Posts Tagged ‘Online Veterinary Marketing’

The 5 P’s of Marketing: Price

Wednesday, January 30th, 2013

Many medical professionals don’t think of pricing as part of their overall marketing plan, but correct pricing for products and services is critical to long term success and profitability.  If you don’t charge enough to cover your costs and leave a healthy profit, your business will suffer.  For example, maybe you are starting to realize that you’ve been working hard for 40 years and have no retirement savings to speak of other than your practice, which isn’t worth as much as you had hoped because it isn’t very profitable.  Or maybe key staff members are leaving because they haven’t had a raise in 5 years.  As an aside, the “dead wood” and embezzlers never leave, but that’s a topic for a different day.  In this regard, employees are like clients:  many don’t tell you the REAL reason they’re leaving because most humans are inherently conflict avoidant.  They just smile and “vote with their feet”, but you never learn the reasons why.  This is one reason that exit interviews are such a great tool.  (You are doing these, right?)

Rather than get into how to set prices for vaccines or office visits, which is information that is readily available elsewhere, I think it’s more important to take a step back and ask yourself some more fundamental questions.  Questions you may never have asked yourself before.  (more…)

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Posted in Mark Olcott, Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, Veterinary Marketing, Websites | Comments Off

Your Brand, Your Reputation (repost)

Monday, July 23rd, 2012
Local Search & Online Reviews

Online Reviews on Google

More so then ever a business has to watch it’s brand on the Internet. People can interact and define your brand without your input. As I have stated in many speaking venues even though most veterinarians are face to face and on the phone type of people doesn’t mean your pet owners are! Here are some tips to get you started with your brand management.

Where People Can Interact With Your Brand

People perceived your brand and your business differently 10 years ago than they do today. Now, people have choices and the ability to research information themselves before making a purchasing decision. In the past, we used to have to rely on the vendors to give us information about their businesses. Now, with a few quick taps of our fingers, a wealth of knowledge is available for us to consume. What people find about your business and where they find it determines how they see your brand. Does your business seem trendy? Up to date? Resourceful and helpful? Can a viewer find the information he or she needs quickly on any device, 24/7? These are questions to ask when reviewing how your business is perceived online. Where are people making these decisions?

Today, people are using multiple touchpoints when making a purchasing decision. A touchpoint is a place people start at or go to when researching. A pet owner could start at Google, read reviews, leap over to a business website, click through to Facebook, follow on Twitter, read a blog piece, and so forth. These touchpoints, when joined together, turn into a marketing circle. The goal is to keep an interested pet owner in your marketing circle. If there is a disconnect, a person might leap to another business’s marketing circle and you have potentially lost that sale. Each of these touchpoints (or platforms) defines your brand in the eye of the viewer. Here are some key points to keep in mind.

  1. Google now focuses on local search for a business. This local search feature focuses on online reviews, Google+, Twitter “tweets,” and blog comments. Google’s goal appears to be to give us as much information about a business in one “snapshot.” For example,  take a look at Animal Medical Hospital in Charlotte, NC. You will see my picture listed under the search result because I +1 this brand or “liked” it, in other words. Google is providing social media information now mixed in with search engine optimization results. Why? To keep a person using Google and not Facebook.

To read the rest of this article please download this PDF. YourBrandYourReputation

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Five ways to engage your clients through Social Media

Wednesday, January 18th, 2012

If you’re thinking about using social media networks like Facebook or Twitter to reach our to your clients, but haven’t known where to start, here are 5 easy ways to start building your presence:

  1. Decide to start

    For your social media efforts to have a real impact on your business, you need to be committed to them. Simply setting up a Facebook page and then forgetting about it will not help you to develop a better relationship with your clients. You need to commit to being present and engaging with your followers. This is what will keep them coming back, and telling their friends.

