And you know what I've learned? There are a lot of similarities between successful dog training and successful marketing. Take a look:

 

Know your goals: You'd better know who's supposed to do what when you start your training sessions (hint: the dog should beg, not you). If you can't clearly tell your dog what you want him to do, why should he listen when there are great things to sniff and explore? It's the same with marketing - if you have no idea what you want from your efforts, you'll probably get just that...nothing.

 

Be consistent: You need to use the same command, given the same way, all the time for your dog to truly learn what to do. In marketing, you need to use the same message and be consistent in your brand presentation so that your customers understand who you are. If you want a sit, ask for a sit, not a down!

 

Learn what motivates your audience: Mack is easy - he likes food. But maybe your audience isn't so interested in getting a piece of cold hotdog for checking out your site. Offer what your audience wants and you'll probably get a lot more interest!

 

Give rewards freely: Dogs love to get rewards and people do, too! Reward your customers! Give Facebook fans a special discount; offer a unique add-on for your Twitter followers and regular customers. Just like the dogs, people will follow you with much more enthusiasm if they know there's a treat at the end.

 

Don't ever forget to tell them you love them: OK, so maybe you won't go quite that far with customers, but even humans need to know they're appreciated from time to time. Tell your customers they're valued, whether it's through personal thank-you notes or special programs. Show them you care, and they just might show they care, too...hopefully with more than a lick on the face!