AS YOU’LL SEE from this month’s special feature, “To the Rescue”, we in the pet industry are lucky to be part of a community that drops what it’s doing, bands together and leaps into action when the need arises, as it did in the aftermath of Harvey. Then Irma. Then Maria.
By press time, both the scope of the original story and that of the charitable efforts and contributions of pet companies had expanded.
While it’s a story that’s a bit of a departure for us in that it’s not immediately apparent how it falls into the Pets+ mission of dispensing business-building advice, we thought it was important to give a public nod of appreciation to the businesses, organizations and individuals who united behind a cause to provide relief efforts that otherwise would have been largely overlooked by officials.
And while the story is only partially filled with advice for your business, the underlying message of community in it is one that can only help your business grow — or recover from similar tragic circumstances — in the long-term.
Knowing there’s a community out there that cares, that you’re part of and that serves a greater good can be a powerful driver of success on its own.
We at Pets+ strive to provide similar motivation and inspiration to help you achieve success in your business, and we look at our readers as making up our own community. After all, without your input, expertise and feedback, Pets+ is just a stack of glossy paper.
We encourage you to get involved in the community by sharing your ideas, telling us what you’d like to see written — as do our Inbox writers in this issue — even reaching out and interacting with peers you see featured in the magazine.
Get started by joining our Brain Squad here: petsplusmag.com/brainsquad. We’ll contact you online monthly to briefly ask for your opinions, ideas, insights and experiences, so that we, in turn, can help share them with the greater community.
Wishing you the best in business,
Ralf Kircher
Editor-in-Chief, Pets+
Five Great Tips From This Issue You Can Try Today
- Plan a catbearding/dogbearding — or, what the hey, reptilebearding — customer contest. (Calendar)
- The best times to email customers are Thanksgiving evening, Black Friday mid-morning, Cyber Monday afternoon and one week before Christmas. (To-Do List)
- To ensure you keep things fresh next year, photograph this year’s holiday decorations. (The Big Story)
- Post your holiday hours/closures to social media and your website. (The Big Story)
- Avoid saying a flat “no” to customers by always following “no” with “but.” And be sure what comes after “but” benefits them. (Tip Sheet)