3 Strategies to Enhance Your Veterinary Marketing for Modern Consumers
Pets are people, too.
Well, not technically—but they are full-fledged family members to 72% of folks in the United States. As birth rates plummet among younger generations, “fur babies” have taken the place of human kiddos. And they’re pampered just as much as any toddler.
Case in point: It’s hardly unusual to see pet parents proudly pushing small animals in strollers, buying pooches birthday outfits and insisting that their furry buddies appear on holiday cards. In fact, the American pet industry has more than quadrupled over the last 25 years to $72 billion, and that number continues to climb. Plus, most households include at least one pet.
Businesses should seize this opportunity to jump onto this tail-wagging bandwagon. Veterinary professionals have learned to cater to the “pet parent” mentality in their offices. Yet, few practices celebrate or recognize pet life events in their direct vet marketing strategies.
By taking advantage of this "fur baby" mentality, vet practices can connect with clients in an incredibly memorable way. Veterinary teams can improve the patient experience and increase client loyalty by simply acknowledging pet life events and milestones.
Stand Out with Pet-Focused or Veterinarian Marketing
What is life event marketing? It’s messaging that touches consumers during any kind of life event that’s important to them, such as anniversaries and birthdays. The point is to make sincere, emotional connections. And what better way to initiate a strong relationship than to be part of a uniquely personal experience? Pet life event marketing applies this same idea to the events most important to our lovable little creatures.
While this practice is most relevant for animal hospital marketing or veterinary practices, any service or product provider can take part. Financial advisors, wealth managers, customer service representatives and other experts can leverage this form of marketing to build and strengthen bonds with consumers.
Get Started with Vet Marketing
If you’ve never considered acknowledging pets’ life events, you might be stumped on where to begin. We can help! Consider the following points to build a solid foundation before diving in.
1. Plan for seamless execution.
One of the biggest stumbling blocks to getting any type of life event marketing right is not assigning responsibilities upfront. Accountability is critical to ensuring your marketing efforts don’t fall by the wayside.
Make sure every employee knows expectations around pet life event marketing efforts. You should determine who oversees mapping out calendars with important dates like pet birthdays, adoption anniversaries (Gotcha! Days) or fun holidays such as National Dog Day (August 26). These happy occasions could be celebrated with greeting cards, emails or texts. It will also be important to decide which parties are responsible for mailing out direct vet marketing pieces or posting digital communications.
2. Opt for a multichannel approach.
Somemarketing for veterinary practices is ideally suited for digital. Think a shoutout on social media or a quick text. Other life events, such as pet sympathy and get-well moments, warrant something more personal, like a pet sympathy card sent through the mail.
That’s because people appreciate receiving something other than bills in their physical mailboxes. Research indicates that 75% of people get excited when they get a card in the mail, and 61% keep the card for more than half a year. This means your veterinarian marketing could linger (and matter) much longer than other forms of communication or marketing.
3. Lead with genuine emotion.
Of course, people who adopt pets care about those pets deeply. When sending out any kind of message, you should echo your honest emotions. Yes, it can be tough to know what to write when filling out a condolence card to someone who’s just lost a long-time fur baby. However, it’s appropriate and appreciated.
To ease any difficulties or obstacles, supply your team with some suggestions. Give them a kit filled with pet sympathy cards and recommended messages. They can use the ideas as springboards to construct heartfelt, personalized pieces that consumers will hang onto for months—or maybe even years.
Setting your business apart takes commitment, but that doesn’t mean the commitment can’t be enjoyable or rewarding. Try engaging consumers in a decidedly different way. It’s easy to begin with Hallmark’s collection of greeting cards designed specifically for veterinarian marketing and other pet services.
