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Celebrate Doodles on National Mutt Day! Plus Plan for Other ‘Holidays’ in December and January

Upcoming ‘holidays’ offer many opportunities for special promotions and events.

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dog wearing red sweater

DECEMBER

2 On NATIONAL MUTT DAY, also known as NATIONAL MIXED BREED DOG DAY, celebrate the vast number of dogs made up of multiple types. Offer a “Pick a Mix” sale on bulk biscuits and chews. Or if you’re feeling especially bold, host a Mutt Meetup and be sure to invite all of your Doodle, other Oodle and Poo customers. That’s right. We said it. They’re mutts, too!

5 Loosen the taps, get liberal with the bubbles — it’s BATHTUB PARTY DAY, the perfect opportunity to promote your self-wash services. Many pets likely need a good scrub before the holidays.

10 Always be closing. That’s the old ABC of sales as immortalized in David Mamet’s play Glengarry Glen Ross. In his book To Sell Is Human, Daniel Pink argues that to be successful today, you’ll need to master the new ABCs of selling: attunement (seeing things from your customer’s perspective), buoyancy (bouncing back quickly from rejection) and clarity (the ability to identify what the customer really wants). On NATIONAL SALESPERSON’s day, act on these ideas.

14 The CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT is one of those rare holiday traditions blessedly free of any commercial imperative. Encourage people in your community to volunteer at their local count. The data helps protect species and their habitats, and the exercise engenders positive feelings toward all animals.

21 Winning ugly can be fun! On UGLY SWEATER WORKDAY, encourage your team and customers to plumb the depths of their sartorial history, dress their pet in what remains of their favorite sweater from the ’80s and post to your social media channels.

31 Put a bow on it. The end of the year is a natural time for reflection and goal setting. Grab a piece of paper and make three sections: Stop, Start and Continue. Set the timer for five minutes for each key area of your business, such as employees, inventory, operations, marketing, time management and even how you handled COVID-19 issues. What no longer serves you or wasn’t a good idea? These go under “Stop.” What opportunities or new ideas should you start doing? Put them under “Start.” What worked well? These go under “Continue.” Reviewing your company in this way will help you establish goals for the year ahead.

JANUARY

8 On SHOW & TELL DAY AT WORK, we have an assignment for your team: Ask each member to pick out their favorite pet food or other product. Then at the next weekly store meeting, have them do a presentation on what it is that excites them about it and how they go about selling it. They share their passion — and their sales lines with others.

14 DRESS UP YOUR PET DAY is a major opportunity for anyone in retail and grooming. From the start of the month, share your best clothing and coiffure ideas for different animals (and differently sized animals). Don’t forget to offer your assistance in putting together something absolutely jaw-dropping.

28 As Dale Carnegie noted, people rarely succeed unless they are having fun. That goes double for retail: Who wants to shop where the staff is serious and stressed? CELEBRATE FUN AT WORK DAY by rolling out a ceremony to mark a business milestone (280th groom of the year?). And be sure to tell customers how much fun you had serving them.

MORE EVENTS

  • Dec. 1 Cat Lovers’ Month. Ask your customers how they say “I love you” to their cat.
  • Dec. 4 National Cookie Day. Give out cookies as a thank you to customers — human and pet.
  • Dec. 18 Panic Saturday. Be ready with sure-fire suggestions for last-minute holiday shoppers.
  • Jan. Financial Wellness Month. Don’t have a retirement fund? Start one now.
  • Jan. National Mentoring Month. People like to help. Reach out to someone you admire.
  • Jan. 16 National Nothing Day. The perfect blank space to create your own special day.
  • Jan. 31 Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day. Share some with staff. Popping it helps relieve stress.

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NASC Media Spotlight

At first it was just an idea: Animal supplements needed the same quality control that human-grade supplements receive. But that was enough to start a movement and an organization —the National Animal Supplement Council — that would be dedicated to establishing a comprehensive path forward for the animal supplements industry. In this Media Spotlight interview, NASC’s president, Bill Bookout, talks to PETS+ interviewer Chloe DiVita about the industry today: Where it’s headed, what’s the latest focus and why it’s vital to gain the involvement of independent pet product retailers.

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