We all love a good story

Every veterinarian has wonderful stories to tell that are revealing of technical medical skill orare  just downright fun and funny. Think of James Herriot's books that spawned many a young person's commitment to veterinary school.

Rather than using newsletters and hospital notices to talk about your quality medical care and your friendliness, why not tell some of your stories? We humans are hard-wired to respond to stories: think of the wonderful stories in the Old Testament––Jonah and Whale, the walls of Jericho, and, of course, Noah and the great flood. 

Stories are particularly useful in reaching women because women shop with their imagination. They run scenarios of how products and services will fit into their lives and how they'll interact with them. Marketing expert Tom Peters writes: "Men want the headlines, the top line points," but women "require immersion in the whole experience of that product. She needs a real sense of context."

Client stories that come to mind are the x-ray of the parrot that swallowed a beaded light chain, the dog with blocked bowel that had swallowed the female owner's panties, dogs that escaped the kennel yard and was later found at home. Dig out the old stories and share them with your clients. It's a great way to tell the bigger stories of your hospital's philosophy and skills. 

If I market to women, what about the men?

Many of my clients have been concerned that when they market specifically to women, that men will somehow be turned off or uninterested. This is not the case. Focus group studies have shown that men share the same concerns as women. An interesting example showed up in women's and men's magazines. Cosmopolitan shows you how to get a flat stomach in 1o days, while Men's Health promises to reveal the secret of killer abs in 10 days!

All the research shows that while women are vocal about their desire for good service, men like it too but just don't like to talk about it.

The woman is a tough customer, demanding more information about a product or service and demanding higher quality and better service.

By appealing to women, you will not drive men away. Quite the opposite is true. Meet the needs of your most demanding customer and you will appeal to men also.

Rule of Thumb

To get through life without getting bogged down in decision making details, all of use have learned to use rules of thumb. Ancient rules of thumb actually used the thumb for calculations.

In Gulliver's Travels Jonathan Swift wrote of the Lilliputian tailors: " Then they measured my right thumb, and desired no more: for by a mathematical computation, that twice round the thumb is equal to once around the wrist, and so on to the neck and waist..."

In home etiquette: In a formal place setting, the silverware and the dinner plate should be set back from the edge of the table a length equal to the distal phalanx of the thumb.

In brewing: before reliable thermometers were readily available, the brewer tested the wort by placing his thumb in it. When he could place his thumb in the wort without having to remove it because of the heat, the wort was cool enough to pitch the yeast.

They may not measure results with their thumbs, but your clients use a rule of thumb in a lot of their decision making when it comes to their purchasing decisions. The British philosopher Alfred North White maintained that "civilization advances by extending the number of operations we can perform without thinking about them." Your clients want a simple life where they don't have to spend a lot of time measuring and thinking. You can help.

Here are a few of the key rules of thumb used by your clients. Help your clients by helping use the rule of thumb.

"You get what you pay for." People believe that more expensive cars are better cars, that is, that the high priced product or service is the better product or service. If you preach quality medical care and then discount your fees, you are unwittingly telling the client that your service is inferior. The client, using a time-tested rule of thumb, is going to believe that the high-priced provider is offering superior medical care.

Reciprocity. People also believe that we should try to repay, in kind, what another person has provided us. As a rule for gaining compliance, this is a powerful tool. Give a gift and clients will want to balance the scales by giving something back to you. This is why companies give away samples, pens and other gifts. In one store, just be letting customers slice off samples of their cheese, one salesman sold a thousand pounds of cheese in several hours. Giving small gifts to your clients, such as pet food samples, complimentary coffee and soft drinks, pens, tote bags etc, will help them return the favor with increased compliance to your recommendations.

Authority. People tend to believe and obey authority whether that authority is civil (police), religious (ministers) or medical (doctors). Part of practicing good medicine is giving good advice. Don't be afraid to use your authority to help pets receive the best medical care by making strong recommendations to your clients. Clients will believe you and will try to do what you recommend. By the way, part of a persons authority comes from his/her uniform (think policeman or Catholic priest in his Roman collar). The "uniform" of the doctor––lab coat and stethoscope will increase your perceived authority.

