Wendy S. Myers
Seminar Overview
Learn how to create an effective marketing strategy for your clinic. Get advice on how much you need to spend on marketing, why clients choose a clinic, and how many new clients you need. Discover ways to boost boarding profits, create great retail displays, maximize your computer and provide great service.
Learn how to:
Develop a marketing plan
Use your practice sign
Design effective yellow pages ads
Create great retail displays
Provide client amenities
Boost boarding profits
How much do doctors spend on marketing to attract new clients?
Most practice owners spend up to 1% of revenue on marketing programs.
How many clients do I need?
Average number of active clients per doctor |
1,300 |
Average number of new clients per doctor per year |
308 |
Average client retention |
4.3 years |
Average number of visits per client per year |
3.9 |
Average charge per doctor transaction |
$101 |
Source: 2000 Well-Managed Practice Study by Wutchiett & Associates and Veterinary Economics
Creating your marketing plan
Step 1: Decide what you want to achieve, then set your marketing budget. Do you want to grow your practice 20 percent? Do you want to retain 85 percent of current clients?
Step 2: Write a S.M.A.R.T. goal: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-bound. For example, a SMART goal for attracting new clients might be: "To attract 325 new clients per doctor between August 1, 2001 and July 31, 2002."
Step 3: Brainstorm an action plan with staff members and then research marketing costs. When considering external marketing ideas, remember that it costs five times more to get a new client than it does to keep an existing one. For example, if you spend $20 to acquire a new client, you’ll need only $4 to keep a current client. Carefully balance marketing dollars between client recruitment and retention efforts.
Step 4: Find out where your new clients are coming from. Add a line to your new-client form that asks how the client learned of your practice:
Referral Whom may we thank? __________________________
Sign/drove by
Yellow pages
Newspaper article or advertisement
Website
Other ____________________________
Tally the results so you can decide how much to invest in referral programs, yellow pages ads, direct mail, event sponsorships and other marketing programs.
Step 5: Set your budget. Most hospitals spend up to 1% of revenue on marketing programs.
Sample Marketing Plan
This 12-month marketing plan includes staff training 60 days before implementation, marketing to clients 30 days before launch, and providing the service during the specified month.
Month |
Training |
Marketing |
Service |
January |
Vaccination protocol |
Dental care |
Winter hazards/
poison education |
February |
Internal parasites |
Vaccination protocol |
Dental care |
March |
External parasites |
Internal parasites |
Vaccination protocol |
April |
Summer hazards and travel |
External parasites |
Internal parasites` |
May |
Spay/neuter |
Summer hazards and travel |
External parasites |
June |
Declaw and cat behavior |
Spay/neuter |
Summer hazards and travel |
July |
Senior care |
Declaw and cat behavior |
Spay/neuter |
August |
Dog behavior and obedience classes |
Senior care |
Declaw and cat behavior |
September |
Holiday hazards |
Dog behavior and obedience classes |
Senior care |
October |
Pet selection counseling (Christmas pets) |
Holiday hazards |
Dog behavior and obedience classes |
November |
Winter hazards |
Pet selection counseling (Christmas pets) |
Holiday hazards |
December |
Dental care |
Winter hazards |
Pet selection counseling (Christmas pets) |
Source: Building the Successful Veterinary Practice: Programs and Procedures (Volume 2) by Thomas E. Catanzaro, DVM, MHA, Diplomate ACHE (Iowa State University Press, 1998)
Why do clients choose a clinic?
53% referral
45% location
7% yellow pages
2% road sign
1% newspaper ad
1% direct mail
Source: Pfizer Animal Health study of 31,000 veterinary clients
Use your practice sign
1. Create an effective exterior sign
Easily visible from the road
Incorporate your logo
Choose bright colors
Consider a lighted sign
Remember, passersby only have 3 to 5 seconds to read your message
2. What should your sign include?
Hospital name and logo
Phone number
Emergency phone number
Special services
3. Use interior signs to direct clients
All pets on leashes
Scale
Exam rooms
Pet food
Boarding and grooming
Use your computer
1. Put marketing messages on invoices and reminder cards
Feline or canine behavior problems? Your veterinarian can help you find a solution!
Internal parasites are unwanted guests and may seriously affect your pet’s health. Be sure your pet has a fecal exam and heartworm test every 12 months.
More than 85 percent of dogs and cats have dental disease. Left untreated, this disease may cause serious, life-threatening conditions. Schedule a dental exam with your veterinarian today!
2. Send reminders for more than exams
Flea control
Heartworm preventives
Follow-up lab tests
Therapeutic diets or weigh-ins for obese animals
3. Celebrate pets’ birthdays
Send a birthday card with a gift certificate for a treat or a birthday dental exam
Send a special greeting to senior pets
4. Use your database for target marketing
Puppy and kitten programs: nutrition, training, vaccinations, play groups
Follow-up tests for sick patients
Senior care
Promoting senior care
"Geriatric services are the most important part of practice today. Clients often spend more money on pets during the last two years of their lives than in all the previous years."—Don Dooley, management consultant, Los Gatos, CA
Yellow pages ads
Know what percent of your clients come from the yellow pages! Could you better spend those advertising dollars on another marketing program?
