The perfect holiday marketing strategy for profits and exceptional pet care!

This is the time of year that pets are given as gifts, and pet parents spoil their little furry friends with gifts, toys, treats and luxuries.

As a pet care business owner, it is easy to see the opportunity for gift items…if you dig a little deaper you can tap into a way to not only support pet owners but acquire new clients in the process.

In addition to the usualy Holiday discounts and pet accessory sales what you do to market your business during the holiday season differentiates your business-establishing you as the pet care leader in your community?

I’ve listed a few of my favorite Unity Dog holiday marketing strategies below (for more great ideas visit our services page):

• Design an elder visit package

The elder visit package is a customized service that involves you or a staff member along with a well balanced, mild mannored dog visiting the ederly in their homes, at nursing homes or retirement communities.

The program can be tailored to be sold to individual families or retirement communities.  What family wouldn’t love to be able to send their mother, father or grandparent a gift of a visit and an adorable dog?

The visit lifts spirits and improves the state of mind of the recipient - truly an invaluable gift.

• Create a new puppy potty training program

What a blessing it would be if the new puppy mommy and daddy were planning to bring home for the holidays already had a head start on potty training.  Think of the stress reduction for the new puppy owner.  Your program could incorporate in home or in your store potty training sessions.

If you accept puppies in your store who have not completed their puppy shots - you must provide a safe place to work with the puppy away from other dogs in your care.

The program does not have to guarantee potty training by the Holidays.  A jump start on potty training along with continued support after the family brings the new puppy into their home is a valuable gift.

• Obedience before Christmas program

In a similar vein as the puppy potty training program, you can offer a basic obedience program for the new dog or puppy that can be performed with or without the initial participation of the new pet owners.

In this way, you not only help the puppy get a head start on obedience, regardless if the new pet owners are willing to make time to attend an obedience class, but you also almost assuradly guarantee that the parents will attend a future obedience class.

If the pet care owner knows the puppy already understands basic obedience, they may be more inclined to attend an obedience class to learn the commands for themselves.   Either way, you have given the new puppy a much stronger chance of staying in the new families home.

All three of these unity dog marketing strategies are designed for optimal benefit.  Revenue generation, acquisition of new clients, client retention and client skills development.

All required elements of a successful pet care business and successful pet care ownership.

Warm Holiday Waggles,
Fran
fran@dogbusinessdaily.com

To mark the official launch of my search for the world’s greatest dog trainer - I am doing something really big.

I am giving away a marketing strategy that is sure to change the entire dynamic of your pet care business. It is an idea so innovative it has the potential to launch a business into the mass media spotlight.

Normally, I wouldn’t give away a marketing strategy like this unless it was to a coaching client. Ideas like the one I am going to be sharing with you (I’ll tell you how you can get the information a little later) are business revolutionizing.

You would normally have to sign up for one of my personal coaching programs. You see, while I always strive to provide high level, valuable marketing advise at no charge every day on the blog and in my newsletters - I have to hold back some of the ideas for my coaching clients.

Maybe not for the reasons you think though.

Some of the ideas, like the one I am going to “bribe” you with to help kickoff the World’s Greatest Dog Trainer Search, are cooked up in my little brain - no one else is doing them. They sure as heck aren’t in your everyday mainstream dog care business.

When working with innovative and creative ideas - the universe likes speed.

It is almost always crucial to be first to market in your territory with the idea. The strategies with the most long term potential work best if a limited number of pet care businesses are utilizing the strategy.

We talk about being first to market often. It is the difference between being the definitive leader in your community and a “me too” shop. Getting a head start means you are the one the community leadership recognizes, media contacts and the industry gets to know.

This is going to sound strange coming from a marketer who pounds quality into your heads, but speed to market is more important than quality of product or service.

If you don’t believe me - let me just give you two names: Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. Gates inferior product has dominated an industry for one major reason…it was first.

As Jobs toiled away, perfecting his operating system - Gates launched. With all of the delays and bugs we have come to expect from Windows…and he has barely had to look over his shoulder since.

Scarcity and speed are two of the most critical factors to marketing success….and for those reasons, I do not publicly give away ideas like the one I am going to share with a select few of you who participate in my search for the World’s Greatest Dog Trainer.

