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Loyalty Pays - in so many ways
Loyal clients will return to your practice time and again.
Businesses in this current climate are seeing that they need to not only offer excellent customer care and competitive prices but also value-added services.

Veterinary practices need to look at new ways of forging relationships with their clients and increasing activities that encourage them to return with greater regularity.

So how can you establish loyalty amongst clients?

Having a mix of marketing incentives can encourage the retention of clients, as well as the acquisition of new ones. Well-placed promotions and thoughtful incentives can give your practice the competitive edge and firmly establish a bond between practice and client.

Loyal clients are the backbone of any business and they should be rewarded. How they are rewarded is up to the individual practice but if you are not offering the same or better than your closest competitors then it will be harder to convert people into loyal clients.

Loyalty Cards

Loyalty schemes have been successfully implemented by many large businesses; with prime examples being Tesco, Boots and the Nectar card.  

The introduction of a membership or loyalty card scheme offers the client tangible rewards such as vouchers, points and/or special offers. The offers and vouchers that the client earns from the loyalty scheme is another incentive to come back into the practice, as the client will want to ensure that they benefit from the vouchers received.

By providing a loyalty card, the client has something physical in their wallet/purse, which could get noticed by other people and this is a great form of word of mouth advertising. It also serves as a constant reminder.

Benefits of Loyalty Cards:

•     Increased practice profits
•    Improved client loyalty – the client is a member of the ‘practice’s club’
•    Increased number of clients through ‘introduce a friend’ incentives
•    Additional opportunities to interact with clients
•    Opportunity to promote the practice’s services to clients via the membership mailing when client receive the vouchers for the points they have earned.

Central Veterinary Services realise that many practices do not have the manpower or time to create a successful loyalty card scheme. Therefore we have set up a dedicated team who can help your practice to set-up, design, produce, promote and even mail-out your Loyalty Card Scheme. If you would like more information then please email enquiries@centralvet.com

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Applications open for MMI research grants

News Story 1
 RCVS' Mind Matters Initiative (MMI) has launched round two of its veterinary mental health research grants.

Researchers have until 11.59pm on Wednesday, 28 May 2025 to apply for a grant for research which reflects MMI's 2025 focus areas.

Only one Impact Grant was awarded last year, and so this year there are two Discovery Grants and one Impact Grants available. Each Discovery Grant is worth £5,000 and the Impact Grant is worth £15,000.

For more information or to apply, email researchgrants@rcvs.org.uk to contact the MMI team.

 

Click here for more...
News Shorts
BBC Radio 4 documentary addresses corporate fees

BBC Radio 4's File on 4 Investigates has released a documentary exploring how corporate-owned veterinary practices may be inflating bills to increase profit.

Released on 15 April, 'What's Happening To Your Vet Bills?' revealed the policies which many corporate groups have in place to increase their profits. This included targets and upgrades which veterinary teams are tasked with meeting on a regular basis.

It also features Anrich Vets, an independently-owned practice based in Wigan. Following the case of Staffordshire terrier Benjy, who is diagnosed with a tumour, the documentary shares how the team were able to offer contextualised care and advice to make the procedure as affordable as possible for his owners.

The documentary can be heard on demand on BBC iPlayer.