What is good design?
You know it when you see it, but what specific features or qualities separate it from the rest? Design can be challenging — its subjective nature can make it hard to quantify with a typical ROI formula. As a result, many veterinary practices have trouble justifying design as a worthwhile expense.
But in veterinary marketing — or any marketing — good design is crucial. And design is more than a logo. Everything is designed: your building’s exterior, lobby, exam rooms, signage, website, emails, forms, business cards, client education materials, mailers, social media pages… the list goes on. And design can’t stand on its own — you need to start with a foundation of strong copy.
Together, your words and visuals carry your brand’s success.
5 characteristics of good design
1. Good design makes a great first impression
The veterinary market is competitive and crowded, and the pet owner’s initial assessment is almost reflexive. According to The Guardian, we only need a tenth of a second to make up our minds about people, and your brand is no different.
To be effective, design must be comprehensive and consistent. An expensive veterinary website that lacks design, content, and layout will be perceived as cheap, which immediately devalues your services. Once a negative impression is formed, the digital and proverbial “window of opportunity” has slammed shut —and it’s difficult to change a consumer’s preconceived notions.
Solid first impressions are built by conveying professionalism and high value right from the start, during the pet owner’s initial encounter with your brand. A great logo is important, but so is an attractive and user-friendly website, a consistent social media look and presence, and more.
Being able to instill professionalism and immense value in the span of a split-second makes an elevator-pitch seem like a filibuster — let your brand speak for itself with good design.
2. Good design differentiates the best from the rest
What will make a client drive across town, perhaps passing several other practices to reach yours? In a world of ever-increasing options, what separates you from the rest? Good design can assure your target audience — pet owners — they have found what they need, and yours is the only solution to their problem.
3. Good design helps boost brand awareness
Good design doesn’t stop working for you after the initial impression — it goes beyond, helping the pet owner connect with your veterinary practice on a deeper level. Thoughtful, well-developed design speaks to your customer’s heart and mind, and conveys your veterinary practice’s core values and message. Good design communicates trust and reliability through three important features:
- Good design tells a story — People are visual by nature and are statistically faster at gathering information by sight. Let your brand logo do the talking, and show them exactly who you are.
- Good design conveys authenticity — Forced sincerity and misrepresentation are easily perceived by consumers. Ensure all design elements convey an accurate impression of who your team is, and what’s important to your practice.
- Good design is consistent — Ensure all of your materials are branded to your practice and consistent in their look and feel.
- Postcard reminders, emails, your website, your hospital app, and your social media channels should include your veterinary practice’s logo and brand colors.
- Copy should be consistent with your brand voice. Are you a fun, laid-back practice, or are you a more serious practice?
- Ensure your messaging, logo, and colors are carried over into your building’s design.
4. Good design helps solve problems faster and maintains client satisfaction and loyalty
Good design is not confined by two-dimensional paper or screen. Instead, it’s dynamic and operational, a merger of form and function that pins down the pet owner’s pain point and seamlessly leads them to the resolution: your business. Vetsource’s platform exemplifies this principle by closing the communication gap between the pet owner and your veterinary hospital, improving compliance, patient health, and client satisfaction.
Simplicity and efficiency are critical to effective design. With an ever-shortening attention span, the customer must be able to quickly evaluate and recognize the problem you’re solving, as well as their next steps, without any confusion or additional searching. Provide a clear path for your future client with:
- A primary or singular call-to-action (CTA) — A unified CTA across all materials and platforms will make your brand synonymous with your message and simplify consumer decision making.
- Clear, concise design and writing — With almost no time to make an impression, you must keep it brief. A reminder postcard with multiple CTA’s, text blocks, and graphics can overwhelm a prospective or current client — and the only resulting action will be a trip to the recycling bin, not your practice.
5. Good design saves time and money
As with any smart business decision, good design requires an initial investment. But, in the long run, your practice saves valuable time and unnecessary spending on ineffective campaigns. In the long term, good design saves you money and time by providing:
- Alignment of services and communication — Targeted communication with a clear message speaks to consumer needs, increases brand awareness, and your bottom-line.
- Clarity — Good design provides pet owners and your veterinary practice with a clear path to a concise end goal.
- Inspiration — No need to return to the drawing board for each new campaign—draw ideas from previous successful projects for reliable results.
- Consistency — Good design allows you to create templates for emails, social media, campaigns, etc. to easily maintain brand consistency.
Good design reaches beyond the page, with a deep impact at each level of engagement. Design that is built on your veterinary practice’s core message gains immediate attention, action, and trust from pet owners. When it is supported by professionalism, integrity, and a commitment to meeting a need, your veterinary brand represents a relationship and bonds the client to your practice. Once good design is in place, it consistently delivers your practice strong financial results, enhances community recognition, reinforces your mission, and saves valuable time and money.
Consider what your current design and brand says about your veterinary practice, and whether it accurately reflects your values and services. Is it making a deep impact, or only scratching the surface?
Vetsource’s all-in-one client engagement and communication platform is built for veterinary practices by veterinary pros. Beautifully designed, your custom platform includes your veterinary practice’s logo and brand colors, so it can be easily found in the App or Google Play store, and your practice will be well on its way to building deep, trusting bonds with current and potential clients. Find out how the Vetsource platform can help your practice — schedule a 30-minute demo today.
