11 methods to make your pet sitting service the best
The complying with is a listing of concepts to make your pet sitting service stick out among competition.
These are concepts I’ve utilized with my own pet sitting service in addition to concepts from two other expert pet sitters.
If you’re thinking about starting your own pet sitting or pet dog walking business, I hope this influences you to get started on your service today.
How to make your pet sitting service stand out
1. care the most.
You care about the family pets (and their owners) a lot more than the other pet sitters care, so let that radiate through.
Here are a few additional steps I’ve taken since I care more:
I walked 2 miles in a blizzard to get to a client’s home since roads were under 2 feet of snow as well as undriveable.
I got my automobile stuck while going to let one more client’s dogs out during one more blizzard while she was stranded at work for 36 hours.
I send cards or flowers when a pet passes away.
I bring a little vacuum to clean up pet hair as well as feline litter.
I’ve shoveled snow from clients’ porches.
I always walk the dogs long sufficient to make sure they have time to go to the bathroom.
Staying in touch with the pet owners is a top priority, whether it’s by email, text or calling.
Jennifer stack (pictured with her pet dog Lilo) uses pet sitting as well as pet dog running through RunThoseDogs in Washington. She stated it’s crucial to her to be extremely versatile with her clients.
“I want them to count on me, talk about me, depend on me,” she said. “If I can assist them out, I will.”
2. have the very best web site.
Most pet sitting web sites are quite outdated, wouldn’t you say?
This might be since a great deal of pet sitters are not able to or don’t want to invest the money into a contemporary web site. Or perhaps they’re not sure who to hire for help. All I can state is it’s worth it to invest $1,000 or so into your web site. This will be the very first perception a lot of prospective clients will have of you. You want your web site to look excellent as well as simple to use.
Some errors I see with pet sitting web sites:
The text is tough to checked out – commonly in strange font styles of several colors as well as sizes.
Way as well much text.
The site has not been updated in over a year, so it’s difficult to tell if the pet sitter is still in business.
Rates are not provided on the site.
No pictures of the pet sitter.
No links to social network sites.
Tips for a much better web site:
Find a crisp, service style with WordPress.
Hire a expert designer if needed. shop around to discover the very best rates.
Include a short testimonials page.
Briefly describe what you do.
Make it simple for people to get in touch with you.
Include any type of credentials such as pet very first aid certification.
Also make sure to set up a Facebook fan page for your pet sitting service as well as begin interacting with your clients as well as “fans” there. For example, Sharon Wollenberg has a excellent fan page for her pet sitting as well as pet dog running service 4 Legs as well as a Leash in Darien, Ill.
3. send “on the fly” pics as well as texts.
Leaving a handwritten note or sending an email is nice, however people likewise like to get instant texts as you are checking out their pets. send some great photos as well as bit updates. people like to understand what their dogs are as much as as it’s happening. They’ll like seeing their dogs out on a walk or their cats playing with a toy.
4. stay in touch with your clients.
Find a method to stay in touch with your clients even when you don’t care for their family pets every single week or even every month. Some clients will hire you just when or twice a year when they go on vacation, so link with them every now as well as then by sending an email as well as saying thanks to them for selecting you in the past.
You might likewise offer specials with your service Facebook page or an on the internet newsletter. For example, you might send out random offers for sluggish times of the year such as “Get one night of pet sitting complimentary when you book three nights or a lot more between now as well as Aug. 31.”
5. request feedback.
When I’m inspecting on a pet for the very first time, I make sure to really phone call the pet owner to tell her whatever is going OK. After that, I normally interact by text or email, however people do appreciate that very first phone phone call if possible.
Then, when the client has returned from her trip, I make sure to comply with up with an extra phone phone call or email after a few days. during this time around I:
Thank the client for selecting me. I understand she had a great deal of options.
Ask if my pet sitting services satisfied her expectations.
Ask what I might do to make her family pets a lot more comfortable next time.
Once you’ve well established a connection with the client as well as you are inspecting on the pet a number of times per year, it’s still crucial to touch base as well as request feedback.
6. Leave treats or other little gifts.
Think of some special gifts you might leave for your clients every when in awhile such as:
dog or feline treats
printed out pictures you took of the pets
handwritten say thanks to you notes
small toys for dogs or cats
7. keep it simple.
Don’t overdo it with using as well lots of services or as well lots of rate options. people get confused quickly as well as will just step on to the next pet sitter. keep your rates as well as services as basic as possible.
For example, I fee the exact same flat hourly rate regardless of whether I’m walking a dog, running a pet dog or inspecting on a cat.
8. get my pet sitting ebook.
Starting a service is hard. This is your possibility to discover from my mistakes. with my step-by-step guide, you’ll discover exactly how to swiftly develop up clients, offer the very best service, discover the ideal insurance coverage business as well as more.
Buy the ebook right here for $17.
9. link with other pet sitters.
When stack very first started her business, she stated she introduced herself to other pet sitters in the area as well as they were a “great group of people to line up with.”
“They all were so busy,” stack said. “I was getting a great deal of recommendations from them.”
Now they all satisfy when a month to share advice, compare notes as well as talk about clients.
“I discovered that other sitters had recommendations about things I didn’t even believe of,” she said. “So great to have people to bounce thoughts off of in the exact same industry.”
10. get included in your community.
The a lot more you are out as well as about in your community, the a lot more people will hear about your service name. Make a point to go to different pet-related events in town as well as introduce yourself to a few people at these events. Some examples might include humane society fundraisers, neighborhood pet dog shows or public events held at pet-related businesses.
Stack stressed the value of getting your name available by passing out service cards to vets, kennels, pet stores as well as pet dog parks. This is what I’ve done for starting up my new service using pet sitting in Solana Beach.
“I produced fliers as well as put them on bulletin boards around town with cards attached,” she said.
11. offer a special service.
Find something that makes your service unique. perhaps you take the very best pictures of the pets. perhaps you take the dogs on two-hour hikes or for rollerblading sessions.
Wollenberg uses overnight, cage-free pet sitting in her house – likewise understood as “the resort.” She likewise uses running sessions in addition to walks.
Stack likewise uses pet dog running sessions as well as is thinking about using 3-hour path runs for dogs in the near future. She encourages other pet sitters to have fun with their services as well as to stick with their strengths.
“Being a path runner myself, I want to integrate both of my loves,” she said. Dogs as well as path running.
What recommendations do you have for making a pet sitting service stand out?
