448: When Word-of-Mouth Isn’t Enough: 20 Ideas to Market Your Business
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How is word of mouth marketing working for you? If you’re like many people right now, you’re finding that word of mouth is not quite enough to keep your business growing or maintaining the level you need. Today, we break down 20 marketing ideas to try if you’ve never had to market before. If it’s all a little intimidating, we also discuss 5 things to focus on to get started.
Main topics:
Where should you start?
10 Digital methods
10 Physical Methods
Stay true to you!
Main takeaway: Remember, your marketing should reflect the personality and ethos of your business. Stay authentic to what you and your business stand for.
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A VERY ROUGH TRANSCRIPT OF THE EPISODE
Provided by otter.ai
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
pet sitters, pet, clients, people, business, services, talk, important, website, newsletter, digital, google ads, build, put, local, great, google, facebook, social media, existing clients
SPEAKERS
Meghan, Collin Funkhouser
Meghan 00:00
Oh hi there welcome to pet sitter confessional an open and honest discussion about life as a pet sitter. Thank you to pet sitters associates for sponsoring today's show. And for our Patreon supporters, patreon supporters are those who give back a few dollars of their hard earned money every month to keep the podcast going. And if you have found value in any of the episodes that you've listened to, and would like to support us as well, you can go to pet sitter confessional.com/support. Another thing I wanted to note is that a lot of times people listen through our website, pet sitter confessional.com. And that is great. Thank you for listening, we really appreciate it. If you don't like going to the website every week to see if there's a new episode or a new topic that we have posted about, you can always subscribe in your podcast player. So if you listen on Apple podcast, there is a plus sign at the top right corner. And it's a Follow button basically, where you will always be alerted when there is a new episode. And same thing with Spotify, you can hit the Follow button there. And it does the same thing to see all
Collin Funkhouser 01:04
of the ways and all of the really popular places to listen to our show, go to petsitter confessional.com/listen. And there are links to all of the really popular podcast players out there, we
Meghan 01:15
just want to make sure that if you value the show, you never miss an episode. In
Collin Funkhouser 01:19
the pet care industry, most client acquisition happens through word of mouth referrals, no matter who we talk to, this is always in the top 123 spots for how people get new clients to their company. And this is fantastic. It's stuff that we don't have to pay for it's happening outside of it. It's also one of the easiest ways to convince a new person to use your services. Because somebody who they know like and trust is raving about you this personal referral where people reach out and say, Hey, I use this service, I know you have a dog, why don't you use these people, this is a great resource for you. They contact you because they were personally referred this is fantastic. As business owners, it means that we really never have to do any other forms of advertising, because word of mouth is so good. But here's the thing, when things slow down. And this could be because you have clients that move out of your area, or they have pets that pass away. Or maybe the economy starts to slow down and money gets tight. They're not traveling as much they need to cut out some monthly expenses. So you lose these clients. When we've only been relying on word of mouth marketing. We don't have the capacity then to replace those people quickly because now they're no longer talking about you because they're no longer using your services.
Meghan 02:34
And so we're faced with getting new business, how do we go about that? It can be really daunting when we haven't done that before when we've just relied on other people. And it's worked really well. But now we need to try something different, something new, what do we do? Where do we start? Starting with our comfort level is crucial, because it can be very overwhelming to say, Okay, I need to go do a Google ad. And but I've never done one before. So I get overwhelmed and I just walk away because that's it's just hard. Or if you are an introvert like me, managing a social media page might feel a lot more manageable than face to face networking and going to businesses and say hey, here's who I am. This is what I do. How are you doing? Focus on your strengths. If you are good at writing, start a blog or create engaging posts for social media. Because if you're more comfortable behind the scenes, creating those informative graphics or videos is going to be a lot easier. And again, with your comfort level. You could also start with collaborating if you are more face to face, you enjoy being out with people, you've got to partner with local businesses or other pet care professionals that can help spread the word about your services and what you do. And it could feel less daunting than doing it alone.
