496: Making Your Business Memorable
Brought to you by: Pet Sitters Associates. Use ‘Confessional’ at checkout
Is your business memorable? With a more crowded market than ever, we discuss strategies for making your business stand out and why it's crucial for success. We share the importance of defining the terms you use and the importance of offering unique services. Your clients are looking for feelings and emotions, so you should be connecting at that level with them, not in technical jargon. Learn how to differentiate your business and leave a positive, memorable impact on your clients.
Main topics:
Strategies for being memorable
Offering unique services
Engaging with clients
Building emotional connections
Main takeaway: Be known more for your passion than your policies.
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A VERY ROUGH TRANSCRIPT OF THE EPISODE
Provided by otter.ai
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
pet, pet sitters, client, business, memorable, people, experience, talk, ways, company, words, care, confessional, services, offer, dog walker, story, potential client, dog, associates
SPEAKERS
Meghan, Collin
Meghan 00:00
Hi. I'm Meghan.
00:02
I'm Collin.
Meghan 00:03
And we are the hosts of pet sitter confessional and open and honest discussion about life as a pet sitter. Thank you to pet sitters associates for sponsoring today's episode, and also our lovely Patreon supporters for helping to keep the show going right after almost 500 episodes, we are super excited to have you guys along for the ride. Part of
Collin 00:21
the benefits of being a Great Dane supporter means that once a month we get together on a zoom call and talk about everything and how it's going. That is going to be this Friday, June 7 at 10am. Central Standard Time Be on the lookout for that post to come through with that link. If you're interested in becoming a Patreon supporter, and learning more about all the ways that you can support the show, go to petsitter professional.com/support. On Episode
Meghan 00:43
494, we talked about staying top of mind and why that is so important for you to do as a business. One way to do that is to be memorable. And obviously in a good way. We talked on 494 about not being annoying with your marketing and trying to do your best to be out there in as many ways as possible and to as many people as possible, without becoming overbearing and cumbersome.
Collin 01:06
But there are definitely good and bad ways to be memorable. We've all experienced this in our own personal life as well. But as a business, businesses can develop a reputation for being snarky on the internet, or having bad quality service or not always being open or following through with the things that they say they're going to do. These are very memorable people in your community, people in your area, will will not forget you if this is how you act. And this is how you treat other people. However, this isn't what we want being spread around about us. We don't want to be in memory of people as a bad experience or for bad things that have happened. And the good part about this is that to some extent here, we actually control this, we can control what people remember about
Meghan 01:51
us. Yeah, we do have to keep in mind the ways and what we can control. So we can't control what someone says to another person about our business. But we can't control how we interact with a potential client or the client. So think about it like this. It's like a square door in a world full of rectangles. It stands out, it's unique. If you are that square door, you are going to be noticed because everybody else is a rectangle. So you as a dog walker, there are so many dog walkers on every corner. But what do you do to stand out what separates you from everybody else? We've talked a little bit about this before about what separates you is you because nobody else is like you. Nobody thinks the way you do or explain things the way you do or runs their business like you do. But it goes a little deeper than that. How can we be memorable? In a good way to people? How are we going to get noticed,
Collin 02:42
and it's all in the messaging. For this example, let's think about what Apple did with the iPod. This wasn't the first mp3 player and it certainly wasn't the easiest or most accessible given its price and some of its technical specifications and what it did or did not work with for its operating system. But they had a phrase 1000 songs in your pocket. Right What how they didn't talk about the storage of gigabytes of storage, they didn't talk about the data transfer rate or the cable that it was used, or the casing that was involved, or its dimensions, they came out and they said 1000 songs in your pocket, because too often we and they could have gotten stuck in the jargon. And that's boring. We use words because we think they're impressive. And we use words because we think that they have a lot of weight behind them when in reality, they don't mean anything to potential clients, things like professional or bonded and insured or certified. Again, Apple could have focused on the technical specifications. Instead, they wanted to focus on the experience of the user, they wanted to tell a story with how it actually impacted and how it actually changed the life of the person that was using their device. And
Meghan 03:56
I think a discussion needs to be had here that it is okay to use those words. It's great to use those words, if that's what you are, then you need to talk about that and show that and allow clients to experience that. But I think it's different in our industry because when you're a roofer or when you're a plumber or a contractor. People want somebody who's bonded and insured because they understand that if the roofer falls off the roof, that their homeowners insurance is going to be live liable for that. When someone goes to a tattoo artists, they want to know that they are certified in whatever certification that the tattoo artists needs to be in, because they don't want just somebody making a bear out of a dragon or whatever. But because people typically go to their friends, family, neighbors and acquaintances before they seek out someone who does this as their career and it is very important that we speak plainly in what we do, because everybody says they're reliable. I just saw a post the other week for a 15 year old who said I'm rely I'm a reliable petsitter Okay, well, maybe you are but For us who do it as a full time career, this is how we put food on our table for our family and our kids, the words that people use sometimes get watered down, it's really a commodity. So it doesn't really mean much anymore. And
