Marketing Mindset: Culture Versus Campaigns

What if your most powerful marketing strategy isn’t a campaign, but the culture you create?

Marketing Mindset: Culture Versus Campaigns

Prior to entering the world of Marketing I spent almost 20 years in Retail, managing teams and crafting client journeys for the likes of Selfridges and co. Despite claiming to offer very customer centric experiences the truth was that the culture of retail is purely transactional. And as veterinary clinic debt surges across the UK and much of the world, there are some real dangers both culturally and ethically for veterinary businesses turning to retail to mimic it's transactional marketing template.

I recently led a talk on Transactional marketing (think average basket value) versus transformational marketing (think relationship nurturing), and one of the key points of confusion for most veterinary business owners were they knew that there were certain elements of marketing that they should have, but they weren't entirely sure why. The best way to determine what you need to implement or improve upon, is to consider your clients journey. From discovering you to referring you to a friend. What's the process they go through, why and how can you support them on their journey.

Below I've documented the typical path a pet owner will take into your practice and out again.

Stage 1: Awareness - How did they hear about you?

1. Google search: Does content on your website answer what they’re searching for?
2. Recommendation: Are you asking your clients to review you online?
3. Your online presence should communicate who you are, not just what you do.

The above all show you are trusted. Your social media platforms and 'About' pages on your website can also further boost and highlight this.

Stage 2: First Experience

The emotional ‘first impression’, how sticky is your client experience?

1. Booking experience: Does it work and is it intuitive
2. Reception tone: Relaxed and welcoming, does it feel like a safe space and does it evoke the right senses
3. Clarity of communication: Could you be losing repeat business because your clients are too ashamed to say ‘huh!’? Clients decide very quickly: “Is this my practice?”

Stage 3: Trust Building

Trust isn’t built in one consult; it’s built on consistency. Digital clicks to bricks touch points play a huge role here:

1. follow-up messages
2. care plans
3. reminders with context
4. educational content

These signals say: “We’re thinking about you”, even when you’re really busy!

Stage 4: Loyalty

Loyalty happens when clients feel:

1. Emotionally connected
2. Understood
3. Confident
4. Not just satisfied — but attached

There is a fundamental distinction between transactional businesses and relationship businesses. Transactional businesses optimize for individual purchases; relationship models focus on continuity of care over an individual’s lifetime. In veterinary medicine, this distinction matters enormously for patient outcomes.

Stage 5: Advocacy

This is where growth becomes exponential because advocates will:

1. Recommend you
2. Defend your pricing Stay through thick and thin

And the only way to get here is through experience and culture, not simply just via promotions and discounts .

Practical Retention Ideas

Not sure where to start, why not try some of these activities:

1. Post-visit check-ins, personalised, automated reminders can take the stress out of maintaining this kind of activity, and will go a long way to keeping a good level of connection and communication, for monitoring compliance and patient welfare.
2. Celebrate milestones with personalised care reminders. A happy birthday message goes a long way in bonding your client to your team and is a great time to suggest a joint health or dental review. 3 .Lifecycle messaging that addresses a patient from its early puppy days all the way through to their senior, grey coat days.
3. Proactive education via personalised and seasonal campaigns, blogs on your website and/or social media posts
4. Health care plans: when designed thoughtfully, can provide the predictable revenue that supports sustainable business practices while simultaneously improving preventative care uptake and strengthening the relationship between practice and pet owner. The key lies in how they are structured, utilised and communicated.
5. The CMA’s provisional decision identifies several concerns that directly relate to how veterinary practices structure and communicate their services. Chief among these are transparency around pricing, For many within the profession they reflect elements that they already incorporate into their comms. But how well are you utilising your website, social media platforms and even in clinic marketing materials to reiterate elements such as services, pricing and affiliate partners?

Let's Catch Up!

If you'd like to learn more why not book a free walk through of how to utilise PetsApp to level up your services via: petsapp.com/demo or reach out to me directly for a free marketing review: naomi@petsapp.com