Episode 18: How to Get More Pet Sitting and Dog Walking Clients

In order to get more pet sitting and dog walking clients, Bella notes that people search for many different terms. For instance, she says that  if you are dog groomer and you want to groom small dogs or even cats, make sure you list that. Someone looking to get a cat groomed likely won’t search for a dog groomer first. Make sure you are putting all the services you offer, along with descriptions, on your website. Kate notes you should really review your website periodically and make sure what you want out there is very clear. Promote Yourself On Facebook: Kate mentions that people often get caught up sharing pet pics, memes and news, but should not forget to put out something everyday about what you do. Images, articles you have written and tips are all good ways to do that. Also, make sure you have filled out all the about sections in Facebook, especially the contact information. Also make  sure your banner clearly says what you do. Facebook pages get Googled and so having all of that information in there may actually help you show up more often in Google searches. For those who feel such promotion is too “salesy” Bella recommends you check out “Gary V” (Gary Vaynerchuk ) who has a book called Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook: How to tell your story in a noisy social world. He writes that it is about giving value, value, value, and then a sale. Bella says it's ok to keep sharing valuable items, but don’t forget the “right hook”! Blog About What You Do: Bella says to blog and talk about what you do. Discuss things like “How much does dog grooming cost?”, “Should I get my cat groomed?”, “How do I train my dog?”.  She says to take every question people ask you, use the exact question as the title of your blog post, and then answer it. She says it’s not only good for SEO (getting higher placement  in Google results), but also gives you an “arsenal” to use when people call with questions. Ask them for their email address and send them the blog post that answers that question. Kate points out that you also need to SHARE your blog post (see tip #2)! And don’t forget to reshare things you wrote months and years ago.  Keep sharing it for those who may not have seen it the first time. And revisit them periodically to “tidy” them up and make them more current. Make Free Downloads For Your Site: Kate suggests that you offer things on your site like free EBooks you create or checklists (like one on things to do before your next vacation), cleaning tips, etc. It doesn’t always have to be about the services you offer, just things that are useful to your customers. Create and use "Bark Cards" When you are out performing mobile services (grooming, pet sitting, dog walking) and you (dog) hear barking at a neighbor's house, your worker can leave one of these bark cards. Bark cards are small postcards with a picture of a barking dog you get made up that say “BARK, BARK, BARK, BARK, BARK”. On the back leave the top half blank and on the bottom put your branding, list of services, and contact info. In the blank area, take a pen and write something like. “I think I heard a small dog and they were saying ‘Come groom me! Come groom me!’.  I was in the neighborhood and if you call me for more information I would like to offer you….” Bella says these cards are shocking and attention grabbing. They also target your demographic. Personalization in key with these cards.   Email Marketing: Kate said to make better use of the email addresses you have collected through newsletter sign ups, or people opting in to your free downloads. Send information periodically to ensure people remember who you are and what you offer.  Bella suggests it could be a “drip campaign” where you have a series of say 5 emails go out over a period of time or it could be a short periodic newsletter.  Kate notes that email is important because not everybody is on Facebook or checking out your website, but they may likely be checking email. Talk To Vets Bella says a lot of pet business owners just walk into a vet’s office, drop their cards and leave.  More than likely the cards get dropped in the trash. So Bella recommends that you build a relationship with the vet’s office manager. People rarely ask the vet about pet sitting or grooming services, but they do ask the front office staff or call in with that kind of question. Start A Facebook Group: Kate says that you start a private Facebook group not to sell services but to allow customers and members of the group to get to know you personally.  Members get to know each other, build relationships, talk about pets, etc., and build a good community.   Start A Dog Walking Club! Bella says that by starting these clubs you will have a micro area of people all interested in the same thing. Do it with your existing customers to build up brand loyalty or expose them to other services you offer. You can encourage them to bring a friend. You could start one at an apartment complex and have the complex promote the club as an activity. Kate suggests you could combine that with the private Facebook group as well. Transcript: This is episode 18 of Bella in Your Business. Welcome to Bella in Your Business, where Bella will discuss anything and everything about your pet sitting business to help you land on target. So get ready—Bella’s got your chute. Let’s jump. Oftentimes, pet business owners have one of two problems. One, they don’t have enough clients, or two, they have too many clients. Today, Kate McQuillen of Pawsome Media and Petsitters Ireland joins me again to discuss all sorts of ideas to get more clients in your pet business. We dive into the first problem of not having enough clients or customers. And let’s face it, not having enough clients can stall your business. Kate and I have endless ideas on how to attract more clients to your pet company. In the many years we have both had our businesses, we’ve been able to attract many more customers than we can handle. But we also continue to attract the right types of customers for our business. So listen in as we give you endless amounts of ideas on how you can get more customers to your pet business. Kate, I’m so excited for this topic—how to get more customers in your pet business. Are you ready for this? This is like a timeless question that we constantly get, wouldn’t you agree? I mean, that’s the fundamentals of your business. If you don’t have customers, you don’t have a business. So it’s kind of important. For sure. And Kate, would you believe that number one is actually something that I see some people don’t even list on their website? So if you’re a dog groomer and you’re looking to, you know, groom small dogs or do cat grooming, let’s put this on our website so that when someone is going to Google and they’re finding out who is a cat groomer in my area, your website comes up. People might not just Google “groomer.” Maybe you’re a dog walker—they might not type in “pet sitting.” They might type in “dog walker.” So I want everyone to be very keen on what they’re putting on their website and make sure that you’re putting the proper words that you want to attract. And by that I mean descriptions—not just something in a meta tag, but really talking about it. Wouldn’t you agree? A clear website is key. It really is, because if a customer comes onto your website and they have to go searching for something, they’re just not going to bother. They’re going to click onto the next website that has it right there on the homepage. People sometimes think just having a website is enough, that people will know what you do. We can all be guilty of not reviewing what’s on our website and making sure we’re really clear. So yeah, totally agree—get that out there on your website. And if you want to get more of a certain type of client, then promote it. Promote it on your homepage. I hear people say, “I’d like to get more daily dog walking clients,” and like you said, they don’t even have that listed. Have a look at your website from a customer point of view. Are you actually telling people what you do? Are you making it really clear? Correct, absolutely. Kate, what would be our second tip on how to get more customers in your pet business? Well, you know I love Facebook. Tell us more. I think sometimes people forget to shout about their services on Facebook. They get caught up sharing pictures of pets, rescue stories, or funny memes and videos. But are you actually putting out something that says what you do? Whether it’s an image, an article, or something you’ve written about your service, are you getting your message out there? Is your Facebook banner saying, “I’m a [service]—this is what I do”? Have you filled in your about section, linked your website, added your phone number? That’s huge real estate. You can actually get your Facebook page indexed on Google. If you type “petsitter anywhere in Ireland,” our Facebook page comes up second under our website. It’s huge—make sure you use it. It’s free. Share all the fun things, but remember to tell people what you do so they can buy from you. It’s crazy. I love it. And you mentioned something—you have to tell people what you do. I think a lot of people might be scared to say that because they feel like they’re being too salesy. But if you kind of feel like that, I want you to Google Gary V. Someone that Kate and I really love is Gary Vaynerchuk. He’s got this great book called Jab, Jab, Right Hook. It’s about giving value, value, value, then a sale—value, value, value, then a sale. That’s what Kate’s talking about. A lot of people forget about that “right hook” because they just keep sharing other people’s content. But Kate also mentioned sharing articles—that’s a big thing too. Number three is blog about it. Talk about what you do. How much does dog grooming cost? Should I get my cat groomed? How do I train my dog? Start answering every question people ask you—exactly how they ask it....