Independent Hospitals Win on Ratings but Are Falling Further Behind on Reviews, as Growth Shifts From New Clients to Full Client Relationships

iVET360 today announced the release of its 2026 Veterinary Marketing Benchmark Report, a look at how veterinary practices move clients from first click to lasting relationship, and where value is lost along the way.

Drawing on iVET360 client performance data and Google review data from more than 28,000 veterinary hospitals, the report finds that growth is no longer just a new-client problem:

• Corporate hospitals now average 429 Google reviews against 242 for independents. That is a 77% review gap, up from 61% in last year’s report, even though independents hold the higher star rating.
• iVET360-managed advertising campaigns produced 19.5x attributed revenue relative to ad spend from August 2025 through July 2026.
• One campaign booked 162 appointments, but only 45 clients showed up, a 72% no-show rate that turned an apparent win into a loss once all costs were counted.
• Overall client retention is 70%, but new-client retention is just 56%, compared with 80% for existing clients.
• Only 8% of consumers started their most recent local search with AI, and 52% started with Google, according to BrightLocal research cited in the report.

“For years the question was how to get more new clients,” said Justin Vandeberghe, Co-Founder and CRO of iVET360. “The practices that grow from here will be the ones that can follow a client from the first search to the next visit and show what every step was worth.”

Unlike traditional marketing studies built on clicks and impressions, the 2026 report follows the full client journey, connecting marketing activity to PIMS data and collected revenue. It also separates what is established, emerging, and still unknown in AI-driven search, so that practices can invest based on evidence rather than hype.

Download the full 2026 Veterinary Marketing Benchmark Report for free at https://ivet360.com/vmbr/