Marketing Idea #13 - Woof woof
Sick of those damn dogs barking throughout the day/night ? Ready to complain to the council, but knowing that it's going to take a fair bit of action before the owner really takes hold of how annoying their precious pooch is ?
A great community marketing scheme, due to people adopting a four legged friend and being ignorant to its needs, it causes a build up of frustration and stress which causes side effects of barking, tearing up the back yard and chewing to relieve this. Currently when you complain to the council, they take the complaint and file it with a friendly "Thanks for getting in touch" reply. Second complaint gets a bit more action and a letter sent to the offending owner. Third complaint usually ends up in similar grounds of the result from the second complaint.Nothing is being achieved, the owner isn't paying attention and most likely laughing at the letters. Here's where a better approach of the problem comes in. Education, and reasonable consequences... Setup a council funded dog walking/dog care scheme, with a one/two representatives per region with animal behavioral training and dog obedience knowledge.
When a complaint comes in to the council they handle it as they normally do with one exception, the representatives do a quick check on the property. This allows them to assess the frustration and stress of the dog. What this achieves is two things: 1. Assesses the dog is not maltreated in anyway (within reason)
2. Confirms the problem at the indicated time(s) Council records situation, and writes a reply letter to the owners property sharing the findings of the animal, and confirming if they also identified the problem and suggestions to educate the owner on why their dog may be causing disruptions. This gives a mediation type approach. A letter also goes out to the complainant stating what has happened, and what allocated duration they have before following up the complaint and any suggested non-confrontational methods they could use to communicate with the property owner.
Second complaint comes after the conditions haven't been met, and the owner is contacted stating their dog is still behaving in a manner as per the first complaint. They are notified that they will be visited in the evening of their choice so the council can initiate a dog walking service initially sponsored by the council to reduce the frustration of their dog and see if this improves the dogs behavior. Additional education is supplied to the owner on the system and introduction to the dog to the representatives who will be walking their dog. The dog will go on a trial for two weeks, seeing if there is any immediate improvement. If there is improvement, then the council will supply the owner with enough education to complete their knowledge of animal behavior and why walking their dog is important. If there is no improvement, then owners are referred to a dog behavioral specialist. If a third complaint arrives, then the council sends out a fine for the dog and the dog walkers come in and carry on their service until the fine value is reached. After each duration of dog walking has been completed, the council will reassess the situation with the owner. This can also be offered as a subsidised dog walking service by the community council to reduce dog nuisance complaints to people who don't have time to walk their dog. The dog walking service may not be feasible, but education and communication with the dog owners is a must. Potential Clients:
Dog owners Potential Mediums:
Interactive, Website, Print
