How to Manage a Pet Store: 9 Essential Tips

Do you manage a pet store? Care services as well as pet store retail are increasingly prevalent everywhere. Today, there are a large number of people who own cats and dogs as pets. This is to say that a large population values ​​animals and their well-being.

Admittedly, owning a business is never easy since you have to be a mini expert in several fields. Facilitate the management of your pet store with these 9 tips that range from administration to human resources management!

1. Start With the Administrative Management
2. Create Your Own Brand
3. Do a Market Research
4. Choose a Point of Sale Software to Better Manage Your Pet Store
5. Manage Customer Relationship
6. Create a Website
7. Establish Advertising and Sales Strategy to Manage Your Pet Store
8. Organize a Diversified Inventory
9. Manage Human Resources

1. Start With the Administrative Management

To get things off to a good start as an entrepreneur, take the first step: establish your administrative management. Indeed, you will have to make an appointment with the designated government representatives who will be able to register your company in a business register!

When this declaration of business registration is done, you can now focus on the other administrative aspects, namely 

• compliance with the laws and legislation relating to your location and commercial field;
• accounting management.

Compliance With Laws and Legislation Governing Businesses Such as Pet Stores

It’s important to be aware of the laws governing the protection of certain animal species and to possess the necessary permits for the proper functioning of your pet store.

Like any other entrepreneur working in the commercial field, you will need to keep up to date with the laws relating to your location (province, state, territory, city, etc.).

Accounting Management for a Pet Store

Your first steps in the world of accounting for your business should be simple. Make your job easier by doing business with an accountant who can put your business taxation in order and guide you through the steps to follow.

It is also possible, if your knowledge of finance and business accounting allows you, to settle for an accounting software that gives you a certain autonomy.

What Is Accounting Software?

An accounting software brings together several computer programs and performs all the accounting tasks of a company such as the archiving and day-to-day operations (consultation of accounts, accounting entries, etc.).

Some companies will be able to offer you the necessary services for your accounting such as 

• Quickbooks;
• Acomba;
• Sage Accounting Software.

To learn more, contact them directly!

2. Create Your Own Brand

As the owner of a pet store, create a brand in your image so that your customers recognize you among your competitors. This brand creation process encompasses several elements such as the name of your business, your logo and your graphic charter.

Take the time to define who you are and where you want to be in the retail market.

• Are you a pet store that specializes in the sale of accessories?
• Are you a pet store that specializes in selling pets?
• Are you a pet store that offers pet-sitting services?

With these answers in hand, you will be able to define a unique brand identity and this will help you in the many other communications and marketing stages.

Choosing a Name

The best way to find a name that represents your company’s identity is by doing semantic and semiological research on the words that will be part of this name. This method will ensure the relevance and precision of the message broadcast by avoiding ambiguities.

Be sure to match your company name with your graphic charter in order to maximize the compatibility of future promotional or communication campaigns.

You may find everything surrounding marketing and branding too complex to manage or understand; that said, do not hesitate to do work with a marketing agency that specializes in the creation of brands if you feel the need!

Logo’s Choice

The development of a logo is crucial for your business at this stage! 

Your logo must be easily recognizable to increase your visibility.

It is possible to do business with creative agencies to manage this step; however, you could also undertake this project alone if you master creative means such as the Adobe suite, Canva or any other similar tool.

The Graphic Charter

To design a graphic charter, you must be open to originality and unusual ideas! This process involves choosing colours, fonts, typography, and other design concepts to create your brand’s visual identity.

Build a brand that appeals to your pet store customers and that represents your business well! 

Colour’s Choice

To design a pet store image that is recognizable and memorable, you will need to find a key colour to represent the essence of your pet store.

Research the meaning of the colours and find one (or a mix) that best represents you, and is also pleasing to the eye.

Once the charter has been established, your company will be able to benefit from a constant and thoughtful image that will speak more to the customers of your pet store.

3. Do a Market Research

Market research is the gathering of information about customers, competitors and emerging trends to help companies make strategic planning decisions about marketing and selling their products and services.

Market Research

Establishing a plan will help you identify and categorize the different aspects of your market research. Take the following factors into account when doing market research for the search for a commercial building: 

• the price per square metre per year;
• the accessibility of the commercial building;
• competition around location;
• the visibility of the place;
• the flow of people circulating near your business.

