You are here: Home / Archives for Jonathan

Why You Need to Be Educating Your Clients on Your Website

August 31, 2011 By Leave a Comment

One of the biggest mistakes made with most websites today is that they offer no value when it comes to educating the client or customer. Veterinarians are just as guilty when marketing their own practice on the web. They give general information about hours, location, the staff but when it comes to to offering useful information that can benefit their clients, they come up short. 

So what do I mean by useful information? Well, for starters information that educates your clients such as nutrition tips, grooming tips, or advice on helping your dog or cat overcome certain negative behaviors. Whatever the information is, it needs to be short, concise and to the point. One of the best ways to do this is to have a blog on your website that you and your staff post to on a regular basis.

Short blog posts tend to be easier to read than lengthy articles and reports. If you don't like to write, purchase a quality HD camcorder with an external lapel mic and have your staff record some short videos of you giving a veterinary "tip of the week". You can then take this video, upload it to YouTube and then post then simply post the video on your blog page. 

Not only is this a great idea for educating your clients and keeping them well informed, but it's also a great way to keep them coming back to your site on a regular basis. 

Filed Under: Articles

Creating Your Veterinary Mobile Website

March 31, 2011 By Leave a Comment


If you want to launch a mobile website quickly and for minimal cost, there are very good resources available on the internet to help you do this. For less than you will spend on dinner tonight, you can create your new mobile website. It is as simple as a tool that will automatically optimize your current website for viewing on a cell phone. Some of these cost less than $10!

There are also other alternatives for creating a mobile website, such as templates that allow you to just plug in your custom information. If you are into doing things in a big way, there are certified mobile web developers available for hire. Award winning mobile websites have a few things in common. You can save yourself some aggravation by making sure they are built into your site from the beginning.

  • Include an icon that allows a viewer to switch back and forth between your regular website and your mobile website. This contributes to the sense of being simple to use. If a client accidently goes to your regular site on their mobile phone, they can easily change over.
  • Consider that most people will use the mobile web while they are on the go. This means that they need to find you fast, and they need to be able to instantly see the information they need. One fantastic way to do this is to make your telephone number a “click to call” link. That way they can effortlessly call your practice anytime.
  • Remember the top things that people are looking for when using a mobile device: your practice address, phone number, business hours, and relevant information such as what you do and what products you sell.
  • It is critical that you have a clear vision for what you want your mobile website to do. In general, it should do four things:
  • Introduce your veterinary service and what you do
  • Show them where you are
  • Drive them to call you or come in
  • Encourage them to sign up for your newsletter,  SMS, or MMS promotions if you have them

All of this should be accomplished in as few words as possible, often with less than 100. Mobile users simply do not take the time to read much of what is written. They are looking for specific information, and if you don’t give it to them, then they may decide it is easier.

Promotional Ideas:
Once you have your website up and running, don’t forget that you need to promote it. Here are some easy ways to do this:

  • Advertise
  • Promotional materials, such as brochures, handouts, and invoices
  • List it on your regular website
  • Print it on your business cards
  • Consider telling the press; mobile marketing is still new enough that a small business launching a mobile site is considered newsworthy
  • Promotional ideas
  • Run a mobile only special. For example, give mobile users a secret code that entitles them to a 25% discount on an annual wellness plan for their dog.
  • Hold a prize drawing that requires mobile users to enter their name or number for a chance to win.
  • A contest is another great way to spread the word, like having the first ten users who can correctly answer a few pet health questions wins a free dental care kit. You could even tie this in with your other dental promotions, and double up on your educational message.
  • Send out coupons to mobile users only. Again, you can create a special code that they use at checkout to receive a discount on their bill.

For a free consultation on how mobile marketing can help drive more clients to your practice, contact us at 866-724-0355 or fill out the contact form under the "free consultation" tab.


Filed Under: Articles, Blog Posts

Creating a Successful Mobile Marketing Campaign for Your Practice

March 10, 2011 By Leave a Comment


Have you been struggling to sell services and grow your practice? If so, you’re not alone. Veterinary visits and over all practice profits are declining. Bayer recently published a study to reveal what impact the economy has had on the veterinary profession. The findings showed that 55% of practices saw a decrease in the number of patient visits, and another 15% reported that growth was flat, with no movement in any direction at all.
In addition, Veterinarians have the lowest profit margins when compared to other professionals such as CPAs, dentists, chiropractors, and optometrists, and therapists. (Forbes.com, 2010). Less than 10% of the income that is generated translates into actual profit. 

