Effective Tips to Boost Adoptions: Reduce Barriers & Improve Experience

Animal shelters should streamline the adoption process to improve customer experience and convert more potential adopters into new pet parents. A new era of pet adoption that considers the customers and simplifies our shelter animals’ journeys is a sure way to increase adoption outcomes and have adopters spread the word about adoption throughout the community. 

Adopting a pet is a life-changing decision, and we must stay grounded in the fact that navigating the process can sometimes feel overwhelming. That’s why committing to continuous improvements based on customer feedback is needed to help refine every step, from marketing and initial interest to bringing new pets home. Our overall goal must be centered on eliminating unnecessary hurdles, streamlining procedures, and ensuring every interaction with shelters is positive and efficient.

Use these tips to help potential adopters find their new pets with as joyful and seamless a process as possible. 

• Simplify Applications: Reimagine (and shorten) your application process to make it straightforward and user-friendly. Less paperwork, clearer instructions, and faster responses mean you can focus on matchmaking and fast-track meet and greets to increase animal adoptions. 
• Trust Adopters: Waive additional reference checks or requirements (home inspections, landlord calls, insurance requirements, age etc.). Review HASS’s list of 27 Extremely Common Animal Welfare Adoption Practices and Policies That Exclude Adopters to consider what could be phased out. 
• Adjust (or Waive) Adoption Fees: Whether fees are sponsored or supplemented by partners or donors or “name your price”, consider adjusting your pricing to attract adopters. Research has shown that eliminating adoption fees does not reduce the human-animal bond or devalue the animals in the eyes of adopters. Empower staff to adjust prices in the moment to broaden placement options.
• Foster-to-Adopt: Offer a foster-to-adopt option to bridge adopter’s uncertainty about fit into their homes and allow them to "test drive" pets. This approach helps gather essential information about shelter pets to increase placement options, whether in that foster or not. This approach also allows potential adopters to ensure a good match, reducing the likelihood of returns and improving the animal’s overall well-being.
• Swift Customer Service: Improve the workflow for customers upon arrival with the help of scheduling tools, waitlists, volunteers, and simplified counseling and paperwork. Evaluate if your steps are value-adding for potential adopters for personalized support or requirements that could drive them away. 
• Personalized Matchmaking & Counseling: Nonjudgmental, conversational adoption counseling creates a supportive environment for individuals to explore their feelings, concerns, and expectations surrounding pet adoption. It establishes trust, improves information exchange, and creates a better experience for staff, volunteers, and adopters. 
• Flexible Adoption Events: From virtual meet-and-greets to adoption events both offsite and at the shelter, offer various ways to meet and interact with your adoptable pets, accommodating different schedules and preferences.
• Medical Vouchers: Sometimes animals may still be waiting for spay/neuter or other medical services. Consider providing vouchers for these adopters to foster-to-adopt and bring the pet back to complete those services later. 
• Compelling Profiles: Create a positive online presence for each animal by crafting personalized adoption bios to give a bit of flair to engage and motivate adopters. Avoid generalized restrictions or negative terms such as “only dog”, “no children” or “has medical needs”, and focus on the strength or desirable aspects of each adoptable. Use each unique animal’s quirks to gain interest and drive traffic. Add videos and pictures showing the animal in a home setting to create a connection with the potential adopter. Create a positive online presence for the animal.
• Enhanced Marketing: Ensure you’re promoting the wide variety of ages, breeds, sizes, and personalities to fit all your customers’ lifestyles to drive traffic with diverse needs and interests for all. This will help avoid stereotypes in your community about shelter pets. Also, use an integrated marketing approach by aligning adoptable pet features through different channels including in-shelter, traditional media, email, social media, etc.
• Include Animals in Foster: Ensure all your available animals are presented to potential adopters, whether they’re currently onsite or not. Develop a strategy for fosters to be included, such as a display board in your lobby, inviting volunteers to bring fosters onsite for busiest adoption days, or doing offsite events. Check out NY ACC’s cool interactive foster map that shows potential adopters the available pets in their neighborhoods. 

What steps can your shelter take to help make the adoption process as exciting, joyful, and seamless as the bond they’ll share? With a bit of investment in customer-centric process improvement that reduces barriers to adoption, more shelter animals can find their loving homes and more potential adopters can become proud pet parents.

Related Resources

• HSUS Adopters Welcome Guide
• Barrier Busting Basics for Busy Animal Shelters
• Removing Behavior-Related Barriers to Adoption
• How to Fight Discriminatory and Other Exclusionary Practices in Animal Welfare
• 27 Extremely Common Animal Welfare Adoption Practices and Policies That Exclude Adopters
• AAWA Blog: If Your Adoption Policies Put Up Barriers, You’re Part Of The Problem