Getting to know your WHY- How to position your new veterinary practice to reach your ideal pet owner.

December 17, 2024

As a veterinary practice owner, you are motivated to consistently deliver high quality services to your clients. Understanding the reasons why you chose this career and why you’re opening a new practice can also be extremely valuable when putting together marketing materials that will allow you to connect with your ideal pet owner.

Let’s take a closer look at why this is the case.

Understanding your ideal demographic

Many of us have opted to receive marketing materials from businesses that we thought would provide us with a wealth of valuable information and engaging content. However, when we discovered that we were actually receiving marketing materials that weren’t relevant to us, we were left disappointed.

It is extremely important to ensure that your practice’s marketing materials don’t end up alienating your ideal audience.

Why?

Because when we are presented with information that we aren’t interested in, we will either delete or overlook social media posts and emails or unsubscribe from those marketing channels altogether.

Now, once someone has unsubscribed from your content, it is really hard to reconnect and nurture that relationship again.

So, in order to create and deliver relevant, informative and valuable content to your audience and keep them engaged with your practice, you need to understand who they are and what information they are looking for. This knowledge will also inform how best to present your content to ensure that your messaging is cutting through the noise and really resonating with the type of pet owner you want to keep engaged.

Identifying your brand essence

Every successful business has a brand essence that makes them recognisable and memorable. It can be helpful to view your brand essence as being akin to a chef’s signature dish or a singer’s best-known song.

But what are the benefits of identifying your practice’s brand essence?

Well, a clear brand essence makes it easier to maintain a sense of consistency and authenticity throughout your marketing messaging and ensures that every piece of content you share reflects your brand values and identity.

Essentially, it helps you to tell pet owners in your local community what they can expect from the services you are providing.

So, what exactly does a successful brand essence look like?

A strong brand essence has four distinct elements.

1. The first element is authenticity, which reflects the true heart of your practice.

2. The second element is distinctiveness, and this is what will enable you to set your practice apart from your competition.

3. The third element of a strong brand essence is the ability to motivate and inspire your ideal audience to form a meaningful connection with your practice.

4. Lastly, the fourth element is the ability to evoke feelings and emotions in your audience, which is key to the formation of strong bonds and connections.

Having a strong understanding of your audience demographics is key to identifying your brand essence, but there are other important elements to consider as well, including your brand story.

What is a brand story and why is it important?

Before making a purchase or signing up for a service, clients, especially pet owners want to understand who you are, what you do, and what motivates you. In the same way that a great film or book captivates an audience, a compelling brand story will allow pet owners to connect with you and ultimately care about what you do.

A well-rounded brand story recounts the path that led you to setting up your practice and the motivations that continue to be the driving force behind everything you do.

Ask yourself: why did I choose this career?

A great way to communicate your brand story is to ask yourself a series of questions, starting with why you chose to embark on a career in veterinary medicine in the first place. Answering this question will provide you with an excellent jumping off point, enabling you to trace your own personal journey that led you on the path to where you are today.

Remember, this doesn’t need to be a highlight reel and only touch on the high points of your journey. In fact, in many cases, highlight reels don’t resonate with audiences and make it tricky to form genuine connections. Instead, focus on the truth and all the twists and turns along your path that have resulted in the creation of your practice.

Ask yourself: why should pet owners choose you?

It is also valuable to understand why pet owners in your local community and beyond should choose your practice over your competitors- maybe you can offer a service that others don’t have the equipment for, or you provide unlimited consultations with your healthplan. Make sure that this, known as your USP is included in your marketing communications.

As we’re very aware, in March 2024, research published by the CMA [1] concluded that consumers may not be provided with enough information to support them when selecting the best veterinary practice for their needs.

So, there is a real opportunity to take an important step forward here to both, hone in on precisely what makes your practice unique and develop a communications strategy that will ensure your audience has all the information they need to choose you.

 

If you’re ready to find your ‘why’ and want to partner with a team that understands how to help veterinary practices succeed, please get in touch to learn more.

 

Resources:

[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/news/cma-identifies-multiple-concerns-in-vets-market

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