Make Veterinary Care Easier to Understand By Fiona van Iersel Minerva Empowerment Consumer Behaviour 19 January 2025 A veterinary practice offers a useful way to think about cognitive fluency. When information is easy to process—visually or conceptually—it can feel more familiar and trustworthy (Reber, Schwarz, & Winkielman, 2004). Using Heronden Vets as an example, I would start with one principle: make the experience easier to understand. KISS—Keep It Simple, Stupid. If something is easy to understand, it’s more likely to be trusted and remembered. Perceptual Fluency: Easy to Recognise Perceptual fluency is about making things easy to recognize and process. Research shows that consistent branding reduces cognitive effort, making a brand feel familiar and trustworthy (Flavián et al., 2006). How this could work in a practice: ✔ Consistent branding – Clear logo, strong color palette, cohesive look across signage, website, and social media. ✔ A user-friendly clinic – Clean, organized, and intuitive layout. Clients shouldn’t feel lost. ✔ Simple digital experience – Website with easy appointment booking, clear service descriptions, and FAQs. Fluency in action: consistent branding across the clinic, website, reminders and social media can help pet owners recognise the practice quickly. Conceptual Fluency: A Clear Meaning Conceptual fluency is about making it easy to connect with what Heronden stands for. The simpler and clearer a message, the more credible it feels (Lee & Labroo, 2004). How Heronden Can Strengthen This: Build trust through expertise: explain the team’s skills, the care available and the practice’s approach in clear language. Tap into emotion: stories about care can make expertise relatable, with the people and animals involved treated respectfully. Ditch the jargon: explain care options, routine services and costs in language a pet owner can understand. If pet owners associate a practice with clear explanations, expertise and ease, there is a stronger foundation for a lasting relationship. Familiarity and Repeated Exposure Repeated exposure can make a brand feel more familiar (Zajonc, 1968). Familiarity is useful, but it should reinforce a credible service rather than stand in for evidence. How Heronden Can Stay Top-of-Mind: ✔ Be everywhere on social media – Regular posts with pet care tips, behind-the-scenes moments, and success stories. ✔ Boost local visibility – Sponsor pet events, partner with shelters, and run community workshops. Keep client touchpoints consistent: appointment reminders, seasonal emails and useful everyday items can carry the same recognisable identity. The “Cognitive Map” of Pet Owners A familiar practice can become an easier option to bring to mind. The aim should be to make a good service recognisable, while still helping people make an informed choice. A clearly explained preventive-care plan could also reduce the work involved in understanding routine costs and services. The terms and benefits would need to be just as easy to understand as the branding. A Familiar Face: The Dr. James Herriot Effect Dr. James Herriot made veterinary care relatable and trustworthy. His books and TV series built credibility by making vets feel approachable—not just medical professionals. How Heronden Can Apply This: Make the veterinary team visible as the people behind the practice: clients can connect with expertise more easily when it has a human face. ✔ Create engaging content – Behind-the-scenes clips, success stories, and Q&A videos on social media. ✔ Boost local & media presence – Offer expert pet advice in newspapers, radio, and TV. When pet owners can connect expertise with real people, familiarity has something substantive behind it. Make the choice easier to understand Recognisable design, clear explanations and consistent contact can help a veterinary practice become familiar. The strongest result is a familiar brand backed by a service that deserves the trust it receives. ✔ Keep It Simple. ✔ Make It Familiar. ✔ Be The Obvious Choice. References Beverland, M., Farrelly, F., & Lim, E. A. C. (2008). Journal of Business Research. Flavián, C., Guinalíu, M., & Gurrea, R. (2006). European Journal of Marketing. Fazio, R. H. (2001). Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Lee, A. Y., & Labroo, A. A. (2004). Journal of Marketing Research. Reber, R., Schwarz, N., & Winkielman, P. (2004). Personality and Social Psychology Review. Zajonc, R. B. (1968). Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.