You made the right choice back when you decided to enter the dog daycare industry. According to one survey of pet owners, there were about 89.7 million dogs owned in the United States in 2017 alone.
The question now is, how do you market your dog daycare business to those millions of owners? How do you reach them?
How can they find your business? How do you capture their interest?
How do you build both your online and physical presence to be visible to them?
In this guide, I will help you get through the hearts of the millions of fur parents out there with some basic dog daycare marketing plan.
From making your website fun and appealing, to coming up with enjoyable activities for a fun-filled day for all pet lovers, we have it here. Continue reading below to know some marketing ideas for your dog daycare business.
How To Make A Fun Website That Appeals To Dog Lovers
The internet is the best way to connect with your dog daycare target market. This premise is true for any business nowadays. If you're not on the internet, then your business might as well be non-existent.
Your website introduces your business to prospective clients. It is also your dog daycare website that will present your services to them.
There are many website designing services available today to help you with the technicalities of how to put up a website. But, it would be best if you had a full idea of how you want your dog daycare business website to be before seeking help from website professionals. They can help you with creative decisions as well, but you need to know what direction you want to take.
Ask For An Interactive Website
One crucial suggestion from us is for you to have an interactive website. For example, in introducing your company, you may want an animated dog does it for you. Or each time someone clicks on a category on your website, a visitor will be first hearing a "woof." Instead of the standard cursor or arrow, you may want to use a wagging tail.
Speaking of category, it is always essential to have an "About Us" page where you give a quick background of the company and the people who work behind it. It is also customary to provide each service you provide ample space on your website.
Of course, it is always logical to put the address or location of your business. It will be fun to have an interactive maze on your website with a dog guiding the customer to the business address.
Speak in "Dog Language"
Introduce the company and conversationally explain your services, as casual as possible. One key characteristic of dog lovers is that they are the laid-back type. Avoid using highly technical terms. They hate highfaluting words. If it's possible, write information with how dog lovers "baby talk" their pets.
Have the dog owners talk through your website. Dedicate a page or a section of a page to an online forum where your site visitors can interact with one another.
I want to highlight the importance and potential effect of a forum page.
A forum page will most likely keep your visitors engaged on your websites. With interactions among their fellow dog lovers, they will see your website as an enjoyable place to meet a community of fur parents.
Design the forum section as interactive as possible. Allow users to reply in public or in private with each other. Allow them to share photos and videos of their fur babies. If possible, have a page where they can create a dog's profile. It'll be like a Facebook for dogs.
The forum page will also be advantageous for you as a business owner. You'll get to know who your customers are, what are their ages, likes, and dislikes concerning owning pets.
The forum page will also be beneficial for you to keep sharing your content, which, in return, will build up your website's engagement.
What Content Keeps Fur-Parents Excited
When we say content, we don't just mean the textual business information or product description required from any website.
Content here also means visual material such as blogs, images, sounds, videos, and animations that promote user experience.
Website content is your ultimate hook that will keep your costumers to your website until you convinced them of trying out your best dog daycare services.
Your content plays an integral part in how to make your website appealing to your dog daycare target market.
If it's dog lovers, your targetting, all textual and visual displays found on your website should address their needs and interests.
Your blogs should offer a full menu of information about dogs, i.e., how to take care of them, how to care for specific breeds, where to shop for dog stuff, what's the best dog food currently, the list can go on.
The most important thing about blogs is that you should be an authority about dogs. Blogs should create the impression that your website is an expert when it comes to dogs.
You may want to invite a vet to write a regular monthly column for your website. Your website visitors can write an email to him for some questions.
You can also feature a celebrity dog lover in your blogs every month. You can also never go wrong with uploading funny photos and videos of dogs, as well.
You may want to try creating your funny dog, memes. Memes are a big hit these days. Memes go viral, and in effect, your business can have the potential of becoming viral as well. Becoming viral is the box office of the online world.
Have a blog about where to shop for dog costumes. Dog costumes are a hoot these days.
