Fetch! Pet Care was featured on Franchise Chatter

Fetch! Pet Care was recently featured on Franchise Chatter in an article titled, "How Franchises are Turning to Facebook to Engage with Loyal Customers and Gain New Fans." The article discussed how Fetch! Pet Care was able to increase their Facebook Fan page from about 3,000 to 13,000 fans over the span of a little more than 2 months without advertising by engaging fans to share why their dog had the greatest rescue story. With a goal of 30,000 fans by the end of the year, the article shows how Fetch! Pet Care is utilizing social media marketing as a key business growth strategy and to show support for the animal adoption community. Click here to view the entire article.

How Franchises are Turning to Facebook to Engage with Loyal Customers and Gain New Fans
By:  AMBROSIO

A number of franchises are exploring creative ways to grow their Facebook following and engage with

loyal fans. The method of choice (at least for now) seems to be the use of contests where other Facebook fans vote for the winner.  This strategy has proven effective in boosting fan numbers for as long as the prizes at stake are significant enough to generate buzz and participation.  While giving away free stuff can easily increase fan numbers several fold, the real measure of success is the cumulative impact of the number of new cyber fans who become paying customers, the increase in spending among loyal customers, and the number of new franchises sold.  Watching your followers multiply as a result of the contest is the easy part.  The real challenge lies in converting these fans into actual dollars and cents.
 

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Fetch! Pet Care & Trupanion | Pet Look-A-Like Contest Submission Coming to a Close

Fetch! Pet Care and Trupanion are partnering together to host the Pet Look-A-Like contest!

The Pet Look-A-Like contest is being hosted on Fetch! Pet Care's Facebook page and asks fans to submit photos of them and their pets. These photos can have an uncanny resemblance, matching outfits, or just a fun pose! Winner of the contest will win an iPad 2!

The submission period ends THIS Sunday, October 16th at 11:59pm EST and voting will immediately start Monday, October 17th!

So far we have gotten great submissions! Here's a preview of some of them:

Get your photos in today before Sunday!

Strikingly Similar: Pets and Owners Compete in Facebook Look-Alike Contest

Together with Trupanion®, Fetch! Pet Care Uses Facebook to Strengthen Interactions with Fans

WALNUT CREEK, CA —Even Grandma and Grandpa are on Facebook nowadays, so it’s no surprise that pets increasingly have their own Facebook profile as well.  In fact, the line between pets and owners is increasingly close, and many studies support the old adage that people resemble their pets. As such, Fetch! Pet Care invites contestants to vie for winner of their first “Pet Look-Alike” contest. Fetch! Pet Care is the largest pet sitting and dog walking franchise in the United States. The contest is being sponsored together with Trupanion®, a leading pet insurance company.

In order to compete, fans should “like” the Fetch! Pet Care page on Facebook at www.facebook.com/fetchcorporate. Through the “Pet Look-Alike Contest” link, from Sept. 19 to Oct. 16, pet owners can upload their photo, photo title and photo description, which will then be put up for voting from October 17 until October 31. The winning submission will receive an Apple iPad.

“The beauty of Facebook is that anyone can easily compete,” said Elyse Marks, Director of Marketing for Fetch! Pet Care. “The results should be hilarious – same pouf or curly hair to the same ears or jowls – we want to see it all!”

Photos are not limited to similar body appearance. Whether it’s an uncanny resemblance, matching outfits, or a fun pose, Fetch! Pet Care hopes to capture more pets and their owners having a good time together. 

“As a brand, it was important for us to find more ways to interact with our current and future customers,” said Paul Mann, founder and CEO of Fetch! Pet Care. “Through the power of social media, we can learn more about our customers while interacting with them in their personal space. The value of this process to both our brand and pet owners everywhere is priceless. We want to know our customers, fans and pets by name.” 

The foundation of the contest was built from founder Mann’s passion for pets. An avid animal lover himself, Mann started the business when he needed a pet sitter while he was traveling. After tirelessly interviewing local pet sitters in his search for someone to entrust his furry babies and his house to, he had an "Aha!" moment. It wasn't a simple problem at all — it was really hard to find someone reliable and loving to care for his pets the way he did, and was a common problem experienced by most pet parents.

Today, Fetch! Pet Care is the nation's largest and most trusted provider of professional pet sitting and dog walking services, serving thousands of pets and pet parents from coast to coast. Fetch! Pet Care pet sitters are highly experienced professionals who are pet parents themselves, intuitively and professionally understanding what pets and pet owners need. The sitters care for all types of pets, no matter the size or species — they’re dog, cat, bird and even snake and spider people.

ABOUT FETCH! PET CARE

Fetch! Pet Care is the nation's largest and most trusted franchisor for professional pet sitting and dog walking services, serving thousands of pets and pet parents from coast to coast. They take the stress out of finding a sitter and add convenience to your life by doing all of the legwork for you. With over 3000 Fetch! Pet Care professionals in 1500 communities, they match you and your pets with the most qualified, experienced pet professional possible. Whether you need a daily dog walker or last-minute pet sitter, Fetch! Pet Care has got your tail covered! In 2011, Fetch! Pet Care ranked top of its category, making Entrepreneur Magazine’s Best of Best List.  It also ranked in Entrepreneur Magazine’s Low-Cost Franchises, Top New Ranking, Top Home-based Franchises and Fast-Growing Franchises in addition to the top-ranked pet-care franchise on AllBusiness.com’s AllStar Franchise List for the current year. For more information, visit www.fetchpetcare.com.  