This fact brings us full circle back to the effectiveness of marketing your veterinary practice. If your revenue is stagnant or declining, then it is more important than ever to re-evaluate your strategy. Do you need to do more marketing, or so you simply need better marketing? Well, that really depends on what you are already doing and whether or not you are seeing results. Sometimes it is beneficial to explore new avenues of promoting your practice, and take a fresh look at where your dollars are being spent. If you’re’ sitting their scratching your head and wondering what you could possibly do that hasn’t been done a thousand times already, here is a new platform worth considering: mobile web marketing. You may be thinking, “That’s great, but what the heck is it and how do I do it, and while we are on the subject, how much is it going to cost me?” Mobile web marketing is the process of marketing to clients through their cell phone. It uses both advertising and promotional techniques to generate business for your practice. The target is both new clientele and existing clientele, depending on the techniques that are used. Mobile web marketing can be simple and cost effective too.


Do you really need mobile web marketing?
Well, consider the fact that mobile web is poised to be bigger than desktop internet usage ever was. There are 4.8 billion mobile phone users, compared to just 1.7 billion desktop internet users. The implications of this massive reach mean that there is a larger base – almost four times larger, in fact- in which to actively market to.
Think about the business that you may use that have already begun to tap this market. Banks now offer mobile banking. Airlines offer mobile alerts and mobile check in. Other large companies use the mobile web for sending out news updates. Social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, have also attracted a large numbers of mobile users.

Regardless of the technique that you choose, there are some tips that universally apply to all mobile web marketing.

  • Keep it client focused. When you are thinking about what you want to include, remember that it has to based on the desires of your clients. Include the things that are useful to pet owners. For example, they probably won’t care about how many square feet your building is, or that you have a Super-Tech 3000 Ultrasonic Scaler, but they will care if you offer them ½ off on $25 gift certificates during the month of November… just in time for Christmas.
  • Keep it simple. Write text that is short, simple, and to the point. Be direct so that clients don’t have to wade through a river of words to find out what they need to know. Simply state who you are, what you do, and what your competitive advantage is. Avoid long or complicated forms, as people are not likely to take the time to fill them out.
  • Keep it fast. The key to mobile web is that it is easy to use and FAST. It is a mistake to include complicated graphics, animations, or videos. While you may think that the little dog running around on the screen is cute, many users will find it annoying, and it slows down the flow of information.
  • Don’t forget to test it out. Whether you have an ad or mobile website, test it on different cell phones to see how it looks. Since different phones have different graphic displays, your media might not look right on some devices. If you discover a problem, you can address it correctly.
  • Track your mobile website traffic. Google analytics is a free tool that tells you exactly how many people are viewing your mobile website and what they are clicking on. The information is useful because it will allow you to tweak things in order to increase traffic.
  • Choose simple domain names for your mobile website. The shorter and more relevant it is, the easier it is to remember and navigate to.

Don’t be afraid to reach out and try in new and innovative ways. As the economic world of the veterinary industry is changing, you may find it easier to be flexible and adapt. The great thing about marketing is that if you decide that you don’t like what you are doing, it is easy to move on to something else.

For a free consultation on how mobile marketing can help drive more clients to your practice, contact us at 866-724-0355 or fill out the contact form under the "free consultation" tab.

Filed Under: Articles, Blog Posts

How to Use Twitter to Promote Your Veterinary Practice

February 16, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Do you Tweet? Twitter and Facebook are all the rage today, but the biggest question on most business owners minds, is "Can sites like Twitter actually benefit my business?". The answer is a resounding "Yes!" if they are used as a part of your overall marketing strategy.

The primary advantage of Twitter is that it allows you to Tweet via your mobile phone, so you do not have to be in front of a computer. Messages are limited to 140 characters. Here are a few suggestions for using Twitter to promote your Veterinary Practice.

