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 enjoy.

Inside vs. outside the box
Most marketing in the dog training and care industry is too old school, with expensive print materials and awkward cold visits to vets and pet supply stores at its heart. Not only are these approaches largely ineffective, they require dog pros to step too far outside their natural comfort and skill zones.

One outside-the-box marketing concept we teach dogbiz clients and dogbiz University students is community education marketing. This approach involves sharing your professional knowledge as a way of helping dogs and their people while raising awareness of your services. It pulls marketing in line with your primary mission, making it a worthwhile endeavor instead of a distasteful one.

Another tenant of our marketing philosophy is doing for others instead of asking for ourselves. Good, active referral sources are a key to success as a dog trainer, dog walker, daycare operator, or the like. But referral relationships are challenging to begin. Most of us are understandably uncomfortable asking busy fellow dog professionals we’ve never met to do us favors. But it always feels good to do something for others—and doing so forms a much more solid relationship foundation.

Why market outside the box?
Here are our four favorite reasons to teach our clients and students to think outside the marketing box:

1. Stand out. In a sea of business cards and brochures and informational fliers, good content really stands out. It shows off your expertise and professionalism instead of talking about it. And it gives people a more compelling reason to both pick up and hang on to your materials.
2. Take the pressure off. Let’s face it. Singing out one’s own praises is just flat out squirm-inducing. When you change your angle to thinking about how you can serve your community and potential referral sources, marketing becomes about fulfilling your mission rather than self-promotion. That’s marketing you can feel good about.
3. Make more difference. Sharing what you know gives you a chance for broader impact. You can only train or walk so many dogs (and not all guardians will hire a care provider). But when you use your marketing for community education, you expose many more people to concepts with the potential to improve their understanding of and relationship with their dogs.
4. Get more clients. Community marketing is powerful. Sharing your expertise builds trust and brand loyalty and a much deeper awareness than traditional marketing in our industry. Dog lovers exposed to your knowledge and professionalism through your marketing efforts are far more likely to reach out to you when the need arises.

What it looks like: Two outside-the-box examples
This kind of marketing is limited only by one’s creativity. There are truly endless ways to share what you know with your dog-loving community, or to assist fellow dog pros dedicated to serving the same. Here are two examples to get your ideas flowing…

Example 1: Leave those brochures under your bed. You know the ones we’re talking about—the box gathering dust under your bed or in your home office closet. The ones you printed with such high hopes but haven’t been able to get yourself to distribute far and wide after watching the initial batch sit untouched at your local vet clinic.

Lesson learned. Shake it off and then let’s do something to stand out and make a difference. Instead of brochures, think about a series of useful tip sheets. 8.5 x 11 or A4 do the trick nicely, or you can have rack cards printed if preferred. Think about what services you’re looking to promote, and choose your topics accordingly—basic manners cues, an explanation of leash reactivity or separation anxiety, tips for helping a new dog settle in, etc.

You can take the tip sheet approach instead of traditional fliers, too. Marketing your puppy class? Put out tip sheets on puppy socialization, puppy biting, and housetraining—all with information about your class on the back. Looking for new dog walking clients? A tip sheet or rack card about how to choose a dog walker is invaluable education in this age of on-demand dog walking apps, and shows off your professionalism.

Example 2: A quick interview. Been putting off stopping by to introduce yourself to local vets? Afraid to step foot back in the local pet supply store after having your request to put out business cards rebuffed? Try this: Drop by during a less busy time of the week (or call if you just can’t bring yourself to go in person) and ask for 5-10 minutes to interview the doctor or store owner for a feature in an upcoming edition of your free print newsletter, produced as part of your mission to provide sound educational material to pet lovers. (Who would say no to free publicity plus an ego boost?) Once you’ve got your edition printed, bring it by with a plate of goodies and a nice stand, point out that you’ve put them on the front page, and suggest a spot on the counter where everyone will be sure to see it.

Once you’ve got your foot in the door with this act of service, it’ll be much easier to bring in subsequent editions and build the relationship from there.

Ready to step outside your marketing box?
If you’re ready to take a more comfortable, effective approach to marketing as a way to both grow your business and help more dogs, start by setting your marketing goals. With goals in mind, put your creative thinking cap on to brainstorm project ideas to share with your community, and ways you can be useful to fellow dog pros you’d like to build referral relationships with. Next, build a marketing calendar to maximize your efforts by spreading them consistently throughout the year.

If you’d like more personalized guidance or support getting your outside-the-box marketing off the ground, we invite you to work with a friendly dogbiz business coach, or join us in dogbiz University course Marketing Made Easy for a fun, step-by-step guided process creating and implementing a marketing plan that really works for you.

