April 29-May 5
OUTREACH Farmer’s markets are a great way to get into the community, meet new people, promote the pet health message and get out of the store for a few weekends this summer. Investigate what it would take to get your own stand.
MANAGEMENT Start meeting with staff at least monthly to share three “good things” to build on and three “development areas.”
PLANNING If you’ve typically taken your annual vacation in July, why not shake things up a bit and opt for one in August this year? Who knows what your community’s pet needs are like in July if you’ve never been present?
May 6-12
MERCHANDISING Assemble pet travel kits that your clients can take with them as they head to the beach, lakes or mountains over the next few months. The kits could include “Live Animal” stickers, water/food bowls for crates, pet pads, carrier locks and calming chews. Or you could let customers assemble their own kits from a list of suggested items.
BRAND AWARENESS Someone, somewhere is talking about your business online. To help keep track, set up Google Alerts for your name and your business name (put quotation marks around any proper names to get the most accurate results). For the result type, click on “Everything” to receive email notifications whenever your business gets mentioned on blogs and discussion sites.
May 13-19
MARKETING Your best customers are your current customers. Identify your top 200 customers. Draft a plan to market to them in the second half of 2019.
GENERAL Print business cards for your team that include the URLs of your Facebook, Instagram, website and other social media pages. Hand one out any time you ask a satisfied customer for a referral. Or put them in a fish bowl with a sign that says, “Please take one. They’re free!”
LEGAL Check with your attorney and develop a zero-tolerance policy toward employee theft, drugs and alcohol abuse. If you have current policies, review them to make sure they are legally enforceable.
May 20-26
SALES Assign staff a research project to find talking points for their favorite brands. Ask them to come up with four bullet points for each brand that they can share at the next weekly meeting.
STAFF Give some thought to recruiting college or high-school students as summer help — especially if you’ve got people taking vacations — and how you’ll deploy them. Do not be afraid to give them responsibilities where they can show some initiative, such as cleaning up your mailing lists, retagging, etc.
May 27-June 2
MARKETING Has a customer ever asked for the name of your store or business as she writes a check or just in general conversation? That’s a sign you need to boost name recognition. Start with a prominent but tasteful sign behind your checkout, and then check your other collateral (doors, floor tiling, appointment cards, sales slips, etc.). It’s hard for people to recommend your services if they can’t remember your name.