In the Community: Community Service Boosts Marketing
Jessie (left) from Clackamas County Dog Control and Zoe from Salem Dogs, a rescue group, snuggle and sleep.
(Photo courtesy of Dogwood Pet Hospital)
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Sometimes, the best marketing is giving back. At least, that seems to be the case for AAHA-accredited Dogwood Pet Hospital in Gresham, Oregon.
Since opening its doors in 1978, Dogwood has been providing free adoption exams to shelters and established rescue groups throughout the greater Portland, Oregon, area. “Our local county shelter asks this of us in addition to discounted spays and neuters for adopted pets,” David Hawkins, practice owner and manager, told AAHA. “We agreed, in large part because we want to assure our clients they are adopting a healthy dog or cat.”
The list of shelters Dogwood serves is long. Counties served include Multnomah County, Clackamas County, and Washington County. Dogwood also serves a private nonprofit, Family Dogs New Life Shelter, and the Oregon Humane Society (SPCA), as well as Pixie Project, Golden Bond Rescue, and many other, smaller organizations. But its service to this long list has been a win-win situation.
“Not only do we promote this service on our website,” said Hawkins, “we also ask the shelters and rescue groups we serve to include us on their list of practices that offer this service. In this way, the service offering reaches beyond our current clients to potential new ones who can select us from the shelter list after adoption.”
Hawkins, who helped build the practice and bought it from his dad, Charles Hawkins, DVM, CVA, when he retired, has a degree in business administration. That knowledge appears to have served Dogwood well, if only in hindsight. Indeed, its reach to prospective new clients via the free adoption exams generates 10%–20% of its new client appointments. Additionally, most of the pets examined need vaccinations, heartworm tests, and more, which drives even more client visits.
The program is fairly straightforward. The shelter provides a new pet parent with a list of veterinary practices that provide free adoption exams. (Many adopters make the mistake of assuming the shelter is paying for the exam, which is not the case.) Exam appointments must be made within 7–10 days of the adoption. That’s when they call Dogwood.
The adoption exam is the same quality as any exam provided to a paying client. “This is our opportunity to make sure the adopter gets good wellness recommendations for their situation,” added Hawkins. Staff is involved just as they would be with any other veterinary service. “We’ve been providing this service for so long that the whole team is on board,” Hawkins said.
What advice does Hawkins have for other hospitals that want to consider providing free adoption exams? “Always remember and remind your team: A free exam isn’t a loss. It is an opportunity. You may be getting a new client. You are also getting a new patient. Mostly, though, you are ensuring that a new pet parent is receiving reliable veterinary recommendations rather than those provided by nonveterinary adoption staff at shelters.”
Marketing comes in many ways for a practice, and sometimes community service is the most rewarding way of all.
