The greater the obstacle, the more glory in overcoming it. -Molière

Consumers love to shop and love to buy things for their fur babies. However in the midst of a crowded industry, marketers are up against a multitude of challenges to have their brands seen, messages received and pet products purchased. That said, a well-thought-out brand, supported by a comprehensive top-to-bottom marketing strategy, are necessary to overcome these challenges.

We compiled a list of the 5 most common marketing and branding challenges we hear from our clients and ways to conquer each!

1. We always have trouble creating content that engages our audience.

As time evolves, so do the various communication channels consumers use. It seems like once you have one platform figured out, it evolves or new ones emerge, making it a continuous learning curve to keep up with the most effective ways to use each one.

However challenging as it may seem, it’s worth it to invest the time and resources in figuring out which platforms work best to reach pet parents and then building the right content for each.

“Research shows that content marketing generates over three times as many leads as outbound marketing and costs 62% less (source)."

Here are some questions you can ask yourself before posting your content on any platform:

What objective are you trying to meet with this content? Are you teaching your audience something? Are you asking them to take action? Once you have identified your objective, you will know if you are delivering a clear & concise message with enough value to engage your reader.

Are you solving a problem or creating an experience, rather than trying to sell something?

As a whole, does it stay true to who you are as a brand? Is your message, tone and personality on point?

Have you asked open-ended questions to start a conversation? The more you get to know your consumers, the more loyal and deeper the connection will be with each.

2. We know who our competitors are but don’t know how to effectively communicate why our products are different.

The goal of any brand should be to stand out from its competitors. To do this you must identify your entire competitive set, define what makes you different and then own it. This is called positioning and it happens when you claim a space in the industry that is unique from anything else a consumer could find.

You could be differentiated on your value proposition, your brand personality, your product attributes, or a number of other things.

The important thing is to know what makes you different and then communicate it every chance you get. Communicate it through words, actions, visuals, product innovation, content strategy, channel strategy…everything.

3. We don't understand which tactics and strategies need to be built and how to effectively follow them.

A strategy is defined as “a plan of action or policy designed to achieve a major or overall aim.” So creating effective strategies should always start with what you are aiming to achieve for the year (your objectives). Ideally, you want to have three to five objectives for the year that each cover a different bucket, e.g. growth, reputation, innovation, diversification, etc.

It’s important to document how all of these objectives will be measured, as well as the strategies and tactics you will implement to meet them.

Once you have all of this documented, everyone should have access to the information and understand how their role affects the strategy. For help building the strongest and most effective strategy for your business, download our “Pet Product Marketing Guide”. It contains 11 questions and action steps to help brands gain clarity on the next steps they should take to improve their marketing strategy. A few examples:

Do you know which three marketing initiatives resulted in the best ROI in the past year? And which three resulted in the worst?
Have you mapped your marketing activities to your sales funnel? Do you know which KPIs to measure and when?
Does your company have a brand promise, position and personality established?

4. We know who our target consumer is, but have trouble connecting with her.

In today’s connected world, consumers have come to expect a frictionless online purchase experience, always-on customer service, cross-platform brand consistency and ever-increasing product quality. Therefore, thinking through these details has become vital to meeting customer expectations.

A Microsoft Customer Service survey found that “68% of 18 – 34-year-old consumers have stopped doing business with a brand due to a single poor customer service experience.”

In order to meet your customers’ expectations, you must first have a greater understanding of what they want versus what you’re offering them in terms of experience. Think through the processes and touch points you have put in place: How easy is it to navigate your purchase funnel? How do you show you value customer service? Is your brand consistent across all of your channels?

And to really ensure you are on point, it’s always best to conduct customer research. Consider having some consumer research completed with your target consumers so you can get genuine answers to your questions. Or at the very least, enhance the way you gain insight from your customers to understand how you can improve.

For more on this topic, read How the Expectation Economy Impacts the Pet Industry.

5. We track so many analytics - we often feel overwhelmed and not sure which numbers carry more weight than others.

With all of the effective marketing reporting tools in place today, you have no excuse to be without metrics on any of the tactics you have in place. But remember, it is the key performance indicators you should be measuring. Meaning just because you can measure it, doesn’t mean you have to. Only pay attention to the numbers that will show you how you’re reaching your higher level goals and objectives.

If this common challenge is something your team comes up against, it’s helpful to start back at the beginning. Pull out your marketing strategy for the year, and really think about the objectives you’re working toward. What numbers and goals can you measure that will lead you to reaching those objectives?

Marketing to consumers will always have its challenges, but always remember there is a solution. If a fresh perspective or professional consultation is something you are interested in to overcome your pain points or to just help get you started in the right direction, don’t hesitate to contact us to schedule a call so we can learn about your brand and give you a better understanding of what opportunities you have to build a stronger name and reputation.