Collin 05:13
because the language gets muddled down, it gets really muddy. And everybody says that they are a professional, everybody says that they are reliable. And it's not about saying, well, I need to find a new adjective to describe me, or I need to find a new word to use in my business in my marketing. That's not what we're talking about here. As far as being memorable, what we have to do is we have to find our strengths, we have to focus on what we do best. And then it is our job to visualize what that looks like, for the potential client, we have to show them what does that mean when when I as a pet sitting business, when I say professional, here is the experience that you can receive. I mean, customer service is a good one, we pride ourselves in quality customer service. What on earth does that mean? What does that mean to somebody? We're all we're doing this we're throwing out jargon, we're throwing out a word that is technically meaningless to somebody unless we define it for them. Right? quality customer service. What does that actually get the client? What does that get somebody who comes to you and says, You know what, I had a bad customer service experience previously, tell me about your customer experience. Tell me about what I can get and how I will experience working with your company. Yeah, you're
Meghan 06:27
right. It's not just about using another word to describe who you are or what you do. It's about getting creative, and telling that story in many different avenues and many different messages and trying to give a new take on Yeah, I'm a dog walker down the street. Hi, here's my name, and my number they are
Collin 06:44
free is growing in popularity. Unfortunately, no clients knows what this actually is or what it means. So we have to translate this into something for them. And that's what this entire process is, you sitting down thinking about your values, thinking about your strengths, thinking about what makes you different. And then instead of just using the word, paint a picture for them, I'll never forget when going through my my PhD program, one of my advisors, she worked on algae, right. But she she knew that algae didn't capture people's attention or imaginations, that like other things did. So she would always challenge herself to write her entire paper without, which was about algae, without ever talking about algae, and finding this bigger context and this bigger story. So you could talk about the training the number of hours, the specific techniques that you went through to get this certification, the clients don't care. Instead, focus on that experience for them focus on the fact that they will have a calm and relaxed pet, right that their pet will be handled in a way that minimizes fear and anxiety and stress. This means potentially fewer behavior issues and a happier, more relaxed pet during each visit. Talk about creating a stress free environment about how as a certified professional, you are trained to recognize and alleviate signs and pets, that their pets environment will actually be tailored to their needs with careful attention to their comfort and emotional well being with product recommendations and resources and other tools and trainings provided. Talking about your personal care that each pet is unique. And then as a certified caregiver, you will customize your approach to meet that pets specific needs, ensuring that their pet receives care as both effective and comforting manner. share stories and testimonials about how the visits are improved. That whether it's a walk or drop in visit, or if you do overnight stays talk about how that there, the pet will look forward to their time with you. Because of the reduced stress, it makes it more enjoyable. And each interaction is more beneficial than before that essentially, you're getting a compassionate, stress free professional care that results in a happier and healthier pet. linking all of those things together. What we've done is we've taken the training, you have the know how you have the certification, you have got all the hours that you put in, but you need to translate that into the experience that the client will receive and that the pet will get from you. That is actually memorable.
Meghan 09:14
Now this isn't to say that some potential clients who have had a bad experience previously with a pet sitter or really do understand this and know what it means to have all these jargon words around your name and they don't really need the story. They just know they want somebody insured, just like their house cleaner is or whatever. But for I think for the vast majority of people, they're going to want to be emotionally connected to your company to your messaging and to you giving back to the rescue in the area or don't volunteering your time to help the shelter pets. They want to feel all the fields. We do need to have a little bit of emotion here in our companies and our messaging.
Collin 09:55
Yeah, the feels right that is exactly what this is. We want to be memorable How we make people feel? Yes, at the end of the day, it's a business transaction. Absolutely. But there are feelings on both sides of this. What can we do? How can we structure how can we present and walk people through an experience such that those feelings will be positive on both sides that we like it, and especially the client and their pet has that and and designing the intake, the processing every touchpoint is a wonderful experience so that they feel well that they feel cared for. They feel known, they feel seen, they feel safe, because of everything that you were doing, and how you're controlling that.
