Are you ready for a new breed of client?
Tightened financial belts can mean a more savvy customer
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
Joanne Webster, a professor of parasitic diseases at the RVC, has been elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS).
