So much of shopping these
days is online. It’s impersonal.
It’s analytical. Find out
how you can sell more by
developing rapport and
engaging your shoppers
instead of just asking
questions. By attending this
session learn how you can
build a winning sales team
that can go head to toe with
online retailers and win. You
will learn:
• How to greet a customer
and what to avoid
• How to build rapport and
grow engagement with
every shopper—not just your
favorites
• How to add-on to any sale
and grow your ticket average
And more…
8:00am - 10:30am
Learn How to Create A
Social Media Plan that
Delivers the Dollars—Here’s
How: Step-By-Step Social
Media Planning to Drives
Sales to Your Pet Business
Presented by Lynn
Switanowski
South Pacific C
In this expanded seminar
session, we cover the step
by step ways for your pet
business to create a social
media marketing calendar
that will deliver the results
you want! We’ll start by
helping you create and set
the appropriate objectives
and goals for your plans.
With objectives and goals in
place, you will also learn how
to create a realistic content
calendar that will engage
customers and continually
drive results for your pet
business. Session attendees
will learn how to:
• Set achievable and
impactful social media goals
• Create a content strategy
and social media templates
for content
• Track, evaluate and refine
your social media marketing
plan for better results
Attendees will receive the
necessary templates and
tools they need to create
and replicate their planning
calendars, again and again!
Join this session and walk away
with 5 Ps for a lifetime of social
media success: Prior Proper
Planning Produces Profits!
9:00am - 10:30am
Grow Sales by
Merchandising Through
Category Analytics and
Shopper Insights
Presented by Michael Johnson
South Pacific B
In retail, your selling space is
one of your key assets—are
you doing everything you can
to maximize sales and profit
within this finite and valuable
resource? Make sure you have
current information and the
right tools to succeed! In this
fun and informative session,
we will examine several new
and timely category trends
and benchmarks, and then
look at examples of retail
analyses and metrics you can
employ to ensure that you are
attracting the key shoppers
in your area and satisfying
their needs; that your shelf
space is allocated effectively
among categories; and that
your product assortment is
shopper-centric, optimized
and productive. Be prepared
to take an analytical approach
to your business—join
us to learn how the right
information makes all the
difference!
9:30am - 10:30am
The Expert Factor: How
to Become an In-House
Authority on Small Animal
Nutrition
Presented by Micah Kohles
South Pacific A
Food options for dogs, cats
and small animals often look
the same, carrying similar
health and nutrition claims,
but looks can be deceiving.
Join Dr. Micah Kohles of
Oxbow Animal Health as
he discusses the unique
nutritional needs of dogs,
cats and small herbivores,
how to see through the
marketing, and how an
educated, appropriate
nutritional recommendation
is the single most important
guidance you can provide to
your customers.
11:00am - 12:00pm
Visual Merchandising
for Sales: The Secrets to
Successful Displays
Presented by Bob Phibbs
South Pacific A
Displays are your silent
salesperson, from the
intriguing windows to the
impulse items at the counter.
Great visual merchandising
skills are the foundation of a
healthy retail business. You’ll
learn how to design displays
to ensure customers do
actually walk through your
store—AND BUY. You’ll learn
the answer once and for all
to that age-old question,
“Where do you want me to
put this?” You will discover
how to:
• Identify traffic patterns in
your store
• Utilize a 10-step process to
merchandise your store
• Apply lessons learned from
real-life examples
11:00am - 12:00pm
Why you Need the Social
Selling Mindset
Presented by Crystal Vilkaitis
South Pacific B
Having an attitude of success
is vital to reaching your
goals. The Social Selling
Mindset is a tried and true
outlook that helps businesses
engage with customers, get
more online and foot traffic
and see a boost in sales. It’s
the one tactic your business
can’t live without. During this
seminar, you’ll hear:
• Exactly what the Social
Selling Mindset is, and why
businesses that don’t have
it… don’t last.
• Case studies from
independent retailers who
saw results like selling out of
items posted on Facebook in
two days, highest attended
events and breaking sales
records month over month.
• The exact steps to follow
to get in the Social Selling
Mindset and start seeing
results.
• All about your soon-to-be
favorite marketing tools.
You’ll want to bookmark
these.
