March 14, 2008Comments are closed.attitude, shelter procedure
Often when people protest the cost of buying a rescue pet they get a diatribe “you’re getting a bargain!” We proceed to tell them how much desexing and vaccinations cost and all about our extensive bill at the local vet and how our organisation rarely covers costs and how time is running out for them and THEY NEED SAVING!
But does any of this help someone who thinks rescue pets are expensive realise they’re actually mistaken?
You’re much too late to change persons’ opinion of you by justifying your adoption fees – clearly, they already know what they think you’re worth. And you have a problem – they don’t think you’re worth what you’re charging.
So what would happen if you doubled your prices tomorrow? Do you think you’d lose clients? How many do you think? And why?
Meanwhile, in retail customers don’t flinch at spending $1,500 on a pet shop bought puppy and here’s the reason; that’s what they think they are worth.
Warm, fuzzy pet images are everywhere – people buy these pets because they are romantic and emotive. Puppies are full of potential and new oodle mixes are promoted as ‘the perfect blend’. That’s what people will pay for – the promise of satisfaction.
By always keeping our prices low and purporting what a bargain rescue pets are, we’ve trained our clients to want their pets cheap. And cheap means faulty. Or damaged. Or common. No wonder we attract people looking for ‘discounts’ and have trouble convincing people that our pets are worth the money!
So how do we turn this around?
Conscientious purchasing is all the rage – people like to feel like they’re doing the socially responsible thing and they get to tell all their friends how they ‘saved’ their pet… so people buy rescue pets to feel heroic.
They want a pet that says something about them. Reflects who they are. Fits their image and whether they’re actually realistic or not, has the potential to live up to their expectations. Something to nuture. Something to love them. Something that fills a need… So people buy pets because owning a pet validates them.
And this is why designer dogs sell like hot-cakes; their image is that of the ‘perfect, snuggly-wubbly friend’ saved from a glass cage. Who wouldn’t get sucked in?
Now, we in rescue would never claim to sell ‘perfect’ pets, but there is one way we can rebrand ourselves that will put us head and shoulders above all our competitors AND allow us to continue to run the ethical organisations we all strive to have.
First. Repeat after me; I will not refer to my pets as a bargain. Or free (shudders). By selling cheap pets, we train our public to expect cheap pets. Not good for many, many reasons.
Second. Acknowledge that if an adoption doesn’t work out, we WANT the pet to come back to us. So guilt-free returns MUST be part of our program. No ifs or buts.
Third. Money. If you’re truly putting pets before cash, then where’s the benefit in holding peoples money if they’d just rather have it back and return the pet? Just because it’s reasonable, doesn’t make it worth jeopardising your relationship with the public to doggedly press the issue. Have an incredibly generous returns policy (say, full money back guarantee for one year after adoption). What are you really risking?
If you’re offering all these things, suddenly you’re not selling pets; you’re offering a pet matching program that helps people find the pet that’s just right for them… satisfaction guaranteed. Save a great pet in need!
If you were looking for a pet, how much would you pay for that?
