Using Postcards to Attract New Pet Sitting Clients

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Yesterday I shared with you a plan to motivate employees that included a incentive for marketing your business. Today I’m going to show you the postcards that I’m giving to my sitters so that they can distribute them and generate referrals.

In the past I have sent out similar postcards via direct mail to selected neighbourhoods.  I used a website www.Zillow.com to find addresses to send them to. This was pretty time consuming and of course I had to pay for postage too.

This time around I wanted to give my sitters an opportunity to get more local clients by distributing in their neighborhoods and leaving in local stores.  I have had a lot of success leaving flyers in restaurants, pet supply stores, and vets offices.

Here is the postcard (my scanner would only make the image black and white and the quality is not great - normally the front logo and text is in color and printed on gloss card stock):

Marketing Postcards

I had these done at www.Vistaprint.com. It is very easy to use their design tools and they do a great job at a very reasonable price - I got 1500 of these for around $150 including shipping. 

You can see that on the front I have my business logo, a description of what we do (Professional In-Home Pet Sitting Services), a tag line, our phone number and website. Without turning the card over they know enough about us to make a decision to keep the card or to toss it out.

On the back left hand side I give them some detailed information about the service and a mission statement.  It’s also important to let them know if you are insured and bonded as it lets people know that you run a professional service.

It is the right side of the card that I really wanted to discuss.  This is the first time that I’ve put a special place on the card for sitters to write in their name to collect referrals and the first time I have directed people to my website to collect free gifts.

You can see that I’m offering new customers a special discount of 10% on their first group of visits if they can tell me who referred them (ie who wrote their name on the card).  This gives customers an incentive to tell me which gives my pet sitter re-assurance that they will get credit for the referral and recieve their bonus. So really it’s an incentive for both the sitter and new customer.  If you don’t want to discount your service your could offer a special perk such as some extra time, a bath, a small bag of treats - anything you think your potential customer will value. You could even partner with a pet store in your area, or pet service, and offer a free promotional gift from them, or a small discount on their service. 

For more information about my sitter incentive plan see my blog post:

How to Use an Incentive Plan to Motivate Your Staff

There is no reason why you couldn’t use the same card in a customer referral bonus program. You could give these cards to your exisiting customers - get them to put their name in the place provided on the right side, and have them give them to friends or leave them a local stores for you.  When a customer gets a referral you could reward them with free visits or a gift card for products from a local pet store.

I have added the free pet services guide and pre-travel checklist as an incentive for people to visit my website.  When they get to my site they will need to fill in a short form and give me their name and email address in order to claim the gifts.  You can see the page at www.clawspawsjaws.com/petguide.html.

When potential customers sign up and get their gift they are then automatically subscribed to my monthly newsletter.  This lets me follow up with them and build a relationship with them. 

This is important as many people who recieve the post card won’t need pet sitting services right away.  They may lose the card before they ever need me!  Getting their name and email and permission to contact them means that I can keep in touch with them, provide them with useful pet information via my newsletter - and hopefully when they do need a pet sitter, I will be the first service that they think of and they will call me.

To use this technique in your advertising all you need is a simple web site with an opt-in form and then a gift to offer people for signing up as an incentive for them to give you their name and email address.  The gift must have enough perceived value for them to part with their personal information.  When someone signs up on your site you send them the information. 

You can set this up to run automatically by using an autoresponder service like www.aweber.com.  Aweber lets you set up an email list on their server. When someone signs up for the list you can then have the program automatically send them emails and attach your free gifts.  This service is excellent if you plan to deliver a monthly ezine (email newsletter) to your clients as a follow up tool. 

Try this out with your business and see what response you get with it! I’ll update you in a couple of months and let you know how it works for me.

If you have any questions about getting the cards, setting up your website, or using an autoresponder service please leave them under this post as a comment.

How to Use an Incentive Plan to Motivate Your Staff

Filed Under My Pet Business, Pet Business Tips | 1 Comment

Incentive planAt the end of last year I decided that I needed a way to get my pet sitting staff to feel more involved and connected to the

business. I wanted them to feel that they would be rewarded for good work and their income would be determined by how committed they were to helping me to grow the business.

So, I set up my first pet sitting contractor incentive plan. It is now part of the package that I give to prospective pet sitters at their intial job interview. So far I have found that everyone I have interviewed has been receptive to the idea, and love that they have control over how much work they get and how they are compensated.

Let me explain how I put together the plan.

