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by MoeGo on Apr 29, 2025 7:46:32 PM
"If you don't know what to measure in your business, it's sort of like driving down a freeway without your headlights on at night, right? There's a good chance you're eventually going to run in either off the road or hit something really hard that's going to cause you a lot of pain."
This is how important tracking pet grooming business KPIs is to Joe Zuccarello, President of Paragon School of Pet Grooming, who’s been working in the pet industry for over 40 years. Yet, shockingly, most pet grooming businesses operate this way, and they are missing out on thousands in hidden revenue and burning out teams with guesswork.
In our recent webinar with Joe, we cracked open the key performance indicators (KPIs) that separate thriving salons from those stuck in the “hamster wheel” cycle. Below, we break down the exact metrics to track, how to calculate them, and why one tweak could double your profit margins.
KPIs 101: Why “What Gets Measured Gets Done”
At its core, KPIs are your business’s vital signs. They reveal:
- Whether you’re profitable (or just busy).
- Which groomers are overachievers (and who needs support).
- If clients secretly love you (or are about to ghost).
5 Grooming KPIs that Expose Hidden Profit (and Danger Zones)
Joe highlighted several key benchmarks that healthy grooming businesses typically achieve:
- Revenue Per Station: The $150k Benchmark
- Target: 125k–150k/year per station.
- Why It Matters: A 3-station salon hitting this range = 375k–450k/year.
- Fix Low Numbers: Optimize pricing, reduce no-shows, or add mobile services.
- Gross Profit: Gross Profit Margin: The 60% Rule
- Formula: (Revenue – Operational Costs) ÷ Revenue x 100.
- Goal: Strive to keep 60% of the money that comes in as gross profit.
- Add-Ons: Your Secret Money Machine
- Target: 75%+ clients buy extras (nail filing, teeth brushing, etc.).
- Tip: Use tools to streamline the upselling opportunities during online booking, and train staff to recommend add-ons during check-in.
- Staffing Efficiency: The 80% Sweet Spot
- Goal: Groomers at stations 80% of open hours.
- Tip: Stations sitting empty? Adjust schedules or offer walk-in promotions.
- Average Ticket Price: Know Your Average Ticket Price
- How: It's calculated by dividing the total grooming revenue from full-service appointments by the number of those appointments, or check report & insights for real-time visibility.
How to Track Grooming Business Metrics for Success
While the above are key end-result KPIs, Joe also discussed the crucial data points you need to track to ensure you're on the right path:
- Staff Efficiency: 1.25 hours on average per full-service groom = industry avg. Slower? Invest in training.
- Client Retention: Track cancellations/no-shows. A spike = service issues.
- Cost Per New Client: Divide marketing spend by new clients acquired. Understand how much you're spending to attract new customers.
How to Set Goals that Actually Work
When setting goals, avoid simply "plucking a number from the air" based on historical data. Instead, consider a capacity-based approach. Factor in:
- Your staffing levels (80% target utilization).
- The number of grooming stations.
- The average number of appointments per station per day (based on groomer efficiency).
- Your average ticket price.
For example, based on the capacity-based formula, you can:
- Calculate Max Capacity: Stations x Workdays/Month x Avg. Appointments/Day (e.g., 3 stations x 22 days x 6 dogs = 396 appointments).
- Apply 80% Utilization: 396 x 0.8 = 317 realistic appointments.
- Multiply by Avg. Ticket Price: 317 x $75 (e.g., $75 as average ticket price) = $23,775 monthly revenue goal.
Turn Your Team Into Profit Rockets (Without Micromanaging)
To measure your team’s productivity, you need four key pieces of data:
- Appointments completed
- Revenue generated
- Hours worked
- Wages paid
You can then calculate their efficiency, or simply check the KPI dashboard for real-time metrics with ticket-level details.
Joe also recommended brief, monthly one-on-one meetings (around 10 minutes) with each team member to discuss these metrics. Focus on identifying areas for improvement and collaboratively addressing any obstacles.
In addition, while commission-based pay naturally rewards productivity, you can also create incentives for employees across team.
- Hourly staff: Bonus for hitting add-on targets.
- Receptionists: Reward for rebooking rate.
- Team: Group bonus if the business hits the gross profit goal.
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MoeGo x Paragon: The KPIs Every Grooming Business Needs to Track
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