Also ask yourself which entrepreneurial path you want to take. 

Will your business be a franchise or an independent store? 

The experience and freedoms you will have as the owner of a business will obviously be different if you choose to open a business under the banner of an already existing franchise (e.g., Mondou).

4. Choose a Point of Sale Software to Better Manage Your Pet Store

With the advancement of today’s technological tools, take advantage of it and accept this technological assistance! 

Point of sale software is an indispensable tool to help manage a pet store.

You will save time once this type of software is implemented in your pet store.

What is a Point of Sale Software? 

A point of sale software is used to manage inventory, sales, transactions and track daily, monthly or annual statistics.

This essential tool manages commercial transactions from your pet store to your customers easily, quickly and efficiently.

This type of software is secure and efficient in its data management. A point of sale software will store its data in remote servers. This method of data management protects your business from unforeseen events beyond your control such as power outages, theft, or disasters (fires and floods).

There are several point of sale software companies. Making the right choice for your business then becomes essential to optimize your operations. Keep in mind the features you need when shopping for your POS software. Not all POS softwares is tailored to the needs of pet stores.

Important Aspects of a POS Software to Manage a Pet Store

A good POS software should have several essential features to help you manage your pet store.

For pet store management, make sure your point of sale software can support: 

• the creation of customer profiles;
• organizational reports;
• the promotions;
• creation of a central customer account;
• online sales platform integration;
• maintaining a circular economy.

Point of Sale System Hardware

A good point of sale software is used with the necessary equipment for its proper functioning.

Here is a list of point of sale equipment you should get for your pet store:

• scanners (for scanning barcodes on items);
• card readers (to allow payment by card);
• display screens (for displaying the POS software interface);
• cash drawers (to store your money);
• receipt printers (to print invoice details);
• keyboards and mouses (to facilitate navigation in the software interface).

During your search to find the perfect POS software for you, you will notice that some companies also offer hardware that you can use when purchasing the software licence. This can be useful, since you don’t have to do any extra shopping.

However, in these situations, you are constrained in the choice of equipment. It is therefore also interesting to pick a POS software compatible with a range of equipment that you will buy by yourself. 

Moreover, if one day you want to change software, your hardware can be reused.

5. Manage Customer Relationship

In order to know who your customers are, the customer relationship management strategy collects and analyzes the target market of your customers. Such a strategy establishes a dialogue with your consumers and makes them loyal to your pet store.

Customers want to shop in stores that can meet their needs in real time. Knowing this, create a multi-channel dialogue between your pet store and your customers to better understand and meet their needs.

A point of sale software’s advanced reports build customer profiles and to make you better understand the needs of your pet store’s customers.

Knowing which items sell the most and which items sell the least is key information.

Is it the bag of dry food or the new brand of catnip?

When we know the buying habits of our clientele well, targeting this clientele is more convenient.

Knowing your customers and properly targeting their needs will allow you to stand out with them. Personalized selling and targeting are integral parts of what a customer relationship management strategy is.

The point of sale software offers you an omnichannel that harmonizes and centralizes your sales on all your channels. This uniformity reassures your customers and demonstrates the seriousness of your business management.

Stay consistent in the dialogue you want to create with your customers, and your pet store will benefit from it.

6. Create a Website

There are many uses for a website. 

A website can create a sense of trust among your customers and let you take the reins of your communication through this online domain. Often, Internet users seek to confirm their trust in your business or company by checking the existence of your website.

Website Creation

Do business with web design professionals or specialized agencies to set up your first website. Alternatively, you can also pay for a licence with a standalone website builder like Wix or GoDaddy.

Traffic to Your Website

You can use this website to generate organic traffic and turn that traffic into a potential sale. E-commerce can also be a profitable option depending on the sales strategy for your pet store.

Create Online Tools to Help Your Customers

The website can also serve as a support tool for customer service and answers questions from many online; thus, saving time for your daily activities.

The concept of FAQ (frequently asked questions) answers the most frequent questions or concerns of customers, and thus, saves time in customer service.

Also, make it possible to book appointments online for grooming or pet sitting. That way, you will have to manage fewer incoming phone calls during the day. 

You can also fill your website with photos of the products you have in stock or photos of pets to help them find a family more easily.

