Fetch was recently featured in an article in Franchising World magazine, focusing on how franchisees utilize social media and drive online presence to drive revenue.
“When I purchased my first Fetch! Pet Care franchise in late 2008, I had no idea how much social media websites would drive my revenue. Over the past five years, we have grown aggressively to 12 locations in five states plus the District of Columbia. A robust social media presence has been key to ensuring we are ahead of our competition and innovative in our messaging to prospective clients. Three years ago we barely had a Facebook presence. Today each location has a very active Facebook page, Twitter handle, Google+ business page, a Foursquare check in, a Yelp account and many other directory listings. Recently we hired companies to help us manage our online presence and more importantly monitor our online reputation.
Another lesson I learned is to know your target audience. People in Manhattan use social media much differently than people in Birmingham. Our social media “voice” speaks differently in each market. All that is to say, we try to utilize social media to communicate with our clients, our clients’ friends and potential clients in a way that will engage them. Our goal is to put the brand in front of them, find out what they like, what they don’t like and how we can do a better job with our services.
We always manage our online reputation by promoting positive reviews, addressing negative ones and always asking clients for feedback. A bad reputation in the pet-sitting business can sink you in a hurry. Yelp, Angie’s List, Foursquare and other online review websites give a prospective client confidence in the hiring process and that equates to more long-term business for our team.” –Jay Barrett, Fetch Pet Care Franchisee
