Pet Grooming Advertising Ideas to Grow Your Business

The demand for pet groomers is high. With the popularity of the golden doodle, long-haired cats, and other high-maintenance pets, the potential for growth is better than ever. However, you need to have effective advertising and customer retention programs if you want to take advantage of that demand. Here are some of our best pet grooming advertising ideas to help your business grow. 

Attract New Business

Getting new customers is a massive part of any company’s growth. If you really want to grab the attention of pet owners in your area, check out these advertising tips for your pet grooming business. 

Referral Programs

Word of mouth is a great way for businesses to grow, but you don’t have to wait for customers to do the talking on their own. Referral programs help incentivize customers to get their friends to enjoy their favorite pet groomers.  A few popular rewards you can offer for referrals include: 

• Service discounts
• Branded gifts
• Ticket for a sweepstakes
• Gift card to local pet store
• A pet photography session after cleaning

Mobile Washing

Need better visibility? Take your business on the go! Not only can house calls help make your business more competitive, but driving a branded washing truck around is also a great way to get your logo seen in your community. This also can make your business more accessible for people who may not be able to travel to your location, such as the elderly or disabled.  

Like the idea of a business on the go? Check out our blog post on pop up shops! 

Keep Loyal Customers

Loyalty Programs

While your fluffy patrons may be forever loyal, their owners can always use an incentive. Loyalty programs are a great way to turn first-time customers into return customers, and keep your regulars from moving on. Here are just two ways you can incorporate loyalty programs into your dog grooming business. 

Giveaways and Merch

Whether you’re offering giveaways as a complementary gift, a referral reward, or storefront merch your customers can buy, sending your brand home with your customers is a great way to stay top of mind with them while they interact with their pets. Branded merch also works to build customer trust and confidence in your business as they come to associate their merch experience with the quality of your company. Need some ideas for what to offer? Here are just a few of our favorite giveaways for pet grooming businesses. 

Curb Your Dog Bag Dispenser 

Everyone knows you should pick up after your dogs on the go, right? Well, apparently some people need a reminder, and passing these out with your services is a great way to help keep your community clean while promoting your brand. Compact and convenient, customers will appreciate this practical yet fashionable giveaway every time they take their fur baby for a walk. 

Lil Doggy Bandana 

The best grooming services come with a finishing touch, and dogs can really rock a bandana! While normal-sized bandanas can dwarf a smaller dog, these Lil Doggy Bandanas are made for the small but fierce dogs who want to accessorize after being groomed. Customers will love the style, and your business will benefit as your logo travels on each adorable little pooch. 

Zagasnacks Snack Pk Bag 

Good dogs deserve a treat after being groomed, and these cute custom treat packs are the perfect way to deliver them! Branded treat bags filled with doggy treats adds another level of professionalism to your business while ensuring every customer leaves satisfied (even the furry ones!) 

Check out more of our paw-some pet promotional products on our site! 

Online Visibility

When people need a dog groomer, the first place they’ll look is online. That’s why it’s essential that you have a digital marketing strategy for your dog grooming business. Here are the essentials to get you started. 

Create a Website

A website will serve as a hub of information about your company that customers can access online. Every business website should at minimum include the following: 

• Business hours
• Business location
• List of services
• Contact information
• Pricing (or a way to get a quote)

Even if you don’t have a budget for your digital marketing, you can easily find a service to set up a website with all of this information for free. However, you should go beyond the minimum in order to stand out from your competition. Other things you can include on your website include: 

• A blog: Perfect for sharing grooming facts, cute after-grooming pics, promotional events, and more.
• A sign-up for your newsletter: Mail newsletters are a great way to keep your customers engaged and informed.
• An “About Us” page: This is where you tell your story. What motivates your groomers? Why did you start your business? What do you love about your furry customers?
• Groomer spotlights: Let your customers meet your groomers before coming in. A picture and bio can go a long way in establishing trust with pet parents.

Use Social Media

Social media is a great way to get free advertising for your business and allow you to engage with current and future customers. While some small businesses may struggle with creating content, you’re lucky to have a lot of very photogenic customers. With the pet-owner’s permission, use social media to share pictures and videos of the cute animals you work with every day. You can also use your social media to share the same information you’d put on your blog and website, creating more platforms where customers can find your business. 

Pro tip: Make sure you also find and claim your business online! Claim on Google maps, Yahoo, and other places where your location and business may be listed so you ensure any information about your business is accurately shared. 

Connecting With the Community

Your business doesn’t exist in a vacuum, and it shouldn’t have try and grow without outside help. Your business is located in a community filled with pet services that can complement yours, and pet owners who want to see a good local business thrive. Here are a few ways to reach out and connect with your community for greater exposure and growth for your pet grooming business. 

Teach Kids to Wash for Fundraisers

Kids love interacting with animals, and many scouts and other youth organizations would love teach valuable work skills to kids while raising money for a cause. Bring the two together and host a dog-washing fundraiser with young but responsible helpers to spread the word and get dogs clean. Not only will this get you connections with the kids and their families, but all sorts of dog owners who previously may not have been exposed to your business will come out to support the fundraiser and see your establishment.  

Don’t let it stop there; pass out coupons and vouchers to people who come for the fundraiser so they can come back for a full professional grooming. This will give you a chance to show just how much you can do for their pets while also rewarding the people who let the kids wash their dogs for charity. 

Coordinate With Other Businesses

Find the pet shops, pet sitters, dog walkers, and other major pet services in your area to exchange promotional material. When you work with other pet-centric businesses, you increase the number of pet owners who are exposed to your brand.  

Not only will you get more exposure, but it will also happen through businesses that customers already trust, establishing a similar trust in your services. Working together, all companies involved can increase the scope of their marketing and even combine services into desirable pet care packages that will make all of your services more desirable. For example, consider the following partnerships: 

• Pet grooming with pet sitters: Dog kennels work hard to keep their pet guests happy, and having the pets groomed during their stay will increase their customer appeal.
• Dog grooming for dog walkers: What if dog walkers could also offer to take pets to the groomer? A recommendation from a customers’ favorite dog walker could do a lot for your business.
• Grooming for shelter animals: What animals need more grooming than those taken in off the street? Donate your services to shelters and include the details in your marketing. This will give you and the shelter more customer exposure.
• Pet grooming for pet shops and breeders: What if customers were told their new golden doodle came with its own preferred groomer? Customers will naturally prefer the groomer that their dog already knows and trusts.

Ready to grow your pet grooming business? Websites, partnerships, community outreach, and more are great pet grooming advertising ideas to take your marketing to the next level. In today’s booming pet industry, the difference between a side hustle and a fully realized grooming business will come down to how you market and spread your services.