6 Tips To Build Trust With Pet Owners (and show them YOU are the right choice)
3 minute read...
When it comes to marketing your dog daycare, pet grooming, or any other business that involves pets, there are fundamental aspects you must know about pet owners.
- They view their pets as their children and love them as such.
- Pet owners must feel they can trust someone when caring for or interacting with their pets.
- There must be a comfort level when they step away and leave their “child” in someone else’s care.
- They want feedback and communication.
6 tips to help build trust and comfort with pet parents
#1 • Show your center in action.
Show ACTION photos and videos. People want to see other's experiences; they know they are not alone or the first to try something. Showing your pet care center in action demonstrates you have customers and people whom already trust you with their pets. Anything you can do to show your center in an un-staged and authentic view is very powerful.
#2 • Speak to how you can nurture pets.
Pet owners want to know the care and compassion aspects of what their pets will experience. They want to know their lived one's will not only receive care, but also grow and be happy. Speak to how you can nurture the pet's senses of play, curiosity, social interaction, and how you do that in a safe and caring environment. Use terms such as nurture, enrich, social bonding, social play, and other phrases that deeply describe the BENEFITS of what pets experience with your center. Being able to SHOW this adds even more comfort with pet parents.
#3 • Highlight safety and security.
Pet parents want to know their pets are safe. Speak about how you maintain safe zones, track pet medications, and assure an environment that will not leave pets scared or anxious. To build trust, describe how you keep pets safe, how you keep them soothed, and not experiencing anxiety. Safety and pet anxiety are the two top concerns of pet owners. Simply telling about this is ok, but finding ways to SHOW it means even more.
#4 • Provide progress reports.
Give progress reports. Pet owners see their loved ones as their children. They want to know if they are doing well. They want to know their pets are growing mentally, socially, and physically. Providing a "report card" adds an intimate touch showing you care about each pet, and they each pet is receiving unique attention. We all loved getting an A on our report cards and hearing our parents gloat about it; plus our parents enjoyed it just as much.
#5 • Show praise about pets.
In addition to tip #4, people love seeing praise of their loved ones. Institute a pet of the week or pet of the month program. Make sure to learn the back story of the pet and the owner - know how they came together, perhaps why they chose the name and other tidbits. Strengthen the bond not only between you and the pet but between you and the owner. This can be as easy as a pet of the month photo space, a newsletter highlight, or taken a bit more in-depth to award trophies or prizes. Trust me, when their pet wins, they will tell others!
#6 • Learn to communicate.
Communicate with your clients. Do not just post notices at your location or mention things to folks as they come in. Build an email list and use it. Send out birthday cards for pets (you do get their birthday, right???). Perhaps have a quarterly email newsletter with tips on grooming (and a limited-time coupon special for YOUR grooming services). Ongoing email and print communication is a powerful tool in your toolbox to build and maintain that trust and comfort between you and your clients.
Being a successful pet care company starts with your marketing.
Follow these six tips to build trust and you will find pet owners warming up to you more quickly and frequently.
The American Kennel Club also has a great article on what to look for in Doggy Daycare.
WE ARE HERE TO HELP YOU! For assistance with creating powerful ways to build trust in the pet parent community and market your pet business or franchise, we are here to help. Contact us at info@shiningstarinteractive.com for a no-obligation, no-pressure, no-cost consult. We make it easy to ignite your franchise with powerful marketing tools… some really unique and impressing ones you will appreciate.