Happy Birthday, Facebook!

Posted on September 26, 2011 by Cheshire Partners

Just 5 years ago today, Facebook introduced its private social networking service to the general public. Anyone age 13 and older with a valid email address was invited to join.

A lot has changed since then!

“I saw it on Facebook” has become one of the most often repeated phrases in our contemporary culture. For many people, this is their favorite way to stay in touch with friends, learn about what’s going on in their community and keep up with the latest news and social trends.

This is why we encourage our clients to make the most of opportunities afforded by Facebook to inform and engage your veterinary hospital clients and to meet new pet owners in your community.

You can post news about your practice, pet health alerts, promotions and events. You can also share news, videos, photos and stories that you think your clients will enjoy and that might make them smile.

Think of your client demographics and consider these statistics:

From May of 2008 to May of 2010, the number of US internet users aged 20 to 49 years old who use social networks sites has increased from 25% to 61% and Facebook users alone account for more than 63% of all social media.

Based on the number of users today, if Facebook were a country, it would be the world’s 3rd largest after China and India!

Facebook popularity continues to grow with each passing month and today the average user has 130 friends in their network. So when someone sees something you’ve posted and decides to comment on it, like it or share it on their own Facebook wall, you’ve dramatically expanded your reach into an important target audience.

This is the power of social media and why we wish Facebook a very happy birthday!

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The most important person in your practice is sitting at your reception desk

Posted on June 17, 2011 by Cheshire Partners

“Jones Animal Clinic. Please hold.”

When a prospective client sees your website and decides to give you a call, the front desk staff holds the key to whether or not they make an appointment to see you. Therefore it’s essential that your front desk staff is friendly, confident, professional and knowledgeable.

Placing a caller on hold may, on occasion, be unavoidable. But being unwelcoming, not listening carefully to what a caller is saying, providing confusing answers to pricing questions, diagnosing over the phone and failing to ask for appointments are all avoidable mistakes.

The front desk staff plays a critical role in your veterinary practice’s success. They do more than just answer the phone and greet clients; they build relationships and represent your practice to both current and prospective clients.

Be sure your staff has the resources it needs to answer questions and to provide clear, concise pricing and policy information. It’s important to educate all staff members so that they can describe the equipment, facilities and medical care you provide that set your practice apart from others in your community.

Staff interaction with clients after the appointment is booked is critical, too. They are the first people a client sees when they come into your clinic and the last people a client sees when they leave. The impression the staff makes on clients is lasting. It can be as important to a client’s opinion of your practice as the quality of veterinary care the pets receive from the doctors.

In our staff training, we remind everyone that the relationship you build with your clients begins with that first call and continues with every subsequent call and office visit.

How do you ensure your front desk staff is doing everything possible to help you attract new clients and retain your existing clients? We’ve listed some key recommendations below and provide telephone call monitoring staff training programs to help.

  • Be at the computer when you answer the phone, ready to pull up client files and to put an schedule appointments.
  • Answer the phone with a smile. Yes, people can hear you smile.
  • Give the caller your complete attention. Don’t let anyone think they’re interrupting you or competing for your attention.
  • Ask the caller’s name. If they’re an existing client, be able to quickly reference their client information.
  • Don’t ask callers to repeat information. Take notes to remember names and details.
  • Don’t diagnose or prescribe treatment. Ask a Doctor or schedule an appointment.
  • Ask for the appointment! Especially when answering questions from price shoppers. They’re going to buy veterinary services somewhere. Make sure it’s from you!
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Social Media: Simply put, go where your clients are

Posted on January 24, 2011 by Cheshire Partners

Word-of-mouth means more today than simply conversations your clients have about their veterinarians with friends in the dog parks. Your clients and other prospective clients are also talking about their vets, pets and researching pet health issues online, using social media websites and apps like Facebook, Dogster and Dogbook.

The growing popularity of social media and the growing use of the internet for research provides veterinary practices with an opportunity to increase their visibility and become a part of this much larger, local online community of pet owners. Not only does this allow you to have more contact with clients, you also gain visibility and can become part of the online conversations that can help to retain clients, gain new client referrals and learn what people really think of your practice.

One of the best ways to do this is by creating a company page on Facebook. If you create a page on Facebook, use it often to promote client education, demonstrate your expertise and earn peoples’ trust. Post pictures of your clinic and communicate regularly with your fans. Do this with humor and exhibit some personality, and you’re likely to find your fans sharing your page with their friends. Facebook users look for interesting content and commentary on Facebook, especially from businesses.

Clients and friends can become “fans” of your Facebook page, which then makes your page visible on their own profile for all their friends to see. If they “like” something that you’ve posted on your page, their friends will see that, too.

In the coming months, we’ll post more information about how to use Facebook and other social media to help your practice grow.

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Why a Veterinary Clinic Should Manage its Online Reputation

Posted on October 8, 2010 by Cheshire Partners

The growing popularity of independent, sometimes anonymous, user-generated review and rating websites means that ALL businesses are online, even if they do not have a web site. Try doing a Google search for veterinarians in your community. You may be surprised at what you discover. Now consider that what you see is also what your prospective clients and current clients see. No longer do pet owners simply share their opinions about their vets in the dog park. These days, pet owners share their opinions online for everyone in your community to see.

