Consider traffic flow when choosing a location
When selecting your veterinary hospital's site, a high-traffic road may not be your best option, says Larry Gates, a senior principal with Gates Hafen Cochrane Architects P.C. in Boulder, Colo. During the 1998 Veterinary Economics Hospital Design Conference in Kansas City, Mo., he showed attendees how to target a market niche and noted that while conventional wisdom suggests busy streets provide the best visibility, clients who can't easily reach your hospital will probably go elsewhere.
By Elizabeth A. Brown, senior associate editor
When selecting your veterinary hospital's site, a high-traffic road may not be your best option, says Larry Gates, a senior principal with Gates Hafen Cochrane Architects P.C. in Boulder, Colo. During the 1998 Veterinary Economics Hospital Design Conference in Kansas City, Mo., he showed attendees how to target a market niche and noted that while conventional wisdom suggests busy streets provide the best visibility, clients who can't easily reach your hospital will probably go elsewhere.
It's better to choose a site one block from a major thoroughfare. You'll be close enough for visibility, but clients won't fight multiple lanes of high-speed traffic to turn into your parking lot, Gates says. Besides, sites on major streets usually cost more.
Also remember that most pet caretakers are women. Many work and raise a family, so they'll appreciate avoiding rush-hour traffic with their pets and children. Gates also notes that clients prefer right turns into and out of your parking lot, so consider access points when choosing a site. Remember, visiting the veterinarian isn't an impulse. It's a destination. So easy access is more important than high visibility.
October 1998 Veterinary Economics