Collin Funkhouser 03:45
Especially if you can partner with somebody who has similar goals. As far as getting their business name out there. Having somebody to collaborate with means it's not all on your shoulders to come up with the ad copy, come up with the displays, and then execute and get the messaging out there. It allows you to build those partnerships and further your network as well.
Meghan 04:05
There's tools like Canva that are great for designing flyers and social media posts. There's the app HootSuite for scheduling social media content,
Collin Funkhouser 04:13
use the tools that you have available, or these examples as well. You don't have to create everything by hand when we're not using Microsoft Paint or we're not using PowerPoint or things like that. There are a lot of design tools that even for us people who are not creative at all make it really, really simple,
Meghan 04:31
which is why it's so important to set small, achievable goals, the small marketing goals that you can set for yourself, like certain numbers of followers on social media, if that's a goal of yours, or writing one blog post a month or one email newsletter a month. These small things will help you get big wins in the end, especially
Collin Funkhouser 04:48
since again we're talking about the context of we've never had to market before we've only relied on word of mouth marketing again, that's all fine. But when that stops working for us, we have To do things, and if we've never done it before, we don't have the muscles built to do that we don't have the creativity juices flowing, we don't have that built into our schedule, we don't have that built into our routine of needing to do these things. So by starting small, and working within your strength and your comfort level, and using those appropriate tools, you'll really be able to start putting together something that you can gain traction on and experiment with and grow with. But
Meghan 05:23
your marketing should reflect your personality, what you want to do as a company, who you are the ethos of your business, stay authentic to what you and your business stand for. Because that's what people are going to connect with the most, the more that you can talk about what makes you different than every other person doing the same thing. That's what people are gonna resonate with,
Collin Funkhouser 05:43
you'll also be able to stay consistent with it, it's when you're using your voice, your true voice, staying consistent with your values, your mission, your your how you're moving forward. When you when you stay in that you'll be speaking from a place of authority, because it's you, it's who you are, meaning that when it comes time to make content, it's easier for you because you're not having to pretend to be somebody else. And that's so critical. When we look for that authenticity, when we look for that know, like and trust factor. People want to know is this person consistent across everything that they're doing, including when I meet them in person, bring all of that forward. And don't be afraid to put your personality into this because that's what clients are looking for. So
Meghan 06:23
if you're looking at a slowing business and need some ideas of where to start marketing and advertising, When word of mouth is no longer working or not working as much as you would like it to, we're gonna dive into 20 ideas for you to use. Some of these are digital, some of these are physical. And we're gonna start with the digital. First you have to create a Google Business Profile. This is super important. Whenever you type into Google dogwalker near me, or you know, bakery near me, a little map comes up, if you are on that map and a potential client searches for what you offer, you are going to pop up and they're more likely to contact you because they know who you are, and can go to your website, there's gonna be a link in the show notes to see exactly how to set that up. tied into that is the second way to grow your digital presence is Google and Facebook ads. So with Google ads, it's a great way to boost your visibility. It's kind of like the cherry on top, especially if you have a Google Business Profile already, because that's like the ice cream. And then the cherry on top is the Google Ad it's going to surface you more and more people are going to see it when they search for you. With Google ads, it's important to understand the campaign types and the goals for this. So the campaign type that you're most likely to use is the search. So again, when people search dog walker near me or pet sitting in your city, you're going to come up with the goals part of this. It's what what do you want out of this? Do you want more website clicks? Do you want more calls? Do you would you want more hits to a specific page on your website? What is it, there's also keyword research and targeting for this,
Collin Funkhouser 07:52
this is where you're going to try and include keywords in your ad where people are going to use and then you're going to surface for those. So dogwalker near me pet sitting in insert name of city, you can also use negative keywords of not overnight care or not boarding or whatever services you don't want to be associated with when somebody searches that or that comes up, you'll be associated with that. And then there's targeting so because we are service based industry, you have a service radius, you can choose to target people only in a set service radius in your area. Highly recommend this so you're not wasting ad spend for people outside of it. Who can never use your services. Anyway. There's
Meghan 08:29