Meghan 10:39
We're about to talk about specific tactical ways to be memorable. But first, I want to tell you about our friends at 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 have 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. You can get a discount when you join by clicking membership at petsitter. confessional and use the discount code confessional when you go to checkout checkout benefits of membership and insurance once again, add pets@llc.com. So we've talked about why it's important to be memorable, a little bit about how you can be memorable and now we're gonna go into some practical ways that you can be memorable. The first one is a physical handwritten note, at the end of a long string of petsitting visits, the client has maybe been away for a few weeks, this is going to set your business apart because a lot of our businesses are now digital, they are on apps or software's and their clients get the report at the end of every visit or walk right to their phone or to their email. But when they come home and they see this nice card that's handwritten, and just a quick story about their pets during the time away is going to make them feel very special.
Collin 12:00
And obviously every instance that we discuss here, you have to decide whether that is something that you want to add to your plate, everything extra that we add everything extra that we do is an additional expense in time or in financial terms that we have to decide whether that's worth it for us or not. But if making somebody feel special is a $1 car that you get and five minutes of writing a quick script about your time with that pet that's really worth it and actually goes a long way for not just making them feel special. But for you being seen as somebody who genuinely cares, which could extend into something like remembering a client's pet birthday, whether you'd have a software for this or whether it's part of your intake form or, or whether you just learn about this through the care of the pet, sending a reminder on your calendar, and then the day of sending them a message, you don't have to get them a present, you don't have to get them a card then. But just a message to them, letting them know that you're hope that they have a happy birthday, maybe you can send along the favorite photo that you have of that pet that since you've last cared for them. And just saying happy birthday, we hope your day is fantastic. This is a great way to allow that client to again, see you as somebody who cares that you get known for somebody who notices those details, and they really matter to you.
Meghan 13:19
Well, and I think the struggle here for some of our businesses like ours who have a team approach, who have many employees doing the visits or doing any one particular client is that sometimes we can feel corporate or cold or a little bit standoffish. Because we have all these policies, we basically we're trying to build this wall between us and the client that the client may perceive. But ultimately, we need to protect our business. But it is key to make sure that people remember you for the passion that your company has or that you have, and not necessarily for the policies that you put in place.
Collin 13:54
Because remember, people will remember you for something you will be memorable or something to a client, it could be that you have really strict cancellation policies and you actually hold to them that's memorable, they may share about that on social media to their friends. Or they could remember that you always send them a happy birthday present or Happy Birthday Tex with a photo of their pet each time that it's their birthday. And that that's actually what stands out to them.
Meghan 14:20
Or it could be that you send them a physical gift after the loss of their pet. That's one of the toughest parts of our job is when the pets die. So sending the client a gift or a card that just a simple note letting them know how much their pet meant to you. And then putting that pets death date in your calendar to send them a message a year later on the anniversary of that death. It's going to mean something very special to them that you remember them.
Collin 14:44
Those are obviously two very sad and grave occasions. But if it's if you know the gotcha day for an adopted pet or if you have an anniversary for when you did the first walk with that dog or the first time you scoop that cat's litter box, send that to the client let them know If you're paying attention, that it's not just the rudimentary, basic kind of service where you show up, and then you leave, but that this is actually something that you care about, and you not just care about doing the job well done, but you care about them, as well. There
Meghan 15:15
are small ways to be memorable, and then big ways as well, maybe sponsoring a rescue or a shelter day, where I'm going to donate $1,000 to go towards all of the shelter animals that get adopted this day. Or maybe
Collin 15:27
you have a reoccurring basis where a percentage of every service goes to a donation for a local shelter or local animal rescue, but finding ways to impact the community. And it's not when ways that are going to make you suffer financially are going to hurt you financially. So find things that you can do that will work that are sustainable, that if you did 10 acts, it still would not be a bad thing. But finding those things that you will be known for ways that you contribute ways that you make the community better, maybe ways that you make the place more pet friendly, or that you bring people together over a common love of pets. Those are memorable things. So when people think about pet care, they think about that company that sponsored those dog walks or that company that did this thing or that thing or is involved in this broader context.
