Our mantra at Wiggles is to serve, not sell
Anushka Iyer, Founder & CEO at Wiggles.in
In 2021, the pet care sector saw a major boost in pet ownership, and the term ‘pandemic pets’ was coined. It also saw a monumental change in a pet parent’s online shopping behavior. A host of pet care start-ups received funding. Women-led pet care start-ups are now leading conversations and structuring innovative ways of engaging with pets and pet parents through varied channels.
Consumers will continue to hold the cards and prefer a human voice at the other end of the phone as compared to bots responding to queries even in 2022. Humans, just like pets, need the magic of touch, emotion, and real-time conversations to keep the ball rolling and that’s an optimistic way to move forward in 2022. Empathy & Quality Care
Every millennial pet parent is very attuned to their pet’s needs. Right from specific treats and pet food loved by their pets, to vaccination and deworming dates, playdates, pet parents know it all by heart. Rightfully, every pet parent expects the best when it comes to services or products. I can vouch for this since I’m a pet parent too. If a brand does not reflect understanding, care, quality, and empathy in the way it approaches its voiceless customers, be it veterinary checkups or grooming, and is unaware of its four-legged customers’ history prior to the appointment, this may create a dent in the pet parent’s eyes of how it perceives a brand. Hence, knowing your customer and fine-tuning your offerings based on their needs is a great way to flourish ahead.
Building a trusted pet care brand
When does a brand gain its customer’s trust? When it goes above and beyond to make its customers feel comfortable, when it knows what the customer wants even before they know they want it when it is not in it for profit margins, but out there facing odds and making a difference when it’s not just a fair-weather friend but a strong ally through market volatility. Trust comes in when there is transparency in dealings. Labels are clear and devoid of any hidden ingredients, communication is clear and upfront, there are no hidden costs to any service and there is a product that fits every customer’s purchase bracket. Trust also comes in through subtle word-of-mouth channels, which could be online or offline when a whole, online pet-loving community backs your brand because of the sheer effort and hard work that you bring to the game. Our mantra at Wiggles is to serve, not sell.
Creating a delightful customer experience
If you are selling a product, there will be thousands of competitors. The question is, what sets you apart as a brand and makes you number one for every customer to reach out. How well do you know your customer? The one who is buying your product and the one who is using your product at the end of the day. Are you being receptive to feedback or are you pushing it under the carpet? Do you bring your message across in the first 30 seconds of a video? Are you making your customer’s online experience seamless, can one book a service without the dreaded 404 error, address grievances in case there are any escalations? How soon is your turnaround time when it comes to making products available that are facing shortage? Does your online experience match the offline one in terms of brand voice? The existing customer is an ace when it comes to scrolling from one brand to another. Making your brand exclusive when it comes to innovative products and offerings is one way of going about it. Data helps to a great extent in knowing your customer. Retaining your customers without spamming them is an art that every brand should learn.
Innovation backed by R&D
If anything has to go hand in glove together, it has to be innovation backed by R&D. Innovation helps to reinvent old formulations when it comes to pet care with new ones that may be self-sustaining and well-functioning to create long-term value creation. And yet there are miles to go before we can get a cure for cancer in pets or even magically wipe out the mass-scale hatred there is towards strays in certain parts of society. Creating a healthier and safer life for pets is the ultimate goal. Making pet care completely hassle-free is the vision just so that more pets including our Indies can be adopted and every pet has a safe home with a healthy life to look forward to with their humans.
Expanding horizons
The small pets market shows increasing hope in 2022 since most millennials are veering towards pets such as turtles, fish, hamsters, parrots, and so on. New opportunities are arising when it comes to queries about food, nutrition, and veterinary care for these small animals. The segment shows immense promise and can be explored on an experimental basis. Wiggles.in is dedicated to curating offerings that cover the entire lifecycle of a pet right from puppy to senior years while keeping them healthy, happy and safe through pethood.
