With the past 12 months seeing repeated interest rate rises and increasing the pressure on the cost of living, household budgets are being increasingly stretched.
To date, the main impact of this has been on discretionary spending. However, if cost of living pressures continue, many people will have to make some tough decisions, which could include veterinary care for their pet or pets.
While many vet practices have been struggling to meet the demand for appointments after the influx of pandemic puppies, the pendulum could swing the other way.
This makes entrenching your vet clinic’s brand equity really important.
What is brand equity?
Brand equity is how your clients perceive the quality, reliability and expertise associated with your vet clinic. Brand equity helps to create awareness of your vet clinic “brand”. When people are aware of your vet clinic, and associate good qualities with your brand, they will choose (or stay with) your business over other vet practices in the area.
How to maintain your brand presence
Now is the time to let your clients (and potential clients) know how your clinic is different, and the type of care you provide. Connect with your local community through blogs, social media, email and your website, letting them know the values of your business, and why they can trust you as their beloved pet’s vet.
When choosing a vet, pet owners typically look for 4 things:
- Trustworthiness
- Quality of care
- Credibility
- Good reputation
If you can communicate that you tick all four of these boxes, then you can ensure that your vet clinic will be top of mind when a pet owner is looking for a new vet. It will also help consolidate your existing client’s loyalty to your business, making them feel more confident and comfortable in their choice of veterinary provider.
You can find out more about entrenching your brand loyalty in times of cost of living pressures in this recent podcast featuring VetDigital co-founder Ian Shapland.
Putting it all into action
We know that as a business owner, you’re flat out looking after your practice, staff and patients, and most likely don’t have the time to focus on maintaining your vet clinic’s brand presence.
That’s where VetDigital can help. We offer affordable monthly marketing and communication packages to help to build your brand equity and connect with your local community of pet owners through information, education and engagement.
We are currently offering a 10% discount on our monthly packages if you pre-pay for a full year before 30 June.
Want to know more? Give us a call on 1300 75 75 22 or send us an email.
