Are you pulling your hair out trying to figure out the right prices for your pet service business? Don't worry, you're not alone. Pricing can be a head-scratcher, but it's also the key to making you more bank and keeping your customers happy. Lucky for you, Goose talks to pet service providers all day, every day. We've got some tips that'll help you think through your pricing without losing your marbles. So sit down, grab a cup of coffee, and let's get into it!
- Stalk the competition (not in a creepy way). Start by snooping around to see what the competition is charging for similar services within a 25-50 mile radius. Select competitors that most resemble your level of service and brand (these are your benchmarks). When setting or updating your pricing, it’s important to know both the full range of pricing in your area and hone in on your benchmarks that have a similar value proposition. Remember, you're not copying, you're just getting inspired!
- Shake it up with dynamic pricing. Dynamic pricing lets you adjust prices based on demand. This means more cash during peak times and more customers during off-peak times. Start with a comfy price range, then have some fun with small price moves to start. And here's a little secret: dynamic pricing can actually increase customer satisfaction. Everybody wins! Your wallet and your customers will thank you!
- Make pricing as easy as fetch. Don't make pet parents chase their tails trying to figure out what they're paying. Use a booking tool so your customers can easily figure out your availability and the reservation total based on their specific needs (like number of pets, weight, breed, and services). Trust us, listing pricing on your website like a restaurant menu just makes the whole process more difficult (and also not easy to make those dynamic pricing tweaks).
- Wrap up your popular offerings. Combine your top-notch boarding/daycare offering with one or a few of your most popular add-ons. Some creative packaging can encourage pet parents to upsell themselves into a higher booking value (or as some say, guilt-buying). And remember, you don't always have to discount the package significantly to see customer movement.
- Don't go crazy with multi-pet or sibling discounts. While these types of discounts are widely used, we often see discounts that are too extreme or aren't consistent from offer to offer. Offering a discount of 5-15% for the second or third pet on a booking is pretty standard.
- Be ready for pricing questions. When you start making tweaks to your pricing, your customers may not mention it at all (which is often what we see). But some customers will ask, so be ready to answer where they can easily find your pricing and availability (hopefully in a booking tool) and how you determine your pricing.
- Stay on the scent. The best providers take a look at their pricing 1-2 times a year, even if they don't change anything. This helps them price with confidence. At the end of the day, pricing is an iterative process as things change in the market.
Pricing ain’t easy, but hopefully, a few of these tips prove useful. At Goose, we build tools to keep pricing as simple as teaching a cat to ignore you. If we can help — ping us!
— Goose my Revenoose 🐶 🚀
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