A New Year Brings More from IndiePet to You
As we near the holidays and the end of the year, IndiePet thanks all our members and partners for their support. Together, we accomplished a lot in 2022 and we have many fantastic programs in the works for 2023. Here is a look at what we’ve done and what we have to look forward to.
The first year of our GAME ON strategic plan focused on building a strong value proposition for retailers. We worked with our partners to create new tools to enhance knowledge and insights for business strategy, drive traffic to stores with social media tools, and facilitate promotions with manufacturers and service providers to help close the competitive gap between independent retailers and big box/online pet retailers.
And word is getting out. We nearly doubled our membership from this time last year and currently give voice to 157 retailers representing 1,500+ stores and 96 associate members committed to supporting the independent pet channel.
This growth resulted from IndiePet’s success in three key areas; creating multiple opportunities for members to become actively involved, bringing valuable and actionable insights to members, and creating tools to help members compete.
IndiePet’s strategic plan, initially informed by member feedback, continues to rely on member input to build value. With six operating members in each of four active committees, 20 plus advisory panel members providing insights and feedback on project proposals, and an active board of seven industry leaders – growing to ten in January 2023 – IndiePet has more than fifty members from all categories of membership continuously working on our mission and on high value products and services for all members. Committee work has also provided the opportunity for business leaders and owners to share and learn from each other to the benefit of their individual businesses.
It has not been only committee members who are working together. With the introduction of IndieChat, the association’s group chat model, dozens of retail members were able to come together with topic-expert moderators on chat calls to discuss pressing business issues and share practical solutions. We expect IndieChat attendance to grow in 2023 and already have an exciting lineup of topics scheduled through the second quarter. Find the upcoming events on our website events list/calendar and look for an improved registration process next year.
We reorganized our Digital Toolbox and renamed it Member Resources to house the growing selection of reports, presentations and special offers for members. If you haven’t visited in a while, check it out. Member Resources currently include:
Bi-monthly Insights reports from SPINS for trends in pet category sales for data-informed decisions on products and inventory levels to help retailers reduce costs and maximize profits.
Consumer trend data, initially presented by Michael Johnson of Finn Cady Brand and Consumer Strategies, at SuperZoo 2022 to retail members. This presentation, made available as a downloadable deck, provided data on consumers that the SPINS Insights report provides on products. Mr Johnson’s research is ongoing and future findings will be presented as videos and made available to members as they become available.
Professional-level pet nutrition recorded webinars hosted by member Kiwi Kitchens’ Dr Mark Roberts gets into the nitty-gritty of pet nutrition. Have a specialist in your business or someone who wants to be? Check out these information-rich webinars.
Sustainability Guidelines for Businesses produced by IndiePet partner, Pet Sustainability Coalition (PSC). Awareness of the importance of sustainable business operations is growing and PSC is leading the way for the pet industry. Members can gain a competitive advantage by taking recommended actions in product selection, facilities maintenance, employee engagement, diversity-equity-inclusion, and community involvement. PSC offers discounted membership and a free sustainability assessment to IndiePet members.
Digital Marketing Management Platform. Where do new customers come from? Most often these days, they find you through an online search. If they are not finding you, then you are not taking advantage of one of the best deals IndiePet made available to members in 2022 – the in-store traffic booster tool provided for an exceptional price to IndiePet members by member-partner, eTail Pet. The tool provides search engine optimization, store locator, and platform listing services.
Get access great content like this and so much more by joining IndiePet today!
Digital member resources were not all we provided for members in 2022. SuperZoo offered the occasion to bring members together for two events. Our welcome reception – well attended by nearly 300 members and guests and our filled-to-capacity retailer breakfast. In addition to events, we supported our associate manufacturer members in creating additional promotions for IndiePet members. While specific promotions were up to each manufacturer, they were only for IndiePet members, and they were in addition to regular show specials offered by manufacturers. We created digital and paper directories to help members find manufacturer-members who offered the member-only deals.
Throughout the year, IndiePet communicated consistently with members through a monthly newsletter, special direct emails from the executive director, and our blog. Blog articles covered communications from the executive director and topics of interest by subject matter experts from our membership. Sharing on social media to furthered IndiePet’s reach.
IndiePet accomplished a lot in 2022 and we have plenty more to be excited about in the coming year. Here is a peek at what members can look forward to in additional programs, insights, and resources rolling out in 2023.
Mentorship Program – This is something we are so excited about and something that members have expressed great interest in. Mentorship is a two-way program. Those who are experienced share what they know and those who are looking to make some change or improvement in their business learn from someone who has been there. IndiePet will provide industry experts in specific areas of need where retail and associate members both can go for expert help. From business expansion to retirement and succession; from adding services to your brick and mortar business to finding needed HR information and more. IndiePet is building a team of member experts available to help members navigate specific issues. IndiePet will facilitate introductions and initial sessions and ensure that mentor/mentees are in non-competitive geographic areas.
MAP Dashboard – IndiePet and partner, Price Spider, will be rolling out our long-awaited dashboard highlighting pricing activity of the best-selling pet products. This will help manufacturers and retailers efficiently address MAP violations and enhance the competitive structure and relationships of our channel.
Product Information Management Database (PIM) – IndiePet will create a tool that will become a one-stop shop for all information on products sold in the independent channel saving retailers many hours of data entry. This will be a game changer for retailers and manufacturers alike and is another big project we’re very excited to roll out in 2023.
Education Platform – Partnering with FetchFind, IndiePet will provide consistent way of accessing tried and tested practices for onboarding, training, retaining, and educating staff in an engaging way. This platform will be a two-way street, allowing members to use their own training materials with new technology, or access product specific training from manufacturers.
Operational Resources – IndiePet is working with partners to provide a central resource for vendor information and expert consultation. A member-reviewed reference center and a 24-hour veterinary service will be made available to members are also in the works.
Grooming Services Resource – We’ll be introducing a new segment in our monthly newsletter where we’ll share information provided by member experts to help you decide whether adding grooming services is right for your business. Our newsletter segment will cover everything about adding grooming services or maintaining/upgrading current services including where to buy fixtures and tools to recruiting groomers to scheduling. This is one of the hottest services in the industry and we’re excited to make this information available.
Member Resources will continue to expand. As new sales insights reports, consumer research, nutrition webinars and special offers become available, they will be added to the Member Resources. Our popular IndieChat series, covering timely topics, is scheduled through June. You can find the dates for upcoming Chats on our Events List.
As the pet industry, and our independent channel, continues to grow, IndiePet remains dedicated to giving voice and bringing community to the independent channel and to providing the tools, information and support indies need to grow their individual businesses. Working together, we can ensure a strong and flourishing future for all indie pet retailers. Members can do their part by continuing to support IndiePet through membership renewal and through sharing the benefits of membership and encouraging other indie retailers and industry supportive associates to join. May we all enjoy a prosperous new year!
