When it comes to your veterinary practice website, how well are you showing off your best asset? What is your best asset?
No, it’s not the lovely building that houses your business…
No, it’s not the fabulous new equipment you’ve just purchased…
No, it’s not your website (although you’re getting warmer…..)
Yep… You’ve got it … It’s your team!
Clients are Looking for….
When a potential client is looking for somewhere to take their pet they will most likely either ask a friend or ask Dr Google, then they’ll check out your website. The first thing they’ll see is your Home Page but did you know that your ‘About Us’/ ‘Meet the Team’ page is the SECOND most visited page on your website?
Why? Well, people don’t do business with buildings or equipment – people do business with people. Before choosing a veterinary practice to look after their furry child, clients will want to check out the people they will be dealing with. So who should be on your ‘About Us’ or ‘Meet the Team’ page? That’s easy – every single person that works in your veterinary business should be on the page because they’re all an important part of your team.
And because every member of your team is important, their information should be displayed with the same level of professionalism. This means everyone should have their full name and their qualifications listed – not just the vets. It’s also a great idea to list the interests and pets of each of your team members.
What better way to make your clients feel part of the family than to give them some personal information about yourself and your team members and why you all do what you do.
Images are Everything!
Now it’s time to talk images! Yep, I know many of you are not that keen on having your photo taken but remember, people do business with people, not buildings or equipment.
Your clients and potential clients want to see the people behind the names – NOT a cartoon drawing or just a photo of your pet – they want to see YOU! Even better would be an image of you and your pet.
If you’ve spent a considerable amount of time and money building up your veterinary business and putting together an awesome website, now is not the time to skimp on photos of you and your team.
Remember our Vetanswers blog from a few weeks ago: Your Veterinary Practice Brand – The Unspoken Promise to your Clients? Your Brand is the enduring image that your clients carry with them after they leave your hospital or clinic (or website).
What image do you want your clients to have of your veterinary practice?
Staff looking uncomfortable in the all-too-common ‘Mug Shot’ against a white wall? Or beautiful images of your team with their favourite pet that clearly demonstrates the all-important human-animal bond?
Professional photographers obviously cost more than a couple of clicks of your digital camera but they’re worth every cent. A professional photographer can take amazing images of you, your team AND their pets which can then be used throughout your marketing materials – not just your website.
If you don’t believe me – check out a couple of my favourite animal photographers:
What other images do you use on your website?
While we’re talking images on your ‘About Us’ or ‘Meet the Team’ pages, it’s worth mentioning the use of images on the rest of your website. During our recent webinar with Dr Michael Warren, he made an interesting point – when clients and potential clients are looking at your website they subconsciously add their pets into any images they see.
- Sterile, cold-looking surgery? They imagine their little dog lying on the cold steel table.
- Images of you in the middle of surgery? They imagine their kitten under the knife.
- Images of very clean, very tidy, very empty reception and consult rooms? They imagine themselves with their puppy wandering around with no one to help them.
Now think of images of you with your own pet. Your clients will imagine you holding their pet with the same care. Now imagine your website full of images of your team members looking happy and confident whilst holding a gorgeous array of fluffy, scaly, feathery, cute, interesting animals – what a great way to show how important the human-animal bond is to all of your team members.
It’s time to take a good hard look at your ‘About Us/Meet the Team’ page on your website.
What does it say about the professionalism of your veterinary business?
What does it say about what you value in your practice – shiny equipment, empty rooms or the importance of animals in all of our lives?
Now is the time to make a choice.
What images do you think best suit your veterinary business brand? Tell us what’s stopping you from using these types of images in the comments section below and we’ll do our best to help.