Volume 1, Issue 4

Each issue of Veterinary Marketing Tips provides suggestions for reaching out to clients and prospects with marketing and communications strategies and tactics. Please feel free to email us at Lindaw@lwmarketworks.com if you have questions or would like to find out more about our marketing services. – Linda Wasche/LW Marketworks, inc.

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TIP: It is more effective to DEMONSTRATE than to TELL. This is true for a lot of things. You’ve heard the idiom, “Actions speak louder than words.” The same thing is true in marketing. We saw this first hand during a competitor review for a client. One direct competitor's hospital website says, “We devote our lives to xxx.” Another says, “We are committed to providing the best xxx.” Another, “We are unlike any other xxx,” and yet another, “We have the most progressive techniques and knowledge in xxx.” At some point, the impact of these words gets lost on clients and prospective clients who are not sure what to believe. Instead of trying to come up with the best superlatives, remember:

1. Marketing ACTIONS speak louder than marketing words.

2. It takes TIME for clients and prospects to understand and remember what you are trying to get across, so repetition is essential.

HOW: Start with your marketing goals. How are you striving to position your hospital among clients and area pet owners? How are you setting your hospital apart from the competition? What are the compelling REASONS clients come to you in the first place? And then:

1. With reference to the above goals, spell out how you want to DEFINE your hospital in the marketplace. For example, your hospital might want to promote:
   Specialized care for reptiles                              Nutrition expert on board
   Commitment to pain management                     Rehab and fitness facilities

2. Instead of just SAYING that you offer any of the above (or whatever your message points), develop BEHAVIORS AND ACTIONS that illustrate or demonstrate these attributes. Such an approach will come across as much more credible to clients and prospects than simply touting your selling points. Such an approach might include:

   • Educating clients on how to tell when their pet is in pain

   • Becoming an advocate for pet physical fitness and weight control

   • Becoming an information resource on healthy habitats for cold-blooded pets

3. Implement approaches like the above through a variety of channels including your website content, client bulletin/newsletter, lobby notices, local publicity, client workshops and events, online discussion groups, information posted to social media, client contests and quizzes, information sheets, client special interest clubs and more!

IDEA: Test your ideas with clients BEFORE you implement them. In this way, you will get a reaction to the concept as well as valuable input for developing a more meaningful program.

Veterinary Marketing Tips is published by LW Marketworks, inc. Copyright © 2010
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