Finding your Ideal Pet Business Clients

I personally struggled with this. I was trying to be super specific and that just did not work for me. I opened my mobile business in 2013 after a brief absence from the industry. I was starting from scratch. I had zero clients. I did implement a weight limit and a territory and then started to gain clients. Mobile was a pretty new concept in my area, so I not only had to teach potential clients the benefits of mobile, as well as selling my services. I also had the conundrum of having a competitor who was charging considerably less and discounted her services.

I decided I wanted Macy’s shoppers, not Walmart shoppers. I wanted clients who wanted quality work and had the ability to pay my fees. I knew I could not be all things to all people.

 I did the usual stuff Vet offices, networking events, word of mouth, social media. My biggest asset was driving my beautifully wrapped van around with a phone # and website on it. Mobile groomers are lucky in that way. They drive around a moving billboard.

My business model was to do maintenance grooms on dogs that took me no more than an hour and have a 15-20 minute drive between clients, staying within my service area. My prices were based on how many dogs I wanted to do each day and how much I wanted to work.

I deviated from that a bit in the beginning. I needed to bring money in, so I took on some larger breeds and traveled a bit more than I wanted. This is a typical mistake new mobile groomers make. Brick and mortar salon owners make this mistake as well, trying to be all things to all clients. I had work and money was coming in, but I started to become stressed about certain days when I had clients I did not enjoy, on my schedule.

I entered mobile grooming because I wanted to reduce my stress level, as well as the pets. Something needed to change. It was not going to be my pricing. That was non-negotiable. I gave no discounts unless it was on a personal level. That in of itself weeded out the Walmart shoppers. Those with multiple pets who wanted reduced fees, for the same amount of time, and work were not my clients.

I needed to do a personal audit and decide what it was I wanted and who I wanted to serve. I stepped outside of my business and looked in. My ideal client would be enjoyable, uplifting, have similar likes and desires as myself and what I have to offer them brings a huge value to their lives. I would create services that they need and want, rather than the other way around.

The business I run needed to be up to par with the client I was attracting. Was my branding consistent? Were my services easy to understand? Did my business present itself as being of quality and integrity? Was I making it easy for clients to do business with me? Would they be proud to do business with me?

A lot of thought went into who my ideal client was. I thought about clients I loved to go visit. What was it that I liked about them. Then I thought about the opposite. Those who when I saw them on the schedule, I cringed. I made a list of what I liked and disliked from my own client base.

What I decided I liked were clients who...

Lived within my service area

Owned small/medium dogs or cats

Appreciated my skills and convenience

Referred me to friends and family

Maintained their pets’ grooming on a regular schedule

Give glowing feedback

Shared the same values and morals as me

Talked about their pets and my business on social media

Had no issue paying my fees and tipped well.

Rarely cancels or reschedules

I then put faces to this from my client base. These were my current ideal clients. What do they have in common? These were the people who would get priority. There were some that were not quite my perfect clients but we're getting there. These are the relationships I focused on. And as the adage goes “what you focus on grows”.

When I talked to a potential new client, I was very aware of my ideal client guidelines. That is not to say everyone fit in perfectly, but I could tell right away when someone did not fit my business and I referred them elsewhere.

I made room in my schedule for new ideal clients by gradually weeding out the ones that did not fit and made me cringe. The ones who cancel all the time. The ones I never could make ecstatic about the job I did. The ones who made snide remarks about the price every visit and never tipped. The once a year shave downs. I thought about what these people had in common as well. How did these people (good and bad) find my business? Is there a common denominator?

Letting clients know what is important to you and what you value in life will attract people who share your like values. Like attracts like. Being authentic is important. Let them know who you are and why you do what you do. This can be done on social media, newsletters, email, your website or just in conversation and how you present yourself. Create a mission statement for your website or social media pages.

As you sort through your clients you will see common threads forming. Such as...

Certain gender

Age group

Common interests and mindsets

A particular income bracket

You also need to be aware of what makes you different from your competition. Why will your ideal client choose your business over them? Think about..

What do you do like your competitors?

What do you do differently?

What is complete, uniquely you?

There are lots of pet groomers out there. We are all doing the same thing, caring for people’s pets. Do you do something that others aren’t? There is enough business out there for everyone but shine a light on your business, so you highlight what makes you different. If you are unsure about this, ASK! Do a survey, ask clients, friends, and family for their perspective.

Also, ask your ideal clients what they want. Do a survey. Chat with them. Start a conversation, ask specific questions. What challenges do they face? Eventually, if enough people are questioned patterns will emerge. You then can provide more specific products and services to those ideal clients.

So hopefully, now you can create an imaginary ideal client. Write it down.

Where do they work?

How old are they?

Where do they live?

What careers are they in

What are their interests and hobbies?

What are their fears?

Give your client profile a name and get a visual of this person in your head. Every time you want to make a business decision run it by this client avatar. See them as someone you can sit down and chat with. This faux client will affect all aspects of your business from marketing to fine-tuning your services and customer service.

My personal goal is to continue to grow my ideal client base. This is not an overnight process. I continually work at it. However, I view this as a necessary action to run a profitable business that I look forward to working in every day. A happy, well-paid groomer is better able to serve their clients than a burnt-out, stressed groomer who hates to go to work and cannot wait to leave.

My goal is to have a world full of happy groomers!