On your website, also display the most searched information like opening hours. This will reduce the number of calls or emails you receive from your customers in a day.

In short, use your website to inform people and motivate them to come and visit the pets!

7. Establish Advertising and Sales Strategy to Manage Your Pet Store

In order to optimize your sales and ensure a good return on investment on your advertising strategy spend, it is important to focus on what works and is relevant to your pet store. 

Here are 7 of the best ways to publicize your pet store and increase your sales: 

• Have a commercial space with exterior windows to show your products.
• Hire passionate and animal-loving employees.  
• Create promotions.
• Prioritize your advertising communication in the media that are aimed at your customers (like Facebook).
• Sell related products.
• Set up an online sales platform.

To find the perfect advertising strategy for your pet store, consider establishing a clear guideline to follow.

8. Organize a Diversified Inventory

What makes the charm of a pet store is not only the passion for animals shared by your employees, but also the diversified offer of products for the faithful companions of your customers. 

Variety

Indeed, offering as much variety as possible for your customers is beneficial in this context since each pet owner has specific needs for their pets. 

Several Types of Pets, Several Tastes

You must therefore adapt in such a way as to be able to serve a Rottweiler owner as much as an owner of a Brussels griffon or a sphinx.

A Point of Sale Software That Can Help You Manage a Pet Store

A good point of sale software will allow you to create a customer profile for your customers and thus distinguish the needs of one from the other. Advanced reports will give you the option to discover your products which are the best and worst sellers. 

Supplier Orders

To be able to offer a wide variety of food, accessories and toys in your pet store, you will need to find reliable suppliers who can provide the quantity you need. 

To help you choose the right suppliers, assess what you need: varieties, quantities, etc. 

Take into account the delivery time of the different suppliers to make an informed choice. 

In particular, you can do your research online to find suppliers on your own and contact them personally.

Also, if you prefer ease, opt for a platform like OrderEase to centralize orders to different suppliers. Integrating OrderEase with good POS software saves a lot of time and greatly reduces the risk of errors when entering data.

Organizing Your Inventory

Keeping your inventory tidy makes it easier to manage your pet store. This logistical aspect is essential to identify the assets and liabilities of your business (all of your goods and services).

There are several methods you can use to manage your inventory:

• Online spreadsheet;
• Inventory on paper;
• Point of sale software.

The following table summarizes the pros of each:

Which Inventory Management Method to Choose?

Choosing the right method to manage your inventory depends on your needs. However, to manage a pet store, using good POS software is recommended to help you get your inventory in order and help you better manage your pet store. 

You might want to manage your inventory in an online spreadsheet (Excel, Google Sheets, Numbers) or by hand, to save money. After all, you can save money that way! However, a good point of sale software will save you a valuable time. You will quickly find a good return on investment.

You already have a lot to think about when you manage a pet store; make your job easier by using the right tools to run your inventory.

9. Manage Human Resources

Managing human resources well as the owner of a pet store is crucial since your staff is both your workforce and your best ally for sales and advertising.

When you succeed in finding passionate and animal-loving employees, these traits are felt in the customers. The better your customer service, the better animals are treated and cared for. Help your customers take good care of their pets and you’ll see them again very soon!

The formula is simple…

Happy Pets: Happy customers!

Keeping Your Employees

Once you’ve hired your employees, you need to make sure you keep them! This saves you from always having to train new staff.

One way to create a pleasant working atmosphere in your business is to organically establish a corporate culture. In simpler words, make the values ​​you hold dear reign to reflect the authenticity and transparency of your company in your employees. 

Schedules and Payroll

From a more traditional angle, it should not be forgotten that the aspects that most affect employees in a company are schedules and payroll. This is why it is important to respect availability and to be on top of your game with the accounting related to employees. It’s a way to build loyalty with your staff as well as build mutual respect among your workforce.

Give yourself the best chance to start your business the right way. Whether through the creation of a business or the management of human resources, equip yourself with the best tools available to manage a pet store.

Building a good brand and doing effective market research will help you pick the best building for your retail store. Create a website to help your customers and make them more loyal to your pet store.

Choose a point of sale software that will positively influence your organization and the management of a diverse inventory.

Finally, with the right tools, optimize your work and increase your sales more easily!