Owning a pet is undoubtedly one of life’s greatest pleasures. In fact, 2 out of 3 households in the U.S. are proud pet owners. For many of us, our furry friends are an important part of the family – and that devotion is reflected in the $124 billion dollars spent on pet care in 2023.
A big part of being a responsible pet parent is keeping up with the required maintenance (purchasing pet food and supplies and taking regular trips to the vet, etc.). As a result, pet owners can be loyal customers if your brand provides a great customer experience – and cultivating a positive customer experience hinges significantly on the implementation of strong marketing strategies.
In today’s competitive pet retail industry, effective marketing strategies are crucial for capturing the attention of pet owners and driving sales. So, how can you differentiate yourself from the competition?
Top 5 Pet Industry Marketing Strategies
Successful pet retail marketers use a variety of tactics to build brand awareness, acquire new customers, and foster customer loyalty. Having the right marketing strategies in place can provide valuable insights to help you make informed decisions and maximize your marketing efforts.
Here are a few of the top marketing strategies we recommend for pet retailers to get the most out of their marketing dollars in 2024.
1. Utilize CTV Advertising as a Cost-Effective Video Advertising Solution
On-the-go streaming has made it possible to stream video content and provide hours of entertainment from just about any connected TV or mobile device. Connected TV (CTV) advertising offers a valuable opportunity for pet retailers to engage with pet owners through targeted and immersive advertising experiences.
CTV advertising allows your brand to take advantage of the growing trend of cord-cutting and shifting consumer behavior towards digital streaming. Unlike linear TV, CTV advertising is a cost-effective solution that is highly targeted and measurable.
Tip: Target pet owners with CTV ads based on specific demographics, lifestyles, or behavioral attributes. For example, you can reach pet parents with engaging video ads showcasing your pet products, promotions, or heartwarming pet stories during popular pet-related content. Ready to get started with CTV advertising? See for yourself how our CTV solutions can help you boost customer acquisition.
2. Leverage New Mover Marketing to Attract and Retain Moving Customers
Did you know that 78% of Americans who moved last year were pet owners? What’s more, an impressive 90% of individuals in the process of moving are open to trying new brands. These statistics highlight the valuable opportunity for pet retailers to capture the attention and loyalty of this consumer segment.
By leveraging a new mover marketing strategy, you can identify and engage with relocating individuals to retain existing customers and capture new loyal customers. For example, you can leverage a mover segment to identify households that are planning to move or have recently moved to tailor your marketing efforts accordingly.
Tip: Work with a reliable new mover audience provider to identify and engage relocating households, as well as your own moving customers. Deploy personalized email and direct mail marketing campaigns to this audience segment to ensure your brand is top of mind during this major life event. These campaigns can include a special offer specifically designed for their pets, showing your commitment to their companions’ well-being and promoting a sense of brand loyalty. Ready to turn new movers into new customers? Learn how our proprietary new mover audiences and marketing solutions can help.
3. Deploy Personalized Email Campaigns to Improve the Customer Experience
Pet retailers can leverage email marketing to deliver personalized and targeted messages. Email is an effective channel to share information about new product arrivals, special promotions, upcoming events, or helpful pet care tips.
Your email marketing strategy will vary depending on your specific goals, such as whether you are fostering your relationship with existing customers or trying to attract new ones.
CRM Emails for Customer Retention
When deploying CRM email campaigns, segment your list based on your first-party data like customer preferences, purchase history, or pet type. Segmentation keeps your emails relevant by aligning your message with your customers’ interests and needs. CRM email campaigns should focus on building customer loyalty by offering exclusive discounts, rewards, or early access to new products.
Acquisition Emails for Gaining New Customers
When deploying acquisition email campaigns, you can segment by demographics, in-market intent, interests, type of pet in household, browsing behavior, lifestyle, household income, and more. The content and tone of your acquisition emails will contrast with your CRM emails, as the initial focus will primarily revolve around building brand awareness and gaining trust, with the goal of turning recipients into loyal customers.
Tip: Automated emails make it easier to segment your customers. Use our Velocity Customer Data Platform to automate journeys that engage your customers based on their attributes, behavior patterns, and engagement levels. Create email campaigns that recognize if customers have visited your website, browsed certain product categories, opened your emails, or visited your stores. Learn more about how our CDP can help improve the effectiveness of your email marketing programs.
4. Use Social Media Advertising to Build Brand Awareness and Foster Brand Evangelism
With a wide user base and advanced targeting capabilities, platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok, and Twitter allow you to reach and engage with pet owners directly. Utilize demographic filters such as age, location, and interests to target your advertisements to individuals who have expressed an interest in pets or related topics.
Social media is an effective channel for building brand awareness since it allows for creative and visually appealing content, enabling you to showcase your products, share informative content, and leverage user-generated content to establish trust and credibility.
Tip: A successful social media marketing strategy starts with a well-defined audience. With our robust consumer insights, we’ll help you define your ideal pet owner audience using hundreds of attributes including age, gender, marital status, income, homeownership, interests, buying habits and much more. Learn more about how we can target pet parents across social platforms to help you reach more potential customers.
5. Go Cookieless and Partner with a Media Network
Access to actively shopping, first-party audiences is a huge draw for pet retailers who are trying to find new options and alternatives with the decline of third-party cookies. As a result, media networks are becoming one of the fastest-growing channels available today, representing the next evolution of advertising.
Advertising on a media network enables you to leverage the network’s existing audience base, granting you access to consumers who are in-market for pet-related products and services. So, how exactly does advertising on this channel work? Strategically placed advertisements showcase your unique offerings, highlight product features, or communicate promotional offers to capture the attention of pet owners.
Tip: Reach pet parents when they’re in-market for your products and services with the Porch Group Media Network. Our audiences are enhanced with rich insights into pet parents’ preferences, lifestyles, interests, property data and billions of purchase intent signals so you can deploy effective, personalized campaigns across offline and online channels. Learn more about how the Porch Group Media Network can help you refine and execute your marketing strategies.
Pet Industry Marketing Solutions
At Porch Group Media, we know pet parents! See for yourself how our audience and marketing solutions can help you retain existing customers and reach more potential pet owners. Let us put the purrrfect marketing strategies in place for you today.
