Published on April 26, 2021
Meeting a real need among pet owners, an online store has a great upside and is an absolute must for any business based on products and service-providing. The pandemic has turned on the jets on the digital revolution for customers (pet owners included!).
Veterinary practices have also massively taken the steps towards e-commerce.
Integrating an online sales platform is only the beginning of this adventure! To make this investment profitable, it is paramount that you promote this shopping (and communication) channel to your clientele.
To help you achieve this, here are 28 simple and effective ways of promoting your online store.
In practice
01.
Do you have a sign up on your door confirming you are closed? It is a key feature in a premium spot; you might add to it a short message about your online store… open and accessible at any time!
02.
Train the members of your team: make sure they are all in line with the upside of having an online store and empowered to promote it!
Source: databox
03.
Put up signs in the waiting room or near the reception and transaction area inviting clients to adopt it.
04.
Set up a hard launch, be it a small-scale event, that will promote your veterinary practice, the quality care you provide… and access to your online store, while you’re at it!
05.
Have buttons or pins designed for the members of your team or have a patch sewn onto their uniform with a tagline promoting your online store.
06.
Does your practice provide bags to clients who have purchased products or medicine? If so, have you ever considered customizing these?
07.
Every once in a while, you could include a cute or amusing low-cost promotional item (magnet, notepad, pen) showcasing your online store.
08.
If no part of your budget is actually allocated to promotional items, a simple postcard-like teaser will do the trick!
09.
Keep on the good work! Keep empowering the members of your team and have them collect and update your clients’ email addresses to invite them to your online store. Keep them informed as to the utmost importance of such a buy-in on their part and its direct impact on your online store’s performance.
10.
Dare considering all the options you have with your practice windows as far as showcasing: an attractive layout (for instance based on the season or a theme) will help you catch the eye of passersby or of those who are waiting in their cars. A window is a prime location to put up signs and to showcase products, promotions and all kinds of incentives to visit your online store!
11.
Make optimal use of invoices to communicate: add a brief yet clearly noticeable message at the bottom of them, printed or electronic, to let your clients know about the friendly shopping options you are providing.
12.
A very simple way of promoting your online store: mention it in your voicemail greeting message!
13.
And if you were to set up a tablet or a small desktop computer near the reception area? If some of your clients are not as technologically savvy, members of your team will be able to assist them in taking their first steps right into your virtual world or to help convert clients in recurring buyers!
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Online
14.
Start a blog to stay in contact with your clients, to make yourself known, to educate pet owners, and to take advantage of meaningful organic referencing… and, while you’re at it, bring up your online store!
15.
Organize a contest among those who have joined your online store during a certain period.
16.
Bring up the benefits, through social media, of activating the recurring order feature. You could save considerable time by presenting up your key messages and posts through the editorial calendar and the post programming feature.
17.
Add a section to your monthly newsletter through which you break out the benefits of using your online store.
18.
Reach a cross-promotion agreement: do you know any entrepreneurs and professionals who provide complementary services? Promote their services through social media and ask that, in return, they do the same: you will then have the opportunity to reach a whole new audience.
19.
Include your favorite or featured products in your content strategy – thus steering your audience to your website (and/or your online store).
20.
Test out your social media-based paid advertisement functionalities.
21
Add the link to your e-commerce platform to your electronic signature.
22.
Make sure you collect as many online comments from your clients (through Facebook or Google), in order to generate increased visibility and traffic to your website.
23.
On your website, be strategic when it comes to having a message that is clear and to positioning your online store access button. The visitor has to unmistakably notice the button as soon as they land on your homepage (for instance, don’t leave it stranded at the bottom of the page!).
24.
Make sure your posts are diversified. People who follow you through social media are seeking entertainment, knowledge and know-how, as well as information. Make sure you regularly post quality content and various messages and teasers.
25.
Carefully choose the social media platforms through which you are deploying by making sure they are actually reaching your target market. Are your clients mostly part of the younger generation, thus possibly more active on – TikTok or Instagram, or are they more mature, thus more accessible through Facebook? Remember that an omnichannel strategy through which you promote your e-commerce platform using various channels (newsletter, website, onsite, etc.) will allow you to reach a maximum number of potential clients!
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…and elsewhere… and beyond!
26.
Sign up for a half-day training session in SEO (Search Engine Optimization) management to take advantage of maximum organic digital visibility.
27.
The veterinary field can count on numerous partners who would be more than willing to assist and support you in your digital upscaling process: ask for their advice, their knowledge and their promotional items or features!
28.
Wrap your vehicle to promote your veterinary practice… and your online store in one flash!