The end of the year is a great time to assess your business goals and make sure you’re on track for a successful 2020. Running a pet care business is hard work, it’s easy to get overwhelmed even if you’re starting off the New Year with the best intentions. So it’s a good idea to set clear, achievable goals for yourself. Try out one of these resolutions in the New Year to boost your business and start the new decade off right.

Re-evaluate Your Payment Processing

Your payment processing system is the backbone of your business. If you can’t accept payments you can’t pay your staff, your lease, your bills, so having a reliable payment processor that always has your back is really important. But the tricky part is finding a reliable payment processor that treats small business owners fairly.

So many payment processors are focused on attracting big businesses with high transaction volumes. If you own a small or medium-sized business, it can be really difficult to get fair transaction rates from your payment processor. In fact, many pet business owners aren’t getting a fair rate and they don’t even know it. This is why it’s so important to shop around and re-evaluate your payment processor every now and again to make sure you are still getting the most competitive rates available.

It’s easy to get complacent and just stick with the same old payment processor because ‘it’s what you’ve always used.’ It’s that kind of attitude that leads businesses down the long, expensive path of overpaying for transaction rates. Usually by the time you realize you’ve been paying above the market average, you’ve already lost thousands of dollars that could have gone in your own pocket. 2020 is the perfect time to make sure you’re being treated fairly by your payment processor.

Start a Blog

Starting a new blog is an excellent way to engage with current customers and attract new leads. Blogs are a very useful way to let people know what your business is all about, advertise your promotions, and keep people up-to-date with your business as it grows and expands.

But starting a blog from scratch can be intimidating. So it’s important to have a plan and create a schedule for yourself including posting dates and topics. If you start off with small manageable steps creating a blog really isn’t all that difficult.

However, if time is of the essence, and you just don’t have enough hours in the day to commit to a blog, then it’s a good idea to outsource your blogging to a professional.

Having a professional blog writer saves a ton of time and guesswork, you won’t have to proofread or worry about coming up with new topics, leaving you to focus on running your business.

Focus Your Social Media Presence

Social media is an essential part of any modern business. It’s not enough to just have a business and hope people notice you, you have to be actively engaging online. Active marketing, where you’re engaging with people’s posts and comments online, is one of the best and most cost-effective ways to get your brand out there. But if your brand is inconsistent it might confuse or even repel potential leads from patronizing your business.

Having a clear brand personality is an excellent way to be memorable and professional on social media. If your content isn’t consistent it makes your brand less cohesive, which can confuse potential leads.

To create a focused brand personality you need to outline a marketing strategy and stick to it. If your brand is happy and bubbly, make sure all your content is uplifting. If your brand is quirky and funny make sure you always leave your followers laughing. If your brand is clean-cut and professional, make sure your content is sleek and modern.

Once you figure out your brand’s personality you can stand out amongst the crowd and build a memorable persona that will keep your customers returning again and again.

Use SMS Texting to Decrease No Shows

This year, give yourself the gift of punctual customers. Leave no-shows and chronically late drop-offs in 2019 and start your new year by enabling ProPet’s SMS text reminders for your business.

These reminders are a useful way to communicate with your customers. You can set the reminders so that they are sent out a day or two before their scheduled booking. They will automatically remind your customers that they have scheduled a service with you, freeing up your time and energy for more important matters.

Whatever your business goals are in the New Year, make sure you are investing your time and money into things that will simplify your day to day operations and attract new customers. Taking a good hard look at your day to day operations can be an eye-opening experience, make sure you’re going into 2020 with the clarity you need to prosper.