Give it your best shot
Compete with low-cost vaccination clinics by doing what they do or by building a better client relationship.
After graduating from veterinary school and entering a small animal practice as an associate, I recognized a change. One of the more common marketing approaches was to offer a free exam with paid vaccinations. The focus of my four years in veterinary school, the full physical exam, had been demeaned to a free service so […]
The missing link
Asking dog owners about any cats at home — forgotten felines number in the millions — promotes animal health and can help fill a practice’s appointment slots.
The animated television series “CatDog” was released in 1998 on Nickelodeon. If you never saw it, envision a species that is one-half smart, cunning cat and one-half happy-go-lucky dog. Today, the cartoon reflects many U.S. households in which both species happily co-exist while battling for the attention of their owners. However, unlike “CatDog,” who had […]
Reach out and touch someone
Focused marketing efforts can cure the ups and downs of seasonality.
Not too long ago, small animal veterinary medicine had a predictable seasonality. From a revenue and transactional standpoint, it looked like a bell-shaped curve — the peak usually in midsummer, the valley in winter and the curve heading up in spring and down in fall. That is no longer the case. Today, the curve looks […]
A dying breed?
Independent veterinarians can thrive in the face of growing corporate competition if they focus on people, processes and profits.
Some independent small animal veterinarians were stricken with panic in January when Banfield owner Mars Inc. announced that it would purchase hospital giant VCA Inc. What changed in the veterinary world between Jan. 9, when the $7.7 billion transaction was unveiled, and the day before? Nothing really, except Mars now owns more than 2,000 hospitals […]