AppSumo for web geeks. Gilt Groupe’s Gilt Taste announced just yesterday for foodies. Niche deal sites continue to sprout up around the passions and hobbies shared by many. Launched just a week ago in Boston is one catered specifically to pet lovers called Pawsketeers.
Pawsketeers offers on deal a week, with founder Chris Yim describing how the focus is on quality over quantity and engaging the local community. But that doesn’t mean you won’t be able to grab a 50% off Petco gift card offer — the deal running this week.
To source the deals, Yim has spoken with hundreds of dog owners about the types of deals they are interested in, and are targeting vendors accordingly. He says this works to make the conversation with vendors “very natural.” This on the ground presence he cites as being critical in his go to market strategy.
“Very often a customer will refer us to the vendor; other times vendors will reach out to us having heard of us by word of mouth,” he explained. “An ad or a poster doesn’t resonate with pet owners. They are caring for their ‘babies’ and are quite loyal to their brands and stores, so earning their trust comes first.”
With regard to the competition, like PetSimply and BarkingDeals, Yim fundamentally believes Pawsketeers stands apart. “Although PetSimply and BarkingDeals offer pet deals, we do not see them as competition and believe we offer a very different value proposition,” he told me. He went on to describe three core reasons in how they stand apart:
- Pawsketeers is a local experience (vs nationwide, wholesaler) with a community focus (e.g., partner events at local stores, a discussion board feature encourages product/service reviews and even reviews of things like parks in the community)
- Pawsketeers places a heavier focus on services (not natural at the national level)
- Pawsketeers focuses on offering value and quality (read: no 50% off dog bones offers)
While Yim would not reveal the commission Pawsketeers takes, he did tell us that it was less than that which Groupon and Living Social take. “We don’t think lower commission is why we have had such success signing up vendors,” Yim said. “We believe we offer much more of a partnership than other group buying sites and are building a valuable community of pet owners and pet offerings.”
Yim plans to continue to offer a deal per week through the end of 2011, with a goal to make its presence well known in Boston. “We feel that Boston is a very good model city for pet owners in the U.S. and would like to learn as much as we can before expanding.”
Pet lover? Check out this brand new niche deal site and help them get off the ground and running! You can also connect with them on Facebook and Twitter to follow the deals.