Please take note of what this suggestion: Have a blog about helping future dog owners on how to find the perfect breed for them. What are the considerations in choosing a breed?
The new fur-parents are the group of people you would want to offer help because you have a bigger chance of having them as loyal customers in the long-run.
And of course, the most important is to have a regular blog about why dog daycare services are essential to any dog lovers' life.
How To Make Most Of Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter
Social media is the ultimate key to penetrate the millions of dog daycare target markets. Unless someone is living under the rock, we cannot think of anyone without a social media account.
Social media - Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter - is the most effective way to build customer relations. These platforms are also the best way to know your target audience more. They are also the sure way to interact with them the most.
As a business owner, you better be sure that your dog daycare has social media accounts.
Not only will you be having a more personal relationship with your clients, but it is also through your dog daycare social media account that you'll be sharing your content.
Remember the textual and visual displays we talked about with the previous section? Share all your content through your social media accounts to have more people going to your website.
Go big with images, memes, and videos in your dog daycare business social media accounts. Always share your blogs with accompanying amusing photos with them.
According to one study, tweets with images acquire 18% more clicks, 89% more likes, and 150% more retweets. On Facebook, posts with photos gather 53% more likes, and 104% more comments.
Your main goal about having social media accounts is to increase your followers continually. A large number of followers lead to robust brand recognition, visibility, presence, and, most importantly, customer loyalty.
To get those social media followers growing, always respond to their likes, comments, and questions. Always find time to respond to their inquiries, especially when done through private messages.
Learn How to Use Hashtags
Hashtags will help you find the people searching for services related to dog daycare. It will help you find public conversations that are significant to your business. Through the hashtags, you know the thread where you can "butt in" and subtly pitch your services.
At the same time, if you always use related hashtags in each of your posts, these terms will make it easier for people to find you. For example, if you're using the hashtag "#fundogdaycareactivities," anyone who typed that phrase will be routed to your social media account.
Making The Most Of Facebook
Learn how to use the Facebook Live option and always cast the most enjoyable part when dogs come to your dog daycare business. This option will also come handy when you're holding special events that also form an essential part of marketing for a dog daycare business. We'll discuss more events latter.
Post photos of your happy clients and ask if you can tag them. This way, your photos become visible to their friends and contacts who have yet to like your Facebook page.
Study how to read Facebook's Graph Search. It will route you to other relevant pages that your followers liked. You can build and gather more information from these pages that you can use to improve your own Facebook page.
Making The Most Of Twitter
Follow relevant dog advocacy groups, product providers, celebrities, and media outlets. Join in on Twitter chats so you can reach more people and build a more extensive presence for your dog daycare businesses. Just note to only join in on related conversations; otherwise, they might see you as a nuisance.
Making The Most Of Instagram
You can use the search function on Instagram to find the most relevant hashtags people are using when they post about their dogs or dog daycare service they received. Use these same hashtags to reach people and have them follow your dog daycare social media.
You have to understand that Instagram is prominent in photos and captions. You have to witty and creative when you do your captions; otherwise, they will go unnoticed.
It would help if you mastered how to use Instagram Stories effectively. As of this writing, more than 200 million people are viewing Instagram Stories only a year after the app's launch. At least one in five Instagram stories leads to a direct message.
You'll be happy to know that a third of the most viewed Instagram Stories are from businesses.
How To Start Building And Consistently Grow Your Email List
An email list is like your social media followers. The main goal is to grow the numbers steadily.
There are lots of step-by-step guides on how to set up a mailing list, but we're not here to talk about that. Because no matter how you master the steps on setting up an email list, it will be useless without a significant number of contacts, right?
An email list is one crucial element in marketing for a dog daycare business. To gather a legitimate email list without violating privacy, start by first giving out your email address.
Ask your followers to email suggestions and feedback on every social media post you. Create a call to action, encouraging readers to email their reactions at the end of each of your blogs. You can also encourage them to subscribe to receive alerts via email when new blogs are up.
