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Are you ready for a new breed of client?
Tightened financial belts can mean a more savvy customer
Part 1. Incentives for your clients - free magazines

With the economy standing on unsteady feet, customers and businesses alike are preparing to tighten financial belts.

The veterinary market, like so many others, is becoming increasingly competitive as the number of pet owner households reduces and the expectations of the clients rise. This means that potential clients are more willing to shop around until they find a practice that offers added value. This involves more than just price wars. You need to provide clients with a mix of benefits, which will ensure they keep choosing you over competitors.   So with clients becoming more marketing minded and wanting even more for their money, practices need to focus on building loyal customers.

In this new series, we will feature various methods for your practice to use to build a loyal client base, that returns time and again to your veterinary practice…..

Incentives are a great motivator to encourage potential and existing clients to use your service.

Imagine how pleased a client would feel if after a consultation or clinic session they were given a free pet magazine. This not only gives the customer an enjoyable free read, but it also serves as a reminder of your practice and keeps you ahead of the competition.

Giving your clients free publications such as pet magazines, can really add value to your practice. It is a way to differentiate the service they are getting from you and your competitors. People don’t mind spending money, as long as they feel that they are getting something of value in exchange. So by receiving excellent service coupled with entitlement to complimentary copies of pet magazines throughout the year, your clients are more likely to become bonded to the practice.

If a client becomes used to receiving a regular magazine (you do need to ensure that the magazine is being well-received though), the thought of losing the benefit by leaving the practice, makes the decision process a lot harder. And this is exactly the position you want to be in.

It is critical that if you do decide to go down the magazine route, that you chose something that not only benefits the clients, but also the practice.

This means checking that the chosen magazine:

  • Does not conflict with the practice’s own policies. For example, advertising within a magazine could promote types of treatments that the practice does not advocate.
  • Is not highly commercial. A free magazine full of adverts and editorial written by the advertisers is not going to be seen as a value added service. It could actually act as a barrier between you and clients.
  • Is full of quality articles, so that clients look forward to receiving it and talk about it with their friends and family. You could be surprised at the number of referrals you receive, just based on magazine incentives!

PetFocus is a magazine full of informative and fun articles for all the family but is also designed to support practices. The editorial and advertising is carefully selected so that nothing is included which may restrict a vet’s prescribing freedom.

It also supports the practice by emphasising responsible pet ownership and the continued veterinary involvement for healthy and happy pets.


Your practice can now register for a free subscription to PetFocus, which enables you to show it in your waiting room and see if your clients would value it as a free incentive. Please click here to register now!

If you would like to further discuss incentives for veterinary practices or how to build a loyal customer base then please email marketing@visionline.co.uk

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Vets to run marathon for World Animal Protection

News Story 1
 Two recently graduated veterinary surgeons will be running the London Marathon in April to raise money for the charity World Animal Protection.

Alex Bartlett and Maeve O'Neill plan to run the race together if they are given the same start times.

Dr O'Neill said: "You're always limited in what you can do to help animals, so it is nice to raise money for a charity that helps animals around the world."

Dr Bartlett added: "I have never run a marathon before and am excited to run my first one for such a good cause!"

Both Dr Bartlett and Dr O'Neill have fundraising pages online. 

Click here for more...
News Shorts
BSAVA releases new Guide to Procedures

The British Small Animal Veterinary Association (BSAVA) has published a new edition of its Guide to Procedures for Small Animal Practice.

It has added four new procedures; cystostomy tube placement, endotracheal intubation, point-of-care ultrasound and wet-to-dry dressings.

BSAVA says that it is an essential step-by-step guide to diagnostic and therapeutic procedures performed in practice. The textbook includes new images and illustrations, as well as high-definition videos for use prior to procedures.

Nick Bexfield and Julia Riggs, editors of the new edition, said: "We have built upon the success of the previous editions by responding to the feedback received from the BSAVA readership, and hope this new guide helps to further increase the confidence and accuracy with which these procedures are performed."

Print copies are available in the BSAVA store, with a digital version in the BSAVA library.