Until we thought about it some more. And now we love what WebMD is doing. In fact, we think more animal health marketing professionals should be following their example. Here’s what we mean:

Diversify
Tap into other channels you wouldn’t otherwise consider. WebMD understands that the line between pets and pet owners is increasingly blurry, so much so that it’s now relevant to include pet health tips alongside tips for the owners. Take advantage. Discuss pet health in places normally reserved for human health. Expand to channels dedicated to food/dieting, exercising, or outdoor sports, for example.

Get Online
We know, we know. You are already. But make your online presence work for you. It’s the easiest and most cost-efficient way to cross over channels, and with an appropriate seeding strategy, brand and product visibility has the potential to increase exponentially in ways print and traditional media can never accomplish.

Talk
Give your readers a consistent focus by talking about subjects relevant to your field. Use Twitter, Facebook and blogs to get your message out there without being invasive. A new advancement emerge in human health? How will this affect the animal health industry? Can we expect similar advancements for household pets? It’s an easy way for potential customers to relate to you, to trust you, without feeling like they’re being sold something all the time. That way, when you do talk business, you’ll have a much more captive and responsive audience listening on the other end.

Pet owners love their pets. And it’s this relationship between the two that is driving the pet market forward despite the tough economic times. In fact, veterinary care is the category that’s experienced the most growth, increasing 8.5% over the previous year. People are willing to spend what’s necessary to ensure their pets’ health – and it’s time marketers took advantage. Here are a few ways to do this:

Focus On the Relationships
Identify the role your product or service plays in the relationship between the owner and pet. Specifically, talk about the ways in which your offering keeps their pets healthy – both now, and in the long run. Use this as your platform for all your marketing efforts.

Share and Connect
Find a way to help pet owners share and connect with the animal health community around them. Sponsor a contest. Find a location and offer free advice to pet owners once a month. Participate in social dialogue by joining ongoing conversations. Or, start your own.

Vets, Vets, Vets
There’s no one more knowledgeable and able to care for a pet than a community’s local veterinarian. So leverage that expertise. Provide wellness tips that can be customized for a veterinarian’s clinic. Then get these tips out to the community through traditional and online channels. It’s an easy way to show pet owners that there are people out there who care for the well-being of their pets as much as they do.

In light of the recent merger, many industry experts believe personal relationships and need-based decision-making will be the first things to go. In fact, in an article by the VIN News Service, Ron Brakke, veterinary consultant at Brakke Consulting, asks, “Are any of these transactions occurring based on the needs of customers? Don’t think so!!” This perception creates the opportunity for the smart competitor to claim the position as the partner that focuses on relationships, helping veterinarians and clinics make wise decisions that fit each of their unique situations. Here are three ways competitors can accomplish this:

Align
Bring sales force and marketing teams together to produce consistent, flexible strategies that will focus on the personalized needs of veterinarians and clinics – helping to enhance existing relationships and develop new ones. It will also create a more efficient budget allocation overall.

Focus & Listen
When talking to clinics, understand what it is they’re not getting from their current provider. Document it. Study it. Fix it. This is the kind of personal attention a more flexible, personalized competitor can, and must, provide.

Listen and respond to outside sales force’s needs in order to counter the enticing offers competitors who can simply buy business from a couple hundred clinics just by hiring their sales rep.

Be Nimble
Embrace the value of smart planning and flexibility to adapt to industry changes. This will help in the streamlining of the little things that can make a difference in day-to-day operations for clinics, both online and offline. That means better online user experiences, more ways for clinics to order online (scanners, mobile devices, etc.), better trained call centers, increased oversight and tracking, and hiring people with vet-tech experience.

Give veterinarians and clinics the added value they crave and they will be able to provide better health to their clients and increased revenue to your company.

This general lack of awareness creates a great opportunity for nutrition companies to boost business – not just in February during Pet Dental Health month, but all year long. Here are some ways to make this happen:

12-Month Strategy
Yes, February is officially Pet Dental Health month. But that doesn’t mean it’s the only time of year to focus on it. Make it part of a year-long education strategy. Make it a point to call it out in your monthly mailings. Highlight products. Discuss new advances. Because after all, people want their pets to be healthy every day. Not just one month out of the year.

Blog
Encourage pet owners to share how they care for their pets’ health. Do they regularly brush the teeth of their pets? Do they get regular checkups? What other dental hygiene products do they use? Open dialogue like this is an informal, informative way to build trust with customers.

Twitter
Embrace the technology that’s out there. Tweet about a new product that will improve the long-term dental health of pets. Link to dental health news articles. Tweet a dental health tip of the day.

Email
Continue to send out emails as a part of an overall dental health marketing strategy. Reference other social networking avenues – blog, Twitter – in the email and drive customers to interact at an even deeper level. Keep it up all year and become a trusted voice in the minds of customers – a voice that cares for the well-being of their pets.