What Will Cause 90% of People to Leave Your Business? Insight From the Shopper Experience Study

Credit: 2015 Shopper Experience Study.

Consumers are willing to walk in order to pay less money on products. 93% of people are willing to purchase products from another retailer for a lower price according to the Shopper Experience Study. When price is not a factor though there are other reasons that consumers will choose one retailer over another. 48% of consumers will not choose the retailer with the lowest price in favor of convenience, loyalty programs, and return policies.

Cognizant's SVP of Products and Resources Practice Leader Business Consulting, Steven Skinner recommends three changes for retailers to make that will help tailor their business to suit customer desires. These changes may lead to greater customer satisfaction and loyalty.

1. Include store associates in digital technology rollouts: Testing of new applications should not occur once it reaches the customers’ hands. Include store associates from the beginning and allow for continuous feedback from associates.
2. Empower and train associates: store associates interact with customer and play a vital role in determining if a business receives repeat business. Train associates so they are able to exceed customer expectations. Make sure they understand what tools/tactics are available to them and when they should be used to make a sale.
3. Create a loyalty strategy that emphasizes personalization: Do not flood all of your customers with the same message. People want a loyalty program that feels unique and insightful.

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INTERVIEW: Follow-Up with Larry Evans about HomeSafe™ and AnimalTRACS™

On June 30th InfoStream met with Larry Evans the Managing Director of PetLynx Corporation to discuss what makes PetLynx offerings different from other registries and return to owner services. Read the first part of this interview. Today InfoStream will delve into the business aspects of PetLynx Corporation.  

HomeSafe™ is the brand associated with Canada’s only automated national online registry and lifetime Return to Owner (RTO) subscription for pets. Pet owners can use any online device to access and maintain current information about their pet without charge during a lifetime of human/animal experiences. AnimalTRACS™ is a portal that allows ‘ethical’ service providers in each community to assist clients, to identify pets and to support automated recovery services.

InfoStream (IS): Recently we’ve heard about some invoicing confusion. Can you help us understand what this confusion is about?

Larry R. Evans (LRE): Yes, this situation came about without warning and it was very disappointing.

Access to the AnimalTRACS™ portal is provided with an annual subscription. Until the 2009/2010 subscription year (June 1 - May 31) PetLynx invoiced Authorized Service Centers directly for this subscription. In 2009, Petsecure launched a National Microchip Program that was a collaboration that included PetSecure, PetLynx and CDMV. The Petsecure program allowed service providers who supported the Western Financial Insurance brand to have a free AnimalTRACS™ subscription, low cost microchips and certain other benefits. Although the program brought a great deal of growth to HomeSafe™, management changes at Western Financial Insurance Corporation in late 2012 made the program uncertain and WFIC financial support was suddenly cancelled in 2014.

Recently, CDMV and PetLynx collaborated to launch a new National Identification Initiative (NIDI) that expects to provide every cat and dog in Canada with a pet owner managed online record and Return to Owner (RTO) service before the end of this decade. Two invoices were sent to many Authorized Service Centers, a credit ($472.50) invoice to eliminate outstanding 2014 receivable and an invoice ($126.00) for the 2015/2016 AnimalTRACS™ subscription. The confusion stems from service centers who were supported by Petsecure, who did not recognize the involvement of PetLynx or CDMV and because they became involved after 2009 may not have received an invoice for the AnimalTRACS™ subscription.

IS: With that clarifying the confusion, can you describe what happens if a service centre no longer wishes to be involved in the HomeSafe™ program?

LRE: All PetLynx programs are opt in. When service centers are no longer active or do not wish to participate in the HomeSafe™ program, we ask for a warm introduction to another service provider in the community and remove them from the subscription billing routine, the map of authorized service centers and remove their password/access to the AnimalTRACS™ portal.

IS: Can you describe why a service center might choose to opt in to the HomeSafe™ program and maintain access to the AnimalTRACS™ portal?

