Having trouble getting people (and pets) into your veterinary practice? The old school methods of advertising in local newspapers or even on the radio just don’t provide a reliable return on your investment.
If you really want to start bringing in more clients, follow some of our favorite vet marketing strategies below…
1. Create a referral program.
What is one of the best ways to gain new customers as a local business? Referrals. As a vet, you come into contact with people all day who have other networks of friends, family, coworkers, social media followers, etc. This opens the door to thousands of other potential clients that your current clients could bring you. Creating a referral program is simple. Just let your current clients know that you offer exclusive benefits to them when they bring in new customers. These benefits could be anything from cold hard cash to discounts on their pet’s medication.
2. Offer free service for abused or rescue animals looking for a home.
You might not like hearing the word “free” but hear me out… When you give away your service to non-profit animal shelters, you can not only write that expense off of your taxes (check with your accountant) but you can also gain a new client. Let the shelter officials know to tell the new pet owners who their dog or cat’s vet was. Seeing as how the pet will already be comfortable being around you, the new owners are much more likely to bring them to you after adopting them. Check out where your local SPCA is here to get the ball rolling on this strategy.
3. Create bundled and long-term service packages.
A marketing method that seems to work well with some veterinary services is to offer bundles and long-term packages for a discounted price. This allows for customers to get multiple health services for a lower price than if they paid individually for each one. It saves them money and enables you to make more in the long-run. Customers who would be less willing to pay for each one individually can now justify paying and making sure their pet is covered.
4. Allow lower income customers to pay less or offer simple payment plans.
Some animals just don’t get cared for when their owners can’t afford the prices. Offering lower income customers a sliding scale, lower fee, or payment plans is a great way to get more pets in that need care. You may want to ask for customers to show proof of income so that they are eligible for this financial assistance. This is a great marketing technique because it allows the public to know you truly care about the wellbeing of animals.
5. Call, mail, or email reminder notices.
This is one of the easiest marketing strategies you can implement. Many people fail to remember to bring in their pets for their check-ups. Sending a reminder is a great way to get past customers back in the door. There is a wide variety of email and CRM software that makes this a very simple task.
6. Offer a seminar on animal health.
Offering a community seminar on animal health will allow you to educate pet owners and also interact with people that may not have ever been to your veterinary practice. You can treat this interaction as a way to network with potential clients. You can offer a seminar on various issues that are important to pets and their health and let the community know what they can do at home and what may require the services of a veterinarian. It’s a great way to educate the public and show yourself as a knowledgeable and caring veterinarian.
7. Monitor local tweets.
A great way to find new clients is to monitor tweets in your area for people talking about their pets. Here’s what to do…
- Head over to twitter.com/search-advanced
- Type in a keyword that your target demographic might tweet (example: “sick cat”)
- Filter your results by the city you are in
Look at the tweet below – perfect potential client!
8. Optimize your site for local search.
The number one way to gain more new clients is to make sure your website is optimized for local search results. This process is known as Local SEO. While Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of determining what your target demographic is searching for and getting your website to rank on page one in the search results for that term, Local SEO does this on a local (not global) scale. Below is an example of a keyword that a potential client might be searching for in New Jersey.
Did these marketing tips help? Want to learn more? Get a free marketing evaluation from one of our trained experts by clicking here.
