PetSmart PetPerks: You Can Teach an Old Dog New Tricks

May 30, 2012 in Customer Experience & Engagement by Jillian Setzer 0

Growing up, we always had cats as pets, so when my husband suggested that we bring a puppy into our lives, I wasn’t sure what to expect—it seemed easy enough from what I’d seen on TV. As we began our search, we set the criteria for the perfect addition to our little family. We definitely needed a small breed due to the size of our home and we’d go the socially responsible route by adopting a rescue. Then we saw Millie, or rather fell in love with Millie, and we knew we were committed to puppy parenthood at that moment in time.

When we first brought Millie home, I thought we’d treat her just like our previous pets and purchase the bare necessities at less than 25 cents a can. It tastes good to them, right? However, as the trips to PetSmart  and Wolfgang’s Pet Shop continued,  so did the purchasing of costly “All Natural” food and treats, a plethora of squeaky toys, clothing, vaccinations, beds, special shampoos, grooming tools, and so on. It didn’t take long for me to realize that things may have spiraled out of control, and this was one pampered puppy. In fact, it also made me notice that man’s most loyal friend was also making me Petsmart’s most loyal customer.

PetPerks Premium Membership Can’t Run With The Big Dogs

Being an advocate of loyalty programs, I registered for the PetSmart PetPerks program almost immediately, excited to earn rewards for my irrational purchase behaviors. PetPerks offers discounts on select products and services, coupons, partner offers and pet care tips. By registering your account online, members are escalated to Premium Membership, which doesn’t seem different from the standard PetPerks membership. The program is not a points- or spend-based program (nor a surprise-and-delight for that matter), although they do display transaction history on the rewards website for some reason. Still, for $2 off a bag of dog food, I as a consumer do not see the true value of participating in the program, yet I continue to do so–hoping that one day I’ll land the coupon of the century that will justify my loyalty. Even more aggravating is the lack of Single Sign On integration for the myPetSmart online shopping portal, which consequently doesn’t recognize Premium members shopping online with “special” coupon codes. In order to use my coupon, I must login to the myPetSmart portal, add my item to the shopping cart, then login to the PetPerks program website to find a coupon code, which will be cut and pasted back onto the myPetSmart website.

Teaching PetSmart The “Tricks” of the Trade

Sit!

Ultimately, PetSmart is missing the mark on the current loyalty program. Customers are not incentivized to participate in the program other than the small discount they may offer. Additionally, by not truly recognizing their members, they are missing opportunities to communicate and engage members to spend more. PetSmart may want to take a moment to sit down with a focus group or create a survey to solicit customer feedback in order to better understand what elements they should incorporate into the program to make it a success. For instance, they may find that a common theme is the lack of relevance amongst their partner offers. Discounts on Spa Finder or TGI Friday’s seem out of place for a program targeted at pet owners. Additionally, coupons for cat supplies are not significant to a dog owner; therefore, promotions and coupons should be tied to the customer profile and preferences.

Speak!

PetSmart isn’t communicating with its members. I have opted in to emails, but I have not received one single communication since I joined the program in November other than a direct mail coupon book, which was really an up sell opportunity for PetSmart to promote training services. Communicating with your program members is essential for program success. In fact, let’s take it a step further and speak to program members on different levels. Top spending members should be differentiated and communications and promotions should be tailored to those who are truly in the “Premium” tier or segment.

Pavlov Had It Right

We’re all familiar with Pavlov’s dogs: a bell is rung every time a dog is given a treat, and eventually the dog starts salivating at the ring of a bell. Simple enough. As a program member, I respond to classical conditioning too: by rewarding a consumer’s behavior, the consumer will continue to perform that same behavior with the assumption that a reward will be received. The purpose of a loyalty program is to engage customers for increased spend and frequency. PetPerks members deserve more than a discount, they deserve to be recognized. So throw them a bone!

A little recognition goes a long way. By recognizing and rewarding program members for treating their Best Friend, PetSmart can expect increased spend, frequency, and overall participation–making PetPerks top dog.

Author: Jillian Setzer

Jillian is passionate about loyalty marketing, strategy, and working with clients to develop programs that help deliver a true experience to their customers. As Business Development Manager, she is responsible for creating strategic proposals and program designs to meet client needs. In addition, she manages all business development activities including Kobie’s client pipeline, lead generation, client acquisition, all sales activities, RFP responses, opportunities and target market assessments, research and intelligence gathering on customers and competitors, program and business model design, and so on.

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