The growing popularity of social technologies presents new opportunities for veterinary clinics. Use of this technology doubled between 2007 and 2008 and is rapidly becoming a standard practice among consumers looking to purchase services outside the internet. In fact, more people search for businesses on Yelp.com, a popular review and ratings website, than they do on Yellow Book and Dex. A large percentage of people, especially those aged 45 and younger, check online ratings before making a purchase decision and their decision is influenced by the user-generated ratings. There were nearly 116 million US user-generated review content consumers in 2008, along with 82.5 million content creators. Both numbers are increasing significantly.1

And, what people write online matters. More than eight in ten (82%) of those who read reviews said that their purchasing decisions have been directly influenced by those reviews.2

Veterinary clinics are especially vulnerable to user-generated reviews. We understand a doctor’s reluctance to get involved with these types of comments. However, consumers purchasing medical care for their most precious family member take utmost care in selecting and retaining their veterinarian. They are online, checking client reviews and ratings of veterinarians because they want to hear from other pet owners like themselves. User reviews can improve your clinic’s online visibility, too. Clinics with higher ratings are often positioned more prominently for prospective clients to find on search engines like Google. They appear on the map at the top of the first page of search results with summaries of the reviews, links to their websites and the option to include a photo and other details about the clinics. Clinics with no ratings may not be displayed on the map at all.

Your online reputation impacts your clinic’s future success and it’s critical that you be aware of what your clients are telling each other and potential clients. Here’s why:

Negative reviews or a less than 4-out-of-5 star rating can send new customers to your competition and cause less-than-happy existing customers to consider switching to another veterinarian.

A veterinarian can help manage the clinic’s online rating by providing excellent customer service. Your online marketing program should include a regular survey of user-generated ratings. If you notice a trend developing or want to improve your ratings, evaluate the ratings to find the top 5 areas of criticism and make those areas the base for improvement. Evaluate ways to institute appropriate operational changes to the areas of improvement and institute those changes. Set goals and monitor those goals. Your customers will take notice.

1. eMarketer, February 2009
2. Deloitte & Touche, September 2007

If you would like us to call you to discuss website design, online advertising or other veterinary marketing strategies, please click on the “yes I would like you to call me” link.

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Do I really need a mobile website?

Posted on October 8, 2010 by Cheshire Partners

Your prospective clients have been online for years doing research before choosing a local business. Now they’re using their mobile phones and iPads.

Also known as “smartphones”, the use of mobile devices that provide access to the internet is rising sharply. According to Nielson, by December of 2009, 24% of wireless subscribers in the US had a smartphone, up from 14% the year before. The iPad, introduced this summer, is contributing to the mobile revolution, with sales expected to reach 28 million units by
the end of 2011.

What does this mean for your veterinary clinic? It means that if you don’t have a website that is readable, looks good and functions on the small screen of an iPhone, BlackBerry, Android, iPad or other mobile device, you may soon be losing prospective clients to a neighboring veterinary clinic that does. Even if you’re not interested in attracting new clients, it’s a good idea to provide current clients with useful information about your clinic and pet health that they can read anywhere from any device.

Just because your regular clinic website can be viewed on a mobile device, doesn’t mean that it is working for you. Web pages can take forever to load and prospective and current clients can become frustrated when trying to read the tiny print and click on tiny navigation links.

A mobile website is a pared-down version of your regular website. It provides large links, suitable for fingers to navigate on a hand-held device with a tiny screen, and structures the site so that the most important and useful information is easy for users to find.

As with traditional websites, mobile websites are an extension of your clinic’s brand, online selling for you and providing news, health advisories, emergency contact information and information about your doctors, staff, facilities and services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Don’t overlook this powerful and cost-effective way to connect with clients and build on your clinic’s success.

If you would like us to call you to discuss website design, online advertising or other veterinary marketing strategies, please click on the “yes I would like you to call me” link.

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Cheshire Partners launches its first blog!

Posted on September 29, 2010 by Cheshire Partners

Welcome to Cheshire Partner’s new blog!  All of us at Cheshire are excited to provide online marketing strategies, tips and insights to help veterinary practices benefit from the digital world.  You will hear from everyone at Cheshire, including Peanut the Dachshund, Libby the Laborador (“is it time to eat yet?”) and Bo the English Setter, our newest Cheshire Partner.  We hope you find useful tips, have fun and get to know us a little better.

We welcome comments, questions or suggestions to our articles.   Please feel free to comment as many times as you like.  If you would like to receive our Blog articles by email, please click on the “Subscribe to our blog link“.  You will receive an email from us every time we post a new article.  We will not disclose, sell, transfer or otherwise mess with your email address, nor will we contact you except to send you the articles. We have moderated the comments section to make sure all responses are from humans, not computers.

If you would like us to call you to discuss website design, online advertising or other veterinary marketing strategies, please click on the “yes I would like you to call me” link.

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