Why should clients bring their pets to your practice? Unless your clinic is in a remote area, it’s competing with other clinics that offer similar services at similar prices. Building a brand will give your practice an identity that will help you stand out and draw in business. 

What is a Brand, Exactly?

At its core, it’s the basic identity of a business. This includes the name, slogans, appearance and general reputation of the company. By tying these things together, you can leverage your reputation, building brand equity. New customers can identify the value of your business, while current customers are more likely to be loyal and will go to your clinic first for additional services. If your practice has an identity that can stand on its own, it can even make it more valuable to prospective buyers when you’re ready to retire.


What Sets Your Clinic Apart?

Just about any vet clinic can take care of dogs and cats, so you need to emphasize the ways that your clinic may be a better fit for a prospective customer. Making a list of these services will help you create your brand.

Here are just a few examples of the unique services that you may offer:

— Comprehensive wellness care
— House calls or pet pickup
— Longer office hours or extended drop-off and pick-up hours
— Medical services for horses, rodents, reptiles or other unusual animals
— Services outside veterinary care including pet boarding and grooming
— Separate waiting areas for cats or nervous pets
— Specialty health care services or a solid referral network
— Emergency services



What is Your Brand?

Branding is the experience your clinic offers, not the services you offer. Look at your services list and decide what type of client would need most or all of them. If you were to sum up what makes going to your clinic a better experience than other clinics, what would you say?

Here are some common ways clinics brand their services:

— Child friendly
— Flexible care for busy families
— Everything your pet needs under one roof
— Medical care for all animals
— Care where you need it

When you describe your clinic, tell a story. Why was the clinic started? What niche were you looking to fill? Often, clients know what they need, but they don’t know what it takes to fulfill those needs. Giving them a general overview of your clinic instead of just listing services gives them a better idea of what to expect.


Are You Offering Everything Your Clients Want?

Now that you have a brand focus, you should look back on your clinic offerings and see if there are any holes in your services. Remember that customers who already have good experiences with your clinic will be more likely to use new services as you add them. For example, if their pet gets along with your staff, they’ll be happy to use boarding services or have your clinic handle dentistry or surgical procedures.


Build a Cohesive Look and a Cohesive Message

Everything from the stationary you use, the appearance of your website and even the walls of your clinic should be built around the same theme, and this look and feel different from any other area clinic. This helps your clients associate your clinic with the experience they want.


We Can Help You Build Your Brand

Positive Impressions LLC doesn’t just carry veterinary products, we offer custom printing services for most of our offerings, letting you add your clinic information to our stock designs or go all out with your own images and text to create something unique. We offer appointment reminder cards, medication labels, veterinary tote bags and more. Be sure to check out our monthly specials on our website for the latest deals and clearance items.