Episode 357: How To Appeal to Millennials and the Hybrid Work Model To Gain More Clients in Your Dog Walking Business

In the dynamic world of dog-walking businesses, the winds of change are blowing stronger than ever. Picture this: a new generation of clients, the tech-savvy and trendsetting Millennials, are on the lookout for the perfect dog walking services. At the same time, a revolution in work arrangements—the hybrid work model—is reshaping the way people live and work. Now, imagine combining these two forces to catapult your dog-walking business to new heights! Yes, you heard it right. In today’s episode of  "Bella in Your Business: Pet Industry Business Podcast,"  I talk about this important group and as we all know millennials are a huge demographic and they have unique preferences when it comes to choosing products and services. And with the rise of the hybrid work model, it's even more important to understand how to reach and appeal to them. One of the critical things to keep in mind when marketing to millennials is convenience. They value seamless experiences and want things to be as easy as possible. So, one tip I have for you is to utilize online booking services. This allows millennials to easily schedule appointments or services with just a few clicks, without any hassle. But wait, there's more! To learn more tips on effectively marketing to millennials and boosting your pet industry business, be sure to tune into the full episode. I don't want to be a spoiler, but I've got some valuable insights and strategies waiting for you. So, stay tuned, and let's take your business to the next level! Topics & Key Points: Building a strong foundation is crucial for business success. Evaluate if you're solving new problems or stuck in a cycle. Adapt your marketing strategies to cater to millennials, who lead the charge with hybrid work models. Millennials value convenience and seamless experiences. Offer quick online booking services and provide pre-visit notifications and text message updates. Leverage technology like Calendly for effortless bookings and showcase your use of technology to build trust with potential clients. Consider geo-targeting Facebook ads to reach remote professionals and customize every touchpoint to prioritize convenience and flexibility. Timestamps: [01:23] Mark Shaver's success story [02:16] Building a strong foundation [05:19] Marketing to millennials in a post-pandemic world of hybrid work [10:09] The importance of seamless integration [11:16] Appealing to the remote workforce [12:32 Leveraging virtual features and technology Notable Quotes: [00:06:10] “When you're looking at your marketing strategy, this group of millennials really needs to be front and center, but you need to understand them and you need to use language speaking directly to them on your website" [00:09:01] "Millennials place a much higher value on things like location independence and setting their own schedules compared to older generations. They are 50% more likely to want a hybrid or fully remote setup long term." [00:13:34] "Selling the idea of instant seamless booking, that's a big deal guys. It's a big deal.." [00:17:00] “When it comes to your current clients who are shifting more hybrid. Be proactive about surveying them and their ideal setup." Resources: Podcast: Bella in Your Business: Pet Industry Business Podcast Join Mastermind Episode 340:7Ways To Coach Your Team To Great Customer Experiences Email Bella: [email protected] Sign up for a 20 mins call  Connect with Bella Website Facebook YouTube Did you love this episode? If you liked this episode, please head on over to iTunes and leave a five-star rating and review. Every single review helps get this community bigger, stronger, and better. It gets other jumpers just like you into the community. Always remember when life gets down, always keep jumping. Transcript: Welcome back to another episode of Bella in Your Business. My name is Bella Vasta. And today we're going to talk about something we've never talked about before. But before I get into that, I want to give a big shout-out to one of my clients from way back when back in 2017 2018. I had the pleasure of consulting with Mark Shaver. He is from Buckhead Paws dog walking and pet sitting in Atlanta, Georgia. And I remember sitting at the Marriott because that's where I used to go and just work. I liked the ambiance there. And in talking with him, he had just bought this business. So it was already established. He had about eight to 10 contractors, and he knew he wanted to switch them to employees wasn't sure exactly how had so many services, it was like 10 minutes, 15 minutes, half an hour, 20 minutes. 