Determining Your Price Point for Dog Daycare Services

As a dog daycare or boarding kennel owner, one of the most important decisions you will make is determining the right price point for your services. You want to ensure that you are charging enough to cover your expenses and make a profit, but also not too much that you turn away potential customers. Setting the right price point is a delicate balance, and it is important to approach it with care and thoughtfulness. If you charge too much, you're going to scare away potential clients by your prices. If you don't charge enough, you're going to eventually run out of money since you're not making enough to pay your operating expenses. In this blog post, we're going to discuss how a dog daycare or kennel owner can set their prices. Let's dive in!

Survey the Competition

One of the first steps in determining your price point is to research what other dog daycares in your area are charging. Take note of their services, amenities, and the type of clientele they attract. This will give you an idea of what the market will bear and what types of services and prices are most appealing to customers. Surveying your competition is a wonderful way to get an idea of what you should be a charging for your services. If everyone in your area is charging between $25 and $35 for a night of boarding, you probably shouldn't enter the market charging $50 a night for example. Make a spreadsheet that start tracking each of your competition's price points. How much are they charging for daycare, how much for boarding, how much for grooming, etc. This way, you can start honing in on your future prices for similiar services.

Assessing Your Costs

Once you have a good understanding of what other dog daycares in your area are charging, it is time to assess your own costs. You should calculate your fixed costs (such as rent, utilities, and insurance) and variable costs (such as food and supplies) to determine your break-even point. This will give you an idea of what your minimum pricing should be in order to cover your costs. If you don't have a good idea of your costs, you're never going to be able to adequately calculate your price points. Just randomly choosing how much something should cost is going to hurt you in the long run, because you're going to be attached to that price point with numerous clients. Increasing prices is always difficult, so why not try to get the correct price right on the first try.

Value Provided

In addition to researching the competition and calculating your costs, it is also important to consider the value that your dog daycare provides to customers. This includes things like the level of care and attention that you give to each dog, the services and amenities that you offer, and your overall reputation in the community. The more value you provide, the more you can charge for your services. Obviously, at the start, it's going to be hard to know what type of value you'll be providing for your clients. It takes a while to build your brand, as well as to find your niche and know what you're good at and what you're great at. Either way, after an introductory period, you can always start slowly increasing the price until you find your sweet spot.

When you have a good understanding of what the market will bear, your costs, and the value you provide, you can begin setting your prices. It is often helpful to offer different pricing tiers, such as a standard rate, a premium rate for premium services, and a discount rate for repeat customers. This allows you to cater to different types of customers and maximize your profits. Having tiered pricing is a great way to earn more from your customers that are willing to spend more and less from your customers that are more price-conscious. Clients that want to have some extra pampering for Fido can pay for it, while others can pay a smaller amount but still get adequate care of their pet.

One way to help you manage and track your prices, as well as your customer information and bookings, is through the use of business management software like DoggieDashboard. DoggieDashboard is specifically designed for dog daycare owners and provides a suite of tools to help you manage your business, including appointment scheduling, customer data management, invoicing, and reporting. By using a solution like DoggieDashboard, you can easily manage your pricing and ensure that you are always staying on top of your finances and your business. You can even track your different price points to see which ones you made the most money on, etc.

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