  1. Promote your Brand. When you use a social networking site to promote your brand, your clients will perceive you as approachable. Stay in touch with your followers and tweet often to reach as many clients and potential clients as possible. Share important pet care tips and facts that are relevant to your client’s interests.
  2. Consider receiving customer complaints. Although this may seem like a crazy idea, by receiving customer complaints in an open forum, you are able to shut them down before they can damage your reputation. Address them immediately and show everyone how great you customer service is by your attempts at reconciliation with the complainer.
  3. Run your special deals and promotions. This is highly effective, especially when combined with a short informative article about the service you are promoting. Try to create a pet health alert bulletin that you use to educate clients about why your services are beneficial.
  4. Use it to communicate with your employees. By discussing cases and ongoing patient care with your employees on Twitter, it will allow all of your followers to learn more about what you do.
  5. Create credibility by sharing your expertise. If you hold workshops or educational seminars you can Tweet about those to increase awareness. By demonstrating your knowledge, you will build credibility in the eyes of your online community.

Make sure your twitter page address is located on your all of your other marketing materials – website, brochures, business cards and yellow page ads. If used consistently, Twitter can be a great tool for building a loyal group of followers; and the best part is, it can all be done from your mobile phone. 

    Filed Under: Articles

    How to Dominate Your Local Market with a Simple USP

    February 8, 2011 By Leave a Comment

    Most veterinarians don't consider the importance of a good USP when starting their own practice. If you look at the Yellow Pages, you'll find that most all the ads look the same – the name of the clinic, phone number, address and hours of operation. I occasionally see an ad with a tag line of "When your Pet Deserves the Best" or other empty slogans like that. Anyone can say this; and when you look like all the rest, there's nothing separating your practice from the pack. You have to think USP. USP means Unique Sales Positioning.

    When you think of USP, think of Domino's pizza. When Domino's pizza first started up, there were other pizza deliveries in business. They had to find a way to compete; to separate their business from the pack. So how did they do it? They came up with a unique slogan – "30 minutes or less… or your pizza is Free". By creating this simple positioning statement, they completely separated themselves from so many other pizza deliveries.

    Now apply this to your own veterinary practice. What do you offer that's different? How can you make your service unique? How can you offer better value? You don't have to do something completely different. Sometimes, it's just of matter of positioning your services in a better way. As a veterinarian, you could create a YouTube channel that provides weekly tips on taking care of your dog or cat.

    Think of a show each week that offers advice on treating simple ailments like tics, fleas, hotspots, etc. the videos could be short, maybe 5 to 10 min. in length. All you need is a Kodak Zi8 camcorder. Have your office assistant record you in front of the camera offering your weekly tip. After they've recorded your segment, have them do some basic editing to video by adding a simple caption at the end that has your website address.

    By implementing this one simple marketing strategy into your practice, you have separated yourself from the pack of other local veterinarians. Fewer people are searching the Yellow Pages today for veterinarians. Instead, they are going to Google and typing in "their city + veterinarians". By tagging your YouTube videos with local geographic keywords, you'll get ranked very high in the search engines for veterinarians in your town. By offering these weekly video tips, you'll be known as the local Gary Vaynerchuk of veterinarians. In case you've never heard of Gary Vaynerchuk, he's the guy who's dominated the wine industry by branding his wine store with simple wine tasting video tips. You can see them at Wine Library TV.

    There's a lot of retailers that sell wine, but there's only one guy who's known as the wine expert. He's created a powerful USP in his industry and you can certainly do the same in your industry as a local veterinarian.



    Filed Under: Articles

    Why Your Veterinary Practice Needs a YouTube Channel and a Cheap Camcorder

    February 1, 2011 By Leave a Comment

    Online video has exploded in popularity. How many times recently has a friend forwarded you an email with a link to a video of something that caught their attention; often times it's a funny pet video that someone's decided to share with the world. The fact is anyone can create an online audience in today's world of YouTube and Ustream. 

    If you've not thought seriously about incorporating video on a regular basis into your online marketing, you are missing out on a tremendous opportunity to spread the word about your veterinary clinic locally. All you need is a small HD camcorder like the Kodak Zi8, and of course a computer with an online connection. 

    What Kind of Video Do You Need? 

    Start shooting video of your own practice. Video your staff, talk about what a typical day is like at your clinic. Video some of your recent patients, and get testimonials from their owners, especially those clients who've been with you a long time. Video testimonials are a powerful tool in marketing your veterinary practice. Also Google likes video, so if you create a YouTube channel and post that video online, Google is likely to rank it very high in the search engines if you have the right targeted keywords. 

