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EmailIphone Application    Posted: 8th December 2010
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Loyalty Pays - in so many ways
Loyal clients will return to your practice time and again.
Businesses in this current climate are seeing that they need to not only offer excellent customer care and competitive prices but also value-added services.

Veterinary practices need to look at new ways of forging relationships with their clients and increasing activities that encourage them to return with greater regularity.

So how can you establish loyalty amongst clients?

Having a mix of marketing incentives can encourage the retention of clients, as well as the acquisition of new ones. Well-placed promotions and thoughtful incentives can give your practice the competitive edge and firmly establish a bond between practice and client.

Loyal clients are the backbone of any business and they should be rewarded. How they are rewarded is up to the individual practice but if you are not offering the same or better than your closest competitors then it will be harder to convert people into loyal clients.

Loyalty Cards

Loyalty schemes have been successfully implemented by many large businesses; with prime examples being Tesco, Boots and the Nectar card.  

The introduction of a membership or loyalty card scheme offers the client tangible rewards such as vouchers, points and/or special offers. The offers and vouchers that the client earns from the loyalty scheme is another incentive to come back into the practice, as the client will want to ensure that they benefit from the vouchers received.

By providing a loyalty card, the client has something physical in their wallet/purse, which could get noticed by other people and this is a great form of word of mouth advertising. It also serves as a constant reminder.

Benefits of Loyalty Cards:

•     Increased practice profits
•    Improved client loyalty – the client is a member of the ‘practice’s club’
•    Increased number of clients through ‘introduce a friend’ incentives
•    Additional opportunities to interact with clients
•    Opportunity to promote the practice’s services to clients via the membership mailing when client receive the vouchers for the points they have earned.

Central Veterinary Services realise that many practices do not have the manpower or time to create a successful loyalty card scheme. Therefore we have set up a dedicated team who can help your practice to set-up, design, produce, promote and even mail-out your Loyalty Card Scheme. If you would like more information then please email enquiries@centralvet.com

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Reporting service for dead wild birds updated

News Story 1
 The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) has updated its online reporting service for dead wild birds.

The new version allows those reporting a dead bird to drop a pin on a map when reporting the location. It also includes a wider range of wild bird species groups to select from when describing the bird.

The online service, which helps APHA to monitor the spread of diseases such as avian influenza, can be accessed here. 

Click here for more...
News Shorts
NI chief vet urges bluetongue vigilance

Northern Ireland's chief veterinary officer (CVO) has urged farmers to be vigilant for signs of bluetongue, after the Animal and Plant Health Agency warned there was a very high probability of further cases in Great Britain.

There have been 126 confirmed cases of bluetongue virus serotype 3 in England since November 2023, with no cases reported in Northern Ireland. The movement of live ruminants from Great Britain to Northern Ireland is currently suspended.

According to the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA), the virus is most likely to enter Northern Ireland through infected animals or germplasm (semen or ova) being imported.

Brian Dooher, Northern Ireland's CVO, said: "Surveillance for this disease within Northern Ireland has been increased to assist with detection at the earliest opportunity which will facilitate more effective control measures."

Farmers should report any suspicions of the disease to their private veterinary practitioner, the DAERA Helpline on 0300 200 7840 or their local DAERA Direct Veterinary Office.