Marketing Ideas for Veterinary Practices

By First Financial Bank
Marketing your veterinary practice takes more than just putting your name on giveaway items or discount coupons.

Retaining and growing your client base is a challenge under any circumstances, not just during a pandemic. And marketing your veterinary practice takes more than just putting your name on giveaway items or discount coupons. What can you do to get your message to your potential customers – safely, effectively and affordably? It is going to come down to appealing to your audiences where and how they like to get their information – online.

Go Where They Are

Where do your clients hang out online? According to Pew Research, Facebook and YouTube are the most popular places across all demographics.

Let’s start with the lowest hanging fruit: a Facebook page for your business. This should be a separate page specifically for your practice, with a personality that reflects you and your team’s friendly professionalism. High quality photographs, fun graphics and/or short videos paired with written messages relevant for your customers can lay a good foundation for attracting and connecting with them. It is easy to set up and there is no cost, Check out “how-to’s” from Facebook here.

In addition to no cost posts (which should happen regularly), consider trying paid Facebook advertising. With a small budget, put together a paid ad for an audience target based on a combination of:

  • Physical location
  • Their specific interests (for example, followers of “Dogs Fans”, a Facebook group of 800k+ dog lovers)
  • Age and/or gender

There is also something called a “look alike audience” you can use in reaching people who “look like” your current followers or contacts. Regardless of how you create your audience, a paid ad can be a great way to launch a new service or highlight something unique you have to offer the community. Just be sure to have a strong call-to-action to convert their interest into a direct connection with your practice.

There are a variety of ways to reach your audiences through YouTube. From creating your own short series of “tips and tricks” videos for reptiles to “The Veterinarian Answers Your Questions,” the sky is the limit for potential topics. Create a playlist of videos you think your patients’ owners will find most interesting – and then use the videos to help populate your website and other social media.

Looking to target younger audiences? Maybe those in their 20s adopting their first pets on their own? Or those in their 30s establishing families and more pets? Consider Instagram. These segments are heavily represented on this social media platform and it is a visually oriented way to provide an online presence for your practice. Put your best foot forward with a strong bio and visual to anchor your account.

Speak their language.

Bring Them Home

No matter which social media platforms you choose to help market your practice, your online “home” – your website – should be ready to welcome potential and current customers. When someone lands on your site, they should find one that is:

  • Well organized and easy to navigate. They shouldn’t have to hunt to find what they need.
  • Provides short, sweet and clear messaging with visuals that help tell the story. Imagine what someone can read in a few seconds on a mobile phone – and plan your headlines and marketing messages accordingly.
  • Relevant, informational, timely and enjoyable content. Articles, videos, podcasts, announcements and event highlights – info that provides value to your audiences will help keep them coming back for more. Keep it fresh with new items often.
  • Easy for search engines to find (SEO optimization). This is a combination of your technology, how your content is structured and the backlinks from sites with authority. This can take you some time to establish.

One other important feature: make it accessible to those who may experience the world differently. Those with visual, auditory, physical or sensory impairments should be able to use your site too. According to the American Institutes for Research (AIR):

“The total after-tax disposable income for working-age people with disabilities is about $490 billion, which is similar to that of other significant market segments, such as African
Americans ($501 billion) and Hispanics ($582 billion) .”

So reach a wider audience with a site that allows more people to engage with you.

Birds of a Feather

If you have a large animal practice, many of your customers are likely to be farmers or ranchers. These business owners tend to source and/or share information with others who “get them” – other farmers/ranchers at their local guild or trade association. To reach them online, you’ll want to check out the opportunities to:

  • Contribute to their site or newsletter content – for example, an article on “Keeping stock healthy in drought conditions”.
  • Speak at one of their virtual monthly or annual meetings.
  • “Sponsor” their site, a conference session or other event.
  • Outright buy space on their website for an ad.

Speak their language and convey the value in what you have to offer their business will make it easier to connect with this audience.

Begin with the End in Mind

Before you dive into any online marketing activities, you’ll want to put together a plan. Determine who you want to target; what you want them to do – and how much time, effort and dollars it will take to accomplish your marketing goals. With those details in mind, the path to achieving your aims will be clearer.

Need help putting together a business plan? Get a guide here. Already have some ideas and looking to discuss financing those changes? Let’s chat!

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It’s time. You’ve been working for someone else – and now you are ready to be your own boss, with your own practice. You might have even checked out a veterinary clinic for sale. But before you start imagining your name on the sign above the door, there are some answers you need. Here are five of the big questions to ask – and the answers you, your partners and your lenders need to know.

Planning to Sell Your Independent Veterinary Practice/Clinic?

Planning to hang that “Business for Sale” sign?

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