Marketing Your Dog Biz

You hate it. Marketing. It’s uncomfortable. Expensive. So far removed from what you really want to be doing—helping dogs. Even when you manage to do a bit, it just doesn’t seem to work. Without strong reinforcement for your efforts, it’s hard to keep going. It can all be pretty discouraging, especially when you know you could be helping more dogs if you could just get more clients. If any of this sounds familiar, it’s time to try thinking outside the marketing box, to learn an approach to marketing that you can not only stomach, but feel good about—and maybe, possibly, even …

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The start of a new year is the perfect time to commit to marketing your dog business. In part 1 of this series, we explored projects for a balanced, and doable, marketing plan. Now it’s time to get your marketing projects scheduled. The number one rule in marketing is to do it, and without a schedule, it’s too easy to skimp on marketing time or, worse yet, skip it altogether. The trick is to create a marketing calendar for the year, then schedule your marketing tasks into actual slots in your schedule. Breaking projects down and scheduling their steps keeps you moving forward, and soon …

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With a new year on the horizon, you’re probably starting to think ahead, set some goals, make plans. Now’s the perfect time to confront that thought that’s been lingering in the back of your mind. You know the one… I really should be doing more to market my business. The good news is how many marketing opportunities abound these days. But more options can feel overwhelming, making it hard to know where to start. Marketing can seem mysterious and unwieldy to begin with; it’s no wonder many dog pros feel like they aren’t doing enough – it’s much easier to just go work with dogs! But to do …

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If you’re like many dog trainers, dog walkers, dog daycares, and the like, you’re in near-constant search for clients. It may seem an obvious statement on the surface, but one way to get more clients is to provide what potential clients need. This goes beyond “dog training” or “dog walking” or “dog daycare.” It goes beyond taking good care of their dogs (though of course you should!). Providing clients what they need is about understanding what drives someone, whether a dog lover, a car owner, a home owner, etc., to hire a service provider. Usually people turn to professional service …

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Here’s a happy statistic for you: In the typical business, a 5% increase in client retention can result in anywhere from a 25-125% increase in profits. In other words, keep more clients, make significantly more money. Wow. Combine these cool numbers with the hard work it takes to get a new client, and it just makes good sense to put effort into keeping clients happy and in your fold. But the benefits don’t stop there. Here’s another happy stat: On average, satisfied clients spread the word to 4-5 others. So active client retention also increases the influx of new clients. That’s a nice …

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Marketing. Probably not your favorite subject, we know. Most dog pros engage in spot marketing—doing a bit here and there “when there’s time,” or making a panicked push when things slow down, and feeling vaguely guilty and stressed the rest of the time. Spot marketing is understandable. After all, working with dogs is much more fun. Even we’ll admit that, and we’re a bit geeky about marketing. But here’s the thing: Spot marketing actually creates more marketing pressure, ultimately takes more time, and returns disappointing results. A steady, strategic marketing plan means not worrying …

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Checking online reviews has become a regular part of most shoppers’ decision-making process. That includes dog lovers, whether searching for the right dog treats or choosing the best dog trainer, walker, pet sitter, or other dog pro for their best friend. Good online reviews can boost new client inquiries significantly—enough so that it’s worth taking an active approach to collecting them. If you’re like most dog pros we know and work with, though, fishing for compliments is not a comfortable activity. So here are some tips, and some language, to make asking your clients to say nice things …

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Blogging is good for you, and good for dogs. We’ve seen some fantastic dog blogs over the years, and many of our readers and clients blog regularly, enjoying the benefits of regular posting (like getting more clients and helping more dogs). But too many dog pros neglect their blogs, posting only rarely, or don’t have a blog at all. The usual reasons are lack of time, a dislike of writing or lack of writing skill, and not being able to think of enough to write about. If any of this sounds familiar, we’ve got some tips to help get you blogging regularly and, we hope, painlessly. The …

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Marketing probably isn’t your favorite topic or task. You may feel uncomfortable tooting your own horn. You may not be sure what exactly to market about, or when, or how to go about it. But you probably also know that marketing is the key to your business success. Think about it this way: Marketing is like the training homework you give your clients. Not doing it means not achieving your best possible results. Whether you’re a pro at staying on top of your marketing, or marketing remains a line item gathering dust on a “someday when I have time” to-do list, here’s one way to give your …

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One of the best things about content marketing, what we at dogbiz sometimes also call community marketing, is that it allows you to do good in the world while promoting your business. The concept is to share your expertise so referral sources and potential clients get to see you in action, benefit from your knowledge, and thus imagine themselves working with you. It’s education as marketing—a win for your business and a win for your community and the dogs who live in it. Shelters and rescue groups are an obvious target for community marketing. But proceed carefully to make sure they—and …

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We're guessing you’d love more referrals, but worry about pestering fellow professionals? If so, it’s worth keeping in mind that giving referrals benefits the referring party, too. It may fill a need and provide value-added capital with a client, such as when a vet refers a frustrated or frightened dog guardian to a trainer. And giving referrals often just feels good—most of us enjoy helping out by offering an expert suggestion. Still, most referral sources in the dog industry have many dog pros vying for their referrals. Here are some tips for getting to the top of their lists: Give …

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Over our years supporting dog pros, we’ve noticed certain sticking or stress points common to many of our clients. Choosing the perfect business name ranks high among those. We’ve been thinking a lot about business names lately. You may have noticed we’ve undergone our own name change from dogtec to dogbiz, and a bit of a visual branding update as well. It’s actually not our first name change and brand polish. Some of you may remember the original version of dogtec way back when we were dogTEC and sported multi-colored stripes. Back then the TEC in dogtec was an acronym that we quickly grew …

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E-mail newsletters are a common dog pro marketing tool, and they serve an important purpose. As we’ve written about in the past, e-newsletters are great for maintaining connection to and brand loyalty among current clients, and bringing past clients back into the fold. Done well, a good e-mail newsletter may get passed around and occasionally bring in a new client, too. But if new clients are what you’re after, you’re missing one of the best tools in the dog pro marketing toolbox if you aren’t using a print newsletter. While e-mail newsletters focus on staying relevant to people who already …

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Your site is your most valuable marketing tool—and one of your most valuable business assets. Created properly, your site should do most of your selling for you. If you’re like the majority of dog pros we know, that’s welcome news. So let’s dive in to what makes a great site! In this article we focus on what makes great website copy: Create your copy first Most people prioritize the design of their website, the look and feel of it. This is a mistake. Design is important, but without great copy design is irrelevant. It’s your copy, ultimately, that sells your services. And the best site …

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As we said in Part 1 of Building a Great Dog Pro Website, your site is your most important marketing (and sales!) tool. In Part 1, we looked at the role of engaging website copywriting. In Part 2 we turn our attention to creating great design to showcase your great copy. Make it easy to read Given our emphasis on the importance of copy last month, it only makes sense to open an article about effective website design with an exhortation to make sure your copy is laid out for easy reading. While this may seem like a bulletin from the DOD (Department of Duh), a designers’ bias for design can …

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