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Top 10 Veterinary Practice Marketing Ideas
Whether you’re just getting started with a digital marketing strategy or you want to refresh your approach to drive better outcomes for your practice, here are our top 10 marketing ideas to help your veterinary practice connect with new clients and boost your visibility online.
1. Invest in a user-friendly website
Investing in a user-friendly website is one of the best things you can do for your practice. Think of your website as your primary digital asset and your digital shop window, which contains important information that will convince local pet owners that you are the right practice for them.
The best performing veterinary practice websites have easy to use navigation menus and present information in ways that are simple to digest so pet owners can find their way around and self-serve without becoming frustrated. Your website copy should be written in a warm and welcoming way with a consistent tone of voice that feels authentic to your practice’s brand, which should again be reflected in your choice of imagery and supporting graphics.
2. Create an email marketing strategy
Although you might assume that social media is king, email marketing very much still matters. In fact, at a time when social media platforms are constantly evolving and changing features, it is vital for your practice to build a strong mailing list that will ensure you can always communicate directly with your audience in a way that you can control. Best of all, email marketing is relatively cheap and provides an exceptionally high ROI (return on investment)!
Developing an email marketing strategy will allow you to share important information and offers with an audience that is already interested in your practice. Utilise personalisation and segmentation tools to ensure that your messaging is aligned with the unique preferences and needs of each recipient, the most obvious categorisation being the species or life stages of pets. This will help you to consistently provide the personal experiences your clients are looking for.
3. Update your website blog frequently
As well as an important SEO tool, think of your website blog and news section as a resource to demonstrate your expertise and provide tangible value to your audience. There are many educational topics that you could cover on your blog, including the importance of vaccinations, common symptoms of diseases, events that you’re hosting in your community, new services (and existing services) and introductions to your team members. We recommend creating a content calendar, as this will help you to ensure it is updated with fresh content on a regular basis and encourage pet owners to keep coming back for advice, recommendations, and more.
4. Introduce your team on social media
Pet owners naturally want to have complete trust in everyone involved in taking care of their pet, so introducing your team on social media can be a great way to highlight your diverse expertise whilst also humanising your practice. You’ll likely get bonus points amongst your clients for mentioning and introducing your own pets, too, so don’t forget to include them!
5. Claim your Google Business Profile
Formerly known as a Google My Business, your Google Business Profile [1] should be viewed as a valuable tool within your wider local SEO strategy. With a Google Business Profile, you could convert more people who find your practice via Google Maps and Search into new clients by making a positive first impression.
In addition to clearly displaying your practice’s address and contact information, you can also personalise your Google Business Profile with images, short-form content and promotional offers. After performing a local search, more than 70% of consumers [2] will go on to visit a business within 5 miles of their location, so by claiming your Google Business Profile, you can ensure that your practice is consistently visible in important local search results pages.
6. Host an Open Day at your practice!
Hosting an open day event at your veterinary practice is an excellent way to promote your practice and provide your visitors with the opportunity to view your facilities behind the scenes, learn more about your services and interact with your team. Take some time to properly plan your open day, including whether you want to offer refreshments, goodie bags, games, or the chance to win prizes throughout the event. Interactive elements are often the most engaging, so make sure that you are really highlighting what makes your practice and team unique.
7. Arrange visits to local schools and community groups
An effective way to build important connections with your local community is by arranging visits to local community groups, scouting and guide associations, pre-schools and schools. Not only will this provide you with opportunities to share important information and highlight the services your practice can offer, but it will also demonstrate that you have a genuine desire to play a key role in the welfare of the animals within your local community but helping to educate pet owners of the future.
8. Actively ask your clients to leave online reviews
Whether someone is browsing for a new pair of running shoes or the best veterinary practice to take care of their pet, online reviews play a key role in the decision-making process for most consumers. It is always worth asking your clients to review your practice on Google, Facebook, and verified directories such as the VetHelpDirect directory.
Did you know that 96% [3] of consumers actively look for negative reviews because they recognise that no business is perfect 100% of the time. So, don’t be disheartened if you receive a less-than-perfect review, as this provides you with an excellent opportunity to respond and demonstrate your customer service skills and your desire to ensure you are doing everything possible to meet the unique needs and expectations of your clients.
9. Build connections with local pet businesses, such as dog walkers and pet sitters
Being part of a strong local community is key to the success of many veterinary practices. One of the best ways to forge these connections is by reaching out to other local pet businesses including pet sitters, trainers, and dog walkers. These important relationships can be beneficial for all parties, as you can confidently recommend each other’s services to local pet owners knowing that they will receive a top quality service.
10. Create easy channels of communication
Increasingly, pet owners are looking for veterinary practices that are easy to contact and communicate with. In addition to responding to emails and phone calls, it can also be beneficial to offer alternatives such as website chat services and WhatsApp options. The key here is to ensure that you are only offering communication channels that you are confident you can maintain, as pet owners want to know that their questions and queries will be responded to in a timely manner.
There are veterinary-specific services that help your practice maintain open channels of communication, including VetsDigital’s Live Chat, which is managed by RVNs and can build trust with visitors to your website and provide valuable information when your competitors aren’t available. Digital Practice, is another valuable communication tool, which makes it easy to communicate with your clients via a number of digital channels, including WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Instagram and SMS.
