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Pet's Rule The Home Today!
and Your Business Growth as Well!
I had a lady stop to see me about a home I have for rent. She did not bring a spouse or a room mate with her, to see the place! She brought her dog!!!
Neither was the case. She brought the dog to make sure it liked the house, and that it liked me as her prospective landlord.
Experiences such as these fail to surprise me any longer, as in the past few years people's attitudes about their relationship with their pets have changed from "pet ownership", to "pets are part of the family".
Not Convinced?
Analysts at Rover.com, which touts itself as the nation's largest network of 5-star dog sitters and walkers, released a report they've dubbed "The Truth About Dog People," detailing a slew of characteristics about owners and their relationships with their beloved pets.
HERE ARE SOME EXCERPTS:
A Dog's Role in Romance
One in four pet parents have brought their pet on a date. Most dog people (65 percent) admitted to taking more photos of their dog than their significant other. Almost half (47 percent) of those with a significant other admit they'd find it harder to leave their dog for a week than their human partner.
Man's Best Friend…and Family
Nearly all dog owners (94 percent) consider their dog a part of the family. Fifty-six percent of dog people say hello to their dog first when they come home, before greeting the rest of the family.
The majority of dog people (78 percent) would include their dog in family moments like marriage proposals, holiday cards and vacations.
Love For Our Dogs
Most dog owners (88 percent) have done things to make sure their dog doesn't get lonely when home alone, including leaving the TV on or getting a second pet.
One in three pet parents have shed a tear when leaving their dog at home. The majority of dog owners (56 percent) have celebrated their dog's birthday. Depending on your own relationship with pets, you will find this report either amusing or reinforcing to your existing values.
How This Affects You, The Cleaner . . .
1. Pet Odor Treatment:
You no longer have a choice when it comes to pet related odor problems. Your indulgent, pet owning customers need deodorizing services. More importantly, they will NOT tolerate any disrespectful or even dismissive comments about their pets habits and contribution to the problem. They will expect thoughtful, informed, and compassionate recommendations. Simply put: You must be good at removing pet odors, and be even better about how you discuss them with your customers.
2. Upholstery Cleaning:
Pets often sit on furniture next to their owner. Pet related soils (drool, urine, vomit, feces) will all need to be addressed with the same compassion and informed responses as you would for carpet.
3. Hard Surface Cleaning:
Customers who become overwhelmed with pet related "accidents" often will resort to removing carpet and installing a variety of hard floor surfaces in the home. This trend now is no longer a choice of "style", but to them also necessity. If you don't want to lose market share, be sure to be able to clean all such surfaces in the home, and be prepared to address odor and staining problems unique to these surfaces that are NOT "odor and stain proof" in many cases.
4. Area Rug Cleaning:
It nearly always follows that those who install hard floors then need to buy area rugs to go with them. Veteran cleaners already know that when a pet has a choice between urinating on a hard surface or a soft warm rug where they will "go". If you choose to clean area rugs (and you should) you must realize that with this service you will be expected to perform stain and odor miracles as a part of that service.
5. Chemical Related Fears:
Your customers will be very concerned about what products you will be using to clean and deodorizes these items and surfaces. Be prepared to offer informed and respectful assurances to your customer that your products are completely safe for their pets.
SUMMARY:
This trend from "pet ownership" to "pets are family" will not diminish. It will grow exponentially as time goes by. You can try to ignore these changes and suffer loss of your customer base and market share, or you can embrace them and find ways to build a stronger relationship with your existing customer base, and gain more customers as you show yourself to be a "pet friendly" cleaning service.
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Hi, Jim Pemberton here:
I've spent the nearly three years of the pandemic studying the effect that the explosion of pet ownership has done to the marketplace, and how you can profit from it (if you are committed to doing the job right!)
In my all new hands on class, the “Pet Friendly Cleaning and Odor Treatment Workshop”, you'll learn the following secrets to success in this field:
- Why Today's Pet Focused Consumer Buys Cleaning Differently, and May No Longer Buy it From You!
- How Pets Have Transformed Society
- What Opportunities Pet Friendly Cleaning and Odor Treatment Have for Your Business
- Your Two Biggest Pet Odor Treatment Challenges
- Why Pet Odor Treatment Involves So Much More Than Urine Odor
- Inspection Tools You'll Need
- Cleaning and Odor Treatment Products You'll Need
- Pet Friendly Inspection, Cleaning and Odor Control Processes
I'm planning to offer just one of these courses this summer, and have scheduled it far enough ahead so that you can make plans to be here.
I'll be offering this class at our training center on August 9, 2024 here in McKeesport, PA for $199.00
Class size is limited, so sign up right away!
I'm looking forward to sharing all of this exciting information with you.