Referrals are the gold standard of marketing, and for good reason. One solid referral source can keep a dog trainer or dog walker consistently busy. But whether your dog training or walking business needs more clients or just more of the right clients, the trick isn’t getting referrals, it’s getting great referrals—ones that send your ideal clients to your door ready to sign up.

Here’s how to get better (and more) referrals:

Go after the right referrals
Not all referral sources are created equal. Look for other businesses and organizations serving dog lovers who are a solid match for your services. This includes potential clients who value their dogs and have both the wherewithal and willingness to invest financially in their dogs’ needs. For in-person services, you’re also looking for referral sources serving clients living within your geographic range.

Cultivating referral relationships takes time and attention; make sure you’re putting your focus where it will do you the most good. Keeping track of how clients found you, and whether they then use your services, will help you identify which referral sources to actively court.

Turn your referral sources into raving fans
You want enthusiastic, powerful referrals, not lukewarm ones. The more your referral partners actively sing your praises the more likely the potential student or client is to follow through on their advice. Turn your referral sources into raving fans with these strategies:

Practice great follow through. Always do what you tell your referral partners you’ll do. And always take good care of anyone they send your way, even if you don’t take them on as a client. You don’t want word getting back to a referral source that you’ve got poor customer service or don’t return phone calls.

Let them see you in action. Opportunities to see you do what you do best can transform a blah “Here’s a trainer’s business card…” referral into a raving one: “You have to work with Trainer X. She’s just amazing. She’ll completely change your life!” Trainers, that could mean offering a Lunch & Learn session for vet staff or training for shelter volunteers, for example. Pro dog walkers, you might share your Dog Walking Academy certification with local dog trainers along with an offer to volunteer time as a handler for private training cases or as a class assistant.

Make their jobs easier. Many of the opportunities to see you in action can also be designed to serve your referral partners. That Lunch & Learn session can help clinic staff better recognize early warning signs and reduce bites or teach staff how to recognize signs of separation anxiety and direct clients toward positive training. The training for shelter volunteers can help reduce leash pulling and increase volunteer retention. A competent therapy dog handler can allow a trainer to make much faster progress in their private training work.

Make it easy for them to make you look good
Your raving referral fans will now be happy to tell their clients and customers about you. The next step is making it easy for them to do so, and to increase the “stickiness” of their referrals—the likelihood that the potential client follows through to reach out to you. The trick is providing great materials for your referral sources to share.

Business cards and brochures lack punch. They’re traditional marketing materials and, as such, a bit boring and easily set aside. Instead (or in addition), think about what you could offer that shows off your skills or professionalism, is useful to your referral source, and is also actively helpful to potential clients.

For example, branded handouts are a powerful way to increase referrals and make them sticky. Trainers, you might offer vet clinics and shelters a handout on separation anxiety to share with clients and adopters. Or one with tips for getting the right start with your puppy. Groomers would surely appreciate a tip sheet on preparing your puppy for a lifetime of easy grooming visits. Pet stores would likely be delighted to pass out your Top 10 Must-Have Items for Your New Dog shopping list, or your Primer on Puzzle Toys.

Dog walkers, give your local R+ trainer colleagues something unique to share with clients whose dogs would benefit from regular exercise to help curb unwanted behavior. This could be a handout on How To Choose a Professional Dog Walker, highlighting the importance of certification and training in an unregulated industry. Or perhaps fun custom trading cards featuring the dogs you walk, to show off your above-and-beyond approach to client service and dedication to your work.

Reinforce the behavior
As your efforts come to fruition, don’t forget to put Skinner into action! We know reinforced behavior increases and ignored behavior decreases. Put thought into how you thank your referral sources, remembering that reinforcement is in the eye of the learner. What would be particularly rewarding to your referral source, to keep those referrals coming? A surprise lunch delivery on the vet clinic’s busiest day? Taking up a collection among friends and clients of a rescue group’s most needed items? Coffee cards for the pet store next door to a local café?

Nurture the relationship
Like all relationships, referral relationships require maintenance. In addition to finding ways to offer your sincere thanks for referrals, schedule regular time to be present. Drop by to check on and replace materials. Email to share an industry-related article or news of an upcoming seminar that might be of interest. Send referrals yourself whenever you can, and make sure to let those you refer to know when you do. Every now and then simply ask if there’s anything they need, or that you can do to be of help or service.

Not only do such actions deepen and solidify your referral relationships over time, they keep you front of mind. And that keeps the enthusiastic, sticky referrals coming.

