6 Ways to Attract New Customers for Your Dog Daycare

If you're reading this article, you're most likely the owner or manager of a dog daycare, and you're scratching your heads trying to figure out new ways you can get new customers at your business. Have you fear; you're in the right spot.

Attracting new customers to your dog daycare and kennel is essential for the growth and success of your business. Relying on your regulars is great, but if you lose a regular, you're going to need to have a new client fill that spot, otherwise you're looking at decline in yearly revenue. If your business is investor-backed, they don't like to see profits declining. On the contrary, if you're self-funded, a decline in yearly revenue might mean you need to cut expenses or fire employees, and that's never a pleasant experience.

So, in order to have yearly growth, instead of decline, here are some tips for attracting new customers and building a strong, loyal customer base. Let's go!

Offer Exceptional Customer Service

Providing exceptional customer service is the cornerstone of any successful business, and this is especially true for dog daycare and kennel businesses. Be friendly, helpful, and responsive to customer needs and inquiries, and make sure that your staff is trained to provide the same level of customer service. Since you're not a restaurant or service-business where people are going to rate your business on the quality of food you provide or the manicures you provide, they're going to be be rating your business on your customer service. Do they feel appreciated? Do they feel taken care of? Do they feel like you even give a crap about them, or are you just there to take in their pet for daycare every other day? Dog daycares are a social business and if you're not making your customers feel special, they'll take their dog(s) somewhere else. If they like your business, they'll also tell their friends that are pet owners and that's a win-win for your business.

Utilize Social Media

Social media is a powerful tool for attracting new customers and promoting your business. Make sure to have a strong online presence on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, and use these platforms to showcase the services and amenities you offer, as well as the dogs in your care. If you have a hard time remembering to post on social media, you can learn about various social media planning apps here. These apps give you a way to spend your Sunday afternoon programming posts for the following week. Then you can sit back and relax and let the app do the posting for you. Another easy social media strategy for dog daycares is to blow up your feed with daily pictures of your pets. Their owners are going to like and comment on photos and these likes and comments are going to help your business raise up in the FB algorithm. Your page might then get recommended to other pet owners in the area that never even knew about it's existence.

Offer Special Promotions and Discounts

Special promotions and discounts can be a great way to attract new customers and build loyalty among existing ones. Consider offering a discount to new customers, or run a promotion for a limited time to encourage people to try your services. Maybe you've just added a grooming salon to your dog daycare, but you're not seeing the kind of client numbers that you want. Send out a marketing email to your client base letting them know that all current daycare clients can get a 50% discount on their first grooming appointment. This will help fill your calendar for a few weeks/months and ideally, your clients will like the groom so much that they'll come back in the future and pay the full price.

Partner with Local Businesses

Partnering with local businesses, such as pet stores, veterinary clinics, and dog-friendly restaurants, can help you reach a wider audience and attract new customers. Offer to display flyers or brochures in their establishments, and consider hosting joint events or promotions. If there is a pet store in your town, you NEED to be holding joint events together. This will help both businesses as the people buying pet items will learn about your dog daycare and the people coming from your dog daycare following will be able to learn about the pet store that they might not have known about. You can also look at offering back-and-forth discounts, where the clients of the pet store get a discount at your dog daycare and your dog daycare clients get a discount at the pet store. There are so many possibilities, get on it!

Build a Strong Online Reputation

A strong online reputation can be a key factor in attracting new customers to your business. Encourage happy customers to leave positive reviews on sites like Yelp, Google, and TripAdvisor, and respond promptly to any negative feedback or reviews to address any concerns. In today's internet age, it's the unfortunate truth that if you don't have an online presence, you're going to be missing out on business. Make it a point to maintain your online presence, even if it's something that you don't really enjoy doing. Make sure that your Google maps location is correct and that your hours are true. The worst thing is showing up at a business and they're closed, event though it says they're open on Google Maps. Encourage your clients to leave Google reviews for your business, as this will make you show up higher when someone searches for a dog daycare in your physical area.

Attend Local Pet-Related Events

Attending local pet-related events, such as dog shows, pet expos, and community festivals, can help you connect with potential customers and showcase your business. Offer promotional materials and have staff on hand to answer questions and provide information about your services. Groomd recently had a large grooming expo in Atlanta. If your business happened to be located in that area, it would have been a great time to set up a stand and get your business in front of hundreds or thousands of pet owners. You can also set up stands at more local businesses like your local Walmart or other high-traffic areas in your city that allow businesses to set up a stand.

In conclusion, attracting new customers to your dog daycare and kennel business is crucial for its success and growth. But, remember, attracting new customers is just the first step. Maintaining their loyalty and keeping them coming back requires consistent, high-quality service and a commitment to meeting their needs. By putting the needs of your customers and their dogs first, you can build a thriving, successful dog daycare and kennel business that will stand the test of time. Most small businesses fail within a year or two. Don't be one of these businesses. Build a loyal base of happy clients that are out there telling their friends about your business and you'll be in business 10 years from now. Get to it!

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