We Americans love our dogs. Our bossman is a dog – AKA Colin. But did you know that the average pet owner spends $ 10,377 in their lifetime on dog and cat food? * And The estimated spayed by US pet owners was $ 47.7 billion in 2010 according to the American Pet Products Manufacturing Association.
Household income for pet owners include:
30% $ 100K +
20% $ 50- $ 75K
19% Less $ 30K
So how does this play into your marketing planning?
Digging deeper into these numbers gives an insight into these families for making a product connection. Families with 1-3 children are more likely to own pets (40%) than families with 5 or more children (1%). It is important to dig deeper into your target demo's lives to understand their lifestyles and buying habits in order to capture more share.
What can you offer that appeals to a niche market?
We just stayed at the Hotel Monaco in Alexandria VA, a Kinston Property. What made this hotel unique was their appeal to the canine audience. The front end manager, Charlie, who is a Bichon, greeted us on their website and immediately looked to us.
Upon arrival we received a welcome baggy which contained a dog bone, directions to their courtyard for doggie walks, a plastic clean up bag, and doggie rules. The hotel offered us a hands-on dog experience as we encountered many dog โโbreeds such as a Romanian Sheepdog, Havanese, and old English Bulldogs. These pet owners are not your typical pet owners who travel while keeping "Buffy" in a kennel.
This hotel chain did their research and found a niche and market opportunity with luxury traveler pet owners. What did they have to do differently to appeal to this market? Keep the high standards of luxury travel while preventing their furry family members to stay.
Is it really a huge sacrifice to offer this unique service?
Maybe they need to pay for more cleaning services but this company made it work and work it does. It really was not very difficult or more expensive for the hotel to host the furry friends. Every night there is a doggie cocktail hour where guests get free wine and dogs get doggie treats. People gather to meet different and learn about different breeds. It was fun and worth the experience. In return both man and his best friend enjoy a well-rested break.
* 2009-2010 National Pet Owner Survey.