the budget side of this as well. Yeah, how much money do you want to put into this a little bit a lot? Does it not matter? Do you want to do it per day, it's going to help you monitor your performance when you have the goals when you have the keywords when you know how much you want to spend because Google Ads effectively requires ongoing attention and adjustment. It's not really just about setting up a campaign but also continually optimizing it it's not a set it and forget it. It's what am i How am I doing now what can I change? What can I do to be better to be to get in front of more eyeballs, it's based on performance data, and changing the market conditions. If you're new to Google ads, it might also be helpful to set up a free call with them so they can help you walk you through it. The next digital way we're probably all familiar with it is Facebook groups, join local groups and not just pet related ones, but business related ones or buy sell trade, which may not seem like the best use of your time, but it can be fruitful if you use it properly. If there are local parent groups or groups specifically for people asking for help, you really have to think about who is on Facebook though and if your target audience is not on Facebook, they may this may not be helpful for you or as helpful as for some other businesses but always include a link to your website when you post about your business and then respond to people looking for
Collin Funkhouser 09:41
help. I will also add that even if you don't think you're going to be the best fit for somebody who's posted for help looking on Facebook still respond with information about your company, what you do and how you do it with that link to your website because understand that not just the original poster, the OP is going to be reading the comments other people in the community are going to be able to see who is commenting. And this helps your brand awareness as people see you interacting, see you engaging, and they will see your information there. It's all part about kind of growing that knowledge base of who you are and what you do. The
Meghan 10:13
fourth digital aspect is next door. I will say that when we lived in a big city in Texas, there were hundreds of people posting every single day, and it was very overwhelming on next door. But when we moved to our small city, it's not very popular at all. So this is going to depend on your location. But you really can't get more local and specific than next door, it's literally the app for your neighbors, you can only join the neighborhood that you live in. So there is that caveat, if you are trying to target neighbors two miles away, this isn't really going to be that beneficial for you. But it is good because it keeps it very local. You can advertise your business on here, you can create a business profile and have people recommend it, and even be awarded the the best whatever are the best pets that are of your area. A great way to optimize your website is blogging and that is the fifth digital way showcase your expertise. If you have a great topic, but you don't know how to write about it or how to get started, talk to chat GBT, it's going to spit out some some excellent resources and information for you. Make sure you double check everything because it's not always factual. But it gives you something to share out on social media. And really highlight the services that you offer and what you believe in as a company.
Collin Funkhouser 11:25
Start by thinking of topics that you get asked by clients, or that you see being asked in groups or things that you're just really passionate about and build from there. But
Meghan 11:33
if you don't have a website, create one focus on your website and SEO, so you can optimize it for the search engines. For really Google, we highly recommend Squarespace that's the one that we use, it's simple to create, and really drag and drop. We also know people love Wix as well, or GoDaddy as another one. The important key thing here is to own your online presence with social media platforms with Facebook and Instagram and Tiktok. You want to ensure that you own your things that you aren't subject to the algorithms from these these platforms. But it is a catch 22 Because a lot of our clients are on these platforms. And so having a social media presence, getting that social proof is really important to regularly posting engaging content on platforms. So people can share it out. Not only just who you are and what you do, but also pet care tips and tricks,
Collin Funkhouser 12:21
it's important to remember that you don't have to be everywhere, though, and we're just starting out. So don't feel like you have to post three times a day on all the social media platforms that you can think of. That's way too much focus on where your strengths are, where you already are. And maybe where you already have a few engagement with clients in other ways, share cute photos of your pets, tips on pet care and fun stories, to start getting into that habit of building those muscles on posting on social media. And then start creating more engaging content and storytelling with your posts with
Meghan 12:50
an online presence. It's important to look to see if your insurance or your software or a professional organization that you have has an online directory, because the more places that you are, the more that Google is going to surface you and the more that they are going to know that you are a legitimate business. So places to list your information about your business or links to your website are really amazing for SEO. So think pet sitters international naps, the National Association of Professional pet sitters time to pet and pet sitters associates all have directories where you can list your business. If you have joined the Chamber of Commerce or another networking group, you can use their directory as well.
