How to diversify your client base

Content submitted by GeniusVets, a dvm360® Strategic Alliance Partner

What types of clients do you want to have? What species does your practice care for? What services do you provide? Do you serve a mix of urban, suburban, and rural clients? Are you in an area where socioeconomic diversity ranges from lower income to the luxury class? It’s important to remember that you can’t be all things to all people. However, that doesn’t mean that you can’t serve a diverse client base.

Once you have identified the species you will care for and the services you’ll provide, the next important question to answer is about the socioeconomic status of the clients you want to work with. This decision will have a significant impact on the language and imagery you use to effectively connect with your target audience.

For example, residents of lower-income areas may be more drawn to language that references responsible services and affordable pricing, along with simple photos of staff members interacting with clients and taking care of patients. Upper-income communities, on the other hand, respond better to the idea of best-in-class services and images that depict idyllic, “Instagram-worthy” settings. This is an important area to consider and will set the standard for your website content, social posts, and all client communications. Once you have a good sense of the language and imagery that will best connect with the communities you serve, you must understand the steps potential clients will take to learn about, consider, and engage your services.

Today, pet care begins online. When pet parents have a question, they turn to Google first. They get information from websites and blogs and look for advice and recommendations on social networks. They compare the websites of several local vets and read online reviews for multiple providers. If they then feel that your practice is the one best aligned with their needs, they’ll schedule an appointment.

Although it is crucial that your practice support every step along this path, you must focus on the first one, the Google search. Most small animal clinics offer more than 50 different services and care for a variety of species. Pet owners have many questions about every single one of your services. As an expert in search engine optimization, I can tell you that there are dozens to hundreds of specific questions and phrases people type into Google every month about the services veterinarians provide. Many topics get millions of searches per month, and Google has built its algorithms to give preference to answers from veterinary websites. The catch is that to show up at the top of Google search results, your website must offer the information people are looking for.

As a veterinarian, you answer pet care questions every day during your entire career. If you take the time to answer them once on your website, you will begin meeting the needs of today’s pet parents. The key is doing this for every type of pet, stage of life, and service you offer. Do this, and you ensure that the language and imagery you use are designed to connect with the sensibility of your intended audience. You will find your practice attracting all the right people (and pets) from all the right places, giving you a well-diversified, yet perfectly targeted, client base.