Create meaningful value | Mark your territory

Terrier Dog Holding Be Mine Heart - Stock Image: 37886169When clients can think of no compelling reason to choose one practice over another, and when a practice is viewed as easily replaced, these practices become commodities.

A service becomes a commodity when a consumer doesn't care who provides it -- the providers are considered inter-changeable and PRICE becomes the deciding factor.

Any practice wants to avoid being seen as easily replaced.

Getting clients to think about their veterinarian is difficult when it's all about you. Today's consumers have become experts at filtering out messages that they don't consider MEANINGFUL AND RELEVANT. So stop talking about yourself and clients will listen!

HOW TO DELIVER MEANINGFUL VALUE

It's difficult to deliver meaningful value if you don’t know who your clients are or if you have not taken the time to understand their needs. See Client Segmentation and Understand Clients.

DON’TS

  • Don’t tell clients how wonderful your practice is - they will decide!
  • Don’t try to reach everyone with the same messages – you will end up reaching NO ONE.
  • Don't simply try to “PUSH” services out there; ENGAGE pet owners – and “PULL” them into the practice instead.

DO'S

  • Focus on what’s important to pet owners -- not just what's important to you.
  • Help pet owners PREVENT illness and injury all year long!
  • Reach out to high risk pet populations.
  • Become a voice for preventive veterinary care.
  • Become a resource that's more valuable than Dr. Google.

RETAINING and growing clients is more important than attracting new ones. Why?

  • The cost of getting a new client is 5 times as much as keeping one.
  • A satisfied client will bring in 5 new ones; an unhappy one will badmouth you to 20 prospects.
  • It’s easier to get clients to buy 10% more than to increase the number of customers by 10%.
  • Only 4% of unhappy customers complain; the rest go elsewhere.

Delivering MEANINGFUL VALUE is essential to growing client relationships.

Help clients become PARTNERS in their pet's care with information, engagement and participation! The more a pet owner knows about his / her particular pet, the more they are likely to be on board with your recommendations for preventive and wellness care.

  • Equip them to provide home care to aging and ill pets.
  • Help them with EARLY DETECTION of serious health conditions and illnesses.
  • Educate them about good nutrition.
  • Provide resources through the practice's website, workshops / seminars, newsletters and bulletins, and on-line instructional videos. (TARGET these to particular pet needs as much as possible!)

BREED-SPECIFIC CARE

Often times, clients don't understand why they're told, "Your cat needs an annual wellness exam." It will resonate more when they hear that their MAINE COON is at high risk of heart disease and needs a periodic echocardiogram. Help pet owners understand the need for diagnostics and specialized treatment by linking them to health risks and conditions RELEVANT to their pet. This will resonate much more than generalizing to all pets!

See list of related presentation topics below. We are happy to make a presentation to your practice or provide you with a pdf. Contact .

  • Adding value; How to make your practice valuable to clients
  • Getting into clients’ heads & hearts: Adopting client-focused attraction & retention strategies
  • Achieving a client-focused culture
  • Developing client-focused services
  • Delivering client-focused communication.
  • Building a client-focused Internet presence.
  • Stop talking about yourself and clients will start listening!
  • Demonstrate instead of tell to strengthen market perceptions
  • Turning your pharmacy into a value-added client service