7 Marketing Ideas to Help Grow Your Vet Practice

The term “How do I get more clients for my vet clinic?”. It’s an incredibly common question which indicates that many veterinarians are struggling to grow their practice, and it’s one we’re going to try and answer today.

In this article, we’ve comprised a list of 7 marketing ideas that can help your vet practice get more clients and revenue. These ideas are not in any particular order and they are all equally important!

The first idea on our list is…

Developing A Comprehensive Referral Program

Every good marketer would let you know: your current clients/customers are a treasure trove of potential new leads. This is especially true for vets who have built solid relationships with their clients.

The goal is to get all your best clients talking about how great your practice is, and encourage them to spread the word.

What should be included in a referral program?

• A referral incentive. What’s in it for them? You can offer discounts, or even free services if they refer new clients to you.
• A clear process. Make sure there are clear steps in place for how referrals are made, who gets credit for the sale, and what happens afterwards.
• A system to track referral sources. To identify which marketing channels are most effective and make adjustments as needed to ensure their effectiveness.

Note: It is not enough to simply rely on word-of-mouth recommendations.

To maximize success, the referral program should also include outreach to other businesses and organizations that work with pets, such as local animal shelters, groomers, and pet supply stores. The program could also offer incentives to these partners for referring clients to the practice.

Bottomline: By building a comprehensive referral program that incorporates both client and business outreach, a vet practice can establish itself as a valued partner in the local pet care community.

Implementing Cutting-Edge Technology For Remote Consultations

While there are potential drawbacks to implementing remote consultations, the benefits can far outweigh the risks.

If you live in a rural area or have clients who travel, then offering a remote consultation service may be one way to increase your client base. The beauty of this idea is that it can be done from anywhere! Just think about how much time and money you and your client could save by not having to commute to the clinic.

One example is the use of telemedicine for rural areas.

In areas where there may not be a veterinary clinic within a reasonable distance, animal owners may not have access to the same level of care as those in urban areas.

This is where remote services come in:

Our advice:

Use this type of technology where access to veterinary care is limited. The key is to make sure that the technology is affordable and user-friendly for both the pet owner and the veterinarian.

In the end, by offering remote consultations, the practice can expand its services and attract new clients who value convenience and accessibility.

Offer A Loyalty Program

A loyalty program is a marketing tool that encourages customers to return and allows them to earn points or rewards based on their patronage. The more they do business with you, the more they earn, which provides an incentive for them to come back and continue the cycle.

A loyalty program can be as simple as a punch card or as complex as an app where points are tracked in real-time. It doesn’t matter how sophisticated your loyalty program is; what matters most is that you want customers to feel rewarded whenever they visit your clinic or do any business transaction with your practice

Why is it effective?

Offering a loyalty program creates a positive association in the minds of its clients. By providing these rewards for repeat visits, the practice reinforces the positive choice made by the client to continue to bring their pet to the practice. The loyalty program can also lead to the client recommending the practice to others, as they are more likely to view their decision to bring their pet to the practice as the best choice.

Building Strategic Partnerships With Other Local Businesses

Imagine that building a successful vet practice is like building a beautiful garden. Just like a garden needs the right balance of sunlight, water, and nutrients to thrive, a vet practice needs a variety of resources to succeed, including clients, equipment, and expertise. Building strategic partnerships with other local businesses can be a way to enrich the soil of your practice and give it the resources it needs to grow and increase the value of your vet practice.

But not just any business.

The best way to find potential partners is by looking at those who provide products or services that complement what you offer. In other words, each business would bring its unique resources and expertise to the table. By pooling resources, businesses can create a more robust offering for their clients, as well as open up new opportunities for collaboration and growth.

In the context of a vet practice, building strategic partnerships with other local businesses can take many forms.

For example, partnering with a local pet store can lead to cross-promotion opportunities and referrals. By referring clients to the pet store for supplies, the store may in turn recommend the vet practice to their clients. The vet practice may also be able to offer discounts or special offers to the pet store’s clients, creating a win-win situation for both businesses.

Another potential partnership could be with a dog walking or pet-sitting service. By offering a bundled service, the vet practice and pet service could work together to offer clients a convenient and comprehensive solution for their pet care needs.

Offering Unique And Exclusive Pet Care Services

What if you could eliminate competition by offering a service that no one else in your area is offering? This is a tried-and-true marketing strategy. For example, if your practice is in an area that has a lot of dogs with allergies, you can offer “allergy-free” boarding or it could be offering a grooming service that no other veterinary practice in your area offers.

“It is impossible to introduce a new service.”

We hear you. Try this:

Utilize the framing bias. Basically, it tries to explain that people react differently to the same information depending on how it is presented to them. By framing unique and exclusive pet care services as something that sets the vet practice apart from others, clients may perceive them as more valuable.

For example, instead of simply advertising a dental cleaning service for pets, the practice could frame it as an exclusive, state-of-the-art dental cleaning service that is only available at their practice. By providing an exclusive and unique service or framing relatively common ones as such, clients may perceive it as more valuable.

Leverage Veterinary Conferences And Events

At first glance, attending a veterinary conference may seem counterintuitive. After all, conferences can be expensive, and attending them may require time away from the practice. However, there are several compelling reasons why investing in veterinary conferences can be a wise decision for a vet practice.

They include:

• Vet conferences provide insights and information that can help the practice stay on the cutting edge of veterinary care.
• They can be a way to network and build relationships with other professionals in the field, leading to new business opportunities, collaborations, and even new clients.
• You can find out about upcoming trends that may impact your business in the future so you can prepare now.
• Conferences allow you to attend educational lectures that will help you hone your skills as a veterinarian or business owner — or both!
• By sending staff members to conferences, the practice can invest in their professional development, leading to improved performance, job satisfaction, and a sense of pride and accomplishment for the practice as a whole.

However, despite all of these potential benefits, there is a catch:

Choose conferences that are relevant to your practice. Additionally, budget appropriately for travel, lodging, and other expenses, and consider the potential return on investment from attending the conference.

Invest In Your Community

Investing in your community means creating and cultivating a strong, positive relationship with the people who live and work in your community. This can take many forms, including sponsoring local events, participating in community service projects, charity, and hosting events.

From the marketing aspect, here’s how investing in your community would benefit your vet practice:

When you build strong relationships with your community it can help you attract new clients and build a positive reputation. When people see that you are an active and engaged member of the community, they are more likely to trust you with their pet’s care.

Reminder: Don’t Forget The Online Experience

One of the biggest reasons why investing in the online experience is so important is because more and more pet owners are turning to the internet to find and research veterinary practices.

To ensure that your vet practice is meeting the needs of these tech-savvy pet owners, it’s important to have user-friendly and visually appealing consumer-facing digital touch points. Examples are a well-designed and functional website, a strong presence on social media platforms, and other online channels.

Do this:

Your website and social media profiles should provide all the information they need to make an informed decision about their pet’s care. That is to say: information about the services you offer, your staff and their qualifications, and any other relevant details that could influence their decision.

Conclusion

It’s important to keep in mind that every practice is different, so it’s essential to experiment with different marketing strategies and find what works best for your specific goals and audience. Irrespective, these ideas should give you a head start – good luck!