Boost Client Retention Using Email Marketing for Veterinarians

03/03/21 | by Czarina Greaney | Email Marketing

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, social media pages, or attends a social event.

In no time, you will have more qualified veterinary leads taking interest in what you have to say and schedule more appointments. After you’ve built your email list, it’s now 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

Client getting information from veterinarian

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. New software, the latest pet medicine, social events, or updated hours or operations, etc.

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 ecards, 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 cancellations. This will help you retain your clients and remind them that their pet needs to be seen in order to have 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.”

For new clients be sure to send an appointment reminder email. This is your opportunity to make a great first impression. 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 get access to 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

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.