Good marketing is the key to any business. You need to let your potential patients know who you are and what you can offer them. In the veterinary industry, there is a lot of competition, which is why it is important to get new patients and keep them. Veterinary practice owners need to build their patient base in order to develop their practice or clinic to the next level.
At the same time, repeat business from existing clients is just if not more important and valuable, so customer loyalty should be a central part of any ongoing marketing plan. There are several marketing campaigns that you can use to reach clients and beat your competitors; this article will introduce you to some of the best strategies that you can put into practice in short order.
Development of a Quality Site for the Promotion of the Veterinary Clinic
Creating a professional website is a key tool for increasing traffic to your veterinary clinic.
Be sure to provide information on the website about each veterinarian in your veterinary practice, a list of services you offer, and which animals you treat and which you do not treat. Include the types of insurance you accept and any other payment arrangements you offer. Another good way for veterinary marketing to increase the number of clients is to include some questions and answers on your website. Engage and answer patients’ questions a few times a week and let them freely express their opinions, since this way, you will be more familiar with all the advantages and drawbacks of your service that you need to work on.
You can also create an online appointment page on your website. This will allow potential clients to easily schedule a visit for their pets.
SEO Site Optimization for Google
In order for potential clients to find you on the Internet, it is necessary for your site to be at the top of Google when the user types in keywords, e.g. “Veterinary practice”, “Veterinary services”, “Private veterinary practice”, “Best veterinary practice”, etc. for your location.
In order to be at the top of Google for given and similar terms, you need to work on SEO optimization of the site. SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization and is about working on your site according to the rules set by a particular search engine. For example, Google’s search ranking algorithm is thought to include the value of links in to the website from other credible and authoritative websites, the freshness and relevance of the content on your site, and the number of visits from social media platforms. Less than 10% of people using search engines look beyond the first page of results, so in the internet age good SEO is essential. It’s a form of marketing that is best outsourced to specialists.
Be Present Online, But Where Your Customers Are
It doesn’t make sense to build a business where there are no potential customers, does it?
It’s the same with social networks. It’s not worth creating and maintaining social media profiles in places where your clients never go. Find out where your current customers spend their time online and establish a presence on social media there. Pick one or two social media platforms with the strongest client presence and start engaging.
Our recommendations are Facebook and Instagram because they offer you the opportunity to narrow the focus on a certain population and thus reach the target market. Those platforms are also both very image-based and work well in an industry with so many opportunities for emotionally engaging photo opportunities. Obviously, you will need the consent of your patients if you are to share photos of their pets, but most people love to have their pets in the limelight.
Email Marketing
Email marketing for veterinarians is one of the most important aspects of marketing. It invites new patients and encourages former ones to return. It is a great way to build a deeper relationship with your customers, keeping them informed about pet care, activities in the practice and local area, and letting them know about any special offers or events.
You will need clients’ consent to add them to your email list and you need to ensure that all information that you keep about clients is in line with GDPR regulations. You can have email sign-up forms on your website and you can also invite new clients to join the email list when they join your practice. Email lists can be easily segmented so you can have slightly different lists for existing clients and for those who have not yet registered with the practice.
A good marketing plan is essential, regardless of whether you have recently started a veterinary career or have been in business for years. The strategies outlined above should help you to not only attract more clients but also help develop your business.