If I had to pick the most common question that I get asked then it would be “How Can I Advertise For More Pet Sitting / Dog Walking Customers?”
The problem that I think occurs a lot of the time is that we only start looking for more customers when we don’t have enough of them, rather than having a new client marketing strategy running all the time.
You might want to read: Why You Should Be Marketing Your Pet Business Every Day (Even If You Are Fully Booked)
There are lots of things you can do to attract more customer enquiries and build your business. BUT you need to be doing this every month, not when you start to get quiet.
With that in mind here are some ideas to get you started on consistently marketing your Pet Sitting/Dog Walking business.
Hi! My name is Kate and I am the owner of an amazing membership community for Pet Biz Owners – where I help them market their business, stand out from their competition and add new customers to their business every month! Find out more about the Membership Community and if you have questions Get In Touch.
10 Ways To Advertise For More Pet Sitting / Dog Walking Customers
#1. Blogging
Blogging is a long term strategy that helps people find you in Google search. It’s not a quick fix to get 5 new customers this week, but it is an absolute must if you want to maintain a steady stream of enquiries in your business.
Creating a variety of content that appeals to your ideal customers is a great way to help them find your services, get to know what you do and ultimately trust you to care for their pets.
You might enjoy reading: A Complete Guide To Blogging For Your Pet Biz
#2. Facebook / Google Ads
Facebook and Google Ads can be hugely successful if you target the right type of people with the right type of ads. It’s definitely an area I would recommend hiring an expert for – especially Google Ads which can get pricey if not done correctly.
What I love most about online ads though is that the results are so easy to measure. Instead of wondering how many leads you got from a newspaper ad, for example, you can immediately see with online ads exactly how many people clicked on your ad and then how many converted into an enquiry or a sale.
#3. Email / Newsletter Marketing
When we use other platforms like Facebook and Instagram we don’t actually own the follower base that we build up. In fact it could all be gone tomorrow if something happened with that network.
But people on your email list you do own. They have given you direct permission to email them with your information and offers.
So that is why it’s super important to continue to grow your list and send your content to them in the form of a newsletter. That way when you have something to sell, for example more dog walking places, you can email and sell to them.
You might enjoy reading: Why Newsletters Are So Important for Your Pet Business
#4. Twitter
Twitter is one of the places you can stalk (ooh I mean search for ) ideal customers. It’s perfectly acceptable for you to look for people in your area with pets and reach out and say Hi to them. You are not selling to them, just chatting. They are bound to look at your profile and if they need a Pet Sitter or Dog Walker they are sure to think of you.
Top Tip: Once you find the people on Twitter in your area then why not create a Twitter list of them and make a point of engaging with their posts on a regular basis.
#5. Instagram
Instagram is another platform that makes it easy for you to find pet owners in your area that you can chat with. Through the use of hashtags you can search for people in you area that are sharing pictures of their pets and then just comment on them. You don’t need to sell to them straight away, instead just get to know them.
You might enjoy reading:
#6. Flyers and Business Cards
I am a huge fan of the more traditional marketing methods and find flyers, posters and business cards can be hugely successful if you can do them in your area.
Getting out into your community and chatting with people, networking and just showing the face of your business is extremely powerful and can lead to a huge increase in enquiries from new customers.
Top Tip: If you don’t have time to do this type of activity yourself then why not incentivize your staff to do it around the houses of other customers they already visit for dog walks.
#7. Competitions
Why not run a competition to attract ideal customers to your business. Make sure it’s fun, pet related and targeted to your idea customers.
It can be a great way to create brand awareness for your business and also a good way to collaborate or even get sponsorship from other businesses.
You might enjoy reading: Facebook Competition Idea For Your Pet Business
#8. Special Offers
This could be a discount or a promotional bundle. Think about the people you want to attract and what would appeal to them.
Don’t feel you need to cut your prices just to attract new business. Maybe you need to offer a more luxury/expensive service to attract new people to you.
#9. Networking
This can fill people with dread…but it does work. Just get into the habit of talking to people.
You don’t need to be selling all the time, just take an interest in others and naturally the conversation of what your business is all about will come up.
For example, maybe you are standing in line at the store and the person in front of you is buying dog food – why not ask them what type of dog they have and start a conversation around that.
#10. Have Fun on Social Media
A great way to get in front of people on social media is to start conversations. Be chatty, share fun memes, make people smile – be engaging so people want to talk back to you and share your posts.
Then when you have some content, for example a blog post about why hire a dog walker, then the people that regularly engage with your content are more likely to see it.
Need more help with your marketing? Why not join me in the Marketing Membership