Fetch! Pet Care | Best Pet Ever Contest Winner

Kathy Schmidt is the owner of Sadie, Fetch! Pet Care Best Pet Ever Contest Winner! Sadie is a one and a half years old Brussels/Griffin mix and they live in Kirkwood, WA. Here is a little bit about our winner Sadie!

Q: How old is Sadie?

A: She is one and a half. It feels like we have had her forever and I can’t imagine not having her!

Q: What type of dog is Sadie?

A: Sadie is a Brussels/Griffin mix. She has a beard like a Brussels.

Q: How did you come to own Sadie?

A: My husband and I adopted her about 5 months ago from Ginger’s Pet Rescue in Seattle. They rescue dogs from CA and fly them to Seattle. They do this because there is a higher percentage of kills shelters in CA. She’s really smart and very sweet. She’s learning a ton of new tricks.

Q: What is your favorite past time with Sadie?

A: My favorite past time with Sadie is walking. I feel more connected to the city because of our walks. She loves to go on long walks, except when it's raining. I had to get her a little rain coat because she is terrified of walking in the rain!

Q: How did you first learn about Fetch! Pet Care?

A: One of my friends owns a Fetch! Pet Care. When my husband and I got Sadie, we had a trip that was planned a year previous, but we didn’t want to leave Sadie at the kennel or the vet.  We wanted her to be at home so I looked up pet services and a couple of coworkers told me about Fetch! We have used Georgia, one of our favorite sitters, quite a few times now.

Q: What do you do for a living?

A: I am graphic designer in Seattle. My husband works in Kirkland.

Fetch! Pet Care featured in Austin Business Journal

Fetch! Pet Care was recently featured in an online article in the Austin Business Journal called, “Got the best pet ever? Compete for the title.” The article features Ken Diebold, Fetch! Pet Care owner of Austin, Texas. The article discusses Fetch! Pet Care’s social media contest hoping to find the Best Pet Ever this summer. Also included in the article is a synopsis of Ken’s business in Austin and highlights the franchise opportunity that Fetch! Pet Care provides. The article also discusses how Facebook users can enter their pet in the contest. A portion of the article is included below and can be read in its entirety by clicking here.


Got the best pet ever? Compete for the title

Pet care chain Fetch! is running a social media campaign in search of the best furry, feathery or scaly friend in the nation.

The animal sitting and walking business is giving enthusiastic pet owners the chance to compete for the "Best Pet Ever" title and a year of free services. The contest, which partners with treat maker Milk-Bone, requires a photo and application explaining why he or she is the best animal friend in the U.S. Facebook fans will then vote on a winner.

Applicants have until Aug. 5 to apply by clicking here and navigating to the "Best Pet Ever" tab.

(Read More)

PET TITLE BOUT: Animal Lovers Vie for ‘Best Pet Ever’ Through Social Media Application

In the world of social media, two topics rule the universe: Children and pets. With plenty of parents vying for the title of “Best Child Ever” with their frequent photo and status posts, Fetch! Pet Care, the largest pet sitting and dog walking franchise in the United States, figured the 72.9 million U.S. households with a pet would do the same via Facebook — especially since there are 500 million users on the social site.

Together with Milk-Bone®, a leading dog biscuit company, Fetch! built a Facebook application where pet owners (dogs, cats, birds, fish, etc.) can pronounce why they have the “Best Pet Ever.” Through the application, pet owners will first submit a photo and description about why they have the best pet, which will then be put up for voting. The winning submission will receive a year of Fetch! Pet Care services, plus a prize package from Milk-Bone®.

“As a brand, it was important for us to find more ways to interact with our current and future customers,” said Paul Mann, founder and CEO of Fetch! Pet Care. “Through the power of social media, we can learn more about our customers while interacting with them in their personal space. The value of this process to both the brand and our franchisees is priceless. We want to know our customers, fans and pets by name.”

From June 13 through Aug. 5, pet lovers around the nation can enter their pet via Fetch!’s Facebook Fan Page’s “Best Pet Ever” application (www.facebook.com/FetchCorporate). With Facebook users spending more than 700 billion minutes a year within the social network — plus more than 50 percent of users logging in daily — Fetch! is preparing to let the rumble begin.

“The beauty of Facebook is anything can go viral,” said Elyse Marks, director of marketing for Fetch! Pet Care. “Just imagine the entries that may come through.”

The foundation of the contest was built from founder Mann’s passion for pets. An avid dog lover himself, Mann started the business when he needed a pet sitter while he was traveling. After tirelessly interviewing local pet sitters in his search for someone to entrust his furry babies and his house to, he had an "Aha!" moment. It wasn't a simple problem at all — it was really hard to find someone reliable and loving to care for his pets the way he did, and was a common problem experienced by most pet parents.

Today, Fetch! Pet Care is the nation's largest and most trusted provider of professional pet sitting and dog walking services, serving thousands of pets and pet parents from coast to coast. Fetch! Pet Care pet sitters are experienced, highly trained professionals who are pet parents themselves, intuitively and professionally understanding what pets and pet owners need. The sitters care for all types of pets, no matter the size or species — they’re dog, cat, bird and even snake and spider people.