I recently read a blog about self-publishing that suggested, “Instead of ‘promoting,’ go participate like a reader and you’ll be surprised what will happen.” Veterinarians might want to adopt a similar approach to marketing and promoting their practices: Think like a client. Start with the why and how of getting new clients for your practice.

Why do clients come to your practice? Primarily because they have animals they love and need to care for. An animal in their household or business (think farms, dairies, ranches, fairs, shelters, etc.) seems to be ill or has been injured. Someone gave them – or their kids – an animal as a pet and they have no idea what to do next. They’re new to town. They’re unhappy with their current veterinarian.

Your practices exists for all of these reasons: You’re there to serve clients by treating their animals, both preventively and in emergencies. Your marketing efforts are aimed at making it easier for those clients to find you and use your services.

How do new clients find you? That’s something you could find out by simply asking new clients what brought them to your door. It’s usually pretty straightforward: from your marketing efforts – ads in the Yellow Pages or local newspapers, recommendations from your current clients, seeing your office or building as they go about their usual errands, contacting a local or regional veterinarians’ society.

Those are all marketing techniques, and they all work, but they can probably work better. If new clients don’t mention noticing your ads, pull the ads or redesign them. If no one says they noticed your office door or clinic building, do something more effective with signage. If no one mentions being recommended by a current client, let clients know that referrals are appreciated – consider rewarding them with a gift or free service for every new client who comes in through their recommendations. If no one has heard of you through your professional organization, join, rejoin, become more active or check to make sure your clinic is listed accurately.

There is a lot more you can do. Increasingly, your marketing efforts have to be through social media – having a presence at Facebook.com, LinkedIn.com, Twitter, etc.  More and more, those environments are where people look for new business partners and services, so you need to be there. Your clients are active in those environments, so you have to have a presence there as well.

If you aren’t comfortable with using social media, see if a staffer in your practice is (they probably are all active in all of those sites!) and make social-media activity part of their job descriptions. Just be sure to see what they plan to post before it goes up anywhere, to be sure their posts reflect well on you and your practice.

Join Angie’s List (angieslist.com), which is considered a reputable site where companies are reviewed by their customers, and encourage clients to post comments there about their positive experiences with your practice. Your clients are checking there for services like yours, so it’s another place for you to be visible. Once you join, you’ll be notified whenever someone puts up a post about your business; respond right away, even if it’s just a quick “Thank you! We were glad to help.” (Just be aware that a site like this can result in the occasional negative comment, often unjustified; be prepared to deal with any negative comments calmly and unemotionally.)

And don’t forget your practice newsletter! As has been discussed in previous marketing columns, a newsletter is a great way to bring back “lapsed” clients and bring in new ones.

The bottom line: Thinking like your clients makes it easy for them to find you when they need services like yours for their beloved animals.