PupJoy Leads the Subscription Box Industry by Enabling Pet Parents to Personalize Their Subscription Box Experience

For 99 percent of the subscription economy, every subscriber receives the same thing. It would be unthinkable for a publisher to create a unique magazine for each subscriber, or for a SaaS company to create a unique software tool for each customer, or for an association to create a unique experience for each member. However, that’s exactly what the most forward-thinking subscription boxes such as PupJoy do every month. Continued

It’s Okay to Be PersonalPupJoy is a subscription box service for dog owners. Its founder and CEO, Dustin McAdams, refers to these dog owners and dog parents. PupJoy takes a unique approach in the subscription economy by creating their business model around customization.

The customization that PupJoy puts into each box is what sets them apart. Dustin says, “We're a very highly customized model so we tailor everything for the dog owner from dietary needs, toy types, delivery schedules, size of dog, and size of packaging. We focus on making sure the customer gets exactly what they want for the needs of their dogs on a schedule that fits for them.”

Delighting the customer is the key to their success. Their customer service includes personalized, customized, continuity-driven, convenient services. “We curate an experience and we focus on really high-quality stuff - everything from presentation and packaging; but, at the end of the day, when we're talking about managing the business of growth, retention, making sure we don't have high churn, we believe customer service is very strategic,” states Dustin.

A Customer-Led Marketing StrategyDelighted customers not only keep their memberships, but they become part of your marketing strategy. Dustin shares that “social media and interconnectivity allows for a lot of advantages when you do the right things. We’re blessed with really good customer reviews and a lot of social sharing where some folks actually market for us. I don't think there's any substitute for the value of that. So, we focus on nurturing that and we will continue to invest in ways where we can authentically help facilitate that.” He adds, “At the end of the day I think anybody that operates in our space deals with this challenge of short attention span, highly competitive fragmented media type of market so you have to stay on top of it. I think the brands that are doing things authentically, and have really good customers, have a leg up because there is no substitute for your customers marketing for you.”

Maintaining Your Focus on the Customer’s Needs to Improve Member RetentionRetaining members is a constant challenge, and it requires a continuous focus on what the customer wants. “Once we have a customer at PupJoy, they're delighted by the flexibility of customization,” says Dustin. The customization that PupJoy offers is highly tailored. For instance, if a customer has received more dog treats than they need, they can switch it up and have an all-toys delivery, or another category. “Every box that goes out of our warehouse is, in essence, a customized box. We allow customers to choose from a number of categories, 28 in total right now. That means the picking and packing environment for every box is unique, and that means all the data and logistic operations in between that have to be very well coordinated. We offer 100% customer satisfaction on everything that goes out the door so we work very hard to make sure that we are spot on with our execution because, if not, we replace it for free.”

Going Beyond the BoxPupJoy’s success goes beyond their box. “We also have an e-commerce store - a lot of replenishment items if somebody finds something in the box they love and they want more of, or larger ticket items that typically,