LRE: In my recent discussions, there seem to be four reasons why existing service providers opt in and new service providers choose to enroll in the HomeSafe/AnimalTRACS™ program:

• They already serve some of the hundreds or even thousands of animals and pet owners registered in their community and they see this a way to continue enriching the lives of people and pets in their community.
• They enjoy being able to eliminate paperwork and immediately register microchips, tattoos and other identification in each animal record regardless of the microchip/ID supplier.
• Some service providers like pet walkers, pooper scoopers, pet daycare, groomers. kennels and breeders see HomeSafe™ as a security element for their own services and enjoy the immediate online access to the animal’s care profile, medications and contacts if an emergency occurs.
• Finally, a majority of service providers bundle the HomeSafe™ life time RTO subscription with their service as an added value. An AnimalTRACS™ subscriber may purchase bulk HomeSafe™ subscriptions from CDMV at a very attractive price ($2.00/subscription) and provide the subscription as a ‘freemium’ or discounted subscription for their clients. Clients pay $29.00 for a HomeSafe™ lifetime subscription online so a HomeSafe™ lifetime animal subscription from a veterinarian or other service provider will generate goodwill and eliminate or reduce the cost of this benefit for the pet owner.

IS: How can PetLynx sustain the HomeSafe™ system with such a low cost?

LRE: That is our ‘secret sauce’ to some degree. Suffice it to say, PetLynx has discovered a way to re-purpose brand influencer and loyalty dollars while eliminating or reducing the costs of agencies and services that require access to clients and animal information. PetLynx executes this monetization strategy while protecting the privacy and electronic commerce  aspects of each client relationship. This unique PetLynx monetization strategy lifts the funding burden from the shoulders of the pet owner, re-purposes the dollars brands already spend and ensures a more efficient model for providing services across the Urban Animal industry.

IS: Why has PetLynx moved into the lead as a provider of online services?

LRE:  We spent 8 years trying to move PetLynx services through traditional Urban Animal channels. In 2014, Dr. Drew Van Niekerk took the reins at PetLynx so I could take time to examine what was driving our success. I discovered consumer’s were driving the HomeSafe ™ program far more effectively than channel partners. At the end of 2014, PetLynx announced a ‘Moonshot’ program to register every dog and cat in Canada before the end of the decade. Now PetLynx looks for channel partners both inside and outside the Urban Animal industry who enrich the lives of people and pets in their community.

The new AVC collaboration (300,000 registrations) is a great example of the new priorities. Other programs like the vaccination/ID clinics set up by Dr. Jeff Rabinovitz to collaborate with retailers in 14 Ontario communities added 1,300 registrations to HomeSafe ™ and showed what can be done when everyone works for a common goal. Jeff has already started plans for the 2016 campaign and we will support this initiative.

IS: Thank you for taking the time to help InfoStream readers. Can readers contact you if they have questions or if they have program ideas?

LRE: Absolutely! I have learned a lot from such calls and I enjoy interaction with those who work on the frontlines where the ‘rubber hits the road’. They can call me at 1.866.PET.LYNX (738.5969). Leaving a message sends me an email with their contact information.

INTERVIEW: Larry Evans talks about HomeSafe™ and AnimalTRACS™

PetLynx Corporation has been growing by leaps and bounds, fueled largely by a ‘viral’ response from the pet owning public. Meanwhile, the industry still has confusion about what makes PetLynx offerings different from microchip databases and other registries. Recently we caught up with Larry Evans the Managing Director of PetLynx Corporation, at Thunder Ridge near Crossfield, Alberta, to ask a few clarifying questions.

InfoStream (IS): Can you help us understand the role of the HomeSafe™ system and the AnimalTRACS™ portal in the PetLynx Information Utility?

Larry R. Evans (LRE): Sure.

HomeSafe™ is the brand associated with Canada’s only automated national online registry and lifetime Return to Owner (RTO) subscription for pets. PetLynx pioneered customer owned and managed online animal records back in 2006 to ensure pet owners and communities would have lowest cost information services. Pet owners can use any online device to access and maintain current information about their pet without charge during a lifetime of human/animal experiences.