Meghan 16:16
Yeah, memorable does not equate to expensive, there are tons of free ways that you can stand out from everybody else. Whether it I mean, it doesn't even have to be the services that you offer, or the times that you offer them, or the ways that you experience the dog walk with the pet. But it's all the little things on top, that will likely make the difference. And they don't have to cost anything, but making
Collin 16:40
you mentioned about the services that we offer, or how we offer them, look across the people who are offering similar services or who run petsitting businesses in your area, and then be different for them. Right, just by offering unique services, you will be memorable, even if you don't do a lot of those services. And I think too often we can be concerned that, Oh, well. I want to offer wedding pet attendant. But if I don't do it a whole lot, it's not that big of a deal. But what really is that people start to know you as the pet sitting business that offers wedding pet attendant services. And I think that's amazing, right? So for us, we offer adventurer hikes, people love these, they love the idea of them, even if their dog isn't a good fit for them, we get people who comment of, well, you know, if my dog were younger, or if my dog were physically able to do that, or if we lived in your service area, we would love to be able to do that. And they actually recommend us to other people, just because they know we offer adventure hikes. They say it's so cool, and they wish more people could do it. So it's anything like that's uh, you just you just offer poop scooping, right, you offer pet taxi, private flight nannies wedding pet attendants, you work with pocket pets, specifically, you work on farm cares, whatever that is find a cool and unique niche that you can want you that you want to specialize in, that's within your line of work, and then promote that, because it goes in, even if it never, you know, takes off and hopefully consumes your entire company. It's still something cool and unique that you offer that people can remember you by, you want people to connect with your business and you want them to say things like I never knew that was a thing that's so cool, because that sticks in people's heads. It's also things like engaging with your clients directly. Now we don't get to see our clients on an awful lot in person because we don't have a storefront would have a physical location. So instead, when somebody comments on your social media post, respond back, have a conversation with people, they're everywhere where people are trying to talk with you and to you, especially if it's in public people like being engaged with, they like being seen, they like knowing that you're having a conversation with them, that's memorable to them, they are going to remember that you are that kind of person, you take that time, and it's very meaningful to them on their end.
Meghan 18:58
And with trying to connect with them, share your story, share why you got into business, a little bit about your employees, if you have them, you can do this on your email newsletter. If you send that out or on your social media or if you have a physical newsletter that gets sent out you can do it there as well. Tell people why you started the business what the story behind your company, why do you do what you do? What is your approach to pet sitting and dog walking that they may not know about? Or that they may not have thought about before and then you can if it's if it's something like fear free you can tie it into that's why we have these certifications because I had a bad experience prior or I was educated in this way.
Collin 19:35
Instead of turning it into a series as far as getting to know us. Yes, you have the FAQ is on your website and you talk about those things but having a what's your favorite ice cream? What's your favorite color? What's your favorite animal? Would you rather go to the beach or the mountains? Are you a coffee or tea or neither kind of person? These simple silly questions allow people to personalize you. They take this enigma of a person who they might not ever see or have seen once and now they just See online, and it turns them into a real human being before them. And the closer that kind of relationship that we can have, the more personal we can make that for people, the more memorable that we are going to be for them for the long run. So there's the services that you offer, there's the thing that you do and how you do them also makes it your business looks different than every other business in your area. Take time to comb through the Facebook pages, the websites, the social media pages of other dog walkers and other pet sitters in your area. And then compare that to your business. Does your name stand out? Does your branding stand out? What are your colors? Like? What are you posting, because those are like having a billboard for people. Because when they're driving by, they're going to see your website flash cross, they're gonna see your Facebook page flash across. And if they see the same, oh, it had a dog and had a cat, I think it was kind of brown. What is that, you know that you are missing out on people who are going to be wanting to connect with your company, having a visually enticing and visually catching brand for your business is going to help you be memorable when people don't see you every day.
Meghan 21:07
A lot of the things we've talked about mean going above and beyond doing something extra in your business, whether that's extra time or extra money, because we don't want to be known as the pet sitter that just walks through the door throws food at the cat and leaves. That's not a good experience. We want to be unique and not like everybody else. But there is a fine line here. Because you don't want to do things that are outside of your comfort zone or outside of the scope of your business. You don't want to go pick up a client's dry cleaning or go get them coffee just because they're going to remember you there are definitely boundaries that need to be set around this so that it is still financially profitable for you to run your business and healthy for you as a person to be able to run your business.
Collin 21:50
Because there's no point in trying to and struggling to stay top of mind if you can't keep it up for the long haul. And that you may be top of mind for now. But if you burn out and you flush out and you have to shut down your business because you overexerted yourself, what was that for? Find things that are sustainable to you find things that maybe you're already doing and try and highlight them or take them up a notch or to add an extra 5% effort and realize that you can ebb and flow that you don't have to always be doing 1000 different things that you can take step back at time steps back at times to recollect yourself and recenter yourself and find new ways of doing this instead of always the same ones.
Meghan 22:36
If you are interested in sharing how you provide a memorable experience for your clients, you can email us at feedback petsitter confessional.com and we will share that on the show or on Facebook and Instagram. You can look us up at Pet Sitter confessional. Thank you for taking your time your most valuable asset and listening to this today. We are almost at 500 episodes and we could not be more thrilled. Thank you for all of your support and also to pet sitters associates for sponsoring today's episode. We will talk with you next time. Bye
