The APDT Chronicle of the Dog Summer 2020 | Page 23

THE BUSINESS END OF THE LEASH
help others. It’s the same as it’s always been; it’s just that if
you’re still sheltered-in-place you can’t do any of it in person.
Put out a great newsletter full of ideas and insight and advice.
Share tips via your social media channels. Offer vet and shelter
staff virtual lunch-and-learns, and be sure they know that
(and how) you’re providing training services. Send them fliers
they can share with clients. Offer a webinar or virtual Ask-the-
Trainer session to customers of your favorite pet supply store
that they can market through their email list and social media,
and via fliers slipped into deliveries or bags. Offer a short free
web seminar or one-off session online to give people a taste of
attending an online class with you.
In short, think about the kinds of marketing you already do,
or that you’ve seen us write and speak and teach about in the
past, and adapt it to the current times. If you’re short on ideas,
reach out to referral sources and simply ask what you can do
for them. Don’t be shy about being and staying in touch with
clients and referral sources; we can all use the connection.
Once a bit of normalcy returns and it’s safe to do so, return to
reinforcing relationships in person, too.
One more reason to market right now
Moments of crisis often make us feel powerless, vulnerable,
and afraid. There’s a lot we can’t control, and a lot of
uncertainty. One of the best antidotes to anxiety is action.
Despite all that is outside our control, there remain many
ways we can assert agency. For your business, marketing is
one of them. And done well, your marketing efforts carry
additional benefits, too. Marketing gives you a way to help
others by sharing your expertise, and a way to connect to your
community—both things that are likely to buoy you, too.
Veronica Boutelle, M.A.,CTC is
author of How To Run a Dog Business:
Putting Your Career Where Your Heart
Is, and co-founder of dogbiz, whose
business is to help yours succeed—
whether in good times or bad. Learn all
the ways dogbiz can support your success at www.dogbizsuccess.com.
Photo: Shutterstock
The APDT Chronicle of the Dog | Summer 2020 21