Learn About Vet Websites
Veterinary Marketing in a Tight Economy

A recent article in the Newark Examiner, by Jennifer L. Taylor, recounted the top ten "Best Marketing Tips" for a tight economy. She listed things like customer loyalty, wisely examining what to cut in your marketing budget, listening and responding to your customers' needs, utilizing low cost and no-cost marketing tactics, increasing or beginning a public relations campaign, incorporating a social network into your business, brushing up on your marketing skills by attending a marketing seminar, treating people with respect and care - making your customers feel like they are part of your family - and marketing your business online.

Since this article is coming from the desk of the Executive Director of Marketing at Beyond Indigo, you might be wondering why we didn't list the benefits of marketing online at the beginning of Ms. Taylor's list. Well, in fact, we did. As a matter of fact, all of the things that Ms. Taylor refers to in her article can be done through a well-developed and customized website.

At Beyond Indigo, our website tools build you a virtual community on your website. We help you reach out to your clients and to your community. We offer you ways to incorporate cheap or free marketing, we give you tools for a public relations campaign, we give you marketing advice specific to your business and market and we let you tell your story - without the cost of printed materials and postage.

Eric Elkins, the owner of WideFoc.us, an ePR firm, states, "In some companies, the first thing to go during economic difficulties is the marketing budget. That decision has never made sense to me - why would you cut efforts whose sole function is to increase sales and revenue? If anything, companies should step up their marketing efforts when money is tight."

Jason Calacanis, the owner of Maholo.com said, "Great entrepreneurs build value and market-share in down markets. They go to work seven days a week and they breakout when other folks check out."

Michael Shank, Director in the IBM U.S. Strategy and Change Consulting organization wrote, "For businesses under pressure to react to marketplace dynamics, it's easy to forget that today's actions can sometimes produce unintended consequences. Cost cutting, in particular, must be approached cautiously; short-term gains may cause long-term pain. One study that analyzed the strategies and performance of U.S. firms from 1987 to 1992 found that two-thirds of the companies that used cost cutting as their primary means of survival during the last major downturn failed to show profitable revenue growth during the following five-year period. Forward-thinking initiatives that concentrate on lowering an organization's ongoing cost structure are more effective than blanket budget cuts."

This is not either the time to retreat or the time to spend your marketing dollars foolishly. Beyond Indigo wants to be your partner in marketing your business in an effective way that increases your clientele and positions you for future growth. To learn more about Beyond Indigo and what we can do to help, please contact us at
Terri Reid, Executive Director of Marketing: Terri@beyondindigo.com or
Kelly Baltzell, President and Owner: Kelly@beyondindigo.com .