I need three bitches

Well, to be strictly honest, it’s Barney, my wife’s office dog who needs them… not me.

She thinks she’s hit on the perfect marketing campaign for her business. I’m slightly more wary of her plans, so I thought I’d run them past EB before seriously pitching the idea to her franchisor.

My wife runs a franchise, based from shop front style premises in Edinburgh. We have a Labradoodle (for those of you not in the doggy know, that’s a cross between a Poodle and a Labrador.)

I know I’m off script a bit here, but here’s a little quiz… what is a:

• Cockerpoo?

• Puggle?

• Poolly?

Answers below.

Anyway, Barney has been our office dog since May last year and has proved to be a great hit with the clients.

So much so that we now get people going passed on the bus and ringing the Franchise Support Centre to ask what breed he is.

Brilliantly, everyone in the FSC knows Barney and can give intimate details of his pedigree (or lack of it, given he’s a cross.)

We decided to take this a step further and had some professional photographs taken of him doing the things dogs do and turned them into posters, which form our internal marketing (all approved, of course). Barney also writes a DogBlog with his insights into business and is available for weddings, birthdays and Bar Mitzvahs.

So successful has this marketing been that Barney is truly famous and we think that every office should have one… and therein lies the sales opportunity.

If we can find Barney 3 bitches, he can produce enough little Barneys to provide one to each new franchisee as part of their franchise package.

Think about it for a second…

What a way to enhance the package: a free Labradoodle, 3 months dog food, pet insurance included for 3 months, marketing support to help you make the most of your new dog?

Okay, maybe not. We are being tongue in cheek about this.

However, Barney has worked for us. He has provided a focus for our marketing and creates a talking point around the local community. Children stop on the way home from school to see him and people come in to help him. For his part, Barney knows just what to do, he sucks up to clients royally and makes them feel welcome in the shop.

You don’t really need a Barney, but you do need a focus to help you keep you marketing tight and effective.

Cockerpoo: Cocker Spaniel and a Poodle

Puggle: Pug and a Poodle

Poolly: Poodle and a Colly (although we’ve never heard of this before and made it up!)