Blog Review

I read two blogs this week - Blog #1 is from a friend of mine that struck a cord with me. I embrace this mentality about going local. Over 90% of the economy (my numbers might not be exact - my memory isn't what it used to be) is supported by small business. You stop and think, wow, what about all of those big employers, those big companies. They employ a lot of people, and that they do. But it's a numbers game here. There are simply thousands of small businesses for every super large business out there, all quietly toiling away keeping their business running, not getting much PR for the good or hard job they do, or the local charities they work with, or all of the good they bring to the community.

So, I do support local, small businesses as much as possible. I think it's important, and I like to root for the underdog. I know how hard it is to start, build, and grow a small businesses first hand, and feel a kinship with all of the other small guys (and gals) out there. If we all supported each other, we would all be stronger! Local is more sustainable, it's greener, it's better for the local economy - it also feels right. It's community, not a big corporation. Small businesses operate with a conscience (most of the time), while big corporations exist without one.

I'm not sure Brenda's is the best cheeseburger in NWA tho. The Station Cafe on the Bentonville Square flips a pretty darn good cheeseburger. I would pit it against Brenda's any time. Not to knock Brenda's tho. They are good, and without it, Erin would never have found the Sysco office to pick up flour in Fayetteville on occasion.

Blog #2 is related more to BigWag. While I appreciate the economic slowdown, and what that means for everyone, including me, it makes it hard to refute every single point the author makes. It is tough. I have seen first hand what the housing crunch has done to the area shelters. I've rescued and fostered one myself.

But, here is where the rub is for me. We as a race took responsibility for the canine species when we domesticated them. A lot of the problems they have now, are a result from poor breeding practices, nutrition, and a lack of responsibility. Now, when I say poor breeding practices, I am referring to over breeding from a genetic pool that was too small to filter out problems that are now inherit to the breed, like joint and hip problems or other diseases that are common to specific breeds.

If you have never seen a dog with food allergies, then good for you. They are completely miserable, constantly itching, irritable bowels, vomiting, chewing on their feet. Lela states, "I’m going on record here to say - I really don’t love my dog that much. Kids, yes. Dog, no."

Most of the reason dogs have food allergies is because for decades we fed them crap - and you can quote me on that one. Parts they would not eat out in the wild. Parts we sure as heck wouldn't eat. Ingredients that were going to be landfill, so we found a creative way of disposing of the waste. We ground it all up, added rancid restaurant oil to make it "go down easier", and priced it to sell - by the millions of it. As long as it was cheaper than throwing it away, they were making a profit. Poor protein sources, little to no nutrient value. Most of the amino acids and vitamins are destroyed during the baking process. Dogs spent their whole lives eating "filler" we didn't want to pay to throw away, and turned it into a billion dollar industry. This is what has created the food allergies in dogs.

Our responsibility doesn't end with just better food. The Humane Society in Benton County destroyed some 2500 dogs in 2007. They had an above average placement rate, but that is still how many were destroyed. What kind of existence is it to spend your "happy, puppy months" in a cage, and then be destroyed when you reached an age that you are "unadoptable". Counties in California have reached "no kill status" with aggressive spay-neuter programs. People adopt or buy dogs (from puppy millers), and then decide they don't want it anymore. I have heard stories of surrenders because the dog didn't match the new furniture, or they got too big, or it was too much responsibility. They chewed things up, or pooped in the house and couldn't be house broken. In the end the stories are all the same - too much work or too inconvenient. This isn't responsible dog ownership. You can't just give your children back when they turn out to be too much work or are too inconvenient.

So as an argument to Lela's "Spa Products" comments - maybe this is just karma for the rest of the dog population that suffers or are destroyed because the dog ended up being too inconvenient. In the end there will always be a ton of people who will try and tell you what you should or shouldn't feed your dog. Most of what you will see or hear will come from billion dollar mega corporations whose conscience is single mindedness to turn a buck - so just keep that in mind the next time you stroll down the pet food isle.

Knowing what I know about the pet food industry, if my financial situation would prevent me from buying a better than average dog food, my dog would be eating ramen noodles and hot dogs and mac-n-cheese right along side me - and they would go apes over it. It's one way of guaranteeing humane grade ingredients! Dogs ate table scraps for centuries before we were sold on the notion of dry dog food.

The Funniest Thing I've Read All Week

I've been trying to come up with a new post today that is related to dog health, but I'm having a hard time getting past a comment that was made on our myspace page, so I thought I would talk a little bit about internet marketing and diverge a bit this week.

We are, of course, a small business. In Rogers, AR. I believe whole heartedly in our treats that we make, so selling this is easy for someone like me who isn't so strong of a sales person. But how do I tell our story to everyone out there that wants to hear it? There are definitely people who want our treats for their dogs and cats. I see them every day. But how do I reach you? Traditional advertising has not worked very well for us. We'd run coupons in the newspaper, radio ads for a month at a time, attend dog events as much as we can. There's only so much time and money you can put towards advertising.

