The Power of Scratch-between-the-ears Marketing

Moose is jealous.

For those of you just tuning in, Moose is my dog (Melissa claims him, too). 

He’s big and brown, with floppy ears, like a moose, and he’s usually the only dog around. 

But there’s a new dog in town. 

His name is Cooper, named after a place called Cooper’s Landing in Alaska where our son Jacob likes to go fly fishing.  

Jacob’s heading up to Alaska this month to catch salmon on a commercial fishing boat. 

His dog, Cooper, will spend the summer with Melissa and me in St. Louis.  

And that’s rocking Moose’s world. 

Yesterday, Cooper and Moose were hanging out with me in my home office. 

Cooper was nestled at my feet, right where Moose usually sits. Moose was in the corner, seething. 

After wrapping up a Zoom call, I announced, “Time for a break. Let’s go outside.” 

I rose from my chair, and Cooper rose from his chair-side nest. 

I scratched Cooper behind his ears, and he leaned into me lovingly. He’s an affectionate pooch. 

Usually, when I say, “Let’s go outside,” Moose springs to his feet, ready to play.  

But not this time. 

He laid in the corner, staring at Cooper at me, as if to say, “No. No. You two go outside and have fun together. I’ll just sit here alone in this office, ignored and unloved.” 

(Sigh!)

“Moose, come!” I said sternly, and he followed Cooper and me out of the office. 

Cooper and I bounded down the stairs. But Moose repeated the stop-and-stare routine. 

He stood at the top of the stairs, still as a statue – a jealous statue. 

“Come on, buddy,” I said, more gently this time. 

But Moose didn’t budge. 

So I trudged up the stairs and sat down next to Moose. 

I scratched him behind the ears, and he rolled over on his back.

“Woof!” he said.

That means, “Gimme a tummy rub,” and I did. 

After a minute of tummy-rub bliss, Moose rose to his feet, bounded down the stairs, and followed Cooper and me outside. 

Moose and Cooper had a happy romp in the backyard. 

I think they may become friends. 

No dog likes to feel neglected. 

Same goes for your clients and prospects. 

When someone signs up for your email list, and you don’t send a welcome/thanks follow-up – that’s neglect. 

When you build an email list but rarely send emails – that’s neglect. 

When email subscribers reply, and you don’t answer back – that’s neglect. 

When you have a chat bot on your website, but you don’t monitor it – that’s neglect. 

When people share meaningful comments on your social media posts, but you don’t engage – that’s neglect. 

All of the above has happened to me – countless times. And it makes me feel like a lonely dog. 

That’s OK, though, because there are plenty of people happy to scratch me between the ears. I’ll do business with them.