  2. Build your network with people you already know first

    It can be daunting to think about how to gain new “likes” on a page that currently doesn’t have any. The best way to start is by reaching out to people you already know. If you have clients who you know are on Facebook, send them an invitation to like your page.If you can’t find anyone online, ask them in person. Marketing your Facebook page outside of Facebook is a great way to get people interested. Put up a counter sign or a poster, add your Facebook URL to your business cards and clients’ invoices, put a “like us” box on your website. Promote yourself!

  3. Be real

    Don’t be afraid to let your Facebook page have a personality. Talk to your followers the way you would talk to your friends (while still keeping it professional, obviously).  People follow brands on Facebook because they want to interact with the people behind the brand. They want to make a connection with you. If you make your page too sterile, they’ll stop coming back.Answer client questions, share funny pictures and videos, give advice, inform clients of events or specials. But most important, don’t be afraid to have fun!

  4. Recognize and reward

    People love recognition. When your followers start participating on your wall, be sure to reward them for their activity. It can be as simple as replying to a post, or you can take it as far as offering them a gift certificate or discount to thank them for their activity, depending on the level of participation involved.

  5. Monitor

    Facebook offers “Insights” to help you keep an eye on how your page is growing. You should be monitoring this once a week or so to get information such as the average age of your followers, the ratio of men to woman, and, most importantly, the reach and virality of your page posts. This metric will help you understand which of your posts are the most popular with your followers, so you can adjust future posting habits to include more of that post type.

These are the basics for building a solid social media foundation on Facebook. Keep in mind, there are other social media channels to explore, such as YouTube, Twitter, and Google+. While you don’t need to be on all of these networks all the time, it’s important to know that they exist, and do provide additional opportunities for you to reach people.

For more information register for our free webinar, Five Ways to Reach Your Clients on Facebook & Twitter. If you’d like help in setting up or managing your Social Media presence, please contact Melissa Neff at 877-244-9322 ext 100 or melissa@beyondindigo.com.

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Posted in Digital Marketing, Social media, Social Media Marketing, Veterinary Marketing | Comments Off

Unlocking The Marketing Power Of YouTube For Your Veterinary Practice: Three Easy Steps

Wednesday, June 8th, 2011

Developing a comprehensive online marketing tool kit should be one of the most important elements in the marketing strategy of your veterinary practice. While some of these tools may appear more obvious than others, such as a well designed website, integration with social networking services, and online reputation management, YouTube is often overlooked as an invaluable marketing asset.

Over the past few years, YouTube has successful transformed from a beacon of funny cat videos to a place where businesses, non-profit organizations, and governmental agencies have turned to host educational and promotional videos. YouTube has the ability to offer your practice a chance to establish real online branding opportunities with a little extra effort on your end.

Establishing a YouTube presence for your veterinary practice is easier than you think, and can be accomplished in three easy steps:

Create the Videos: Having a hard time deciding on what to create a video about? Try to think about veterinary procedures and bits of pet-related information that your clients would be interested in learning more about. Whether its explaining the importance of regular vaccinations, or showing the best way to check a dog for ticks, there are sure to be plenty of ideas to work with.

In terms of equipment, very little is actually needed. Acquiring a webcam or a basic digital video camera will get you producing video in no time, and at a relatively low cost.

Create Your YouTube Channel: There are a substantial number of online resources that can help you with the creation of your channel, and uploading the videos that you produce. When you’ve completed this step, all of the video’s for your practice will be displayed within the same channel.

Share Your Videos: Now that your videos are uploaded to YouTube, sharing what you have created is fast and easy. Share your videos on your Facebook and Twitter wall, or embed the HTML code directly into your website, and you are on your way to establishing a more expansive web presence for your veterinary practice.

Here is one of the ways that a Beyond Indigo client has utilized YouTube as part of their online marketing strategy. With such a fantastic resource available at a low cost to you, why not take the opportunity to spread the reach of your veterinary practice?

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Posted in Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Veterinary Marketing | Comments Off