We’re all busy. My team is flat out, I feel like there are never enough hours in the day, and Pete’s phone never stops ringing. The independent vet practice is also very busy. Breaking down an average day in a vet clinic, you’ll see consultations, procedures, difficult conversations with pet owners, managing teams, and generally running a business. Vets are time poor, and vet industry partners are constantly competing for a piece of that attention. At SVMG, we also work closely with independent vet practices, offering real insights into how their day pans out. 

Typically, veterinary industry partners email existing or potential customers to promote new products or services. They advertise on social media, and sales reps drop in or make appointments. In addition, suppliers launch campaigns, conference stands compete for attention, webinars, product announcements and special offers continue to land in inboxes. It is a daily bombardment of activity. 

While ensuring consistent communication is essential, it raises an important question: are you marketing to veterinary professionals, or are you simply interrupting them?

Reaching potential customers using digital marketing is not overly difficult. Building a database, sending EDMs, managing social campaigns or advertising via industry channels are all reasonably achievable without needing a full-service digital marketing service.

Grabbing their attention, however, earning their trust and time and converting the message into meaningful sales is the harder bit.
Veterinary professionals are highly educated, accustomed to evaluating information critically, and rarely fall for generic promotional claims. Tags such as innovative, revolutionary, market-leading or game-changing don’t hold their attention for long and can have the opposite effect to what is intended.

So, what holds attention? The answer is relevance.

Does this help me solve a problem? Does it answer a question? Does it make something easier? Does it help my clinic? Does it improve patient outcomes? Does it teach me something I didn’t already know? Those are very different questions, but they are the questions your customers need answered.

I know this is a big statement; however, it is where I can see many marketing campaigns go wrong. Promotional content is necessary, but when you think about a campaign to promote a product, service, or even a company announcement, turn the process around, starting with “what does the audience want to know, rather than what do you want them to know”.

Speak with your sales representatives. They are a valuable source of this information. What questions do they hear during clinic visits? What objections arise? What problems are clinics trying to solve? What do customers misunderstand? What information do prospects request before making a decision? These are conversations that provide the foundations for attention-grabbing digital content.

It is likely that you have an extensive pool of knowledge and expertise inside your organisation. Product specialists, technical teams, veterinarians, researchers, sales representatives and customer service staff collectively know a great deal about the markets they serve. Digital marketing provides an opportunity to turn that expertise into a valuable resource.

A technical conversation becomes an article. Questions become a useful FAQ resource. A product specialist can contribute to an industry challenge and help solve it. Customer experiences can become reviews and case studies. Common misconceptions can become educational social content.

Not every piece of content needs to end with an aggressive sales pitch. Use “Help First” as your strategy. When potential customers repeatedly find useful answers through your business, you are building familiarity and demonstrating expertise. When they eventually need the product or service you provide, your business is no longer an unknown supplier demanding their attention. You’ve given them a reason to trust you.

Social media likes can be a false economy, and a promotional EDM’s lifespan is measured in hours or, at best, a few days. A targeted article that answers a question veterinary professionals regularly search for can continue to attract readers for years. That content can be discovered through Google, shared by your sales team, linked in newsletters, repurposed for social media, and potentially surfaced by AI-powered search platforms.

Instead of continually interrupting people, you are building a library of useful, searchable information that helps vet professionals discover your business when they actually need it. This becomes a fundamentally different relationship in which you are the thought leader and authority in your field. Ask yourself who you’re more likely to trust when searching for a product or service. A thought leader who answers your questions with authority, or a sparkly new social media ad?

Promotional material is still important and a necessary part of any marketing mix. What I suggest is balance. When the only time your audience hears from you is when you want them to buy something, you become another advertiser. When you regularly educate, inform and help, your promotional messages arrive within an established relationship.

The veterinary market is competitive, and veterinary professionals have more information competing for their attention than ever before. More marketing isn’t necessarily the answer, but more useful marketing might be.