A new trend that is emerging is "Flop Shopping". This is where someone will shop for what they want on the internet, and when they find it, they will go to the local store to get it "right now, without paying shipping". You may even do this and not even know it. Scour the internet for the best deal, find it at Best Buy, then hop over there the next day to pick it up. Even walmart.com is allowing you to ship to a store where you can pick it up for free now.

What does this have to do with marketing you say? Well, in order to be considered for a purchase, you have to have your sign out there for everyone to see, and with Flop Shopping, that sign has to be on the internet, especially if you are in a competitive market. And this doesn't mean you can just put a website up and pray people will find it. Those days are gone. You have to promote your website, optimize it for search engines, create quality links back to your site as much as possible. I have managed to get our website (www.bigwag.com) ranked in the top 12 on google if you search for "gourmet dog bakery" - all for free. I think that is a huge accomplishment, if you consider the unspecified nature of the above search query, and how many dog bakeries are out there. "Dog Bakery Arkansas" and we are number one, or any city we are next to in Northwest Arkansas.

Part of my execution has been to create as many links to my website as possible, this blog included. I love the blogs, because they give me a chance to tell you how great our treats are, or share some marketing wizardry like this. One of these links is myspace. If you have never been to myspace, be prepared to spend some time learning the ropes. Start by just creating a user page for yourself, before you delve into creating one for your business. See how this social networking phenomenon works. Find some friends, and then let the magic take hold.

Understanding your customer is a key component to any marketing, and our ideal customer target is a 46 year old female. The dating mechanics of myspace lets you zero in like a bullet to find your ideal customer (if you know them) within any mileage radius of your location. You can be as pinpoint or as aggressive as you want. It is slightly time consuming to search out these people, but the trade off is that it costs you nothing. If you have a small marketing budget, this is a great way to target your ideal customers for your marketing message, and to open 2-way dialogs with them.

So, as part of our marketing scheme, I have been "befriending" hundreds of people on myspace trying to find our target customers within Northwest Arkansas, as well as Little Rock, where we have our treats for sale at local pet boutiques. Most people either quietly ignore us or add us. Every once in awhile someone is so excited, they rush over to the store, or order online. Some people who are not very conversed with myspace do email back and question how we found them.

Someone actually responded back to me "I don't like dog people! And oh yeah, bones either! Have a nice day". Wow. I was a little taken back by this response. I wanted to respond, but what do you say to that? I finally came up with " Thats ok, I'm 100% homo sapien. Those dog people scare me too. I've never seen one, but I've heard about them. Atrocious. You too!" I didn't want to offend anyone, so I hope this wasn't too crass. She definitely was not in our red zone as far as marketing goes. Probably too young. She still might have made comments to her friends or family, and I wanted them to hopefully be positive comments, not that I ripped her a new one even if she was asking for it. I still think that was too funny. Who doesn't like dog people? I guess cat people maybe. We have a kitty corner too.

Either way you look at it, it could potentially be marketing that works - if this gal goes to work and mentions to her friends that a dog bakery tried to be friends with her - even if it were short sighted on her part in her own marketing efforts. She works at a hair salon, and all across her myspace page were adds to go to the salon where she worked at and ask for her. I won't be asking for her, since she doesn't like dog people. I am definitely a dog person, but I do have a cat too. Maybe if she were a cat person. Might depend if she were declawed I guess. I think the marketing bang I got for my buck will be more than she just got with her comment. I had never heard of her salon before, but I have now. And boy do I have a story about it, not to mention this was a missed opportunity. Did I mention our target market is female, aged 46, with disposable cash to spend? If they like pampering their dogs, they might like pampering themselves. Who does a salon and spa sell to? We have at least three salons that are on our friends list now - and they get it.

The point here really, is that you are always marketing, especially on the internet. I think this gal's comment was negative marketing and she didn't even realize it. Most of my friends are dog people - unfortunately for her. Hopefully I was positive marketing, even if she doesn't like dog people. If she tells one person about us, than it worked. If you can create some positive buzz around your business, then you are doing your job. People tend to email and comment without really thinking about it. This gets lots of people in trouble and sometimes fired. If you are trying to market yourself or your business, you need to give positive responses no matter what.

So, in an attempt to have your sign on out there in the Flop Shopping world, remember that honey gets you more flies than vinegar. It's important to have yourself out and visible where people can search and find you, but just be careful of what message you are giving out - especially with these new mediums like myspace. It's very easy to get caught up in it and not realize whats going on. Not everyone will be a fan - just don't take it personally.

BTW - I found some more people that worked at her salon on myspace, and I'm currently asking them to be friends too - we'll see if it's just her or the culture of that salon in a follow up.