When I was working out what to put in the plan I really thought about what I wanted from my pet sitting contractors. I decided that the things that are important to me are:

1) Pet sitter retention - once I find a great sitter I want them to stick around. They know the routine, I am comfortable working with me, and we have built up trust. It is a lot of work to continually seek new staff and then build a good working relationship.

2) Pet sitter availability during our busiest holiday seasons. I want my sitters to make themselves available to work on major holidays as this is when we really need them.

3) Ability to care for pets during an emergency. I want my sitters to have some basic first aid knowledge so that if an animal is injured during their visit that they could give first aid until they can take them to a veterinarian.

4) Willingness of pet sitter to help find new clients. I want my sitters to actively promote the business in their local area.

As I work with independent contractors I am not allowed to provide training to them and pay them a flat percentage of whatever the customer is charged for the visits that they make. I also give them any tips left by the customers.

Based on the 4 important characteristics I then put together my incentive plan so that it rewards my sitters for the behaviors that I want them to give me.

The 4 modules are:

1) A pay scale that is based on length of service. When a sitter starts they are payed X % of the client charges. After 1 year with us they then get a 5% increase (ie X + 5 %). After 2 years they get another 5% increase in pay ( X + 10 %). I make the start date for each sitter their first visit or the first time that I issue them a check.

2) A skills incentive that rewards them for taking a pet specific first aid course. I offer to increase their pay percentage by 5% upon completion of the course which will be active as long as their certificate is current.

3) A holiday bonus. I pay sitters an additional $5 per visit for working on major holidays. I pass this $5 per visit increase on to the customer.

4) A marketing incentive. If sitters will distribute flyers or postcards advertising the business then when I get clients that call and tell me that they were referred by a specific sitter, then the sitter will be guaranteed that job, and also receive an increased percentage payment for the first week of visits that the customer books with us. I have designed flyers and postcards that give our clients an incentive to tell us who they were referred by just to make sure sitters get credit.

Make sure you call back in to read my next blog post as I will be showing you a picture of my postcard and you’ll see how this works.

You could use this same incentive method to encourage any other staff behavior that is desirable.

Here is an action plan that you can use to set up your incentive plan:

a) Write down the behaviors that you want to encourage

b) Work out what your staff want or need the most. Incentives don’t have to be pay based. People are also motivated by recognition, giving them more hours / or work, allowing more flexibility, benefits, etc . You want to design your incentives around what you think drives them to give you their very best.

c) Design an incentive that will reward your staff for each of the behaviors listed in (a).

d) Put together a document that describes each incentive and exactly how each works.

e) Distribute to existing staff and give to prospective staff at initial interviews. You may also want to talk to them as a group or individually to get their feedback and make sure they understand each incentive.

f) Track your results. Are you getting better behavior from your staff? Are they earning the incentives that you offer? If you find they are not interested in obtaining the bonuses you offer, ask them what bonuses they would prefer. Modify your plan if you feel they are reasonable.

Incentive plans can really benefit both you and your staff.

If you would like to see my full plan - I will be giving members of my Pet Business Success Circle Coaching and Mastermind a copy of my pet sitter incentive plan for our monthly expert call in August. We will also be talking about finding great staff and my hiring process. If you’d like a sneak peak at my business this is your opportunity. Sign up now for just $7 right here.

Can Blogging About Pets Become a $10,000 a Month Business?

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With demand for pet products growing the potential of starting a blog about pets is huge.  If your blog solves a problem for which pet owners are looking for a solution then you will attract a loyal readership, and you can market related pet products as an affiliate and make commissions on each sale. 

A great example of this is the blog Raise a Green Dog that is written by Leslie May of Pawsible Marketing.  At her blog Leslie weaves in product promotions with evironmentally friendly dog tips.  The trick is to target you blog to a very specific target audience with a specific problem or need and promote related products. 

If you have ever wondered how someone makes a six-figure income online using a blog, I have a video you just HAVE to watch.  I have followed an Australian called Yaro since I started this blog at Working with Pets. His advice has helped me a great deal with set up, content ideas, and getting Google rankings.  The best thing is that his blog advice can be applied to any industry.

Yaro has just released a free video which will show you how you can set up and market a blog where you sell pet products and earn money without carrying inventory.

Here’s the link:  Click here to watch the video Using his blog, Yaro generates a steady $10,000 to $20,000 each and every month. 

His system is not your usual story of using a blog and sticking AdSense on it - he’s taken a much more BUSINESS focused approach.

He calls his system “Conversion Blogging” because it combines a blog with an email list to
create consistent income. 