Liking. We prefer to buy things from people that we like. Why do we like some people more than others? We tend to like people who:

•  Listen to us

•  Smile

•  Look us in the eye

•  Pay us compliments

•  Are well groomed

•  Are good looking

It sounds harsh but it is not a good idea to hire a receptionist who is not good looking, is poorly groomed and frowns a lot while ignoring your clients.

Remember, the rules of thumb may or may not conform to your idea of the way the world ought to behave. The point is that these are locked-in human behaviors. If you want greater success, accept the way people are, not the way you think they should be. 

Here is a good rule of thumb: Don't fight human nature.

Connecting the dots

Women are wired for connection. Connecting your female clients with each other connects them to your hospital and creates huge brand loyalty. Bring them together for enjoyable, meaningful experiences:

• Classes in dog massage

• Presentations on alternative pet medical care

• Set up a dog walking club

• Meet to set up a strategy to help the city create off-leash dog friendly parks

• Hold pet behavior classes

• Help them connect with each other to trade dog sitting when traveling

I am sure you can think of other ways to help women connect. If it involves public service or volunteering, all the better. Giving back to the community ranks very high with your female clients. Women with their "we" attitude really do care whether or not companies behave like good citizens. Take up a good cause and women will beat a path to the practice door.

Time is more than money

Want to win the hearts of your female clients? Save them time. Women live a different lifestyle than men do. In addition to jobs and careers, working mothers spend twice as much time on childcare and household chores as men. Women are time-starved. Women don't have time to spare. She doesn't have time to wait another ten minutes in your hospital past her scheduled appointment. Hospitals must be aware of how frustrating this waste of her time can be.

If you want to be her friend:

•  Keep your scheduled appointments on time

•  Provide a chile space so she doesn't have to hire a baby sitter to keep the appointment

•  Provide evening and weekend hours so she can make appointments based on her schedule

To her time is more than money. Time spent with your practice means less time for her to spend with her family, at the gym or getting her other chores done. In fact, she will spend money to save time. You can help.

The importance of hospital design

During the last twenty years, the architecture and interior design of veterinary hospitals took a great leap forward. Just look at the featured design awards in Veterinary Economics. Unfortunately, the likes and dislikes of the owner(s) most often held sway with the architects. Architects and designers want to please their clients.

The emphasis should instead be placed on the client. What kind of space would the client like? That is the important question. It is she who holds the key to our success. Hospitals should be designed with women in mind. Women's brains perceive a finer level of detail than men's brains and women have a longer list of wants than men. One way to grab them is to excel at the nuance of design.

This can begin by admitting that you, as a doctor or technician, do not excel at the nuance of design. Let a good architect and interior designer show you the way.

In all senses except sight, women have greater sensitivity than men. Your hospital environment has a big impact on them. If it's a little dirty, if it's a little disorganized, it it doesn't smell quite right, women are going to be dismayed. A great way to attract women who are your prime marketing target is to appeal to their senses and satisfy their wants (a place to park the kids, a clean walkway where they can walk the dog in their high heels before entering the hospital, a hook to tie the leash while they write a check, a computer for checking their email while they wait, etc.)

Do you get it?

Financial services companies don't get it.

Health services companies don't get it.

Hospitality services companies don't get it.

Computer companies don't get it.

Automobile companies don't get it.

Veterinary hospitals don't get it.

None of them get it!

Women as purchasers are responsible for more than half of all spending in the U.S. economy.

Home furnishings: 94%

Vacations: 89%

Kitchen appliances: 88%

New Homes: 75% 

Healthcare: 80%

Veterinary Care: 85%

You don't have to be a brain surgeon to get the picture. If you want to be successful as a small business, learn to market to her and develop a client service attitude that is female-centric.

When Jiffy Lube started to get it, they hired Faith Popcorn, the leading consultant for female marketing. Popcorn's advice sounded a lot like what I have been preaching to my veterinary clients for the last fifteen years: "Escort her out of her car, put her in a clean waiting room, let her have access to email if she wants, let her read some magazines–current ones, please!–and give her a clean bathroom with the seat down and a changing table. Add some low-fat snacks, and you've got her for life."

This is not rocket science. It's not nuclear physics. It's common sense. Follow the facts. Follow the money. Remember that your client is a woman and treat her the way a woman wants to be treated.