
It was the year 2000. 52% of US adults now used the internet. Forward thinking veterinarians began to commission software developers to build a website for their practice.

The first veterinary websites were full of flash animations, cartoon effects, and enthusiasm. Pioneers saw a new way to interact with clients, and included everything they could.

Veterinarians across the country began to realize they needed a website too. They turned to family friends, local developers, and nascent companies to build theirs.

Every veterinary practice began to get on board. In order to meet such rapid demand growth, new companies were born. Companies who could quickly churn out templated cookie cutter websites.

Eventually, one company figured out a highly successful model. They paired a large, motivated phone sales team with highly replicable, templated sites that looked far more professional than anything before it.

Rapidly, they grew to work with about 15% of all veterinary practices in the US. The business was worth tens of millions of dollars, and because of that, copy cats began to crop up.

The new companies hired large sales teams and implemented the same aggressive phone and trade show sales tactics. They worked to one-up each other on the promise of the templates they were building.
Front desks everywhere began to be battered with countless phone calls and emails.

You could barely walk down a trade show aisle without being confronted by website salespeople. While the company names were different, they all sounded the same… “Our mousetrap is better. It will do x, y, and z, while your current provider can’t.”

Over time, these companies and salespeople were so successful that almost every veterinary practice had one.

Wherever pet owners looked, they saw different versions of the same cookie cutter templates. But in this race to build modern, professional, and replicable websites, a simple truth was hiding in plain sight…
For the right kind of pet owner, the one who loves their pet like family, superficial and highly templated websites don’t answer the real question they are asking.

When these kinds of potential clients are on your website, the real question they are asking isn’t “who are you, what do you do, or where do you do it?” The real question they are asking is…

Can I trust you?

Because marketing companies were simply in a race to build fancier templates, they never took the time to understand the uniqueness of each practice they served. They merely churned out pretty looking websites that all looked, felt, and spoke the same. Cookie cutter websites.
The unfulfilled need of your veterinary practice is simple… differentiation. Standing out for what makes your practice unique and special, so that you can attract the right kind of people. The people who your story resonates with.

When everything looks and feels the same, shoppers treat you like a commodity. For a commodity, price is the only differentiator. That is why veterinary practices with cookie cutter websites began to get a large amount of people calling and shopping around for the best “deal.”

Attracting clients who do not share your values and who have a commodity-mindset causes undue financial and emotional stress for countless veterinary practices. We believe you deserve a better way. That is why Digital Empathy was born.

How do you attract the right kind of clients? You start by thinking differently about what a website can be. In order to answer the real question they’re asking (can I trust you?), you must tell your story. It’s a story about what makes your practice special, what you are most proud of, and how you make a difference in the lives of people and pets. This is the path to differentiation.

We take the time to understand you. To know what makes your practice unique and special. And then we bring that story to life through storyboarding, messaging, and design. The end result will be the website you have always known, deep down, that you deserved.

A website that does this just feels different when you find it. A website that stands out from all the other cookie cutter websites. That’s because it speaks to your limbic system, the emotional part of the brain that guides our social decisions. And most importantly…

It helps you stand out to and attract the right kind of clients. The kind of clients who put a smile on your face when they walk through your door. Who love their pets like family, who treat others with kindness, and who believe in the value of veterinary medicine.

The recipe for a thriving veterinary practice is simple… have the right kind of team, and attract the right kind of clients. Higher profitability, happier employees, and healthier pets await.
This is the revolution. The one you have always deserved.

