Email Marketing Wags the Tail of Washington D.C. Area Pet Business

The pet care business is booming according to Tammy Rosen, founder and CEO of Fur-Get Me Not pet services of Washington, D.C. and Arlington, Virginia. Tammy started the business in 2000 after leaving a career in corporate IT to pursue her real passion: animals. She began Fur-Get Me Not as a pet-sitting service for cats and dogs and over the years grew the business to include services such as day care, boarding, training, and a pet taxi. Her facility in Virginia also boasts a retail shop and a do-it-yourself dog wash—in short, she provides her customers with everything they need to care for their pets.

Challenge: Sending emails that are "best in show"

Tammy started using email to communicate with her customers six years ago. She says, "I used to send out plain text emails through Microsoft® Office® Outlook, and then I realized I could probably send something that was a little more design savvy."

As her business grew, Tammy wanted the professionalism of her emails to grow as well, but she couldn't afford to spend hours working on HTML campaigns or to hire someone else to do it for her. She also wanted to measure the impact of her emails by knowing how many customers opened them and clicked through to her website—information she couldn't get from Outlook.

Solution: Professionally-designed templates and an easy-to-use tool

When Tammy was introduced to Constant Contact in 2005, she was immediately impressed by the selection of professionally-designed templates that she could choose from and how quick and easy it was to upload her list. She says, "With the templates, I could get started right away, and I could easily upload my contacts directly from an Excel file."

She also found the useful reporting features she was looking for. Tammy says, "I now review the click-throughs and reports to understand what my customers are interested in and to determine what information I should include in my future email campaigns. With Constant Contact, I don’t need to hire a graphic artist or a PR professional to create great-looking emails. In fact, using Constant Contact has probably saved me from having to hire a new person. Because of these reports, I know which topics will drive results." Also, seeing who opens and clicks on links can help Tammy know which customers are most interested and engaged.

Tammy believes that communication is the key to making her customers happy. She says, "An uninformed customer is a dissatisfied customer." In addition to event announcements and notifications on company changes, she sends a monthly newsletter with training tips, upcoming events, and spotlights of employees, partners, and customers' pets. Tammy also uses Constant Contact's survey tool to gauge her customers' satisfaction with training and other services.

Results: High on loyalty and repeat business, low on time and expense

With Constant Contact, Fur-Get Me Not sends professional-looking communications to their customers that help to build and reinforce the company's image. Their emails provide valuable information that reminds customers about the services they have available, reinforces the staff's experience, and keeps customers returning.

Tammy says, "The emails we send help instill loyalty for Fur-Get Me Not in our customers. I know that what I'm sending makes a difference when I see them clicking through to the website or when I receive 'thank you's' from the customers in response to a newsletter."

Tammy has accomplished all this with minimal investment of time and money. She says that Constant Contact is so easy to use that she is able to delegate to staff members who are not at all tech-savvy. She says, "With Constant Contact, I don't need to hire a graphic artist or a PR professional to create great-looking emails. In fact, using Constant Contact has probably saved me from having to hire a new person."

Fur-Get Me Not is one happy puppy when it comes to Constant Contact. Tammy says, "We use Constant Contact so much now, I can't imagine operating my business without it!"