Veterinary marketers are being asked to do more with less in 2025. Budgets are tighter. Expectations are higher. And your sales team still needs a full funnel.
But where can you trim without sacrificing pipeline performance? What looks like a “cut” on paper might actually be a strategic optimization—and a chance to improve campaign efficiency, focus, and ROI.
We’ve been in your shoes, and we’ve compiled proven ways to stretch your budget without starving your funnel. Get that Excel spreadsheet ready—let’s work smarter with what we’ve got.
Audit and Consolidate Your MarTech Stack
Are you paying for 20 Zoom licenses when only 5 people are using Zoom? Use this checklist to make sure you’re not overpaying for tools you’re underutilizing—or could consolidate:
- Make a list of all your marketing tools, their monthly cost, how many user licenses you have, and how many are active. You may be able to downscale licenses or eliminate tools that aren’t in use.
- Check for redundancy. Are you using HubSpot, Hootsuite, and Mailchimp? Consolidating to one platform could save money and boost team efficiency.
- Evaluate usage. Are you using all the features you’re paying for? Dig into underused tools—you may be able to reduce subscriptions or make better use of what you already have.
- Avoid feature overload. If you’re paying for functionality you’ll never use, consider a lighter plan.
- Involve other departments. Create a cross-functional team with sales, customer service, and operations to spot overlapping subscriptions.
- Check billing allocations. Sometimes, general infrastructure tools get incorrectly billed to marketing. Make sure only true marketing software hits your marketing cost center.
A streamlined martech stack isn’t just cheaper—it’s easier to manage and more effective.
Evaluate the Productivity of Your Most Costly Marketing Campaigns
Live events are often your biggest marketing line item. But when economic conditions are uncertain, everyone is reevaluating expenses—including veterinary clinics. Before locking in travel, ask conference organizers for updated attendee numbers.
Then, calculate historical return on investment (ROI) for every event you plan to attend this year. Compare those figures to your other marketing channels—you may discover that reallocating event spend unlocks far more productive outcomes.
Use this sample format to assess your campaigns:
| Campaign Name | Cost of Campaign | # of Leads | # of Sales Opportunities | Cost Per Lead | Cost Per Opportunity | Campaign Revenue | Campaign ROI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Event | $18,000 | 50 | 5 | $360 | $3,600 | $25,000 | 39% |
| Webinar | $10,000 | 700 | 15 | $14 | $666 | $50,000 | 400% |
| Sales Promo | $5,000 | 150 | 35 | $33 | $142 | $75,000 | 1400% |
Looking at cost per lead, cost per opportunity, and ROI across channels levels the playing field and helps you make smart budget decisions.
Pro Tip: Reassess your channel strategy, too. For example, you may find that social media ads are outperforming Google Ads—or vice versa. Let your data guide your spend.
Get Focused
During times of economic uncertainty, you still need to populate your pipeline with new leads. Cutting advertising spending wholesale will bring your funnel to a screeching halt. Instead, adapt your strategy to focus tightly on those most likely to purchase your product.
- Revisit your ideal customer profile (ICP) to ensure it reflects today’s market realities.
- Partner with Clinician’s Brief to reach only those who match your ICP.
- Use retargeting and remarketing to activate high-intent prospects.
- Update your CRM to reflect where each contact is in the buying journey.
- Create list segments so you can deliver the right message to the right contact at the right time.
- Automate smartly. Trigger email and SMS messages based on behavior or funnel stage.
Focusing your resources here will help you stretch your budget’s impact while continuing to fill your funnel with qualified leads.
Optimize Owned Channels
Maximize the value of your owned assets—your website, email marketing, social media, and CRM. Here’s where to start:
- Audit your website performance. Identify slow-loading pages or high drop-off points. Even small improvements can drive more conversions.
- Use lead scoring in your CRM to uncover hidden opportunities.
- Evaluate your email performance and cadence—is it consistent, timely, and effective?
- Consider paid social as a scrappy way to amplify lead generation.
- Review your SEO and content strategy. Are you ranking for the keywords your buyers care about?
- Improve CTAs across all channels for clarity, consistency, and urgency.
- Leverage automation to improve customer experience and reduce manual work.
- Personalize with better segmentation. The more tailored your messaging, the better your results.
- Retarget website visitors to recapture lost traffic and drive conversions.
Extend the Life of High-Performing Content
Creating new content is time-consuming and costly. Instead, give new life to your best performers:
- Refresh historically strong content with updated insights or stats.
- Repurpose long-form content into bite-sized social media posts, short videos, or email series.
- Turn webinars into blog posts, blog posts into infographics, and so on.
A smart content refresh can deliver new value without the full production lift.
Link Arms with Sales—It Costs Nothing
Marketing and sales alignment becomes even more important when resources are tight. Collaborate to develop or refine field-level tools:
- Marketing-approved email templates
- LinkedIn content for reps to share
- Presentations and pitch decks
- Flyers and one-pagers
- CRM data to surface warm/hot leads
- Case studies and testimonials
- Short video testimonials for email or in-person meetings
A tight feedback loop ensures you’re supporting sales with what they actually need—and staying in touch with changing market dynamics.
Strike Up a Partnership Opportunity
Team up with brands whose message or audience aligns with yours. Co-marketing opportunities like webinars, courses, or downloadable resources allow you to:
- Split costs
- Expand reach
- Boost credibility
Clinician’s Brief can handle the development, promotion, and production of a co-hosted webinar between two collaborating companies. You share the leads and the budget.
Contact us to discuss how our team can help.
Double Down on Funnel Efficiency
There’s often untapped potential sitting right inside your funnel. Use this time to:
- Re-engage stalled or lost deals
- Audit your funnel for drop-offs or leaks
- Improve email nurture sequences
- Expand retargeting campaigns
- Launch SMS campaigns
- Refine segmentation for tighter messaging
And remember—Clinician’s Brief can help you reach contacts not already in your CRM, so you can scale your campaigns with precision.
Don’t Forget About Your Happy Customers
Your customers are your best brand advocates. Don’t miss the chance to:
- Ask for testimonials (written or video)
- Encourage social sharing
- Launch a referral program
These efforts are low-cost, high-trust, and often high-converting.
Keep the Leads Flowing—and the Spend on Track
With the right approach, you don’t need to choose between cutting costs and generating results. Use this checklist to guide smart optimization across your marketing ecosystem.
Want help executing any of these strategies? Contact the Clinician’s Brief team to see how we can support your goals—from targeted campaigns to co-branded content to custom audience data.
We’re here to help your budget go further in 2025.