11:00am - 12:00pm
Get Retail Ready: Change
Happens—What is Your Pet
Business Doing About It
Presented by Lynn
Switanowski
South Pacific C
Consumers are changing at
warp speed today. Have you
noticed that your pet store
customers are younger, have
more access to information
prior to shopping and want
all their transactions done
in a flash (whether it’s
online or not)? Instead of
getting frustrated about the
changes—it’s time to get
prepared! Attend this Retail
Ready 2017 session and
learn what your pet business
must do TODAY to start
delivering your customers
the experience THEY want to
have in your pet store.
Wednesday, July 26, 2017
8:00am - 9:00am
Lessons Learned: How to
Prepare for When THEY
Come to Town and What
You Can Expect Will Happen
Presented by Dave Ratner
South Pacific A
This is a real life session. We
have a box store opening
within walking distance from
one of our stores. I will cover
how we are preparing. Our
marketing, our promotions,
which vendors helped us,
AND I will also share the after
effects since they will have
been open for four months
while we are at SuperZoo.
8:00am - 9:00am
Instagram 2017: Why You
MUST Have It and How to
Make It Work for Your Pet
Business
Presented by Lynn
Switanowski
South Pacific C
Instagram is the rising star
of the social media world for
2017, and it’s getting even
better! Are you using it to
market your pet business?
If not, what are you waiting
for? Attendees of this session
will learn:
• How and why to make
Instagram one of the go-to
social media platforms for
any retail store!
• Learn how to use Instagram
features that make the app
more user-friendly and how
it can support your business
with insights, advertising and
contact information all stored
in one location!
• How to set up Instagram
business accounts, which
offer increased functionality
and tracking to make
posts perform even more
effectively when reaching
customers or potential
customers!
• Learn how to determine
which posts got the most
likes, comments and shares,
and what time of day
delivers the most eyeballs,
or the demographics of your
followers and how long they
spend on Instagram in a day!
If you’re ready for a deeper
connection via social media
with your customers this
year, attend this session and
learn how to make Instagram
a powerful tool for your pet
business in 2017!
9:30am - 10:30am
Put Your Best Staff Forward:
Panel Discussion with
Successful Pet Retailers
Presented by Dan Jablons
South Pacific A
The panel will explore how
successful retailers navigate
these personnel issues:
1. How do you find great
personnel? Where do you
look?
2. How do you train them?
How do you onboard them
as quickly as possible?
3. How do you compensate
them? What are some
successful compensation
plans?
4. How do you evaluate their
performance? What are the
important statistics?
5. What do you do about
letting staff go?
We will take a deep dive into
this complex area. Listen to
what other great retailers are
doing to develop and retain
great staff!
9:30am - 10:30am
Why You Need the Social
Selling Mindset
Presented by Crystal Vilkaitis
South Pacific B
Having an attitude of success
is vital to reaching your
goals. The Social Selling
Mindset is a tried and true
outlook that helps businesses
engage with customers, get
more online and foot traffic
and see a boost in sales. It’s
the one tactic your business
can’t live without. During this
seminar, you’ll hear:
• Exactly what the Social
Selling Mindset is, and why
businesses that don’t have
it…don’t last.
• Case studies from
independent retailers who
saw results like selling out of
items posted on Facebook in
two days, highest attended
events and breaking sales
records month over month.
• The exact steps to follow
to get in the Social Selling
Mindset and start seeing
results.
• All about your soon-to-be
favorite marketing tools.
You’ll want to bookmark
these.
9:30am - 10:30am
How Many Dollars Does it
Take to Market Your Pet
Store? Allocating Marketing
Dollars to Maximize Sales
Presented by Lynn
Switanowski
South Pacific C
Have you noticed that your
customers are incredibly savvy
and discerning when it comes
to marketing/advertising for
retail services and products?
Have you noticed the
“distracted” shopper who
is still researching products
even when they are standing
in front of the shelves in
your store? Where should
you allocate your marketing
dollars to ensure that your
pet business gets its fair
share of the dollars these
“connected” consumers
are spending? Attend this
session and learn how you
can, and should, allocate your
marketing dollars in order to
meet the most customers for
the phase of business you are
in. Learn how to determine
how much of your marketing
budget should be allocated to
each aspect of your business
and marketing plan in order
to maximize leads, new
customers, special events