Use Education as Your Competitive Advantage
The pet care market is a competitive one, there is no denying that. With the onslaught of app-based listing service sites it has become a bit more challenging to stand above the rest. Yes you have years behind the leash under your belt and you have a knowledge that newbies would pay for in the pet care industry but do you have the ability to show that? How do you stand above the SEO noise of the app-based listing service?
People have become more particular about their pets and particularly, the quality of care for their pets. Some will argue against that claim because of the rise of app-based pet care listing sites but just because people are searching the Internet for pet care, does not mean they are not searching for quality pet care. The two should theoretically go hand-in-hand. The issue is they often do not – the major differences between a professional and one listed on a site like Rover, Care or DogVacay is that the professional generally has a greater degree of education, their own business liability insurance, bonding and usually an affiliation with a pet care educational network.
To be a professional it generally means you are qualified. To pet care business owners this often means educated and can safely care for people’s pets. Since there are no certifying entities for becoming a professional pet care business owner, most people attend seminars, conferences, network and get certified in pet first aid and CPR. These achievements set the tone of quality about the services you – as a professional – provide. So in theory, you can always stay ahead of your competition if you always stay more educated and experienced than them. You have your competition on the years but do you have them in the quality of education?
The Most Accredited Person Is Now Teaching
Several of the online pet care listing companies are aware that protected pet sitters make clients feel better and have created protection package programs to help particular people within their list stand out. They get ranked higher and show up further towards the top if they have paid to be a part of these programs. The programs themselves are in-house and only available to those listed that pay. They boil down to access to emergency vet guidance during an emergency. I don’t know about you but I would much rather have the person caring for my pets know what to do in an emergency then have to call a hotline, describe the issue, get instructions then act. I want my pet to be cared for immediately in an emergency by someone that knows how to act.
Education matters more in the long run then access to a hotline. With education comes credentials, with credentials comes competitive advantage and with that advantage comes better bookings and quality clients.
Few of us have time to go to veterinary school, let alone the funds or ability to get accepted. BUT, you can have access to the critical veterinary instructed education that teaches YOU how to act in an emergency – not just to pick up a phone. Confidence creates control and fosters the ability to act when something goes wrong. The Pro Pet Hero cat and dog first aid certification course is the only online class taught by an ER veterinarian who is also a professor of the subject matter. She has saved hundreds of lives and has taught thousands of people how to do the same. Dr. Bobbi Conner DVM, DACVECC will instruct you on how to recognize any issues and how to act in the best and safest interest of the animal. Learning from the most accredited individual in the field will set a professional pet sitter apart from a hobby pet sitter.
Access to Safety Just Became More Manageable
You’re busy, the course is an investment for you to make to have your staff certified, you don’t have time to follow up, I know all the excuses. I own a pet-sitting company and I knew the value of education but didn’t like paying for it, scheduling it, making sure they learned it and getting their certificates.
What if I told you there was no travel time, no scheduling time for the employee to take it, the ability to sign in from your PJ’s at 11 pm at night – or better yet delegate your manager to do so and check in on your staff? See who has started the course, who finished it, who was terminated in the middle and you need to transfer the course to the new hire etc. Pro Pet Hero has a company dashboard where all of this can be done because it was designed for the professional pet sitter. It knows you’re busy and knows you don’t want another thing to have to manage. Stemming from the human CPR certification world, Pro Pet Hero was built with the access that businesses needing employees CPR certified were built from. The company dashboard is a single hub that allows you, a manager or designated employee to look over and make certain your staff gets the education that helps set your company apart.
A new feature added to the company dashboard and one that is particularly beneficial to businesses with growing or changing staff needs is the ability to automatically purchase more training units when your “bank” of units gets low.
This feature was built for busy administrators who can’t afford to constantly be keeping tabs on the number of units in their account. There’s also added flexibility for you to choose how many units you want to refill with, and you can pick how big of a “buffer” you want.
Pet First Aid Education Pays
Ok, you have the certified in pet first aid and CPR badge proudly displayed on your website and new inquiries are impressed. Now it’s time to let your current clients know that by continuing to use your services, they just made their pets safer. You can get back some of the money spent on the education for your staff by taking advantage of the referral program. Get paid a percentage of each course you recommend and the person taking the course on your recommendation, gets 10% off. This is a great topic to put in your monthly newsletter that not only says, “hey our staff are best equipped with the knowledge to save your pets, but you can be too!” Essentially it pays to make your company more qualified in safety.
Stand out today from your competition by looking professionally competent to your potential clients. For $49.95 per person and 2 hours of your time (and theirs) you can stand out among the choices of pet care providers out there.