One of the most popular holiday events in America is Halloween. Or, as we like to call it, Howl-oween.

You may be thinking, "So what? What does that have to do with my pet groomer business?" Well, it’s the perfect opportunity to increase customer loyalty and bring more people through your doors. 

You can do many things to make the experience for your customers memorable and get them excited to come back. So get creative with your pet grooming business this year! We’ve prepared some ideas for spooky and fun ways to engage with clients. 

This post includes links to more information on how you can implement these ideas within your grooming business. It’s Halloween pawty time!

1. Create special deals and new services specifically for Halloween 

These offers are so much fun and you can be as creative as you like with them. Here are some deals and examples advertised by dog groomers on Facebook and Instagram:

Create new services that can be sold for extra with regular grooms

Offer a discount on your full groom service in October

Complimentary bandanas or bows for any full groom service in October

Do a special groom on Halloween. Offer full service to groom pets into adorable creatures of the night

2. Announce offers and deals early

Be sure to make offer announcements early so that people will have time to plan ahead and get ready for trick or treating night! 

Don't forget to stock up but also show off your Halloween pet grooming accessories like bows and bandanas! This will get people even more excited about their October appointment!

3. Sell Halloween pet costumes at a discount

Pet costumes are great! Not only will they make dogs and cats look cute, but they will also keep them warm on those chilly autumn nights. 

Make sure you have a wide range of spooky-themed items that clients will love. There’s a whole world of possibilities when it comes to Halloween costumes for pet grooming salons, from scary bandanas, collars, and bow ties to ghost sheets and pet masks. 

It would be a good idea to stock on some regular pet costumes on Halloween, not just spooky ones. This way, you’ll have everyone’s preferences covered, and those costumes get sold year-round anyway, so you won’t get stuck with inventory for too long.  

Pets can be a little tricky to dress up, and it is essential to take their size, age and personality into account when deciding on the perfect costume for them.

4. Trick or treat? Definitely treat! 

Some clients like to dress up their pets in costumes for Halloween, while others prefer the simpler pleasures - treats! We know dogs prefer treats for sure! :) 

You can offer a bag of Halloween-themed dog treats to every client that comes in on Halloween week or any client who buys a Halloween costume.

Or you could sell them for a discounted price. 

Also, on Halloween day, have treats on hand for the four-legged friends that enter your salon, whether they are your clients or not. Put a sign in the window to This is a great way of capturing the attention of passersby. It’s an opportunity to introduce yourself, and they might become future clients. 

Don’t forget to have treats for children available as well, and make sure you don’t get the dog treats mixed with the ones for children. 

5. Notify your clients about your Halloween deals with a link to online booking

If you use something like the Goldie online booking system, you can add your Halloween services to the list of pet grooming services you are already offering. You can then notify your clients by text messages or emails. 

And if you’re not using Goldie, you should! You can set up and use the online booking system free of charge, and it’s pretty easy to set up. Here’s a tutorial I’ve written about how to create an online booking system for free. Also, you can take deposits or full payments directly in the app to secure your income.

6. Offer free "spooky" Halloween photoshoots to all your clients  

This will actually generate free advertising for you. If you offer a Halloween photoshoot completely free of charge for the whole of October, your clients will most likely post or share those photos on Facebook and Instagram, which is free promotion for you.

Plus, dog owners really love taking pictures of their dogs and they'll be so happy to have a special Halloween picture from their favorite groomer.  

7. Share your Halloween dog grooming art on Facebook and Instagram

In this day and age, it's vital to have good social media accounts for your pet grooming business. Use Instagram and Facebook to show off your Halloween pet grooms.

This way, your other customers will see it and want it, so you'll be creating demand for your special services.

Don't forget to encourage clients to do the same!

8. Decorate your pet grooming salon for Halloween

Here are some easy, inexpensive ideas for turning your pet grooming space into a spooky place. Of course, when we say spooky place, we don’t mean scary. Dogs and cats get easily scared, so it would not be good to have decor items that move or make noises. 

But there’s a lot of things you can decorate that will not frighten pets.

For example, you can put plastic spiders in strategic locations around the room. You can also put up a large black cat on the wall or in a corner and then hang smaller ones from it. Add cobwebs all over the walls and ceiling or on the front door. Paint ghosts or place white sheets that look like ghosts in the window, spooking the people who pass by. 

You can also just add tiny Halloween details to your existing decor. This is a cheaper but still cute idea on how to decorate your pet grooming salon for Halloween. Your clients will love it!

Bardel Bows created a video about their favorite Fall Dog Grooming Shop Ideas. They are exciting, and some of them are precisely for Haloween: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgj9G3uhYPc

9. Give a printed guide for pet owners containing Halloween or post-Halloween grooming tips

Here’s an example that we created for your pet grooming business: 

Halloween guide for dog owners from their dog groomers:

• Be sure you're protecting your furry friend from candy this Halloween! Chocolate poisoning is one of the highest incidents seen at vets this season.
• Your dog might get scared during Halloween, so it would be best to either bring him along if you’ll be headed out, or put him in a room away from the front door with the TV on to distract him.
• If you plan on dressing your pet in a costume, make sure that it is specifically designed for pets (not dolls). 
• Do not leave your pet unattended in its costume.
• If we have dyed your dog’s fur and you decide to wash him at home, please remember that it may take more than one wash to remove all color. Especially if the dog’s coat is very light. 
• Never bleach pets! It will burn their skin! 
• Never use products like fur dye or nail polish on your pets unless specified that they can be used on animals. Just because it isn’t harmful to us humans, doesn’t mean it isn’t toxic to them. 
• Do not apply creative grooming products to their face or around sensitive areas or broken skin.
• If your pet has nail polish and you’d like to remove it, please use non-acetone nail polish remover. After removing the nail polish, wash your dog’s paws right after so that they will not ingest any of the chemicals. 

10. Create a post-Halloween contest on Facebook or Instagram

Right before Halloween, announce that next week there will be a post-Halloween contest. People will be able to submit photos of their pets, as they were groomed for Halloween. One or more lucky winners will be picked randomly. 

These have been our favorite Halloween ideas for dog grooming shops, and as we promised earlier in the article, here are some of our favorite Halloween costumes for pets to get you inspired.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IENzqSvmeOk

Shihtzu gets ready for Halloween:  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXjgf9SHq0Y

An example of a Halloween promo by Kaiser Pet Care:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGYA98o4HWc

In closing, remember to explore and have fun

Keep in mind that these are just some suggestions; the sky’s the limit for Halloween marketing ideas for pet groomers.

You’re now ready for Halloween pawty time! 

Let us know your favorite Halloween tips and tricks for pet groomers in the Facebook comments below (they only work if you’re logged in on Facebook). 

Happy Howl-oween!