Collin Funkhouser 13:27
We mentioned the importance of owning your content. And one key aspect to that is our ninth suggestion here is to have an email newsletter. Don't just rely on social media to get your information out there you post it once on Facebook, you don't know who is going to see that email newsletter email marketing is still an amazing way to get connected, especially with your existing clients. So own your communication with your clients and your potential clients by having this and build it as a resource for them.
Meghan 13:57
On episode 336. We talked about the effective use of an email list. The final simple digital avenue that we're going to talk about is customer reviews. So now is the time to be asking for reviews from existing clients. If you have a software like time to pet the happiness surveys are a great way to pull out the amazing feedback that you get and post them on your website. Ask the people if they will, if they have a great happiness survey if they will go in and put that into Google or Facebook. I will caution though, don't ask all of your clients all at once through a big email news blast because Google doesn't like a bunch of reviews hitting at the same time. So spaced out your requests. Maybe once a week, you'll go through the people from the past week who have used you and maybe ask them for a review. If it's been a while or if you haven't done that before, direct them to Google or Facebook or just anywhere that you want them to leave a review.
Collin Funkhouser 14:43
You can see how powerful this is as you start to build here, okay, you don't have a business profile. You're gonna make a business profile. Now you have somewhere to direct the reviews to you have somewhere to send people when they have feedback. You're going to make that business page on Facebook. Now you have something to start posting to and sending people that to So, as you stack these methods, they become more and more powerful, and will help drive more people to your business as they become more aware of you. Before
Meghan 15:07
we dive into the physical aspects of advertising, let's talk about pet sitters associates. As pet care professionals, your clients trust you to care for their furry family members. And that's why pet sitters Associates is here to help. for over 20 years, they've provided 1000s of members with quality pet care insurance. Because you work in the pet care industry, you can take your career to the next level with flexible coverage options, client connections and complete freedom in running your business. Learn why pet sitters Associates is the perfect fit for you and get a free quote at pets@llc.com. If you would like a discount when joining because who doesn't like a discount, you can click a membership petsitter confessional and use the discount code confessional at checkout to get $10 off, check out the benefits of membership and insurance once again at pets llc.com. So we've talked about the digital aspects. And for introverts like myself, those are the very easy parts, you can sit behind a screen and you can do it and you don't it doesn't take in my opinion, it doesn't take nearly as much work as going out and face to face, saying hey, how you doing to people that is very scary, but it is important.
Collin Funkhouser 16:05
Well, and that actually is this next idea here of in person networking. So let's remember we've got a business that may be slowing, we're not getting as many leads, maybe we've had clients who have left, so we do have more time on our hands. It's now time to go out into our community and talk to people to go into shops go into businesses, and and a great opening statement is Hi, my name is Dave and I work for petsitting 123. And I just want to stop in I drive by your business all the time, I just want to introduce myself and say hi and see kind of how are things going what's business like these days, get them talking like that don't come in that first day and asked to poster flyers to poster cards to take up some of their in store real estate with your stuff. Get to know the people there, whether it's an owner, whether it's a manager, whether it's a store clerk, whoever that person is, get to know them, and then have that conversation with them, just so that you can start building some more recognition and some more connections in your network
Meghan 17:03
with connections, the networking groups like the Chamber of Commerce, 1 Million Cups, there are lots of young professional groups that you can join, maybe even a local pet care network like the Florida Pet Services Association, or the Texas pet sitters Association, or start one in your own state, if you don't have one. These are great ways to get to know not just other pet sitters who may be part of these groups, but other business owners as well. Because there are things as business owners that that are very difficult that we have to deal with, whether it's the admin side, or just dealing with people, there are things that we can all commiserate on, you may also consider pitching yourself to local media, maybe your local newspaper, or if there's a magazine that is in your area that really wants to target the exact market that you do. You may even want to go on TV or a radio show. I know we were invited to be on our local TV a few months back, and it was very nerve wracking, but it was, it was fun. Yes,
Collin Funkhouser 17:58
it was we're very thankful for that opportunity. But putting yourself out there and be willing to take on those opportunities when they come will pay off dividends down the line, you will build confidence and you will also build a network and become more makeup become more aware of who you are. And all of these four with local media, the newspaper, the magazine, radio, TV, they will all have options and opportunities, I guess, for paying for advertisements, be very aware of exactly what you're buying, and what the reach of those are going to be for radio we'd get we've gotten this pitch, a lot of times, they'll brag about how far their radio reaches, you know, 100 miles away people can pick up pick this up two hours away. That's wonderful. We've service a six mile radius like that's, that's wasted ad spend. So that's not necessarily a good place for us to go. Well.
