Consider traffic flow when choosing a location

By Elizabeth A. Brown, senior associate editor

When selecting your veterinary hospital's site, a high-traffic road may not be your best option, says Larry Gates, a senior principal with Gates Hafen Cochrane Architects P.C. in Boulder, Colo. During the 1998 Veterinary Economics Hospital Design Conference in Kansas City, Mo., he showed attendees how to target a market niche and noted that while conventional wisdom suggests busy streets provide the best visibility, clients who can't easily reach your hospital will probably go elsewhere.

It's better to choose a site one block from a major thoroughfare. You'll be close enough for visibility, but clients won't fight multiple lanes of high-speed traffic to turn into your parking lot, Gates says. Besides, sites on major streets usually cost more.

Also remember that most pet caretakers are women. Many work and raise a family, so they'll appreciate avoiding rush-hour traffic with their pets and children. Gates also notes that clients prefer right turns into and out of your parking lot, so consider access points when choosing a site. Remember, visiting the veterinarian isn't an impulse. It's a destination. So easy access is more important than high visibility.

October 1998 Veterinary Economics