 

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Think about the client journey as a marketing roadmap to your training services and classes. Another way to put it: A client journey is the complete experience a dog lover has with your business, from start to finish.

Everyone who comes into contact with your business takes a journey with you. Careful cultivation of that journey, of the pathways people have available to them, means more potential clients becoming actual ones, and more of those becoming repeat clients and raving fans who send others your way.

Every journey has a beginning, a middle, and an end. The client journey is no exception. (Though when crafted well clients tend to cycle back through rather than saying good-bye!)

Here are the 4 parts every client journey should include, and some tips for mastering them:

1. Entry Points
Each client’s journey, each client’s experience of your company, begins at an entry point. You likely have more than one, and hopefully many.

Entry points include professional referrals, such as recommendations from a vet clinic, pet supply shop, or rescue organization.

Other dog lovers may find their way to you via a personal referral from a friend, family member, or work colleague who has enjoyed your services or perhaps come into contact with your marketing materials.

Speaking of which, your marketing materials are also potential on-ramps to a client journey with your business. A dog guardian may begin their journey by picking up your print newsletter at their local pet shop or reading a good training tip sheet while waiting at their vet clinic, for example.

If your website is performing well a Google search can be another common entry point, making investing in good search engine optimization, or SEO, worthwhile.

Entry Point Pointer: The more opportunities dog lovers have to come into first contact with your business, the better. Take a moment to count and assess your current entry points. Where can you make it easier for people to find you?

2. Marketing Rest Stops
If you’re old enough to remember life before smart phones, you’ll recall when highway rest stops weren’t just places to go for a restroom and leg stretch. They were also where you stopped for maps and travel brochures to get information on where you were going and what you might find when you get there.

Similarly, you can think of each instance of your marketing as rest stops or information kiosks for your potential clients. Think of your marketing projects as opportunities to move potential clients along the path toward a purchase with you.

Your most important marketing rest stop is your website. Some dog lovers will land here first via an online search. Most, regardless of their first contact point (whether a referral or a piece of marketing material), will make a stop here for more information before deciding to reach out or purchase.

Marketing Rest Stop Pointer: To do the job well, your marketing must provide good information and clear directions. Your marketing pieces should be designed primarily to direct people to your website. Your website should be designed primarily to answer important questions (like how your service works and what it costs) and to encourage people to take action. That action might be to make a purchase (for example, register for a class) or take the first step toward becoming a client (such as reaching out to schedule a dog training consult or dog walking meet-and-greet).

3. Purchase Points
Your purchase points are the spot on the journey at which potential clients become actual ones.

Purchase points might include online sign-ups such as registering for a group puppy training class or on-demand tricks training course.

Other purchase points may be more interactive, such as a phone screening conversation in which a dog guardian schedules a walking meet-and-greet, an initial consult training appointment, or the decision at the end of an initial consult to purchase and commit to a training package.

Purchase Points Pointer: Keep your purchase points simple. Make it as easy as possible for potential clients to become actual ones by cutting any steps that aren’t absolutely necessary. Don’t risk losing people just as they’re jumping in!

4. Client Experience Points
A dog lover’s journey with you doesn’t end once they purchase. In many ways it’s only just begun as your clients move on to experience your services.

The center of that experience is the service they’ve purchased—such as you walking their dog, or their time with you in basic manners class or one-on-one training—but there are many more potential client experience points.

Every interaction, both remote and direct, is an experience point. The notes or texts you send after a dog walk, for example—and how clean or dirty you leave the dog. The appointment reminders you send, training homework handouts or videos you provide, Zoom drop-in Q&A sessions you make available between training sessions, etc.—all of these are part of your client’s experience with you.

Client Experience Points Pointer: Add points to enrich your clients’ experience with you. Is there opportunity to add more support spots to their journey—perhaps online office hours or emailed homework reminders for training clients, for example, or leaving their dog with a stuffed Kong post-walk?

Keep the Journey Going
Ideally your client journey includes opportunities to re-engage in additional services if appropriate. For example, moving on to the next training class in your program or choosing a post-training support package. Keeping clients longer reduces your marketing and sales and admin pressure while serving them more fully.

Also build in steps for gathering feedback, including reviews or testimonials for use in your marketing. You get the information you need to make your services stronger while helping bring the next wave of potential clients to your door to begin their own journeys with you.

 

Want help building successful journeys for your clients? Grab your spot on the THRIVE! waitlist to be first in line next time we open enrollment.

Last month we looked at the client journey—the complete experience a dog lover has with your business, from first exposure (entry points) through learning all about what you do (marketing and information-gathering “rest stops”) to becoming a client (purchase points) and then their time with you as a client or student (their client experience).