AnimalTRACS™ is a portal that allows ‘ethical’ service providers in each community to assist clients, to identify pets and to support automated recovery services.

IS: What makes HomeSafe™ different from other registries and return to owner services?

LRE: There are a number of unique elements built into the HomeSafe™ system that differentiate this system from competitive offerings:

• HomeSafe™ has the reputation of being the ‘best/only fully automated 24/7 Return to Owner community service in the world’.
• PetLynx pioneered customer owned and managed online animal records which produces the lowest cost and greatest efficacy for pet owners and community service providers ($29/lifetime for pet owners, $120/yr for non-sheltering organizations, $1,000/yr for sheltering organizations).
• Unlike most registries, the HomeSafe™ Return to Owner (RTO) system does not require pre-registration to be effective and provides free access for seven days to ensure pets get home before the legislated ‘hold’ period ends and they become the property of a pound or agency.
• HomeSafe™ is more effective than other services because it engages all pet owners and pet lovers in a community using one central online technology to provide a direct and timely reunion.
• In one western community where more than 82,000 registered HomeSafe™ users live, anecdotal evidence has shown cats being returned to their owners in as little as 4.5 hours from the time a lost report was published.
• HomeSafe™ recovers pets using any form of pet identification, collar tag or physical description using the proprietary DataSketch™ and Automatch™ technologies developed by PetLynx.
• HomeSafe™ automatically searches found reports and admissions to all registered service providers in a community so pet owners are notified when their pet turns up at a neighbour's or a registered hospital, clinic, shelter or pound.
• In addition to the RTO service, HomeSafe™ animal records provide a secure way for pet owners to store and access their animal information, health records, pictures and service providers.
• PetLynx was an early adopter of ’cloud’ technology (2006) that untethered PetLynx applications from the desktop environment so animal information could be accessed from any smart device.
• Once they have a lifetime HomeSafe ™ subscription, owners can change their locations as they travel on holidays and update their animal information without additional cost.

IS: How many pets, pet owners, and communities use this system in Canada?

LRE: Pet owners across Canada have made PetLynx the largest automated online registry of pets in Canada. The system activity is published in InfoStream at the end of each month but here are a few metrics to give your readers some perspective:

• There are 475 communities in Canada with a population base greater than 7,500. PetLynx provides automated Return to Owner services in 340 Canadian communities.
• At May 31, 2015, PetLynx supported 1,011,439 active animal records and just over 906,316 pet owners across Canada. Recently PetLynx announced a collaboration with AVC (Associate Veterinary Clinics), Canada’s largest veterinary health group to add 300,000 of their clients to the registry.
• The average PetLynx pet owner is very active and with a relationship that extends 5.6 years (2010 metric). In the 12 months ended May 31, 2015, more than 40% (428,726) of the registered pet owners logged in to update or access their PetLynx animal record.
• A unique feature of the PetLynx registry is that it allows unregistered pet owners and the general public to use the Return to Owner system without charge for seven days. In the 12 months ended 31 May, 2015, 14,122,776 public visits were supported by the PetLynx system.
• Since the system went into commercial use in May of 2006, it has supported 320,092 recovery episodes.

IS: Who may subscribe to the AnimalTRACS™ portal and access the HomeSafe™ registry in each community?

LRE: In the early days of PetLynx, an Authorized Service Center only included service providers like veterinarians or Humane and Rescue agencies. Over time pet owners showed a preference for other service providers they already trusted in an existing relationship. Today the idea of an ‘ethical’ service provider often includes kennels, day care services, walkers, pooper scoopers and other service providers who subscribe to professional standards or are members of a recognized association. The name has also changed from Authorized Service Center to HomeSafe Guardian™.

Thank you for reading the first part of InfoStream's interview with Larry Evans. On July 2nd InfoStream will reconnect with Larry Evans and tease out the business aspects of AnimalTRACS™ and HomeSafe™.