How do you know you will want to use the idea once you see it? You don’t.

You have no idea if you will even grasp how enormous the impact of this idea could have on your business. You might see it and think it would be too hard. Maybe you don’t have the resources…since this is search for the World’s Greatest Dog Trainer, the strategy is for….tadum….Dog Trainers.

You might decide that you don’t even offer dog training services so this isn’t for you. You might be a trainer and decide maybe you aren’t good enough to pull it off. There are dozens of excuses, I mean reasons, why someone might not take initiative when they hear a new, innovative, earth shattering, ground breaking idea.

I am so humble!

Seriously, it is not going to be for everyone. And that is a good thing! Why would you want a strategy that just anyone is willing and able to do. It is for those rare individuals who do what others are not willing to do…the ones who work an extra hour, or fight just a little longer who triumph.

The fact is this strategy can be used by just about any one. There is a way in which anyone who runs a pet care business could incorporate this strategy. It is all a matter of who is willing to see the vision and take the necessary action.

For those of you who do - it will literally transform your business. For those of you who aren’t willing to take the action - there is really no harm because I am not asking for you to pay anything.

It is really quite simple - anyone who is a subscriber to my free newsletter (if you aren’t already - just give me your name and e-mail address using the “Newsletter” box at the top right of your window) and who comments below with a nomination for The World’s Greatest Dog Trainer will receive the strategy.

Simple.

Tell me who you are nominating - you can nominate yourself…and why. The better the nomination information the more likely the trainer will get consideration from us.

*Use the same e-mail address in your blog comment that you used to register for the free newsletter so that we can confirm your subscription. To avoid any threat of being called a spammer we absolutely need your “official” permission to e-mail you - hence, you must be a newsletter subscriber for us to send you an e-mail.

Nothing to it. If you don’t like the strategy - don’t use it. If you do like it - remember me when Matt Lauer asks you how you did it!

If you have been reading my blog for a while you know about my now 8 1/2 month old Blue Heeler puppy Lucy. She was a shelter adoption and my fourth rescue dog. (You can click here to see “adorable” pictures of Lucy on the “My Babies” page).

She was and remains my greatest challenge and therefore, my greatest opportunity! Since the day I adopted her she exhibited severe aggression. How a grown person could ever be afraid of an adorable little 4 pound puppy - I couldn’t have told you…until Lucy!

You might also know that I am deeply involved in personal empowerment. As a matter of fact, my primary business is as a life coach - which is why you read so much about leadership skills here at the Dog Business Daily blog.

Lucy showing up in my life was not an accident. She provided an amazing opportunity for me to practice staying in the present moment. Her addition to my life helped me grow so profoundly in the 7 1/2 months we have been together.

The growth has had ripple effects into every part of my life. I will only bore you with one story… how she has brought me to new heights in my marketing strategies.

Stay open to the possibilities in what you perceive as “problems” and this universe will take the seeming worst circumstance and turn it into a beautiful blessing.

I am about to embark on a mission to find the Worlds Greatest Dog Trainer and in the process, demonstrate some amazing interactive marketing strategies that you can use to profit your dog care business. STAY TUNED!

For those of you who don’t know about Lucy - let me take this opportunity to introduce you to my little angel and begin the story of my search for The World’s Greatest Dog Trainer.

Even if you don’t know about Lucy, you should understand from reading my blog that I have a passion for dogs. I believe they have been created to help raise the consciousness of the world.

I adopted Lucy - some would say on a whim, I call it inspiration. I visit my local Humane Society often to hug and love the dogs at the shelter. I always want to bring at least one dog home with me but usually leave with empty arms.

On my visit on November 15, 2007 I knew I was going to get a puppy. When I met Lucy, it was done! The Lee County Humane Society has a great adoption process that to my dismay would require me to return late the next afternoon for their first available adoption time slot.

I witnessed Lucy’s aggression for the first time before the adoption. Immediately filled with doubt and fear, I asked if she had been separated from her pack because of behavior issues. I was assured she had not been separated.

I later found out the entire litter exhibited aggression - Lucy was the most severe.