Not all potential clients make it to a purchase point. Some just aren’t the right fit. But too often potential clients simply get lost along the journey you’ve laid out. This is a loss not just for your business, but for the dog lover and the dog, too.

To ensure smooth traveling along your client journey, avoid these marketing “rest stop” mistakes:

Missing Directions
As R+ dog pros we’re leery of overpromising in our marketing. We’re careful not to come off pushy or salesy. These are good and ethical business practices, but they can be taken too far.

You don’t need to be loud, pushy, or tacky to be effective in getting clients. But you do need a marketing message that communicates why dog lovers should choose you and how you can help make life with their dog better. You do need a call-to-action (or CTA) encouraging them to take the next step, whether that be to register for class, reach out for a consult, or visit your website to learn more.

It’s your job to guide your potential clients along the journey to becoming actual ones. If you’re too shy about doing so you’ll lose them along the way.

Unclear Directions
The directions you provide along your client journey must be clear and easy to follow. This includes a strong, effective marketing message aimed carefully at your ideal clients, one that convinces them to stay and begin their journey.

The next step is making navigation along the journey simple. Take a look at your website—is it easy for a first-time visitor to find their way to your service page(s)? If you offer choices, are those choices clear and easy to pick between? For example, say you provide multiple services like walking, training, and sitting. Can I quickly find my way to a separate page with details about the one I need, without having to scroll through information about the others? Or if you specialize in all things puppy training, is there an at-a-glance summary of some kind helping me to understand the difference between, say, classes, private training, and done-for-me daycare-and-train, plus an easy way to learn more about the option I’m interested in?

Tip: Too many choices often lead to making no choice. Decision paralysis is a primary reason potential clients quit a journey before reaching a purchase point. Narrowing your offerings often increases conversions—and it can make running your business easier, too!

Dead Ends
Dead ends are just that—a spot of no return where potential clients’ journeys stall. Most dead ends are a failure to provide the next step, usually access to a purchase point. This happens more often than you’d think.

Take a hard look at your website. Better yet, ask a friend to help. Give them a task, like registering for your basic manners class or scheduling a reactive rover consult or dog walking meet and greet. Don’t tell them how to do it—just ask them to go on your site and try. You’re looking to make sure the journey arrives smoothly at a purchase point. You’re checking for missing CTAs, sign up buttons, or contact information that bring the journey to a halt.

Give your marketing materials the same hard look—everything from your social media to your print pieces. Is it obvious how and where to get more information or take the next step?

Empty Gas Tank
We live in a busy world. Potential clients are adding looking for a dog pro to already full plates. Don’t let them run out of gas while checking you out.

The most common spot for potential clients to end up stranded on the side of the road is on your website. Take another good look to be sure you’re answering all the central questions a dog lover might want answered before reaching out—and make sure those answers are easy to find. If you make it too hard to get the answers they need potential clients can run out of energy for you and turn elsewhere.

These are the key questions your website should answer:

Who? Who are you and what makes you qualified? Who is this service for?

What? What is the service? How does it work? What does it cost?

When? When does it happen? What days and times? How soon can I start?

Where? Your place or mine for training? Where do you take dogs on walks? Where is your daycare or boarding or training facility located?

Why? Why should I? How will this service help me? How will it make my life with my dog easier or better?

How much? This is such an important question to answer that we’ve included it twice. Fail to answer this question and you are without doubt losing potential clients before they reach a purchase point. (Yes, we mean you should list your rates on your website. Here’s why.)

Road Barriers
You can also lose clients right at the point of purchase. Don’t assume your job is done when someone decides you may be the dog pro for them. Help potential clients travel smoothly through your purchase points by removing barriers between their decision to take action and their ability to do so.

Dog pros have a bit of a reputation for poor customer service. Don’t let that include you. You don’t have to pick up the phone every time it rings or become a slave to your email inbox. But you do have to get back to people in a timely manner so they don’t give up and turn elsewhere.

Use outgoing messages and email autoreplies to give potential clients the peace of mind of knowing when they’ll hear back from you. Wherever appropriate, set your website up to allow potential clients to become actual ones as soon as they’ve made the decision. Class registration and payment is the most obvious example here. Allowing dog lovers to book a consult or a short screening call (perhaps after guiding them through a short online self-screening process) is another way to move them smoothly into the purchase portion of their journey with you—while saving you time as well.

Not every dog lover will be the right fit for your business, but it’s a shame to lose those who are. Make it easy for people to navigate their way toward you by laying out a smooth client journey with no unintended off-ramps.