Marketingkommunikációs eszközök alkalmazása a magyarországi kisállatgyógyászati praxisokban

Abstract

ÖSSZEFOGLALÁS Az állatorvosi praxisok marketingkommunikációja napjainkban egyre fontosabb a digitális és közösségi média hatékony ügyféltájékoztató és népszerűsítő szerepe miatt. A szerzők a kisállatpraxisok marketingeszközeinek alkalmazását vizsgálták, 115 magyarországi kisállatgyógyász állatorvos válaszát elemezve egy online kérdőív segítségével 2025 januárjában. Az eredmények alapján a leggyakoribb marketingeszköz az oktatási anyagok megosztása (50,9%) volt, főként a Facebook (86,4%) és a saját weboldal segítségével. A marketinggel kapcsolatban a legnagyobb akadály az időhiány (81,8%) volt, míg a jövőbeli fejlesztések között kiemelten szerepelt a mobilalkalmazások bevezetése és a közösségimédia-jelenlét erősítése. SUMMARY Background: Marketing communication in veterinary practices is becoming increasingly important, as digital platforms and social media are powerful tools for informing clients and promoting services. Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the marketing tools used by small animal veterinary practices in Hungary, and how the practitioners’ age and gender, and the geographical location of their practices influence marketing communication strategies. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted using a 15-question online questionnaire, which was completed by 115 Hungarian small animal veterinary practitioners between 9 and 28 January 2025. Results and Discussion: The results showed that the most common marketing tools were sharing educational materials (50.9%), telephone consultations (33.6%) and social media activities (33.6%). The majority of practices used Facebook (86.4%) and their own websites (48.2%) to reach clients. Out of the total respondents, 96.2% of veterinarians younger than 40 years used Facebook, while the proportion was 63.6% for those over 55 years. Moreover, 40.9% of respondents considered social media to be effective, 11.3% very effective and 4.3% not useful at all, respectively. Marketing barriers included vets’ lack of time (81.8%), difficulty in creating effective content (44.5%) and lack of knowledge of marketing tools (34.5%). Customer satisfaction was mostly measured through personal feedback (74.6%) and online reviews (49.1%), while 20.2% of the surveyed practices did not measure it at all. The most successful marketing activities were sharing educational contents (34.3%), promotional campaigns (e.g., discounts, package deals) (31.4%) and social media campaigns (24.8%). Future marketing plans of the vets include developing mobile apps (46.0%), strengthening social media presence (46.0%) and introducing new digital tools (39.8%). The results highlight that integrating modern technologies and developing targeted client communications are key for practices.