Meghan 18:46
Yeah, that was gonna be my point of being judicious with your money. Because at the end of the day, there are infinite number of ways that you can advertise people will take your money all day long. Right? They'll happily take it for you. So you have to know exactly what you're getting for what you're paying for. And is it going to be the exact right fit for your business.
Collin Funkhouser 19:06
And that's why a local pitch of pitch to local media is so so good because there are that they need they want local stories, they need help coming up with content for the newspaper or for the magazines or for shows that they're putting on. Be that source for them be that expert when things pet come up in their in their brain would have questions with that they go to you. You can supply them with articles, oh, I don't know, like maybe the blog that you've been writing on, supply it to them to publish in that week's newspaper or something so that you can start getting some recognition in the community.
Meghan 19:35
Another great way to get your business known physically is branded merchandise. Consider leaving these at coffee shops or you know with poop bag holders or tennis balls. That's something that we do. There's a local pet friendly coffee shop and we leave those things at the counter there. They have a little basket set up for us and we've made that connection over many, many months of going in and just asking How's business doing and then finally one day we said hey, can we come in and put some some of our things here. And they were like, Yeah, that's great. That's it gets more exposure for them, because they are known as a pet friendly establishment. And then it also gets exposure for us. Make sure the gear that you leave or any gear is branded, so your shirts or hats, etc, for when you're out on visits, because it builds that brand awareness. I know there are differing opinions on car wraps. Some people say, yeah, they're totally fine. Other people really want to respect their clients privacy and feel that a car wrap really invades that. So just be mindful of what you are portraying to the outside world. But ultimately know that you can do whatever you want for your business. Just understand
Collin Funkhouser 20:38
philosophically, why you're doing it and what that portrays to others. And if you are a security, mindset kind of person, maybe a corporate rap is not the place to go or maybe yard signs isn't what you want to do you want to advertise that, hey, this somebody is travels a lot. So here's a here's a flag in their, in their yard that I'm going to be over, however comfortable you are. And again, always think about your clients, what would they be comfortable with coming in and out of their home? How would they want people to see that they're traveling or not. Because we want to strengthen the relationship with our existing clients, it is far easier to make money from an existing client than it is to go out and get a new one. So consider building out a loyalty program, reward your past clients with a discount for frequently booked services. Again, we're not saying discount everything, but maybe it's every 20th Walk or maybe it's every 10th walk that they do or, or something along those lines so that they see that you value them continuing to service you. A lot of people will complain that oh, this XYZ company only gives the good deals to the new clients. And they always get the good stuff coming into. But once you're with them for a while you don't get anything. Don't be like that. Provide your existing clients, your best ones with a reward with a thank you that loyalty program for continuing to use your services and trust you. And
Meghan 21:55
maybe it's a punch card that they leave on their fridge and every time you come over to do a walk, they get a punch so they know that you've been there and they are one punch closer to getting that reward. A great way to get your name out there is to host an event or attend one. If you get certified to teach pet first aid and CPR. That is a great way to host a free event for your clients to attend. Because they should be pet first aid and CPR certified to it's not just for pet sitters and walkers. It's for the average pet owner too. We host pet loss Memorial events or just think of an event that would bring a pet owners together to get the community involved and your brand out there more. And
Collin Funkhouser 22:33
that could be done through partnerships. We touched on this at the very beginning of when we are just starting out needing to bring other people into what we're trying to develop here. But partnerships are really important. So collaborate with local pet stores that scrimmages trainers for cross promotions with one another. Consider a value add for that loyalty program that we mentioned earlier. Something like if you booked 10 services with me, you'll get a free groom with this screamer over here as long as again, either they agree to it or you as the company you're going to be paying for that for your loyalty customers. Or maybe they book 10 training sessions with your preferred trainer. And you will give them one free walk because you believe in the same techniques the same philosophy of training as they do. These partnerships for cross promotion become really powerful when pet parents start being able to see that they are alone. And there is a community a network of people helping them live their best life possible with their pet.
