Some pet brands are proving their lifestyle-focused models can thrive in an industry growing ever more competitive.
Hey Petpreneurs
I had a chance recently to connect with Pet Business Magazine to chat about what a huge opportunity pet businesses have to truly build lifestyle brands based on a set of values or interests they share with their customers. Building a lifestyle brand requires a brand to walk its talk – as passionate consumers can see right through gimmicky attempts at ‘faking it’.
According to J. Nichole Smith, pet industry marketing expert, brand builder and author, as more and more competitors enter the lucrative pet industry, embracing a specific identity beyond “pet lover” is essential to standing out and forming a strong bond with consumers.
“It’s not enough to have your brand based on the pet-human relationship because almost every brand in the pet industry is based on that,” she says. “The reason a lifestyle brand can be more effective is because you’re adding another element to that specialty.”
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“A lifestyle brand is out there getting their hands dirty alongside people who are living this life, whether that means creating events or creating Facebook groups or pages for people to connect,” she explains. “They are actively connected to people who share this lifestyle and showing up there just for the sake of showing up there. It’s not just a tactic for these brands, it’s truly a way of life.”
– read more –
Building a lifestyle brand based on something meaningful that you and your audience shares is a way to differentiate yourself from your closest competitors and connect with potential clients who believe what you believe and are your version of weird 🙂 This is one of my FAVORITE topics and you can find out more about ‘finding your why’ in my book The Million Dollar Dog Brand, or, of course inside Working with Dog where we’ve talked in-depth about how to build your pet brand, and how to find your points of differentiation.
If you’d like to get access to the resources above, and get expert help starting to understand how to build your brand so YOU can stand out in the crowded pet industry, be sure to sign-up here to get notified when membership to Working with Dog opens up again!