How to Design Email Campaigns

To create a list of all the different types of pet and veterinarian businesses would be next to impossible because of the exceedingly wide range of retail outlets and veterinary ventures in the industry. Veterinarians may specialize in small household animals in urban centers while their more rural peers may only deal with large farm animals; different approaches are necessary to successfully reach these different audiences.

In the case of veterinary clinics located on the outskirts of cities that encompass both suburban and rural territory, email marketing segmentation must be geographically accurate and able to provide specific email content relative to the customer's location. The suburban dweller most likely has small household animals, while the rural dweller has large farm animals; sending a marketing message to one that is better suited for the other will confuse and alienate sections of your email newsletter subscription list. This is also true for retail outlets: a pet and veterinarian retail business located in a major Boston mall will offer different merchandise than one located on the side of a highway between Fort Collins, Colorado and Cheyenne, Wyoming. Different stores are going to have a client demographic profile – mostly likely, these two stores do not share a single SKU!

Every customer base contains subgroups of characteristics that determine the types of products they will buy and the most effective incentives to obtain their loyalty and repeat business. The average income in the Frackville, Pennsylvania zip code 17932 is $2,750; yet in Pittsburgh's zip code 15272 the average income zooms to $229,686. The Pennsylvania pet and veterinarian retailer will find that an online promotional strategy emphasizing economy supplies, bulk pet food purchasing, generic off-brand products and deep discounts will be successful in the former location but may fall flat in the latter.

Tuning the content of your email newsletter campaign to reflect the specifics of your retail location and particular customer profiles is critical to achieving success in any email marketing program. Achieve this refinement by implementing subscriber segmentation efforts; by sectioning your list according to demographic, geographic and behavior based characteristics, you will be able to compile particular content that addresses the preferences and requirements of your customer base.

Once you have identified segments, proceed to determining and implementing incentives for your call to action. The invitation to private events, prize draws, membership in a VIP club that presents specific discounts, unique pet accessories, complimentary visits, sneak peeks at new products or access to other particular facilities or events can be applied as powerful incentives for motivating your email newsletter subscriber.

So how can businesses collect new email addresses? Some of the methods and locations where pet and veterinarian businesses have been successful in gathering new addresses include:


Every email address collected by your pet and veterinarian business must be accompanied by explicit permission from the customer to be placed on your email marketing subscription list. Additional entries will provide you with opportunities to further segment your list and drive sales in your pet and veterinarian business. Whether you are operating a veterinary clinic offering services to small or large animals or running a pet retail operation of any size and location, taking the time to craft a captivating email marketing campaign is your best promotional investment.