New Veterinary Marketing Tips: How to Create a Powerful Strategy

Did you know that between 28,000 to 32,000 veterinary practices are operating in the United States? Corporations and private investors are buying up private practices because the evidence is clear—pet medicine is viewed as profitable and recession-proof.   

This is because most Americans love their pets and want to give them the best quality of life available. However, you may find that you’re not achieving the business you need to stay afloat because of direct competitors in your city. The answer is simple: you need to start focusing on your veterinary practice marketing.   

With this in mind, keep reading to learn how to create a robust veterinary marketing strategy for your practice today!   

Identify Your Veterinary Practice Goals  

Before you even begin considering your marketing strategy, it’s crucial that you first focus on your goals for your practice. Here are a few examples of what you might want to focus on:   

• Increasing awareness of your veterinary office   

• Reaching customers in another city   
• Marketing new services you’re offering  

Regardless of the goal you choose, make sure that it’s SMART: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. The more targeted your goals, the easier it will be to help them come to fruition.   

For instance, one of your goals may be to increase visitor traffic to your website per month. A SMART goal would be an extra 300 unique visitors per month after four months of work on your SEO.   

Compare this goal with, “We need more business.” The first goal is far more achievable; the second doesn’t even have a goalpost!   

Discover Your Unique Value Proposition   

Once you’ve identified specific goals for your practice, it’s time to identify your unique value proposition (UVP). This short statement is usually shown on the homepage of websites and can also be used on business cards, social media ads, and other marketing content.   

You can start crafting your USP by considering who your target audience is. You’ll then want to focus on specific ways your veterinary practice stands out from the competition through the unique benefits it provides.   

Here’s a brief example: “We ensure that your days with your pets are happy and carefree.”  

Establish Your Marketing Methods  

At this point, you should be clear about your marketing goals and how you’re uniquely able to benefit your target audience. Next, you’ll want to choose your marketing methods to make the most impact.   

Digital Marketing   

Regardless of what you choose, SEO for your website should be at the top of your mind. This is because most customers will find you on Google if they don’t receive a word-of-mouth recommendation—the ROI is typically between 5x to 12.2x. SEO starts with robust content development.   

Next, consider where you can find the majority of your audience online. You’ll often find that older generations spend more time on Facebook, while younger generations and millennials frequent Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok more often.   

Although there are a variety of social media platforms, we recommend focusing on one at a time and branching out only when you feel you’re getting the maximum benefit from one.   

Traditional Marketing  

You’ll also want to consider how you want to spend your marketing dollars on brochures and flyers. Sending brochures may be a smart move if your competitors ignore this type of advertising.   

If your practice is new, you may also want to consider attending events or fairs so that people in the community can begin to recognize your logo and slogan. You can also collect email and phone information to add people to your mailing list, which is the perfect way to stay at the top of mind of people who aren’t ready to schedule an appointment.   

Test Your Marketing Ideas  

Last but not least, remember that your marketing ideas need to be tested before you can be sure of them. This is because each veterinary practice may have very different price points, clients, and patients they serve, as well as different demographics. All of these details can impact the effect of your marketing strategy.   

This is why it’s essential to start with one marketing method and test its impact before moving on to another. For instance, you may find that Instagram ads aren’t giving you the website visitors you need.   

However, you may find that you’ll gain more interest from your target audience by simply tweaking the image or copy.   

Work With Veterinary Marketing Professionals to Make it Easy   

If all this information may seem overwhelming, you’re not alone. Learning how to market your veterinary practice efficiently on your own takes time—time you may not be able to spare if you’re busy making sure your clients and patients have the best experience possible.   

Delegating your marketing efforts to professionals who are experienced in the veterinarian industry can lead to long-term, successful partnerships.   

All of our new projects start with a conversation. If you’re ready to learn how we can help grow your practice, fill out our online form or call us at 800.564.4215!