4560 like all this craziness. What we did was we worked hard to simplify the business and get a really strong foundation that matched up with the goals that he wanted for the company. And I just saw it on Facebook the other day, and I know Mark won't mind me sharing this because he wrote it publicly. He showed this beautiful picture of all of his staff member members together. And as a pet-sitting business owner, I'm sure that you know how hard it is to get them all together in one place. Kind of like a mom or dad trying to get all the kids in one spot together, right? But he wrote I don't often write about my business, but I'm enormously proud of it. I bought Buckhead Paws dog walking and pet sitting services way back in January 2012. And it was just me walking dogs as a solo pet sitter. We've grown steadily over the years. Today, we have 34 employees and provide loving care for pets all over the northern half of Atlanta. This evening, we took a get-together with our pastel-colored polo shirts to celebrate Robin Hanneke. Hancock, our outgoing General Manager congratulates Charles Wilds on our new GM General Manager. This is a quality group of people, I often tell them that they pass the beer test. That is I like every one of them well enough that I'd love to sit down and have a beer with them. And special thanks to my darling wife, Karen, for helping put this evening together. And her support always. Mark is one of he was always such a shining star. He is a shining star. He's a delight to talk to asks the right kind of questions, and works hard to implement things. And so I saw this post come up on my feed, and I was so excited for him. I said yay, love this so much. Mark said, You've been an integral part of it, Bella Vasta, Your advice and counsel back in 2017 18 have proven to be invaluable. And I replied to him, like I do to so many of you because it's the truth, while you did all the hard work, and built the proper foundation and the launching pad. And guys, that's what I want to tell you like I just hope this inspires you. I know there are a lot of you that are starting that are restarting it feels like they need to restart or get up to the next plateau. And I want you to consider what is your foundation doing for you. Is it helping you giving you a good launching pad and a way to build your company? Or is it prohibiting the systems and the process is in the flow of it all? Now, you may be you're you're sabotaging yourself. And so I just really want you to kind of consider and think about what problems are you solving daily. And are they the same problems? Because chances are if you're solving the same problems, then you need to have different solutions, processes, and systems. Because if you're solving the same problems, then that's a problem. All right. And if you want to talk this out, if you're not exactly sure or clear, just head on over to jump consulting dotnet forward slash 20. If you and I have never talked I would love more than anything to meet you and talk with you. Like hash it out, brainstorm, and figure big problem that you have. So go ahead and sign up for a complimentary pick-my-brain 20-minute call. Now onto today's episode, which is quite interesting. This kind of came to me when I was looking at a website. And the thing is, is that we're doing we're talking about websites in my community this week, or this month. We have an expert coming in who's helped me a lot if you are on my email list. You kind of know this already. But he's coming in and he saved my website when it was hijacked. The beginning of this year. Yes hijacked. There's an episode on that. I'll have Jillian put that in Shownotes for you. But listen, I, I want you to consider like, what are you doing? Are you talking to people? Or are you leveraging and paying attention and listening is your ground to that is your is your ear to the ground? Today I'm going to put your ear on the ground. And I'm going to make you think of some things a little bit of a different way. But first, I want to reintroduce myself. Hello, my name is Bella Vasta. And I am a millennial kind of on the cusp of honestly Gen Z and a millennial. I am 41 years old and currently, all the millennials are 27 to 42 years old. So I want you to think about how old are most of the clients that you are servicing right now. A lot of the millennials are starting in their mid-30s to get their first house settled down and get and get married and all that stuff. This is who I'm talking about. Okay. And I want you to think about how are you marketing to millennials, because there's a major thing that has happened after the pandemic, and that is hybrid. And I'm going to tie all this together today, I'm excited about this episode. So when you're looking at your marketing strategy, this group of millennials needs to be front and center. But you need to understand them. And you need to use language speaking directly to them on your website, like flexible scheduling at your fingertips. Or one last task to worry about during the day. Be sure to highlight services perfect for dividing up a dog's care throughout a hybrid schedule to let me back up that a hybrid schedule means basically that they are not working in the office or out of the house anymore.