Seminar Series

2012 Global Pet Expo is A World of Opportunity when it comes to industry education, with a Speaker Series lineup that will give you everything from the fundamentals of pet retailing, to the cutting-edge capabilities of social media as a marketing tool. There are 21 hours of business-boosting seminars presented by the pet industry's most knowledgeable and dynamic speakers.

With a convenient schedule of seminars, beginning the day before the show, including morning seminars before the show floor opens, and others during show hours, you can plan ahead to take advantage of expertise and information you won't find anywhere else. At the first show of the year, you will hear from the experts about proven strategies that will inspire you and give you new tools to make 2012 your best year ever. Topics presented will include: Animal Care, Customer Service, Sales, Marketing, Merchandising, Financial Management and Employee Training. All seminar attendees will receive a certificate of completion.

To attend seminars, simply purchase seminar admission tickets and spend them as you wish. With the exception of Chris Miller's Retail Survival Boot Camp, seminars require one ticket ($20), as specified in each seminar description. While there is no need to pre-register for specific seminars, seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. Tickets are transferable, so you can purchase them in quantity and share them with colleagues and employees. Purchase online for quantity discounts. Don't forget to plan to include our important Pre-Show, half-day Retail Survival Boot Camp in your show itinerary (two tickets).

Seminar admission tickets are $20 each, but you can SAVE if you purchase them in quantity ONLINE, at www.globalpetexpo.org/seminars no later than Tuesday, February 21st by 5pm EST. Buy 4 tickets online and get the 5th one FREE. Or SAVE 20% when you purchase 5 or more tickets online at the same time. Discounts apply ONLY for tickets purchased online and ONLY on a per-purchase basis. Tickets are non-refundable. Tickets purchased onsite at the show will not be discounted.

Tuesday, February 28
1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Room W204
Retail Survival Boot Camp
Chris Miller, Pacific Store Design
Do you want to know how to trigger impulse sales, have signage that sells and increases traffic flow? If you are a small to medium sized retailer, get ready to improve your chances of success in today's competitive market. Over the past 30 years, Miller has designed, built and acted as a consultant in more than 3,000 retail store projects all over the world. He will share new ideas that you can implement immediately!

YOU WILL DISCOVER:

Space saving ideas
How to increase traffic flow through Loop Design
How to increase visibility with lighting and focal points
The 10 Commandments of Merchandising
Exceptional customer service tactics
Management techniques for owners and managers
Setting non-negotiable standard s
How to create a merchandising promotional handbook
How to trigger impulse sales lighting techniques
Innovative displays with specialty fixturing
Cost-conscious remodeling
Signage that sells!

Click here to purchase tickets

Wednesday, February 29
9:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. Room W204
Numbers Gibberish and the Profit Secrets They Hold
Tom Shay, Profits Plus
Free decision-making tools! Do you want to learn how to use Tom Shay's free website and decision-making tools to increase your business and profits? A former participant saved $200,000 using what he learned in this seminar. You will learn how understanding the dollars and sense of everything from advertising, inventory and financial statements can help you move your business to a higher level. This is one you can't afford to miss.

Click here to purchase tickets

Wednesday, February 29
11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Room W203B
Thursday, March 1, 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Room W203B (repeated)
FREE SEMINAR! Pet Store Pro^® — Free Online Training For Your Employees
Pet Store Pro^® is PIDA's free training program that teaches retail pet store employees the basic skills needed to succeed in a retail pet store. Topics include how to improve selling, customer service, maintenance and merchandising skills, and so much more. Employees can learn online or offline and study at the store or at home. More than 10,000 retail pet store employees have used Pet Store Pro^® to improve their skills. Best of all it's FREE. Come and learn more about this free program. Presented by Stephanie Kaplan, PIDA's Director of Online Education.

Click here to purchase tickets

Wednesday, February 29
12:30 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. Room W204
Pricing Strategies for Profits Plus
Tom Shay, Profits Plus
Can you have competitive prices and substantially increase your bottom line? Yes! Tom Shay will teach you pricing strategies that will increase your margins and keep customers coming back. A former participant increased profits by $79K after attending this seminar. Knowledge is profit. You need to be here. About Tom Shay: Tom Shay is a fourth generation merchant with over 25 years of ownership and management experience. Tom's presentations provide attendees with the "nuts and bolts" necessary to improve the operation and profitability of their businesses.

Tom has authored six books on small business and has earned the distinction of being a Certified Speaking Professional, a designation that has been attained by fewer than eight percent of professional speakers worldwide.

Click here to purchase tickets

Wednesday, February 29
3:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. Room W204
Creating Customer Love
Dave Ratner
Would you like to have customers who love you SO much that they would feel too guilty to shop anywhere else? Dave will share with you dozens of common sense, easy to implement ideas that work in the real world. He will cover:

Employee training and motivation
Store policies that respect your customers but won't break the bank
Customer service levels that are essential
Things that today's customers love, and things they hate

About Dave Ratner: Dave Ratner is the owner of Dave's Soda & Pet City, an award-winning six-store chain that boasts a phenomenally loyal customer base, and has employees who have worked there forever. Dave is a columnist for Pet Age Magazine, serves on the board of the Retail Advertising and Marketing Association, and has testified in front of both houses of Congress on matters of great concern to retailers. He is the recipient of the 2010 National Retail Federation Silver Award given to the person who has done the most for the retail industry that year.

