For many veterinary practices, attracting customers have become more difficult. This is because gone are the days when pet owners simply check out their local vet directory to find the address of their local vet. Today, pet owners have their own ways for finding the right vet for their pet. Moreover, today, there are basically different types of pet owners and their preferences when it comes to their vets vary. The best way therefore for any veterinary practice is to take advantage of veterinarians directory.
According to the Cam Marston in his presentation in the recent 2013 Western Veterinary Conference, there are basically four generations of pet owners and unless the veterinary practice learns how to connect and market to all these generations, the veterinary practice runs the risk of losing a great percentage of its potential clients. By being included in veterinarians directory however, a veterinary practice can connect and market to all the four generations. To clarify, here are four generations of pet owners how they use veterinarian directory in finding the vet for their pet.
The oldest generation is the matures or those who are 68 years old and older. According to Martson, these are the pet owners who give importance to expertise and experience. They believe in community relations and are patriotic. They also value brands and those that are considered institutions in the community. By being listed in directory of vets, a veterinary practice can emphasize its years in service, the credentials and experience of the vet and staff and the involvement of the practice or the vet in the community. The veterinary directory is therefore a tool for the practice to advertise what its edge in terms of expertise.
The second generation is the baby boomers or those between ages 49 to 67. Baby boomers value work and are generally busy. At the same time, they value efficiency. This applies in both work and in their decision making process. Here the veterinarians directory can be used by the practice in making their search for a vet easy. Some veterinarians directory even have advance search so a baby boomer can actually find a vet fast by simply writing its preferences for a vet.
The third is the Gen X or those in between ages 34 to 48. They are familiar with the technology and use it to get the information that they need. Growing up with technology, it is a tool for them to be informed. Here, the veterinarians directory can be used by the practice in directing the Gen X pet owner into its website where he can find the information that he needs.
The fourth is the Millennials or those in between ages 13 to 33. They subscribe to group mentality and gives importance to peer advice. They do not want to research but they want good advice. Millennials can use veterinarians directory by checking out the comments of other pet owners.