Supercharge Your Marketing Efforts

Nearly every business owner I know understands the value of marketing. They prepare Facebook posts, send periodic emails to their clients, put together brochures and newsletters, and spend time at community events promoting their business. It’s a lot of work to stay ahead of your competition and keep your name in front of your current clients and prospective clients. What if there was a way you could streamline and automate your marketing and supercharge your marketing efforts? That’s what this blog is all about.

One common area for improvement in most pet care businesses is in email marketing. In particular, segmenting your list, reaching out with information that is specific to a segment of your clients, and pulling in new clients by building relationships with them. How do you do it?

Step 1: Train your staff to find out as much as possible from perspective clients.

• When people call your business it’s natural to find out about their pet and their care concerns. But do you ask for their contact information? Train your staff to get an email address. (If you need help with a script for your front office staff, contact Lori Davis from Paramount Success Group for a free 20 minute consult!)
• When you go to community events, do you meet new prospective clients? Of course you do! Have a way for them to provide you with their email address. Have a drawing they need to enter, ask them for information in exchange for a prize, etc.
• How many prospective clients visit your website? Do you have a way to capture information from those people? Add an email collector to your site and offer to give away a free resource, coupon, or other giveaway in exchange for the email address. (Ways you can automate this process include Leadpages, MailChimp, Constant Contact and more…find out the best way to do this electronically).

Step 2: Enter all your prospective client emails into your email system and make sure they are identified as “prospects” to create a unique campaign for that particular segment of your email list.

Step 3: Set up an automated email sequence to build a relationship with these prospective clients. Don’t ask for a purchase or commitment right off the bat! Get to know them first by offering them free information and helpful advice pertaining to their pet. A quick sequence might look like this:

• First email goes out on the day you meet: Thank them for contacting you, remind them how they heard about you, remind them what you do and let them know you look forward to meeting them again in the future. If you offered to give them a free resource, provide that in the email as well. You can also let them know a bit about your company and what sets you apart from others. Here is a sample, courtesy of Pawloyalty which has customizable automated emails built into it (click the image to see the larger version).

• Another email goes out a few days later: Remind them how you met, and offer them some free advice (A top 10 list, local dog activities in your community, a list of local veterinarians, your favorite toys, etc). Let them know about your facebook page (or other social media venues) and let them know they can learn more about their dog on those pages. Here is another sample, courtesy of Pawloyalty (click the image to see the larger version).

• Another email goes out a few days later: Remind them about an upcoming holiday and let them know you offer boarding and daycare services. Ask them to book a tour of your facility so you can show them around. Again, another sample from Pawloyalty (click the image to see the larger version).

You can have as many or as few of these emails as you are comfortable with…but you get the idea. You are giving away some helpful information, building a relationship, explaining what sets your facility apart from others and THEN asking for an action step (tour your facility, purchase a daycare package, book a reservation, etc).

Statistically it takes multiple contacts with a new client before they purchase from you, so having this type of automated campaign allows you to create those touchpoints without as much effort on your part. Of course, you still need to provide care, time, and attention when the person does pick up the phone to talk or stops by for that tour, but this method should help to increase the number of prospective clients who turn into paying clients.

Will everyone love these emails?  No!  We all understand that not everyone will take action from these emails.  But this type of follow up is better than nothing and if you have too many contacts to follow up with a personal phone call or handwritten note, this email system will be the next best thing!

As you get comfortable with these automated email campaigns, consider other segments of your list which you might create automated sequences to reach:

• A sequence of emails to remind current clients about upcoming holidays with an emphasis on booking early before spots are gone
• A sequence of emails to remind current dog daycare clients that training is available
• A sequence of emails to remind current boarding clients that individual daytime play is available if the owner has to work long hours, workers are coming into the house, or the dog just needs more fun every now and then.
• A sequence of emails to remind current clients that pollen is in the air and this would be a great time to get a bath
• A sequence of emails to thank your best customers and give them a shout out with a special email photo of their dog, or a gift card to a local coffee shop

The use of email marketing to directly contact your clients with the exact message they need at exactly the right time they need it is the best way to supercharge your marketing efforts. It takes time to put together the email sequences, but once you automate them, you’ll have more free time knowing your marketing is automatic.

For helpful resources about digital marketing and sales, check out the following:

Books

The Invisible Selling Machine by Ryan Deiss

Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini

How to Write Copy that Sells by Ray Edwards