    Most businesses think that it's necessary to have professional video done for their business, but that's really not necessary. In fact, people tend to be more attracted to non scripted video that doesn't sound like a typical commercial on television. 

    So if you haven't already, go out a grab a Kodak Zi8 (I personally like this one because of the external MIC port and it's inexpensive) and get one of your staff members to start recording video around the clinic each week; then have them upload them upload the videos to YouTube. The is one little marketing tip that will cost you less than $100 to implement (The Zi8 is $99 on Amazon). 

    Filed Under: Articles

    Is Yellow Page Advertising Worth It?

    December 15, 2010 By Leave a Comment
    Is your Yellow Page ad working? The only way to answer this question is to know what your Return on Investment (ROI) is. By doing a little research and putting pen to paper, you can easily determine how effective this advertising really is.As they say, “The proof is in the pudding”. If your practice does not already collect information about how new clients have heard of your practice, start now. It is as simple as having the receptionist ask every new client when they book an appointment how they heard about you.
    Keep a journal at the front desk for them to record the information into.An alternative method would be to include the question on your new patient registration sheet. The receptionist must still follow through to be sure that the information is recorded, but these sheets can be placed in a folder until they are reviewed.
     
    Over a period of one month, or several months, this will show you exactly how many people come through your door as a result of yellow page advertising.
    Return on investment (ROI) is a simple calculation that tells you if your dollars are spent wisely. Here is how to figure this out:
     
    • Step 1: The first thing that you need to know is how much income was derived as a result of your Yellow Page ad. Using the information from your receptionists, or new client forms; add up the total that all clients referred from the yellow pages spent at your practice in a given period. As an example, let’s say that you generated $40,000 in six months.
    • Step 2: The second thing that you need to know is how much you spent on Yellow Page advertising for the same period of time that you calculated your income for. In our example, we are going to say that if you spend $1,500 per month on your ad, then the total for six months would be $9,000.00, with no expenses for design).
    • Step 3: Now you can write your equation: ROI = ($40,000 – $9,000) divided by $9,000 multiplied by 100
    • Step 4: Once you perform the calculation, you will see that in our example your hospital would have a 344% return on investment.
    It is ideal to do this calculation for a period of twelve months, because all practices are busier during some months than they are during others. The bottom line is that if you have a negative or low return on investment, then your advertising campaign is eating into your net profit.
    So, how much should you make? A minimum goal should be a three to one ratio, or a profit of $3 for every dollar spent. In some categories of business, the average is $6 of profit for every $1 spent. If you are not getting a satisfactory minimum return, then you should reconsider your advertising strategy.


    Filed Under: Articles, Blog Posts

    Twelve Ways to Make Your Veterinary Practice Newsworthy

    June 17, 2010 By Leave a Comment

    Remember, the media publishes news. In order for you to take advantage of publicity marketing, you must be newsworthy.

    The media’s purpose is not to provide you with free advertising, so your content must be compelling and useful. Here are a few ideas, outside of the human-interest angle, that you can consider for generating notable content.

    • Hold a fun event. Consider hosting a themed pet costume contest. Hire a celebrity judge, have him bring his/her dog, and invite local television stations to cover the event.
    • Do a customer survey, and include fun and unusual questions. For example, ask how them if their dog wears a specific type of clothing, how often they tell their cat that they love them, or whether or no they would choose their pet over their spouse. Write articles about the results, and do not forget to post them in your lobby for all of your clients to see.
    • Develop an annual award that you give out to someone in the community or another pet related business. For example, you could create an award for the business that has done the most to benefit the welfare of feral cats in your neighborhood.
    • Offer surprising and astonishing pet or veterinary facts. Companies, such as Merial and Hills, use this technique to promote their products. Think about the statement, “Dental disease affects up to 80% of pets over the age of three, and just like humans, there can be serious consequences of poor dental health.”
    • Use current events to create a newsworthy topic. For example, when the recession was the main topic, an article about how it affected animal welfare in your area.
    • Be the first veterinarian to do anything. The first veterinarian to give your employees ownership in your business, the first one to offer free grooming with every surgery, or the first one to offer laser surgery for every patient.
    • Sponsor a local community service project. You could offer to provide free vaccinations on site at a local pet adoption drive or advertise homeless pets on your website.
    • Hold a dog / owner look-alike contest. Hire a celebrity judges and invite local media to cover the event. You could even invite reporters to participate, and create an individual class for the pet owning media.
       
