and respond to; and, just as important, track, analyze, evaluate and measure the effectiveness of  every marketing tactic or promotion you undertake.

If you didn't get the results you expected. take a step back and see how you may be able to improve or expand upon your promotion to make it more effective taking into account the lives and behaviors of your target audience. And don't be shy about tweaking mid-promotion. It may make or break the effectiveness of your sales.

With the barrage of messages that your target audience receive each and every day, you need to continuously reinvent, reinvent and reinvent your marketing strategies and plans to keep up and stand out with your marketing, and make your pet business marketing plans and strategies the most effective to get the results you need to be successful.

It's time to get down and dirty with visual content for your pet business.

That's my Johann (who we nicknamed YoYo very early in his life). YoYo loves to get down and dirty, so I'm taking his cue and running with it today.

Over the years, studies have shown visual content gets much more attention than textual content. 

Take Pinterest as an example. One of the reasons it's one of the hottest means of social interaction on the Internet right now is because of the visual nature of the new social network.

According to studies done by EyeTrackShop, a company that utilizes webcam technology to track what people read and view on the Internet, indicated that, 'although women are more careful readers of text, both (men and women) are attracted to, and linger on, imagery...'

In a 2012 webcam eye-tracking study for Mashable, 'participants spent less time looking at Wall posts and ads and more time looking at the cover photo on brands’ timelines than they did on their old Facebook Walls.'

There is full indication that visual content gets more attention. And from my experience I find the same indicators on my pet business sites all over the Internet, including websites, blogs, Facebook and in a wide variety of articles on the Internet..

In today's busy world, consumers are inundated with information. So if you are looking for a way to stand out from the crowd do this...utilize powerful visual content - everything from personal photos, funny photos, infographics, larger images that relate to your content and more.

The new wave of infographics is a means to capitalize on this ability to stand out from the crowd, but to also explain concepts and ideas to individuals in a unique and fun fashion, hence their new found popularity. Click to enlarge this interesting graphic of the history of marketing channels.

Infographic courtesy of Dream Systems Media.

Why it's important for you to own your pet business relationships.

After spending many years in the corporate environment and in the pet business world, there are a lot of important things I have learned...but none more important that the need for business owners to own their business relationships and not farm them out to a wide variety of agencies.

Whether those relationships are with your pet business vendors, retailers, suppliers, media or bloggers, building and maintaining those personal connections yourself can be incredibly valuable to your pet business.

Let's say for a moment that you hire or work through a public relations agency to connect with consumer pet magazines on your behalf. They put together a great press release, send it out to the all the appropriate consumer pet magazines in their database, then follow up to see if that media is interested in covering your new pet product or service. 

Sure, you may get some press out of that contact. But what happens when that public relations agency pitch person no longer works for that PR company, or that PR company no longer works for you? And what happens when the media has specific questions that your agency's pitch person can't answer effectively?

Not only have you lost that contact and have to start all over building that wonderful relationship, but the ease and speed of communication is lost. In the fast paced world of communications, this could be a detriment to your business and you may loose out on the great opportunity at hand.

Here's a much better scenario. You hire a PR or marketing agency, they write a wonderful press release about your product/service with just the right pitch, then provide you with a great intro email and a list of the pet business media who would find your information interesting to their readers, visitors, listeners, or viewers.

Then you send the email.

This method creates a means for you to build a wonderful and productive relationship with that pet business media representative or blogger; and allows you the ability to answer any media questions, quickly, easily, efficiently and very effectively.

When I was a VP of marketing at an Internet banking technology company, and on the other 'side of the fence,' I fought tooth and nail to bring the public relations marketing activity in-house and under my guidance after utilizing a public relations firm for a year or so; much to the doubt of the president of the company . Why? So we, as a company, could build and cultivate those great relationships with the tech media ourselves, without outside interference and hindrances; and it paid off in spades. 

Because I had formed these great relationships with the media through email communications, press junkets, catching up at trade shows and conferences, and staying in contact with those writers and reporters throughout the year, not only would they almost always cover our new developments, but many times when they were working on a story that related to a product line or subject matter that we were an expert in, we were one of the first sources they would call for a quote for the article; allowing us even more exposure within our field.

And this happens frequently with my own pet business marketing consultancy. When the pet business trade magazines are in the process of writing articles related to pet business marketing, they frequently turn to me for tips, ideas and quotes that they can share with their readers. This allows me to share some great tips to help pet businesses be more successful, and provides my business with just the type of visibility I want with my target audience.

So the next time you are thinking about outsourcing the important communications and relationships for your pet business, think again...or at least think about how you can work with your agency or agencies to own your own relationships for the long term health of your business.

Christmas in July - now is the time for pet businesses to prepare for the holidays.

Whether you are a pet retailer, manufacturer or service provider, now is the time to get ready for the Christmas Holiday season.

From selecting new products, or marketing your products to prospective retailer and distributors, or planning promotions for your retail or service pet business, July is THE time to dig in (pun intended :).

What are just a few items that will be hot this holiday season?

• Interactive is the word for all toys for all pets.
• Quality vs quantity will be a priority for pet loving shoppers.
• USA made in lieu of recent problems with foods, treats and products from China.
• Eco-friendly and green items will be hot again this season as consumers look for healthier, safer alternatives.
• Bundling products for gifting will also be popular. 

Leslie May, founder of Pawsible Marketing was recently interviewed by Lindsey Wojcik, associate editor of Pet Business Magazine, for her article 'Honing for the Holidays.' Read up on some great ideas to help your pet business get ready for the busy holiday season, and remember to utilize all the available tools in your marketing toolbox together to have the highest level of impact on your marketing efforts.

If you'd like to talk with us about how you can most effectively take advantage of the holiday season, email us for a free 30 minute consult to see if we may be a good fit to help you market your pet business.

Photo courtesy: El Caganer and Olaf