Last month, the cast was announced for the second season of UK Celebrity Traitors.

 

Now, for my American readers who might not know what on earth I'm talking about, The Traitors has become one of the biggest TV shows in the UK over the last few years.

The premise is simple. A group of contestants live together in a Scottish castle and work together on challenges to build up a prize pot.

But hidden amongst them are a handful of secret traitors chosen by the host.

The job of the traitors is to secretly "murder" contestants each night and avoid being caught, while the rest of the group, known as the faithful, try to work out who's lying and banish them from the game before it's too late.

It's basically a giant game of suspicion, manipulation, mind games, and social strategy. It's also a TON of fun, and the residents of Town Farm are HUGE fans.

We also tune into the celebrity version, which pretty much follows the same format, except all the money goes to charity. In this version, you get famous comedians, actors, athletes, and TV personalities all accusing each other of betrayal over breakfast in a spooky castle.

I can hear some readers rolling their eyes and muttering, "Reality TV bollocks..."

And yeah, it kind of is.

But it's also a fascinating dissection of human behaviour.

How people react under pressure. Who panics. Who manipulates. Who stays calm. Who follows the crowd. Who asks good questions. Who folds the second someone points a finger at them. Who can't tell a lie to save their lives.

Something else this programme demonstrates really well is how quickly perception becomes reality.

Because in this game, once enough people THINK you're a traitor, you're in trouble whether you actually are one or not.

And this doesn't just apply to television.

It happens in business too.

This is why it's so important for YOU to take control of your reputation.

See, if YOU don't define your reputation, other people will happily do it for you.

And once a perception settles in, rightly or wrongly, it can be very hard to shift.

Dan Kennedy says, "Your reputation is ultimately what you get paid for."

Yes, good Google reviews are vital, but they only get read when clients go looking for them.

Your real, living, breathing reputation is what people hear and read about you.

See, you and your business are going to be known for something whether you like it or not, so why not take control of what is being said by dog owners, shelters, pet businesses, and organisations in your town?

Why not control the narrative and fuel word of mouth about your amazing services?

This is why I'm always encouraging dog daycare owners to go beyond basic social media posting and start creating what I call expert-enhancing marketing assets.

Things that elevate your status in the eyes of dog owners.

   - Printed newsletters
   - Guides
   - Books
   - Podcasts
   - Videos
   - Articles in local newspapers
   - Speaking gigs
   - Charity partnerships
   - Community events
   - Educational content
   - Branded systems and processes

 

The kind of stuff that makes people say:

 

"Oh yeah, I've heard of them."

 

Or:

 

"They seem to be everywhere lately."

 

In my world, my clients call this "Domnipresence". See what I did there?

 

It's basically where you show up everywhere in your ideal clients' world.

 

This is real reputation building, packed with your personality and a good sprinkling of celebrity status.

 

The fact is, known businesses grow faster than unknown businesses.

 

Trusted businesses grow faster than ignored businesses.

 

And memorable businesses spread through word of mouth far quicker than bland ones ever will.

 

This is why things like old-school paper-and-ink marketing still matter too.

 

A printed newsletter landing on a kitchen table instantly feels more authoritative than another forgettable Facebook post disappearing into the algorithm graveyard at the end of each day.

 

And I say this as someone who does a lot of social media stuff too.

 

The fact is, not everyone uses social media.

 

And, as we discussed in Top Dog Top Dollar Dispatch #4, What Affluent Dog Owners Are Looking for in a Daycare, you often need to use offline media to connect with affluent dog owners in your community.

This is why many of my clients have created expert-enhancing guides, tip sheets, and other lead magnets. More on this in next week's issue.

Imagine the difference between saying:

"We do enrichment."

Versus handing a prospect a beautifully branded guide called:

One sounds like an average daycare.

The other sounds like a god-damn expert.

The sad fact is most pet businesses sound exactly the same as their competitors, which is why they end up competing on price.

And that puts you hugely at risk when a new big-box or franchise dog daycare comes into town.

Not because they have more personality, but because they usually have deeper pockets to fund a discounted promotion for longer.

