You’ve made the exciting decision to open your own veterinary practice. Congratulations! As you get closer and closer to your grand opening, it is time to start focusing on marketing your new business. Beyond Indigo Pets has created this marketing timeline to help you figure out when you need to do which tasks to successfully get the word out about your practice.

Six Months Before You Open

Believe it or not, you should start figuring out your branding at least six months before your doors officially open. Branding tools like a custom logo help shape the identity of your practice. It’s important for you to have a solid handle on who you are before you start to share your message with local pet owners. The colors, images, and even fonts of a logo will give a new user a little clue about who you are before they start scanning your website or set foot inside your new practice. Once your logo is complete, you can start working on other critical marketing pieces, such as signage, coming soon banners, business cards, and building your custom website.

Three-Six Months Before You Open

Once you have your branding figured out, you can start taking some steps toward using it to introduce yourself to the world. Be sure to do the following at least three months before you open:

• Purchase a domain name: If possible, include your practice name in your URL to help keep your branding consistent.
• Launch a splash page: A splash page is a one-page “website” that contains your contact information while you are building your full website. 
• Start social media accounts for your practice: Be sure to start posting on them regularly to generate interest in your business.

Two-Three Months Before You Open

As your website gets closer to completion, start mentioning the site launch on your social media accounts (and put a note on your splash page) that lets your audience know that your new website is coming soon. Once your website and full service information is live, be sure to link to it from other platforms. You can also start blogging to create new content for your site, set yourself up as a thought leader in the industry, and get people excited about clinic updates.

One-Two Months Before You Open

Now is the time to start running print and digital ads for your business. Dipping your toe in the pool of paid advertising can help you build an audience before you are ready to run more robust ad campaigns. Organic growth can be very difficult for new practices with no audience, but running some brand awareness campaigns with a low budget can help you grow your followers. It’s typically best to start advertising for brand awareness on platforms like Facebook and Instagram, then switch your focus to Google once your practice officially opens. About a week or two before you officially open, you can start running new ads focused on pre-booking appointments. 

Opening and Beyond

Once you’ve successfully opened your practice, it is important to maintain your marketing efforts to continue getting More Tails Through Your Door™. Working with a professional marketing company like Beyond Indigo Pets means you get your own dedicated team to manage your marketing strategies and reach your goals for your veterinary practice. From social media posting to advertising and blogging, a marketing team will ensure your new practice continues to succeed.

We Got You Day

In addition to our plethora of digital marketing services, we are also hosting an event called We Got You Day for continuing education credits in marketing, IT, finance, and real estate topics. We’ll also have a networking event to help you expand the potential of your practice. This free event will take place October 28, 2024 in Edina, Minnesota. The deadline to register is September 30, 2024, so be sure to register now to secure your spot!

Whether you are opening a new practice or need to breathe new life into your current clinic, Beyond Indigo Pets is here for your marketing needs. Call (877) 244-9322 or fill out this form today.