Click here to purchase tickets

Thursday, March 1
8:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. Room W204
The Art of Visual Merchandising
Chris Miller, Pacific Store Design
Are you ready to learn 15 visual displays that are guaranteed to consistently trigger impulse sales? Learn how to keep customers in your store longer and trigger more buying decisions. Even the most veteran store owners will find new ways to reach the next level in creative merchandising. Chris Miller is an industry veteran having completed more than 3,000 retail stores in his 30-year career. Hear his secrets for achieving the next level of retail excitement!

YOU WILL LEARN:

The psychology of visual merchandising
Secret sources for making visual displays
Low cost visual ideas to make your store a fun place to shop
How to implement a visual calendar for your store
How to identify 6 key areas to use visual displays
How to integrate décor & lifestyle graphics into your retail environment
7 daily must do's
How color affects mood
How to integrate textures and finishes that are unique & simple
Murals that can change your image in less than 4 hours!

Click here to purchase tickets

Thursday, March 1
10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Room W204
Friday March 2, 1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Room W204 (repeated)
New Tools and New Tactics for Connecting With Your Retail Customers
Lynn Switanowski-Barrett

Marketing tools, tips and tales to help your retail business connect with today's wired customers.

Are you still trying to figure out how social media can help raise awareness and deliver marketing messages that turn into sales and profits? Used wisely, allowing customers to interact, comment and promote you using social media can have great benefits. This seminar will offer tips and tactics for using new media effectively in any retail business. You'll learn how to increase loyalty and customer engagement by building an online community, and you will learn how your business will gain exposure through others who've already been customers.

This seminar will share case studies and offer tips from retail businesses that have successfully used social media to increase business performance. Join us and learn how your business can create social media programs that will deliver results in 2012 and beyond.

About Lynn Switanowski-Barrett: Retail expert Lynn Switanowski-Barrett is a retail consultant, author, nationally acclaimed speaker and the founder of Creative Business Consulting Group. Lynn has worked with Fortune 500 companies such as Reebok, Aramark and Liz Claiborne. She has more than 24 years of experience in sharing her retail industry experience. She engages audiences across North America with insights that will propel sales and profits for all those who attend.

Click here to purchase tickets

Thursday, March 1
1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. Room W204
Be Your Customers' Flea & Tick Control Expert
Dr. Paris Revoir
Your customers look to you and your store associates as their trusted resources on well-pet advice. What you sell and recommend can have an enormous impact and a lasting effect on their pets' life. Being knowledgeable about fleas, ticks and other pests can help you provide a better service experience and allow you to make helpful suggestions to pet owners on these commonly encountered parasites. This interactive presentation can assist you in developing a customized strategy for parasite control for your clients, as well as adding to your bottom line. In addition, there will be an opportunity to answer any specific questions you might have on emerging issues and products.

About Dr. Paris Revoir: Dr. Paris Revoir is the National Training Manager for the Pet Specialty channel at Bayer Animal Health. "Dr. P" founded and operated PetWorks Veterinary Hospital and Pet Supplies in Overland Park, Kansas, a progressive small animal veterinary practice offering boarding, grooming and day care services. Dr. Revoir has hosted a live call-in "Ask the Veterinarian" radio show in Kansas City, MO and is currently featured on the Bayer Animal Health consumer website, www.petparents.com.

Click here to purchase tickets

Thursday, March 1
3:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. Room W204
Customer Connection 2.0 - Social Media Trends for 2012 and Beyond
Lynn Switanowski-Barrett
Posting on Facebook, tweeting on Twitter and posting on Blogs are methods used by businesses today to connect, engage, inspire and educate consumers about brands in more effective ways than ever before. Because social media keeps evolving, this seminar goes beyond just setting up a Facebook Fan Page to examine the top five social media trends and how they can help your business grow and prosper like never before.We'll explore location-based marketing on Foursquare, connecting with niche content sites, and how mobile is poised to take over as a key connection point with your retail customers. Whether you're using social media on a regular basis, or just starting out, this must-attend seminar will give you an idea where social media is going NEXT and how it can help your business connect with customers along the way.

Click here to purchase tickets

Friday, March 2
8:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. Room W204
10 Things to Do as Soon as You Get Back to the Store
Dave Ratner
Would you like to improve business without spending a fortune? This session will have you armed and ready with very simple, cost effective things you can do to boost your business. Sometimes we forget how important the fundamental rules of retail are. Dave will share with you some key things that successful independent retailers do, like:

Ways to control costs
How to make the store more appealing to customers
How to increase transactions

Click here to purchase tickets

Friday, March 2
10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Room W204
Managing Your Pet Business in the Google Cloud
Lynn Switanowski-Barrett
Finding and maintaining an edge in these very competitive times can be the difference between success and failure for businesses today. Knowing how to improve the efficiency of your business can turn into a competitive advantage. But finding the right tools to help you manage the processes can prove elusive to many business owners. In this seminar, we'll focus on how using simple, low-andno cost tools from Google can help your business become more effective! We'll share seven Google tools that your business can use to maximize efficiency and gain competitive advantage. You'll learn how to:

manage company projects among multiple users with Google Docs
ways to review your website performance with Google Analytics
how to gather industry information and educational tools via Google Reader
how to improve search engine ranking with Google Maps and Google Places listings
how to use Google Apps for email marketing, inventory management and much more.

Click here to purchase tickets