Inside the video you will learn -

- Why blogs are the only Web 2.0 marketing tool you will ever need 

- Exactly how Yaro uses his blog to build a MASSIVE email list 

- How just a blog can turn you into the No. 1 authority in your market 

- What methods Yaro uses to translate his blog into a steady cash-flow stream 

- How you can replicate Yaro’s methods using just one blog and get started in minutes

I loved this video because it’s not full of marketing hype, just a very down to earth and
practical presentation.

I guarantee you will enjoy this and learn something too.

If you are interested in a pet blogging business set aside 32 minutes now, grab a drink, sit down and watch this video - 

Click here to watch the video

Let me know what you think by leaving a comment after this post.

10 Top Tips to Design Effective Business Cards

Filed Under Pet Business Tips | 2 Comments

Many comprehensive marketing strategies miss one very important, albeit small, tool to build a business.  A business card is an absolute essential.  You never know who you’re going to meet in line at the grocery store or out on a hike with your family.  The world is small and a business card can make all the difference between a new customer and just another stranger. To make the most of this small tool, pack it with these ten features and get the most bang for your buck. 

Logos brand your business and help build mind space.  Show someone the Nike swoosh and they think shoes.  The orange circle and red circle blending into each other signify MasterCard and Cocoa Cola has their gorgeous curvy red bottle.  If you have a logo on your business website, unify your brand and include it on your business card.  Give people an image which represents you and helps them to remember who you are and what you’re about.  One note – make sure your logo doesn’t overpower the rest of your card. 

Clean and easy to read.  A business card must be clean and easy to read.  If you have multiple locations, list a primary location on your card or just your website address and telephone number.  A business card which is too difficult to read will get tossed or quickly forgotten. 

Friendly slogan or tagline.  Do you have a slogan or tagline?  Like a logo, this type of marketing will help create mind space – people will remember you when they need your services.   

Call to action.  Use your card to motivate a sale.  For example, “call now and receive 10% off your first appointment.”   

Memorable URL.  Don’t forget your URL.  Even if you’re a brick and mortar establishment, it’s essential to have a website which at least lists your locations, hours, and services.  The majority of internet users research online before they make a purchase.  Have a website and list your URL on your business card.  The more memorable your URL the better.   

Contact information.  This sounds like an obvious thing to put on your business card however you’d be surprised to find out how many people actually forget key contact information.  At the very least you want to list a website address and a phone number.     

Hours.  Provided there is room on your card it is often helpful to post your business hours with your contact information.  This is particularly important if you have a brick and mortar operation.  There’s nothing worse than hopping in the car to go to a business and finding out they’re closed - especially if you have your pet in your car with you.   Address.  Likewise, your location is essential if you have a brick and mortar operation.   

Make it a coupon.  The back of your business card is a blank slate.  Don’t leave it blank.  Make it a coupon to encourage people to make a purchase.  You can also use the back of the card to market your website opt in list.  For example, “Visit www.ourwebsite.com for a free report on how to care for your dog and the environment.”   

Pass it on.  When passing out business cards, give people more than one.  On the back of the card you can print something which tells people they’ll receive a Use the back to encourage reciprocity or word of mouth marketing.  “Share this card with a friend and receive ten dollars off your next service.”    Business cards provide a wealth of opportunity to both inform prospects about your services and market to them.  Spend some time making your business card easy to read, informative and use the back to promote your business in a creative way. 

Cloning of Pets - Would you Clone Your Cat or Dog?

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Cloning of PetsYesterday I read an article online about a new service offered to pet owners in South Korea. Owners who just can’t let go of their favorite dog now have the option of having them cloned.

This is something we have joked about in our family - my step-son Andrew has suggested the cloning of our cat Bouie as he is such a personality, so affectionate, and so laid back. But I don’t think I would really want my cat cloned. Somehow even if a new cat looked and acted just like him - it still wouldn’t be Bouie. I think it would seem odd and manufactured.

I do feel that cloning a pet would also be a crime when we have such a homeless pet problem and so many pets need a good home. How many  homeless pets could given a loving home if less people bought pets from breeders and pet cloning agencies?  For this reason I would be against this service being offered to mainstream pet owners.

It’s certain that not everyone will be able to afford the service - it currently runs at $50,000 to $100,000. Most customers for this service are looking to clone working dogs and endangered breeds. For example the South Korean customs service has cloned sniffer dogs as the cost of cloning is far less than the training process and screening that goes into finding dogs to train for their programs.

I’m interested in your opinion! What do you think of the pet cloning service? If the price falls to an affordable level would you ever consider cloning one of your pets? Have you ever had a client pet that you would have liked to clone?

Tell me by leaving a comment on this post…

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