Meghan 23:25
When you talk about physical marketing, you obviously can't forget the physical paper, flyers and posters, put them in coffee shops and boutiques, places where your people are going to be. It's you don't need to spread them at every single store in a six mile radius. But you do need to be strategic with them. Where do your clients shop? Where do they dine? Where do they go keep it simple. Highlight your brand with a call to action or a QR code or your website for more information on the flyer include a phone number because some people just want to call along
Collin Funkhouser 23:55
with the idea of physical flyers and posters, business cards, do not discount having a few of these in your pocket. Wearing your branded merchandise, people are going to stop and ask you Oh, are you actually a dog walker or hey, I've seen you on Facebook. Or maybe you go to a networking event, people are going to ask you can I have a card for whenever I go home so use Canva. To create these you can also use Canva to print these or you can send them to Staples or Kinkos or something like that. And if you don't want to carry a physical card on you this is a little bit of a mismatch between these have a digital and physical but use an app like blink or hello to create amazing digital cards that people can scan with their phones and store contact information directly there or have it go to a website in some way. Blinken and hello are both free apps with paid tiers where you can use branded colors or do different things with them. We use the free ones just because we want to have an extra option in our pocket if we forget to have a card on us. It pulls up a QR code somebody holds their phone over it they take they use the camera to select the pop up text and they are boom taken either directly to our website. or brings up a contact card with our saved information that from our business. And then one more thing, our 20th idea here for you as far as When word of mouth marketing stops being enough for you and you're looking for something extra. It's something we haven't haven't actually talked about on the podcast before. But but run a physical newsletter, we talked about email newsletters, sending those directly to people through their emails. Now consider a physical newsletter. And what's important to know here is that while physical newsletters may be mailed to existing clients, you can also capture potential clients information through an online intake form, get their address to make sure that they're in your service area. And now you can start mailing them these things as well. But if you have an existing client, these physical newsletters are going to be reminder to them that you are there to very high end touch. Also, they have something they can physically take and pass off to somebody, another pet lover, somebody who has that same problem as they do that you have helped them with your existing client in that newsletter. And there are three points that you need to consider if this is something that you want to do. And the first one is to focus on personalization and relevant content. You really need to make this engaging stuff, things that speak directly to your clients that are interested in this directly to problems that they have. This is something that they want to read and want to have in their mail, so make sure that it is important to them. Next, you can make engaging and interactive elements. Incorporate fun things like pet trivia, puzzles, or pet of the month feature and invite your clients to contribute to the newsletter, maybe stories or photos of their pets or testimonials of how helpful you have been to them. And then this last part here, as we look to impress people and convey the value and the premium service that you offer, make sure that you have a professional presentation and that you're consistent in your printing here, have a good layout, those high quality images that aren't blurry at all, it's gonna make a huge difference on how this whole thing is perceived. You can do this in Canva, again of making these newsletters before you send them out. If you're worried about the printing and those and impacts on the environment, use eco friendly print options both with the ink and in the paper and tout that in the newsletter. This is printed with eco friendly ink and recycled paper. Your clients will love that you're considering that and letting them know about it.
Meghan 27:09
We know those were a lot of ideas. But hopefully if word of mouth is not doing it for you anymore, and you need more clients. Hopefully some of these will help you. Again,
Collin Funkhouser 27:18
think back to what we started talking about is where do you begin with all of this, focus on your strengths, focus on where you are going to excel in this and where your own wants and needs are, then look at this list and build from there. You can cherry pick out three, four or five of these different options to build something that's going to suit you and your company.
Meghan 27:36
If you tried out a few of these. We'd love to know how it worked for you. You can email us at feedback at petsitter confessional.com. Thank you very much to our sponsor, pet sitters associates and thank you for listening. We really appreciate you. We will talk to you next time. Bye