Which brings me back to The Traitors and something fascinating I read in The Sunday Times.

 

The producers said one of the main things they look for when casting contestants is whether they pass the pub test.

 

Producer Lewis Thurslow said last year:
"We don't feel like we have to try to cast a villain, because the game brings that out in people naturally. Players have to be likeable. One thing we always think is, would you like to sit down with them in the pub and have a drink?"

 

Basically, would they enjoy being around them?

 

Would they feel likeable, interesting, trustworthy, funny, warm, and human?

 

And honestly, I think that's a bloody brilliant question for pet businesses too.

 

And it's a question I'm asking you today.

 

 

Not just YOU personally.

 

Your business.

 

This is crucial because dog owners in your town, your future customers, are constantly asking themselves:

 

 

This is where personality marketing comes in.

 

And no, I don't mean dancing around on TikTok pointing at captions like a children's TV presenter on acid.

 

I mean showing people what your business actually STANDS for.

 

   - Your story
   - Your standards
   - Your philosophy
   - Your quirks
   - Your humour
   - Your pet business hates
   - Your mission
   - Your beliefs about dogs
   - Your team culture
   - Your enrichment ideas
   - Your behind-the-scenes moments
   - Your client success stories

 

All the things that make your business feel alive and distinctly you.

In my Dog Daycare Success Academy, we start the coaching programme by doing a lot of work around what I call Defining Your Business DNA.

Because just like fingerprints, no two DNA profiles are identical.

Which raises a very important question...

Can you honestly say your business is notably different from your competitors?

I'm talking about the perception of your business.

Does your business have a personality?

Your superfans are created through personality.

And yes, occasionally this means saying things some people won't agree with.

That's fine too.

In fact, I'd argue it's necessary.

Because to be genuinely liked by some people, you often have to risk being disliked by others.

Strong brands with personality create emotional reactions.

This applies to me too.

Here's what one of my clients, Kim Kariolides from Boston, had to say:
"So we were in Hershey, Pennsylvania and we went to a talk that Dom gave and we were like, 'This guy's an ass.' We did not like him. And then a few months later I was at my desk and something came on. It was Dom talking about enrichment. And I loved it and signed up immediately."

Kim and her husband Bob joined my Elite Mastermind last year. They are now Dog Daycare Success Academy members, and in early June they flew to the UK to attend the DDSA Immersion event at Lumley Castle, County Durham.

They went from "not sure" to superfans of me and my coaching because I put my personality into my marketing.

So personality matters.

In fact, it's always mattered, but even more so in today's world where AI-generated slop and copy-and-paste marketing are making more businesses feel robotic by the day.

The businesses that will win over the next decade won't necessarily be the slickest.

They'll be the most human.

So ask yourself...

What are you putting out into the world right now that convinces dog owners yours is a caring, human business worth trusting with a beloved family member?

And if the answer is "not much"...

Maybe it's time to stop hiding behind generic social media posts and start letting people see who you really are.

In this week's Dispatch, I briefly mentioned the DDSA Immersion event we held at the beautiful Lumley Castle in County Durham.

 

This was the first time my UK mastermind members experienced the new DDSA format, and it was unanimously declared a huge success.

We had turbo hot seats, breakout sessions, a wins accumulator, a big goal-setting session, and a special guest in the form of Stephen Inala-Reedy from A Content Space.

Stephen delivered a brilliant couple of sessions all about creating content that makes your business more visible and easier for potential clients to connect with.

 

The next Immersion event is happening in Annapolis this August.

Our special guest is Vance "The Disney Guy" Morris, and the theme is world-class customer service.

If you're a dog daycare or pet resort owner in the USA and you're finding it harder to attract and keep affluent dog owners, being at this event should be a no-brainer.

And if you know you need help right now to fix your facility, get in touch and tell me what you need help with.

Every Sunday, I deliver the unfiltered marketing and operational blueprints I've used to help 2,500+ frustrated dog daycare owners, to stop running a low-margin facility and start building the most expensive (and most wanted) pet destination in town.