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+ One mistake you’re making that keeps clients from being impressed

By Beth Stultz-Hairston | September 1, 2021

As a professional pet-sitting or dog-walking business owner you should prioritize continuing education and relevant credentials to ensure you offer the best possible pet care. You also need to make sure that your current and potential clients are aware of your qualifications.

Below we’ve included some ideas of where you can highlight information about your credentials and continuing education—but be sure to read to the end where we share a mistake you might be making that can result in your credentials being a lot less appealing to potential clients.

Your Company Website

A survey by Verisign found that 84% of consumers felt a website made a small business more credible—so it’s important to have a company website. A strong web presence can help you attract more clients and better communicate your services and credentials to local pet parents.

But where/how should you highlight your credentials and education on your site?

Your website’s footer. One simple—and popular—way is to include your credentials and certifications in your website’s footer.  The icons you display in your footer may include your PSI member logo (if applicable), your CPPS® logo (if certified), and pet first aid logo (if you have current pet first aid training), as well as icons indicating you are insured and/or background checked and icons for other trainings or certifications you’ve obtained.

The screenshot below is from the website of PSI member Kat Roth, owner of Kat and Dogs Ohio. This is a great example of using your website’s footer to highlight your educational credentials and professional affiliations.

Highlighting your credentials (and professional affiliations) in your website’s footer allows for this information to be displayed on every page of your website, but it also ensures that visitors to your site see those credentials, even if they only visit your homepage—and don’t explore your site in detail.

Your website’s “About” page. Another option (which can be in addition to including these icons in your website’s footer) is to detail your certifications, continuing education, and other credentials in the “About” section of your website. Or you may even consider having a dedicated page on your website to highlight this information.

In the example below from 2019 Pet Sitter of the Year Jeanne Crockett on the About Us page of her website, Jeanne uses a bulleted list in her About section to highlight her credentials. She includes the information here in addition to icons in her website’s footer.

Your Company’s Social-Media Pages

Whether your company is on Facebook, Instagram or other social-media channels, these platforms offer a quick, simple way to share your credentials and commitment to education. Plus, you can share this information in different formats—videos, photos, etc.—that you may not typically post on your website.

Consider these ideas:

Post a copy of your certificate of completion, certification logo, etc. This is an obvious—and easy—idea to implement. If you become a Certified Professional Pet Sitter, become Fear Free Certified, complete Pet First Aid training, etc., post your certificate of completion (or logo, if there’s one associated with a designation you’ve achieved) on your company’s social-media feed. This serves as a quick announcement of your most recent achievement and/or educational pursuit.

Make a behind-the-scenes video. If you or your staff are at a pet-sitter conference, taking a pet first aid class or other training, or even just watching a webinar/online training, share a quick video with your audience. Instagram and Facebook Stories offer an easy way to do this, but you could also use Facebook Live or post a video you record later. This is a fun way to show you or your team in action, while also highlighting that your business prioritizes continuing education.  

Share your knowledge. Take your post a step further by sharing a specific skill or piece of information you’ve learned from a recent educational opportunity you’ve taken advantage of. For example, if you recently completed your pet first aid training, record and post a quick video demonstrating a specific skill you learned. If you are not comfortable recording a video, you can share a helpful tip or important statistic from your training with your audience (and be sure to indicate how you learned that information).

Other Business Collateral

While it’s important to highlight your education and credentials on your website and social media, look for ways to incorporate this information in your business materials and communications as well.

Some ideas to consider:

• Include your credentials on your business card (e.g., CPPS® logo, pet first aid logo, etc.).
• Include these credentials in the signature of all business emails (with a link to more information, if possible).
• List your credentials and educational experience in your online listings (e.g., Google My Business, PSI Locator, etc.).
• Share a press release with local media about significant achievements (e.g., obtaining certification, etc.).

Now, the big question: Will pet parents even care?

This is a question we hear a lot: Will potential clients even care if I am a Certified Professional Pet Sitter (CPPS®), or a Fear Free Professional, or [any other credential you may obtain]?

Or, more often than not, it’s actually a statement we hear: Clients have never asked me about being a Certified Professional Pet Sitter, or Fear Free Professional, or [any other credential you may obtain]?

Think about it this way, though—why would they? How would they even know to ask, or know how important the continuing education and specific credentials were?

That’s the mistake that many pet sitters and dog walkers make when it comes to highlighting their credentials.

Simply listing your credentials isn’t enough. You need to explain to clients what that means for them—and their pets.

Consumers of any product or service typically want this one question answered: What’s in it for me?

It’s your job to answer that question. So, while you understand the value of continuing education and credentials in the professional pet-care industry, you must effectively communicate that to pet parents.

Which options below do you think would be most effective?

• Only posting your CPPS® logo on your website OR sharing your CPPS logo (or certificate) with this messaging? ABC Pet Sitting owner Jane Smith has earned the Certified Professional Pet Sitter-CPPS® designation. This federally trademarked certification mark can only be obtained by pet-care professionals who successfully demonstrate their knowledge and skills by passing the nation’s only knowledge-based assessment designed specifically for professional pet sitters. As a pet parent, you can have peace of mind that you are using the services of a pet-care professional who has been tested on the best pet care, pet health and business practices—and who has committed to practicing high industry ethics and pursuing continuing education.
  
  
• Sharing your certificate of completion for a pet first aid training OR sharing that certificate (or logo) along with a post that details the specific skills you were tested on or even possibly including a video of you demonstrating a specific pet first aid skill, along with the messaging that your clients can rest assured that you’ve taken the extra step to ensure you can respond quickly and correctly should a pet injury or emergency occur while their pet is in your care?

Here's a great example from PSI member Lynnae Schooler, owner of Alaska Pet Nanny. Click here to read her complete post where she explains what being a Certified Professional Pet Sitter really means and how that benefits her clients.

Remember, your credentials are commendable and your commitment to continuing education should be applauded, but unless you are promoting your experience to clients AND explaining how it improves the quality of care their pets receive, they won’t know.

Once you can explain what’s in it for them (and their pets), they’ll be impressed—and spread the word about the amazing pet sitter/dog walker they’ve found!