    • Host a one-of-a -kind themed customer appreciation event, such as “Arabian Nights”, complete with belly dancers, and authentic music and food, or a magical theme party in which your clients can bring their pets and children to watch magicians do tricks.
    • Close down your practice for one day and have your staff donate their time at a local pet rescue or shelter. Imagine the press that you would receive for that one!
    • Be a mentor. Invite students or Boy Scout explorer groups into your veterinary practice for demonstrations, and talk to them about what it means to be a veterinarian.
       
    Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: ,

    Stay in Touch With Your Clients

    June 7, 2010 By Leave a Comment

    The great thing about communicating with your existing clients is that it doesn't require that you change anything about your practice. It just necessitates that you to keep in touch with them.

    Studies show us that in order for people to keep you in their thoughts, they need to hear from you at least six times per year.

    Frequent correspondence promotes a personal relationship between your business and your customers. Keeping the client well informed makes them feel like they are a part of your practice. It also opens the door for you to earn more money from every client visit.

    Communication allows you to leverage your existing clients to sell more services. They are an existing resource to which you already have full access. The beauty in this is that you don't have to spend any extra money on drawing them through your doors. There are two ways for you to market through communication: through media such as newsletters and face to face.

    Educating your clients about serious pet health risks through media is a common sense way to demonstrate why they should buy a service. Your newsletter, brochures, and email communication mediums are perfect for this type of marketing.
     
    With so many diseases and symptoms to choose from, you should never struggle to come up with a topic.Face to face communication is often overlooked as a viable marketing tool. Whenever a client steps into your exam room, you have an excellent opportunity to sell more services. Choosing the right service to promote depends on your individual patient needs.

    Most likely, you already have a policy that addresses what the core needs of every patient are. How many of these core needs are being met? Unless you have a system for reviewing these at every patient visit, chances are good that you may be missing a few.

    Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: , ,

    How to Market Your Vet Practice with Facebook

    June 2, 2010 By Leave a Comment

    Facebook is a social networking site that allows users to create a page about themselves or their business, add friends, and send messages. Creating your own “Page” will give your veterinary hospital an identity.  Those who are interested in your page will become “fans”, and consequently, all of their friends will see this. 

    Your following is developed through the popularity of your “news feeds”, and the more that people like your page, the faster you will grow. In fact, with over 410 Million users, there is potential for your popularity to spread like wildfire. Several companies, such as Adobe and Dunkin Doughnuts use this technique to promote their businesses.

    Facebook offers several different types of tools for business users. Polls are used to solicit quick opinions from your clients about services that you already offer, or to determine their interest in services that you are considering adding.  

    Paid advertising is also available. You are able to create creative ads that specifically target a certain demographic. The application allows you to customize who you want your ad to appear to and how often. It is very similar to Google Adwords, and the cost is per click, or per impression. You are able to see exactly how many people your ad will hit and set a limit for how much you want to spend.Facebook Connect allows you to integrate your Page with your website. You can retrieve friend information, and post data feeds.

    Relate To Followers Using Case Studies

    A fantastic way for a veterinary hospital to create a following on Facebook is to post actual case studies and request feedback. You can even attach a promotion or create a contest to encourage a lot of activity. 

    For example, let us say that you had an interesting case of Blastomycosis in a dog that was misdiagnosed at another practice. 

    You cannot only post information about the case, but also updates on how the treatment is progressing.  Link to an article on your website, educate everyone about Blastomycosis symptoms, upload pictures, and create an awareness campaign. 

    It you make the content heartwarming, instead of mostly clinical, then people will relate to it. Ask people to share their stories about their pets that suffered from this disease.

    You will not only become an “expert” in the minds of your followers, but you become their “friend”, who is a veterinarian.  Offer to answer questions and encourage examinations and office visits for those that need it.

    Encourage your staff to contribute content. This can be a very effective way to utilize down time, and they are likely already using Facebook. 

    Once you have learned the basics, Facebook is an easy way to break into social media marketing. With so many free tools available and such a large growing audience, it makes sense to consider promoting your practice this way. 

     

    Filed Under: Articles, Social Media Tagged With: , ,
    « Older Posts