An 8 month long story short - Lucy’s aggression issues led me to two of the worlds best trainers found right here in my community. First, Chris Adams of Oak Bowery Kennels, Opelika, AL and Maria McCausland, D.V.M., one of my vets at Parkway Animal Hospital in Auburn, AL.
Between Chris and Maria I have developed the skills to control Lucy’s aggressive tendencies to keep her, my other three dogs, myself and others safe.

While going through these first 8 months I experienced a great deal of doubt and fear.

The first few months I was being attacked by Lucy almost daily. I doubted whether I was the right person to handle this type of dog. Part of her aggression issues are simply her breed. A Blue Heeler is in charge of herding cattle - she has to be tough.

She is bred to control her environment and if her human pack leader is not strong enough - she would control me too.

Open to the experience and opportunity for me to learn and grow I allowed the right teachers to come into my life. You know the saying, when the student is ready. I had been going to Parkway Animal Hospital for almost 9 years and hadn’t had the pleasure of working with Maria.

Maria was the vet on duty that November day when I left the humane society and drove straight to the clinic. The journey had begun.

I ultimately have gained the pack leader position and in the process an inspiration for an amazing marketing strategy.

Bookmark this site - you don’t want to miss the amazing integrative marketing lesson we will unfold over the next few months.

We have all heard the marketing adage that first to market is always going to be the biggest. That is true with respect to products, services or marketing strategies.  The biggest translates to market domination over market share and profitability.

We talk a lot about the importance of providing the highest quality service to your pet care clients and we don’t want you to confuse what we are about to say in any way. The strategy we are about to discuss in no way means we are endorsing a compromise in the quality of care you provide for the pets entrusted to you.

Having said that, the marketing world, the creative world, the universe…likes speed.

When you get an idea for a new product, service or marketing campaign take immediate action.  You do not need to wait for the idea to manifest in all its perfection before you launch.

Get the ball rolling fast, release the product or campaign when it is good enough.  You will be able to tweak and improve on it as you go along.

The interesting thing about the long term results of adopting this strategy is not only does it guarantee your business success, it saves you so much time in the long run.  There is a compounding effect you begin to see when you implement strategies with lightening speed.

When we look at successful business owners in all areas of commerce we notice those who thrive are the ones who are able to take quick action on their ideas.  The most successful business owners are the agile ones who are first to market with their ideas.

Now, when I say first to market, I don’t mean you have to invent or create something entirely new.  You may just be improving on something already in existence in your market or borrowing a concept from another market and adapting it to your pet care business.

When I say that you will save time…consider the process you go through when you create a new product or service.

How do you determine exactly what you include in that product/service?  If you are connected with your customer base and a savvy business owner (we know you are since you are reading Dog Business Daily) - you will get ideas from your customers.

Many times the idea and direction you had originally envisioned takes a different turn after you see the response from your prospects and customers.

When you produce a product or marketing campaign and get it out to market quickly, you will save time because you didn’t waste time creating something your market didn’t want.  You don’t waste time thinking about what’s next, all the different nuances and layers you might add to the idea - that ultimately may have been scrapped anyway.

The layers and direction will naturally come from the feedback you receive from your clients and prospects.  You can make revisions, updates and improvements faster because you are starting lean to begin with.

No revamping clunky and complicated processes….add on, tweak, re-market….profit and grow!

If you are still resisting producing a “less than perfect” product or service…let’s take a look at the most successful product on the planet (outside of life sustaining necessitites and mind altering substances - who can compete with those?)!

Microsoft Windows.

If you are not into technology, you might have to ask around to find out if this is widely held belief or not - but everyone on the planet knows that Apple makes a better operating system than Microsoft.

If quality is the most important factor to a products success then why do recent statistics show Microsoft controlling 97.46 % of the global desktop operating system marked, compared to a measely 1.43 % for Apple Macintosh?

Somewhere back around 1982 in that garage Steve Jobs and Bill Gates disagreed about the direction for their new product.  I could hear it now, Steve “it’s not even close to being ready” ; Bill “we have to release it now!”

*disclaimer: this conversation is fictional…and the story of Bill & Steve parting ways is not intended to be historically accurate.  I am using the example to illustrate my point and am taking “creative liberty” for brevity.

They parted ways, Bill stole the idea and ran with it.  This part is actual fact - Gates released the launch announcement a full two years prior to the operating system actually shipping. Of course it was scheduled to ship within a few months of the original announcement.

