By Steve Klinghoffer<\/p>\n
A newsletter marketing program is an important part of any veterinary practice\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s marketing campaign, but even if your newsletter is doing a good job in terms of promoting your brand, you shouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be resting on your laurels. There is always room for improvement, and remaining open to new ideas and approaches is one of the best ways to ensure you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re maximizing your return on investment for your newsletter marketing program. To help you take your veterinary newsletter\u00e2\u20ac\u201dand your entire veterinary marketing plan\u00e2\u20ac\u201dup a notch, here are a few important questions you should be asking yourself:<\/p>\n
1. What are your marketing goals? If you haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t clearly defined your marketing goals, now\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s certainly the time to do so. Simply stating, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I want to grow my client base,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t a very specific goal. To really hone your veterinary marketing program, you need to set more concrete goals. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I want to grow my revenue by 10% by the end of next year\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is a much more focused goal that will help you build a better strategy for your newsletter marketing campaign.<\/p>\n
2. How are you measuring the results of your newsletter campaign and overall marketing plan? An evidence-based approach is the best way to get the answers to some pretty important questions that can help you understand how effective your strategy really is. Regular reviews of your plan\u00e2\u20ac\u201dat least every six months and, ideally, every three\u00e2\u20ac\u201dcan help ensure that your approach remains flexible and responsive to changes in your target audience. In addition to a regular review, a client survey is also a great way to determine whether the your veterinary newsletter content offers something of value to your target audience.<\/p>\n
3. Is your marketing budget big enough? The purpose of an effective marketing campaign is to help you grow your veterinary practice and become more profitable. Stinting on costs can result in an inferior campaign that does little\u00e2\u20ac\u201dif anything\u00e2\u20ac\u201dto strengthen your brand. Remember that if a newsletter marketing campaign brings in one or two new clients, or brings in a small handful of existing clients for additional visits, it will likely pay for itself.<\/p>\n
4. Is your brand message strong enough? A veterinary newsletter is a great way to get your name in front of your target audience, but unless your newsletter \u00e2\u20ac\u0153speaks\u00e2\u20ac\u009d to your audience, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not really doing its job. To position yourself as a leader in your field and really promote your unique brand, you need to provide veterinary content that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s relevant and important to your audience, and you need to provide it on a predictable schedule.<\/p>\n
Your newsletter can be a potent part of your overall marketing strategy. Revisiting your approach from time to time and measuring its results will ensure that you remain as competitive and successful as possible. For more on veterinary newsletter marketing, download our free report, The Complete Guide to Newsletter Marketing for Veterinary Practices and Hospitals.<\/p>\n
Steve Klinghoffer is president of WPI Communications, Inc.<\/a>, a newsletter marketing firm. In the past 29 years, he has helped thousands of professionals market their practices through client and patient newsletters, referral-generating newsletters and Web site content. For more information, please call 800-323-4995 or visit http:\/\/wpicommunications.com\/<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n