In some cases, you might have lost clients because they can't afford alcombe veterinary surgery to c

Photo: Getty Images Is the phone ringing a little less often than it used to? As clients feel the impact of a slower economy, they may be taking more of their horses' routine care into their own hands. From vaccinations to deworming, it's time to make a case to clients about why you should be involved in their horses' wellness. Let's look at some of the reasons horse owners have retreated and discuss strategies to coax them back to your care.
"Veterinarians have not made it clear why they should be involved in wellness care, like vaccinations," says Dr. Mark Baus, MBA, owner of Grand Prix Equine alcombe veterinary surgery in Bridgewater, Conn. "Simply put, our vaccines are more current, alcombe veterinary surgery and we select the vaccine based on its efficacy.

We have access to the best selection of vaccines, alcombe veterinary surgery while clients are restricted to what's available over the Internet. And, obviously, a veterinarian will give a better injection."
Photo: alcombe veterinary surgery Getty Images Deworming offers another great example. It's true that your clients alcombe veterinary

surgery can administer dewormers, but without a fecal test, they don't know whether their horses have worms, what type of worms their animals alcombe veterinary surgery suffer from, or even the egg counts. So one way to demonstrate why you should be in charge of a horse's deworming

program is to offer a fecal. "That's the slide in to get back into the barn," says Dr. James Guenther, MBA, MHA, CVPM, AVA, with Strategic Veterinary alcombe veterinary surgery Consulting in Asheville, N.C. "By doing some fecal egg counts, which are relatively alcombe veterinary surgery easy to do, you can see how effective the client's deworming is."
If you want to woo clients back, you've got to start by figuring out why they left. "As the old phrase goes, if it ain't doing right, do the diagnostics," alcombe veterinary surgery Dr. Guenther alcombe veterinary surgery says. He recommends a three-part approach to regaining your clients' business. First, you need to figure out why people are moving away. Second, if it's something you can fix, then fix it. And third, establish a marketing plan to reach out to horse owners.
In some cases, you might have lost clients because they can't afford alcombe veterinary surgery to care for horses in the current economy, Dr. Guenther says. But if you've evaluated your client base and found they can still afford to keep their horses, it's time to plan a marketing campaign to regain some of the income you're losing on routine care.
Remember, your most powerful marketing tool is good old-fashioned communication. Dress it up with newsletters alcombe veterinary surgery or training seminars at your practice. Use e-mail or social media networks, such as Facebook or Twitter, if you're so inclined. Just make sure clients can reach you when they need you.
"I think the best marketing is done one-on-one with the veterinarian," Dr. Baus says. "What drives the equine industry is the relationship between the veterinarian and the trainer or the veterinarian and the owner. It's very hard for horse owners to make a judgment about which veterinarian has better veterinary skills, but they absolutely know the veterinarian's ability to communicate and take care of them."
And if clients aren't calling you, it's time to call them. "Call clients and ask what they plan to do with their horses in the coming year," Dr. Baus says. "Find out what horse shows they're going to attend and find out what states they'll travel to. For instance, if the horse is going to do a trail ride in another state, then we should make sure that we have a current Coggins test and a rabies vaccination."
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