Are you still setting your prices by looking at what every other daycare and pet resort in town is charging?

Do you worry that increasing your prices will drive clients away, even though your costs, wages and overheads keep going up?

And what if the reason you’re working harder, looking after more dogs and dealing with more stress… but still not making enough money is because you’re sitting in the wrong place on the pricing ladder?

In this week’s episode of the Pet Boarding & Daycare Podcast, Dom shares highlights from his popular The Price is Right presentation and explains why copying competitors is one of the worst ways to price your services. Every market has cheap, middle and premium providers, and where you sit on that pricing ladder isn’t predetermined by your location, your competition or how long you’ve been in business. It’s a choice.

Dom explains why pet businesses should be constantly looking for opportunities to move upstream, attract more affluent clients and increase margin rather than relying on cramming more dogs through the door. He also reveals the warning signs that suggest you’re undercharging, why premium pricing can actually help you attract better clients, and why the biggest thing standing between most owners and higher prices isn’t their customers at all… it’s themselves.

In this episode, you’ll discover:

• Why You Need a Pricing Strategy – How your pricing influences the clients you attract, the marketing you do and ultimately the business you build.
• The Danger of Copying Your Competitors – Why basing your prices on businesses whose finances you know nothing about is a terrible strategy.
• The Pet Business Pricing Ladder – Why every market has cheap, middle and premium providers, and how you can deliberately move towards the top.
• Why You Need to Swim Upstream – How premium positioning helps you attract more affluent dog owners instead of competing in the crowded middle.
• Margin Beats Volume – Why simply putting more dogs through your facility creates more staff, more costs and more stress.
• The Signs You’re Undercharging – From overflowing enquiries to zero client resistance on price, the clues that tell you it’s time to charge more.

Huge thanks to our sponsor, Focus Answering Service. Remember, every missed call is a missed revenue opportunity; protect your reputation and scale your business with 24/7 live call support: focustele.com

Remember, registration is now open for the biggest Pet Boarding and Daycare Expo on the planet, which is happening at the famous Hershey Lodge. Click here to grab your ticket now!

Want to work with the World Leading Pet Business Coach?  Add your name to the waitlist for Dom’s Exclusive coaching program The Dog Daycare Success Academy now by clicking here.

Episode Highlights

[00:51] – September promotional opportunities, from Scooby-Doo Day and Talk Like a Pirate Day to turning clients’ dogs into comic book superheroes.
[04:29] – What luxury pet-friendly hotels can teach daycare and resort owners about premium upsells.
[08:29] – Dom previews his new Pet Business Pricing Power Index and introduces highlights from The Price is Right.
[10:11] – Do you actually have a pricing strategy? Why making pricing deliberate makes the rest of your business easier.
[13:35] – The expensive chicken feeder and the danger of having a “sales prevention department” inside your business.
[16:22] – Why you should never copy your competitors’ prices when you have no idea if they’re actually making money.
[20:00] – The pet business pricing ladder and why there’s no predetermined pecking order in your market.
[23:00] – Why business is a game of margin, not volume, and the importance of continually swimming upstream.
[26:00] – The clients spending $800 and $1,500 on dog enrichment and birthday experiences, plus real examples of major price increases.
[31:02] – The real business bottleneck, the fear that stops owners raising prices and the warning signs that you’re undercharging.