Veterinary practices today operate in a highly competitive market. To attract new clients to your practice and retain existing ones, you not only have to provide a good service, but also convince clients that your practice offers greater value than all the others in your local area. If you are struggling to get enough business while other practices in town hog the limelight, use these tips to polish your practice’s marketing until it shines like a diamond.
Upgrade Your Website
When pet owners look for a local veterinary practice, they often turn to search engines to find out what their options are. If your website sits low in the rankings for key search terms, such as “vet [your local area],” people may not know your business exists at all. In this case, adding keyword-rich content to your site in the form of a blog could help to raise your site’s search ranking.
What if your website ranks highly, but still fails to bring in much business? In that case, you need to consider whether the content on your site is doing its job correctly. Does your website clearly state your location, opening hours and the services you offer? Most importantly, does it provide easy ways for clients to get in touch, such as a contact form, phone number and email address? Making communication as easy as possible could help to ensure your business is the practice of choice for pet owners who are new to the area.
Network Online and Offline
Building connections with the local pet-owning community can help you attract and keep customers. You can stay in touch with clients by inviting them to connect with your practice on social media, where you can share tips on pet care, pictures of your team and updates on the latest services your practice offers. However, even in today’s digital age, it is important not to underestimate the importance of real-world interactions. Increase your community presence by attending community events or giving talks about pet care and veterinary careers at local schools.
Partner With Local Businesses
Local businesses that cater to pet owners, such as pet stores, professional dog walkers and grooming services, can put you in touch with new clients. Research the pet-related businesses in your local area and approach the most popular ones with an offer to partner up. For example, your practice could hand out discount vouchers for a local pet store, encouraging your customers to buy their pet food and accessories from that business. In exchange, the store may allow you to place advertising materials for your practice in their store. Building relationships with businesses that pet owners already rely on is a great way to boost your brand’s reputation and attract new clients to your practice.
Deliver Outstanding Service
All the marketing tricks in the world won’t help you build a loyal client base if you can’t deliver a good service. Be sure to schedule plenty of time for appointments, so your veterinarians can take the time to make pets comfortable and build a rapport with owners. Use veterinary software programs to eliminate billing errors and other admin-related issues. Finally, always ask clients for feedback, as this can help you to identify problems with your service and address them to ensure your practice is truly outstanding.
EasyDVM Practice Software is a cloud-based veterinary practice management software system. We pride ourselves in offering a system that is user-friendly, easy to learn for new team members, full-featured and elegant in its simplicity. Best of all, all devices, multiple users, all your clients and patients, always affordable.