3 Reasons You Don't Have Enough Dog Walking Clients (and How to Fix Them)

If you don't have enough dog walking clients, the last thing you want to do is miss out on potential customers. Take a look to see if you're making any of these marketing mistakes.

#1 You Don’t Stand Out

If your dog walking service looks the same as all the other companies in your area, why should a potential client choose you? That leaves clients to choose based on price alone. Why would someone pay more for a service that looks exactly the same as another that’s less expensive? Don’t make the mistake of trying to blend in. Decide how you are different, and make sure to promote that clearly so it’s obvious. 

One way to do this is to pick a niche based on your interests and skills. Once I rebranded my service from a dog walking company to an off-leash dog hiking company, my inquiries shot up like crazy! I had been offering off-leash walks on trails the whole time, but I didn’t call them hikes. When I changed all my marketing materials and promoted off-leash adventure hikes my inquiries blew up! 

So think about how you can be different— if you love to run, maybe specialize in dog running. If you’re a vet tech, perhaps offer care for dogs who need extra medical attention. Maybe you adore small dogs and want to specialize in walking just little dogs. If you’re in a big city, you could even pick a certain breed or breed group to walk, just make sure it’s a common enough breed that you can get enough clients.

#2 No One Knows You Exist

You know in The Breakfast Club when jock Andrew tells loner Bender “You may as well not even exist at this school?” Well, Andrew had a point— if you don’t make connections and an effort to get to know others, you’re going to have a heck of a challenge, because unless people know of you, they can’t hire you. If you don’t have regular inquires you’re either not marketing consistently, or you’re not marketing effectively. Marketing needs to be consistent in order to work long term, so make sure you’re spending time promoting your business on a regular basis. 

#3 Your Website is Failing you (or You Don’t Have One)

You have one shot to make a good impression, so your website needs to be on point. If your site is difficult to navigate, doesn’t look professional or you don’t have one at all, chances are you’re missing out on potential clients. 

Having a website makes it easy for people to check your service out. Visitors get a feel for whether or not you’re a good fit for their needs, if you seem trustworthy and if they want to do business with you. 

So you need to quickly communicate how your service can help your ideal client and show that you're professional and trustworthy. Having cohesive branding goes a long way— an attractive logo, good design, consistent colors and quality imagery give your business a professional feel. Making sure your site loads quickly and looks great on mobile devices keeps visitors from getting frustrated and moving on. And call to action links like "learn more" and "get started" help them navigate through the site and keep them engaged.