Boost Client Retention Using Email Marketing for Veterinarians
Email marketing is a highly effective method for driving traffic to your veterinary website and increasing engagement with existing and potential new clients. If you are a small veterinary practice, you may not always think of communicating with your clients via email but setting up an email list can help you reach those who are interested in veterinary information, pet products, and vet services.
Collecting email addresses might seem difficult since you’ll have to get explicit permission from the pet owner before you can add the email to a mailing list. Nonetheless, you still have many opportunities where you can request email sign-ups. For instance, you can ask for it when someone schedules a vet appointment on the phone, inquires about your pet products or vet services at your office, views your website or social media pages, or attends a social event.
How to Collect Email Leads
Before you send stellar messages for vet email marketing, your practice needs to collect more email addresses. Here are some ways you can explore:
- Create time-delayed pop-up forms: Analyze the date you have on hand to increase the efficiency of your pop-ups. Ideally, your e-mail newsletter pop-up should appear eight seconds after the visitor opens your website.
- Offer irresistible lead magnets: Offer special promos that would invite people to your email marketing campaigns. Give something valuable to pet parents, and they’ll want to hear more from you.
- Use quizzes: Gamify the email-building process by using quizzes. To create a quiz for your email marketing platform, define your customer recommendations and categorize them into groups so each customer group gets its own “unique” suggestion.
- Collect emails from your social media platforms: Maximize your social media following by adding a link to a landing page where they can sign up in exchange for something valuable.
In no time, you will have more qualified veterinary leads interested in what you have to say and scheduling more appointments. After you’ve built your email list, it’s time to consider the types of emails you want to send. Let’s get started!
Email Type 1: Encourage Pet Owners to Schedule Wellness Visits
Veterinarian practices can use email marketing to encourage existing clients to come in for an appointment. Contacting pet owners in advance about vaccination recommendations might convince them to make an appointment for their pets. Pet owners who receive emailed notifications of disease outbreaks and other events usually become more observant, bringing their animals in for a checkup.
Here are some reasons why you should email your clients and remind them to schedule their pet’s checkup:
- Twice-yearly exams
- Dental care and cleanings
- Vaccinations
- Good nutrition
- Year-round parasite prevention
- Training and Behavior
- Grooming
- Exercise
Learn More: Email Marketing Mistakes That Decrease Your Practice’s Open Rates
Email Type 2: Inform Clients About Any Updates at Your Veterinary Practice
COVID-19, as you know, forced many veterinary practices to adjust to how they operate and where they invest their time and resources. Make sure your clients are informed and updated on any changes your practice has made to keep pet owners safe at this time. It’s important to send out emails regarding new check-in procedures or curbside pickup options.
Let your clients know through email if you’ve recently hired a new veterinary team member at your practice. When the client schedules an appointment, they will recognize the new hire and already be familiar with them.
Do you have any special deals and offers you’d like to share with your existing and potential clients? According to recent studies, 49% of customers say they would like to receive promotional emails weekly. Send a promotional email and get them excited about your exclusive offer. Here is an example of promotional email marketing for your veterinary practice:
Subject line: Free Spaying or Neutering for your pet!
Body: Pets living on the streets are growing in number! By spaying or neutering your pet, the unintentional litters that cause the homeless pet population can be reduced.
This month, spaying or neutering your pet is completely FREE when you combine it with a wellness checkup.
Click here to schedule an appointment, or call our clinic today at (insert practice phone number)!
You have many options when it comes to emailing clients about practice updates. You can also let them know of new services or pet products that are now available at your office, such as new software, the latest pet medicine, social events, or updated hours or operations.
Read More: When to Email Your Patients and Why
Email Type 3: Send Personalized Messages to Existing and Potential Clients
This type of email marketing may require some time, but personalized messages are better than automated, robotic messages and help improve your email open rate. It is important to reach out to clients and send thank you e-cards, birthday cards, or post-appointment follow-up care.
Making this kind of connection with your clients will help you build a stronger bond and show that you care for them and their pets.
You can also use personalized emails to reschedule appointments, follow up with no-shows, and cancel cancellations. This will help you retain your clients and remind them that their pets need to be seen to maintain optimal health. For example, you might say, “We care about your pet’s health and will make every effort to ensure it receives the best possible care.”
Be sure to send an appointment reminder email to new clients. This is your opportunity to make a great first impression, and reminders are vital to your practice and bottom line.
Learn More: Sending Follow-Up Emails to Build Patient Loyalty
Email Type 4: Create Monthly Veterinary Client Newsletters
It is easy to keep your existing and prospective clients up-to-date with a veterinary email newsletter. A veterinary newsletter for your practice offers many benefits. For example, it’s a cost-effective client communication tool that directs pet owners to your vet website, generates new patients, educates clients, increases engagement, and more.
Interested in learning more? Read: How to Create a Successful Veterinary Newsletter
Email Type 5: Push Your Veterinary Blog Posts Out to Your List
Use your email marketing to increase organic traffic to your website by sending out your latest blogs to your clients. This will not only boost your engagement but will help your SEO and drive more traffic to your site. Your clients will benefit from this, too, because they will be provided with valuable pet information to help them stay up to date on caring for their pets. You can write blogs about:
- Pet Nutrition 101: How to Keep Your Furry Friend Healthy
- Tips for Pet Dental Care at Home
- How to Care for Older Pets
- All About Vaccines: What to Expect
- Seasonal Pet Issues to Look Out For
- Easy Pet Weightloss Tips and Tricks
- Highlight a New Veterinary Team Member
Learn More: How to Convert Your Blog Readers Into Clients
When you send out blog notification emails, include social media channels such as Facebook and Instagram. Social networking sites such as these can further your content marketing goals.
Need some help creating engaging veterinary posts? Download our Veterinary Social Media Kit to access free seasonal, educational, and informative posts to immediately and easily share with your clients now.
It is imperative to direct the traffic you receive on social media back to your content and onto your email list. As long as you remain focused on the goal, social media can be a valuable asset for your business.
Read on: 5 Ways to Master Veterinary Social Media Marketing
Email Type 6: Amplify Special Promos to Pet Owners
People love to save money. Your marketing emails should include special promos that allow pet parents to save some money while giving their pets the best care. If you have any discounts or other campaigns, you should ensure that your client base knows through your email marketing software.
The more people are aware of your promos, the more opportunity for them to take advantage of them. That’s why you should maximize all your platforms, including email marketing.
Why You Should Use Email Marketing for Your Vet Practice
There are a ton of benefits you would experience when using email marketing for your veterinary practice. Here are a few:
- Communicate with your audience: Keeping clients engaged is key to retaining them. Sending regular email marketing campaigns keeps you top of mind, especially when it concerns veterinary care.
- Collect feedback: Your veterinary practice can collect more reviews and positive feedback by inviting clients to write reviews. You can invite them to write about their experience through email marketing.
- Increase leads: You can increase your patient base by sharing content inviting them to visit your clinic. From educational posts to promotional emails, the more clients know about your practice, the likelier they are to schedule a visit.
Let VetMatrix Handle All Your Email Marketing Needs!
We understand that you’re a busy veterinary practice, and emailing your clients on a daily or weekly basis may seem overwhelming. We can help you relieve that stress by taking care of your email marketing needs and generating more pet patients along with retaining existing ones. Here at VetMatrix, we have all the right tools to help you get started and expand your business.
Give us a call today at 800.792.8384 or click here to learn more about our veterinary digital marketing services.
