Today’s Veterinary Business provides information and resources designed to help veterinarians and office management improve the financial performance of their practices, allowing them to increase the level of patient care and client service.
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36 Today's Veterinary Business Communication That's why building attractive, informative and concise printed marketing material is still a vital aspect of business in the 21st century. Brochures are one of these time-honored staples, a small piece of printed advertising that if done well can help pro- mote your hospital. In marketing, the adage "If it's worth doing, it's worth doing right" always rings true. Veterinary hospi- tals have limited funds for mar- keting, and there's nothing worse than spending time and energy on promotions that are going to pass right by pet owners. That's why before you make any serious mar- keting decisions, it's best to weigh the pros and cons and ask yourself if creating a veterinary brochure is worth the investment. As a veterinary marketing profession- al, I have helped com- pose many brochures. Here are six tips on how to produce the perfect advertisement for your practice. 1 Determine a Design This is the first and most important step. Before you begin crafting the content, take a moment to think about what the brochure is going to look like. The standard marketing brochure is two-sided and has six panels that are trifolded. In essence, you have six canvases to work with. Consider the different aspects of your hospital that you want to market — your clinic's history, veterinarians or unique services (more on this later). Next, think about a color scheme and logo. Does your hospital even have a logo? If not, create one yourself or hire a designer to come up with one. The logo is the face of your brand. It should follow you from your hospi- tal's website to print materials to email signatures and anything else with your practice's name on it. Also consider the more artistic elements of your brochure. These in- clude background colors, fonts, font sizes, spacing and general format- ting. Whatever you decide upon, In a culture that's deeply invested in online marketing, it's easy to forget that pet owners still depend upon printed content for information. Sure, you can find loads of information about a veterinary hospital's services and staff through a couple of keystrokes. But when the computer is turned off, the information disappears into the blackened monitor. Communication Make great promotional brochures If creative juices flow in you, print marketing may be do-it-yourself. Otherwise, consider hiring a professional to complete the task. By Jesse Duthrie make sure your brochure remains consistent throughout. There's noth- ing less appealing to a potential pet owner than a veterinary brochure that looks like it was assembled by six different hospitals. 2 Write a Tight, One-Paragraph Overview Let's face it, no matter what infor- mation you put in the hands of cli- ents, they will fully understand the superior value of your hospital only when they bring their pets in for an examination. That means you need to turn your hospital's philosophy into a quick, accurate pitch. They say brevity is the soul of wit. And while your hospital may not need humor to sell its services, keep in mind that concise, to-the- point content can be a fast and surefire way to pitch your practice to nearby pet owners. Figure out how to sum up your hospital in one paragraph. What makes your hospital unique? What Regardless of how you do it, bringing your advertising down to a personal level is a quick and effective way to show that your practice cares about a person's pet on a deeper level. Standard marketing brochures are two-sided and six-paneled. The brochures above and on the facing page were designed by VetNetwork.