Hmmm, hasn’t seems like we’ve seen a similar pattern with every launch since?

My point is many of the strategies we will teach you are going to be new to you. Chances are pretty darn good they ideas are going to be entirely new to your market.  The first one to grab the idea and run with it in your market wins.

If you take massive action and implement the ideas we give you - not only will your business flourish and you will be establishing yourself as the “guru” and your business as the ”go to business” in your market segment. 

When you attain “guru” status - business becomes incredibly fun and profitable.  Clients are attracted to you without any effort on your part.  The best employees want to work for you.  You are solidifying your business for the long term.

If you choose at some point to sell your business you are building the kind of value that makes  a small business  a gold mine.

Decide right now, when you come across a brilliant idea - most likely you will hear it from me …you are going to get into action immediately and put the strategy into effect for your business.  Do this a few times and …look out - there is a new sheriff in town!

Warm Fuzzy Waggles,

No doubt the number one concern we hear this time of year is that business tapers off dramatically. Clients are traveling less, needing less sitting and boarding services.

Hopefully you benefited from the Holiday spending on man’s best friend…from treats, to sweaters and toys….now how do you keep profitable in the slow months of the New Year?

With Holiday bills and a sense that Fido has had enough for a while – what is a Doggy Day Care or Pet Sitting Business to do?

Below we recap the top 5 Ways to keep the money flowing in the first few months of the New Year and beyond. You can keep this list handy for next year and profit even more by pre-planning and marketing.

*Please adapt these ideas to benefit Your Pet Care Business - use these ideas as a spring board to get the creative juices flowing.

Implementing these strategies will have a lasting impact on your year end profits. Not only will revenue increase at a normally slow time of year but your efforts now will ripple in profits throughout the entire year and beyond.

1. Creative Marketing adds profits now and in the months to come.
2. What do all new pet owners need?
3. People are not the only ones with resolutions!
4. Its Cold Outside – hmmm, how can I profit from the Weather?
5. Surveys are Magical Money Makers.

Creative Marketing means implementing strategies that work for you like a full time referral machine. The creative part comes when you start considering how your marketing efforts can be combined with other businesses or modalities to help others as well as your own business.

• Thinking this way about marketing is not new but it is very rare in small to mid size businesses. The ones who grasp the concept and utilize it are almost always more successful than their competitors and are always significantly more profitable than without the strategies.

• One example of creative marketing partnerships would be to partner with a local Housekeeping company. You both exchange gift certificates for each others’ services to clients for example purchase $100 in your store or their new clients or for existing clients who get a “New Year Cleaning” service. You give away a free grooming or pet sitting; they give away a upgrade like window washing with a regular housekeeping service

The Holidays are full of new pet owners who may be getting a bit overwhelmed with their sweet puppies’ behavior. Getting creative to help out new pet owners ensures you a place in their hearts and probably a long term client.

• While the puppies may not be ready for obedience classes – of course we have to protect them until they have had all their puppy shots – and we may not need pet sitting since most puppies will be crate trained…there are plenty of ways we can help make the first months with a new puppy happier for the new Pet Owner.

• There are alternatives to pet sitting and day care you can offer depending on how much you are willing to do for a new client and how far from your “standard” offering you are willing to stray.

• First, you need to find a way to reach the new pet owners… of course the local shelter and veterinarian offices are the best places for this. You can put up flyers and again – get creative – be the business owner that is concerned about others. What’s in it for the vet to put up your flyer or give away your coupons?

• Making an offer to help the vet is the best way to ensure your promotion is accepted.

• Ask the vet to hand out your coupons in exchange for sponsoring a dog wash at the vets if they don’t offer bathing & grooming; or give the vet a discount coupon he can give to all of his clients for a free pet sit or boarding or anything that doesn’t directly compete with the vet’s services.

• What you are offering the new pet owner is really up to you…it could be something as simple as a free evaluation of the pet and early training tips in their home. It could simply be a congratulations on the new addition to your family packet you hand deliver – with some free goodies. You could offer one free yard clean up (promoting the fact that your business does pooper scooper services…if you don’t, hey, why not?)

Pet owners often make resolutions that involve their dogs…how can you help them keep their resolutions?