Ask website visitors to email you with any concerns or thoughts about the website and services.
Promote an offer through your dog daycare social media accounts that require an email address for followers to join. Post engaging content that needs your followers to sign up before they can access it.
Once you gather even the smallest number of contacts, always ask them to share and forward your emails to their friends. Remember always to include a "Subscribe" option to each email our sending so whoever gets it become your prospective new contact.
One great way to legitimately gather email addresses is to personally collect them during special events you will be hosting for your business.
Fur-tastic Special Events For Fur Parents
We mentioned that online presence is crucial to any business. To the same extent, face-to-face interaction has a higher percentage of translating marketing to sales.
Your existing and prospective clients need to see your physical representation. For old clients, special events make them feel excited again about your services. It creates a more personal attachment to them if they see you taking the time to be with them physically.
At the same time, special events are almost always a sure way to gain new clients. Prospective clients need to see hands-on services you provide or the kind of people they will be leaving their pets with if they choose your business for their dog daycare.
Dog Daycare Event Ideas
Event marketing ideas for dog daycare businesses are as important as your online presence. Coming up with events require more work given the challenge of logistics and the number of people that will turn up.
While you're not yet confident about possible attendees for your events, we highly suggested that you partner first with more established names.
For example, you can participate in adoption activities held by different animal shelters. Not only will this increase your reach to new clients, but your participation will also bring an image of goodwill to your business.
You can also participate in dog shows where you can offer some free services on the spot. Just be ready with flyers and other materials that you can use to market your business quickly.
If you think you can gather a significant number of attendees for your event, then go ahead. Invite other businesses as well.
You can organize your dog show where you can invite vets to share tips on how to better take care of their pets. You can also ask influencers who are known for their love of pets. There are also lots of dog performers whose owners love showing them off. Invite them as well.
Your dog daycare events need not be an indoor happening. You can organize nature walks, fashion shows, mini-parade, or mini-race.
If you're reluctant to hold such significant events, then you can offer a whole day of a free trial of your dog daycare. Fur parents can come with their fur babies and see for an entire day how they will be taken care of inside your dog daycare.
The Power of Referral System
A referral system is one of the many marketing ideas for dog daycare, which you can employ to your business.
Referral marketing is the way of promoting businesses, products, and services to new customers through a reward system for existing clients. It's not complicated at all. All you have to rely on is word of mouth from satisfied clients.
So, if you're doing your job correctly, it won't be hard for you to tell clients to refer you to their relatives, friends, or family. In return, give them some freebies or discount off for every successful referral.
For example, a new client said an old client told them about your dog daycare. The next time that existing client goes to you give him a free bottle of dog shampoo or free dog food or free one hour of daycare. Or better yet, create a gift card system for those who will refer your business to others. The method is as simple as that.
A survey from the American Marketing Association in 2009 found that referrals are 2.5 times successful than any other form of marketing. A separate study in 2011 that referred customers have a higher retention rate compared to walk-ins.
The Basics Of Online Business Listing
The online business listing requires lots of technical aspects, but as it is a highly effective marketing idea for dog daycare, we're covering the most uncomplicated information here.
Essentially, the online business listing is a big website that hosts businesses that are grouped based on niches, location, activity, and services. The listing is relevant when customers are doing online searches. Having been listed on such websites will guarantee that your dog daycare business will turn up in online searches.
The most popular online business listing is Google My Business. So learn all the essentials on how you can use the platform to your advantage.
Other listing sites are Yelp, Bing, Aabaco, YP.com, Better Business Bureau, Manta, City Search, MerchantCircle, among others.
Dog Daycare Marketing Plan
Your work as a business owner does not stop after you set up your dog daycare business. Your job is just starting.
You're looking to a long road ahead. The road may be winding, bumpy, and unfamiliar terrain. However, there is no mountain high enough that you can't climb as long as you have well-thought-out marketing ideas for your dog daycare business.
