Pricing With Purpose PT 2: Boosting the Bark - Unleashing Success with Value-Added Sales Strategies

You're not just grooming dogs; you’re turning it into an epic experience. It’s like adding sprinkles to ice cream - you’re making everything way more exciting! Let’s dive into the world of “value-added sales”. Trust me, it’s like giving your grooming a superpower boost!

We’ll help you turn dog grooming from a job into a career and help you find ways to add a little extra magic and utilize tailored add-on services for pets with problems. We’ve got the lowdown on all of the “value-add” awesomeness.

Ideas for Add-on Services in the Salon

There are dozens of potential add-on services that could be offered in the salon, but here are a few to get you thinking:

• Teeth Cleaning: Dental hygiene services, including teeth cleaning and breath freshening.
• Ear Cleaning: Thorough cleaning of ears to prevent infections and maintain ear health.
• Nail Painting: Cosmetic service offering nail painting for pets, especially popular for special occasions.
• Anal Gland Expression: Not every dog needs this service, but when they do, we should be charging.
• De-Shedding Treatment: Specialized treatments to reduce shedding and promote a healthier coat.
• Flea and Tick Treatments: Application of flea and tick prevention products to protect pets.
• Aromatherapy: Calming scents or aromatherapy treatments to reduce stress during grooming.
• Pawdicure (Paw Treatment): Moisturizing and pampering treatments for the paws, including paw pad massage.
• Skin Conditioning Treatments: Treatments designed to soothe and condition the skin, addressing dryness or irritation.
• Hot Oil Treatments: Deep conditioning treatments using hot oil to promote a healthy coat.
• Medicated Baths: Baths using medicated shampoos to address specific skin conditions or allergies.
• Facial Scrubs: Gentle facial scrubs to clean and brighten the facial area.
• Massage Therapy: Relaxing massages to reduce stress and promote well-being.
• Color Enhancements: Color-enhancing treatments to highlight and enhance the natural color of the coat.
• Specialty Haircuts: Creative or breed-specific haircut options beyond standard grooming.
• Pet-safe Tattoos or Stencils: Temporary tattoos or stencils applied to the fur for a unique look.
• Feather Extensions: Decorative feather extensions for a trendy and playful appearance.
• Doggie Cologne or Perfume: Application of pet-safe cologne or perfume for a fresh scent.
• Therapeutic Baths: Baths with therapeutic properties, such as oatmeal baths for sensitive skin.
• Spa Packages: Bundled spa packages combining multiple services for a comprehensive experience.
• Educational Workshops: Workshops or demonstrations on at-home care, grooming tips, and health practices.

Understanding the Power of Value Addition

Service industries have been using add-on services for decades because they work! Add-on services add more value to your business than just added revenue. They help with customer loyalty, give you a competitive advantage, allow you to offer special promotions and packages, and add significantly to your profit margin.

Think of the last time you got your hair done. Did they offer you a service you didn’t ask for? Maybe they asked if you'd like your hair to be washed when it wasn’t included or your eyebrows done. Just because it may not be needed doesn’t mean you don’t want the service. It’s no different for our clients. Maybe they don't need that facial treatment, but they’ll sure like the smell and fluffiness that results when they get it.

Level Up Your Pet Care

We all started in the grooming industry because we want to help pets and provide the best service possible for them. Sometimes, especially in high volume salons, this can become difficult as time progresses. It becomes easier to feel burned out and just want to get done and go home. It feels amazing though to be able to help every animal we get the pleasure of working on! And I mean really help them! 

Many of the add-on services we offer can be tailored to help a specific issue a pet may be having. Maybe it's as simple as the dog needing a really good deshed to help it feel more comfortable. How many of us have had that really satisfying deshed where the dog is jumping with joy afterwards? So many of us!

There are numerous services that could be offered as a value-added service to enhance the level of pet care you provide. In our business, Smoochie Pooch, we offer a skin restoration program that is typically anywhere from $40-$80 on top of their regular grooming fee every week. This is a product-intensive and time-intensive process, but it’s extremely rewarding to know you've helped a pet feel better.

Customized Grooming Packages

Having the ability to tailor services to an individual pet not only benefits the pet but also increases customer satisfaction. It is a great feeling to provide a pet with services that directly impact its health and comfort. This is typically where many salon owners start “all-inclusive” pricing. The problem with all-inclusive pricing is, you end up cherry-picking what you think works best for an individual pet. So you could have two similar pets charged two completely different prices. 

Put yourself in the customer's shoes. Would you rather have the ability to choose which services and products you want for your pet, or would you rather have them chosen for you? I would like to choose them with the recommendation of the professional that is working on my pet. Customizing services also allows you to have different price points within your company, which allows you to be able to cater to a wider customer base. If everything's the same price or you have very similar pricing, it can be difficult to appeal to multiple customer bases.

Market Demand

Understanding the local market and client demands is crucial. If you live in an area where the median income is low, there may be a need for more affordable add-ons. A great example of an affordable add-on for a customer would be a facial scrub. In our company, we use a blueberry facial scrub and charge $5 for it. The cost on our end does not go up at all as we need a shampoo for the face regardless. So, we forgo our normal hypo and use the blueberry facial instead, which costs close to the same. There is also no additional time involved. So, after payroll, about $2.50 goes directly toward profit. That doesn’t seem like much, but if one of your full-time groomers completes about 120 dog grooms a month and sells a facial to every customer, that equals approximately $300 extra profit for your company in a month.

If you live in a more white-collar area, you may consider adding a service like an Ozone micro bubble bath or massage treatment. These services cost nothing in supplies (after purchasing the ozone machine), so they are low-cost add-ons that yield huge profit margins. If you charge $30 for a 15-minute massage and sell it to 50% of your full-time groomers’ customers, you would profit $900! 

$30 x 60 dogs = $1800

$1800 / 2 (payroll) = $900 profit

Promotions & Discounts

Creating buzz around monthly promotions is a helpful marketing tactic, and customers love receiving services at a promotional price! I never recommend discounting routine services, however. If you discount anything, discount your add-on services because it shouldn’t affect your bottom line. Monthly promos work great for services you know work really well. They’re also great for pushing new services you'd love to try so you can see what your customers love. 

Smoochie Pooch offers tooth brushing for $13 as a regular add-on service. It costs us about $0.13 for the supplies for the tooth brushing and very little time. One of the most popular monthly promos we run is blueberry facial scrub and tooth brushing combined for $10. After payroll, the profit for the business is about $4.50. That’s significant when you multiply that by the large amount of customers that choose to get the service.

Disclaimer: Tooth brushing in the salon does little-to-no good if the customer does not actively do the same at home. However, if the customers want to add it, why not let them? We are by no means advertising that dogs need it or that if you do a tooth brushing service at the salon, they would not need to go to the vet for normal teeth cleanings. In fact every February during National Dog Dental Month, we highly recommend our customers talk to their local vet to get their pets' teeth looked at.

Customizing The Grooming Experience

By recognizing the power of customization, understanding market dynamics and seizing the potential for innovative add-on services, we not only elevate our grooming salons to new heights but also foster lasting relationships with our cherished clients. Through monthly promotions and educational initiatives, we create a dynamic environment that thrives on continuous improvement. Let's unleash the full potential of our grooming prowess, ensuring that each pet leaves not just groomed but genuinely pampered and enriched. It's not merely about boosting the bark; it's about cultivating a legacy of excellence and care in the vibrant world of pet grooming.

Elli Bultemeier NCMG, CPAe, PTI 2592