The Dogs Have Won!

I recently scanned an infographic in a magazine that was illustrating proper etiquette in a shared work environment. One of the points made was about bringing your dog to the space. The author’s comment was ‘It’s 2018, the dogs have won!’, essentially saying get over it and quit complaining.

In addition to that, I got an email from the Robb Report magazine with a link to the 10 best dog friendly hotels and resorts. Here are just a few of the clearly niched things you can get for your dog during your stay.

• At the Manchester Grand Hyatt in San Diego - dogs get their own menus, with options that range from pupcakes with peanut butter and Greek yogurt, to surf and turf with salmon and grilled chicken topped with bacon.
• The Milestone Hotel & Residences in London - Upon arrival, four-legged friends are gifted with a bespoke welcome hamper, including a toy, treats, and signature hotel dog tags.
• After a long day outdoors, The Pines Lodge in Beaver Creek, CO - return to recharge sore muscles and paws with one of the spa’s signature doggie treatments, which includes a massage or a (probably needed) bath and blowout.
• In Miami’s The Betsy South Beach - “Pampering with Pooch” treatment—imagine a couple’s massage that swaps out your significant other for your best (furry) friend.
• The Hotel Theodore says “While you unwind on your own or hit the city’s burgeoning restaurant scene, your dog can enjoy its own in-room massages, acupuncture, psychic readings, or reiki treatments.”
• The turndown and check out services for your dog at the Ivy Hotel in Baltimore are special: “For nightly turndown, guests are treated to handmade chocolate truffles, while dogs are given dental dog treats, presented on nothing less than a silver tray. When it’s time to leave, the hotel packs up a silicon pop-up water bowl, a bottle of spring water, and a to-go lunch box filled with homemade snacks to keep your pup happy on the ride home.”

What’s the secret?

I could go on and on about the treatment our canine friends are getting, but that is not the point (unless this was an article about traveling with dogs, which it is only tangentially).

What it really is about is the several marketing lessons that you can learn from this.

Do you have a high end service or product?

Up to 20% will buy the best just because it is the best. Additionally, if you have, say a Bronze, Silver and Gold lever of service, and really want them to choose Gold, think about adding a Platinum level that is priced significantly higher than the Gold package (and adds some more items that are not in Gold). This helps you twofold. One, the people who must have the best will choose Platinum so if you did not have it, you left money on the table. Two, the people on the fence between Silver and Gold will look at the Platinum and say something like, “I would really like that Platinum package, but it is more than I planned on spending, but I can get most of it with the Gold package, so I’ll easily choose that over Silver.” Bingo, you get what you want and they really get the best value package. Win-win!

Are you marketing to the affluent?

I get the Robb Report magazine where they regularly talk about $65,000 bottles of Scotch, or $12,000 shirts, or $150,000 watches or new cars priced at $1-to-3 million and up. Can I afford any of that? If I could, would I spend $65,000 on something I’m going to drink? NO and NO. So why do I get a magazine that has things that I either would not or could not buy? Because it reminds me that there are plenty of people out there who could and do buy these things. And that’s opportunity, my friend.

My point here is that some people have more disposable income than others and may very well want your product or service IF you market to them directly and cater to them.

Can you cater to pets in any way in your business?

Do not dismiss this out of hand! Think about it a little. People are VERY attached to their pets; there are some who’d say even more than their kids! Could you welcome them into your store? When you send them a loyalty gift, could you send one for the dog? Do you collect pet information on your clients? Some will be touched that you care. Could you set up some program that involves both the dog and the client together? You could simply send the dog a birthday card. The ideas are endless if you put your thinking cap on!

This is part of the larger vision of showing up differently. What can you do differently than your competition to make people want to do business with you? Catering to their pets is but one way.

Can you add some service or product that is outside the norm for your industry?

How about a Doggy and Me Day at the dentist where your dog gets picked up at your dentist by the vet and has his teeth cleaned while you are getting yours cleaned, as a package deal. Or how about going all-in and setting up a ‘joint practice’? How about Doggie and Me Acupuncture? If you are in the subscription box business, how about including a doggie section in each month’s box? Again, go all-in and create a joint doggie-and-me or pet-and-me subscription box?

Ok, let’s go way out on a limb here… start a pet-centric business.

Look, some people spend more on their pets than others spend on their kids. There are Dog Day Spas, or Dog Luxury Hotels that have TVs in each pet’s hotel room with a choice of dog-centric channels, and many other amenities for when you cannot take your dog with you.

There are plenty of people spending lots of money! Figure out a way to get your piece of it!