WHEN I SAY our employees are part of the Dog Krazy family, I mean it. They are the faces of our company alongside Chris, our pets and me, and we include them in our mission. One way we do that is by featuring their product recommendations and pets on Dog Krazy social media. This shows them that they don’t just work for us, but that they are part of the business and we value their opinions.
In fact, we make providing feedback mandatory — it’s in their job description.
THE PROCESS
Distributors and vendors send samples, which we then match to the appropriate employees. We keep the time of year in mind, as well. For example, in summer the focus may be on licking mats as a frozen treat, and in winter on foods with warming ingredients.
The chosen employee then tries the product with their pet. If it’s a hit, they take photos at home or bring their pet to the store, where another team member can take pics with a professional camera. The photo then gets uploaded to a shared Google drive for our marketing, aka barking, specialist to edit as needed and put into a post along with the recommendation. Each Tuesday, a Crewsday post goes up on our social media.
THE RESULTS
We see so much value in our employees trying products with their pets and sharing their experiences.
First, we are able to provide feedback to our vendors, and more times than not, employee feedback influences whether we bring a new product into our stores.
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Second, with more than 80 team members, this program gives us more than enough content for our social media.
Third, our employees are much more confident recommending products they have tried with their pets — and they sell best what they use and like. And who doesn’t love talking about their pets? I know I do. We also feature the products as
“Employee Picks” at our checkout stations.
Involving employees in product sampling and recommendations not only proves to them that they are a part of the Dog Krazy family, it also shows that their pets are as important to us as they are to them. Try it in your store for all of the above reasons and more.