• Many resolutions will revolve around exercising with their dog. Most people don’t need much to deter them before an exercise resolution gets put on the shelf for yet another year.

• If a pet owner is not able to have a relaxing walk with their dog it is likely this resolution won’t see week #2 in the New Year.

• Help your clients learn to walk their dogs and you’ve helped both keep their exercise resolution.

• You can sponsor a dog walking event in a local park where you and your staff offer free dog walking tips and training techniques. Of course you can also sell your latest and greatest leashes to make the walk a breeze.

• Again, be creative – give your dogs a certificate of completion and a “doggy bag” with treats and …what’s this – a coupon for one free grooming with any pet sitting or boarding service. WOW Thanks Doggie Day Care Owner – YOU ARE THE BEST!

It is cold outside in most parts of the country and that brings opportunities for new services and products to offer.

• Provide your clients with cold weather tips for keeping their beloved dogs safe, healthy and happy and then kindly offer the products and services that you are recommending at a discount.

• It is rainy, cold and muddy here in the south…My 4 indoor dogs (Patti, Winnie, Bailey and Lucy) are about to wear me out cleaning up paws and floors…boy, I wish I had some doggie booties or a great mat that absorbed water and dirt….do you know where I can get anything like that?

• Think outside the litter box….if you know your clients’ homes at all from pet sitting – think about how you can help your clients on an individual basis…

  • maybe one could use a pen to let their new little puppy or small dog out to potty in-that way the owner can keep a small area free of salt, snow and if applicable even mud if they put down some straw

  • while another might consider putting stepping stones down for their big dogs to go from the door to the area that they go potty

  • how about a canopy for those fussy pups that just won’t go out in the icky weather

  • Salt alternatives are a great suggestion for pet owners in snowy areas. You can carry the products or just as a service to your clients offer them information and provide sources (you can research online or call your local hardware store).

Wow, referring your customers to the local hardware store…hmm, I wonder if there is an opportunity to develop some creative marketing with this business?

Don’t be afraid to make suggestions for products or services that are outside of your expertise and/or offering. You don’t have to do everything but you do know how to take care of pets – and that is what you are offering – your expertise!

Don’t limit your thinking to only suggesting items and services you can provide – you will be showing your clients how much you care about their pets and that good will goes farther than any $10 sale you could make on booties. Partnering with another business owner also provides long term referrals. Don’t be short sighted. (if you need more convincing about the importance of this marketing strategy read my post: What is the #1 Purpose of Your Marketing? Get it Wrong and you Will Never Benefit from the Work once - Get Paid Forever Strategy all Truly Successful Entrepreneurs Utilize!).

The absolute best way to know what direction to take your business or what marketing campaign you should invest your time and money in is to ask your existing clients.

• If you aren’t communicating with your customers on a regular basis via direct mail and e-mail – you are making a huge mistake that could ultimately cost you your business.

• Your clients will tell you exactly what they want you to sell them and even how much they would be willing to pay. You don’t have to blindly go from one marketing campaign to the next guessing what is going to work and what isn’t.

• Survey your clients – you can offer them a discount for completing the survey or simply ask them to do you a favor…many will gladly help you out since you take such good care of their babies.

• Once you’ve received the results of the survey – you can then refine the survey even more and send it again (to a different set of clients of course).

• Now you have your next marketing campaign already created for you with a service or product you already know there is a demand for. Nothing better than selling something people are hungry to buy!

You can get more detail on how to implement All these tips and more in my upcoming book: How To Recession Proof Your Pet Care Business. Get on the pre-notification list now at our home page: www.dogbusinessdaily.com.

Waggles,

Fran

Welcome to Dog Business Daily.

This site is dedicated to help pet care business owners start, build and prosper their businesses. 

Our motivation comes from a love of animals and a mission to eliminate kill shelters.  By empowering the Pet Care Business Owner, we empower the pet owner and more animals are welcomed into loving homes.

Ultimately reducing the number of abandoned animals - so that no animal is killed because of lack of loving pet owners willing and able to adopt. 

Our goal is to help you, As a Pet Care Business Owner, to fulfill your role so powerfully the pet owner’s experience is so positive they lovingly and easily bring multiple animals into their home.

Kind of a Pay it Forward for Puppies!