Create a tailored message
Use photos of pets
List key services
Don’t follow the pack (color, size)
Keep your message short
Use bold, large type for your phone number
List specialties such as oncology, dermatology, laser surgery, cats only, etc.
Create great retail displays
1. Determine available space
Wall-mounted shelves
Exam-room cabinets and shelves
Hallways
Reception area
2. Place displays near the reception desk
Catch clients with checkbooks out
Let clients see and touch items
Attractively display only a few items
Price items individually
3. Pay attention to details
Put a hospital sticker on every product
Dust often!
Use strategic lighting (track lighting, mini-fluorescent tubes, can lights)
Assign one staff member to coordinate
Top 10 retail items
1. Pet food
2. Parasite control
3. Odor control
4. Grooming products
5. Collars and leashes
6. Toys and chews
7. Dishes
8. Odor-free cat litter boxes
9. Kennels and crates
10. Books
Provide client amenities
1. Create a client convenience center
Coffee and bottled water
Cookies, popcorn or holiday treats
Telephone
Pet treats
Pick up food orders
2. Design a client comfort room
Euthanasia, consultations, visits to hospitalized pets
Private phone
Clinic library
Comfortable seating
3. Designate a client greeter
Help new clients complete paperwork
Give hospital tours
Assist clients with more than one pet (or out-of-control kids!)
Step out from behind the reception desk
4. Make checking out easy
Provide a counter-mounted hook to secure leashes
Counter space for purses and pets
Boost boarding profits
1. Show clients where pets stay
Glass-front cat condos
Well-lit kennels
Fish aquarium
Bird houses
Calming music or videos
2. Offer clients extras
TLC package: treats, walks, brushings, toys, blanket, "Yappy Hour"
Send home a report card
3. Introduce doggie daycare
As pack animals, dogs can get bored or destructive if left home alone. Doggy daycare provides a safe environment for dogs to get exercise, socialization and human contact.
Doggie daycare is a business that was virtually unheard of 5 years ago. Today, doggy daycare exists in every state.
Doggie daycare prices range from $10 to $30 per day, and include playtime, walks and treats. Potential revenue = $50 to $150 per week per dog!
Sample Doggy Daycare Fees
Downtown Dogs’ Daycare, San Jose, CA, (408) 287-2267, www.downtowndogs.com
Interview fee $10
Single visit $32
Late fee: $10 per 15 minutes after 7 p.m.
24-hour cancellation required; $32 no-show charge
Prepaid Packages (Each valid for 30 days.)
4 visits $115
8 visits $208
12 visits $282
Monthly $450
4. Provide luxury accommodations
This isn’t your average chain-link runs! Today’s boarding kennels feature professionally decorated "suites" with wallpaper, a TV and toddler beds.
The latest trend: A home environment--complete with 24-hour human companionship. Some kennels offer furnished studio apartments for this service, while others have the pet board in the kennel owners’ home.
Some upscale kennels and daycare facilities require interviews with both the owner and pet.
Overnight boarding fees range from $15 for a standard kennel to $100 for a studio apartment with human companionship.
Recommended Reading:
1. Building the Successful Veterinary Practice: Leadership Tools (Volume 1) by Thomas E. Catanzaro, DVM, MHA, Diplomate ACHE (Iowa State University Press, 1997); www.isupress.com or (800) 862-6657
2. Building the Successful Veterinary Practice: Programs and Procedures (Volume 2) by Thomas E. Catanzaro, DVM, MHA, Diplomate ACHE (Iowa State University Press, 1998); www.isupress.com or (800) 862-6657
3. Building the Successful Veterinary Practice: Innovation and Creativity (Volume 3) by Thomas E. Catanzaro, DVM, MHA, Diplomate ACHE (Iowa State University Press, 1998); www.isupress.com or (800) 862-6657
4. Marketing Your Veterinary Practice II by Shawn P. Messonnier, DVM, (Mosby-Year Book Inc., 1997); www.harcourthealth.com or (800) 545-2522
5. Mastering the Marketplace: Taking Your Practice to the Top by Ross Clark, DVM (Veterinary Medicine Publishing Group, 1996); www.vetmedpub.com or (800) 255-6864, ext. 2
6. One Client at a Time: Building Customer Loyalty and Practice Success Through Personal Marketing by Cecelia Soares, DVM (AAHA Press, 1999); www.aahanet.org or (800) 252-2242
7. Veterinary Healthcare Services: Options in Delivery by Thomas E. Catanzaro, DVM, MHA, Diplomate ACHE; Thom Haig, DVM; Peter Weinstein, DVM; Judi Leake, DVM; Heather Howell, CVPM (Iowa State University Press, 2000); www.isupress.com or (800) 862-6657
Wendy S. Myers is the former editor of Veterinary Economics. She owns Communication Solutions, a Denver-based consulting firm that helps practice owners and managers improve client service, marketing, newsletters, web sites and communication tools. She lectures at veterinary conferences nationwide on customer service, marketing, and practice management. You can reach her at (720) 344-2347 or wmyers@mycommunicationsolutions.com.