It can be a scary moment in any dog walking business when you start to notice a decline in new clients. While dog walking clients are usually consistent in their bookings, there’s no telling when a loyal client may choose to stop service. This is why it’s SO important to consistently have new clients coming down the pipeline. Easier said then done right? Let’s discuss some of the challenges that dog walking business owners encounter when trying to gain more dog walking clients, and how you can overcome them.

The Problems With Getting More Dog Walking Clients

Consistency

One of the reasons many dog walking business owners aren’t gaining new clients is because they don’t ASK! I’m officially giving you permission to overcome that barrier – don’t be afraid to ask for new clients through your marketing! Plus, you want to make sure you’re promoting your business on every platform you have an account for. This can be Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or other social media marketing. Note that this doesn’t have to necessarily be advertising – you could simply be solving people’s problems via Facebook and then boosting that post for $5 or so. Or, maybe you are sending out email newsletters or writing blogs. Don’t forget to keep track of how much interaction and engagement each platform has, so that you can determine for yourself what the best social media marketing channels are.

Keep in mind that with any marketing cycle, you may not see results right away. That’s why I say consistency is key. The more you market and the more you brand, the more your business becomes a household name. Growth takes time, so be sure to stick with one marketing effort for a few months. Track your results, and if you notice that you’re not getting much feedback, change it up! Just allow adequate time for your marketing to run its course, which will help you really determine if your marketing is working.

Money

Maybe you’re consistent in your marketing, but are you doing enough (and spending enough)? Marketing is definitely an investment, so you have to be smart about how to get the most bang for your buck. Also be sure you’re investing in marketing both online AND offline. As the saying goes, you have to spend money to make money. Spending your money on marketing is really the best way to grow and scale your business – given that you’re working smarter NOT harder. To help you with this process, be sure to check out my one year pet sitting business marketing plan I designed for you.

Time

Even more so than money, time can be a commodity you have very little of as as dog walking business owner. I see a lot of business owners that are just so busy in the day-to-day aspects of their business, that they literally have no time to spend on marketing. Don’t let this be you! Design systems and processes to prevent this from happening. When you are being buried by your business, you absolutely NEED to make sure you have clients in the pipeline to stay afloat.

Remember those Facebook posts, email newsletters, and blogs I mentioned above? I recommend writing a batch at once and then scheduling them! Almost all content platforms have a scheduling feature now – so take advantage of it! But if blog writing, email writing, and Facebook status creation isn’t your forte, let me do it for you here through my Better Marketing With Bella Program.

Okay – so I think we’ve established that gaining new dog walking clients is definitely no easy task. There’s a lot of problems dog walking business owners run into for sure. But I think we’ve also determined that there are a number of ways we can overcome those problems. If you still feel lost, let’s work on it together – I am here to help!