Seven ways to build demand for your services (Proceedings)

October 1, 2011

Article

In 1989, Steven Covey published one of the most successful self-help books ever written.

In 1989, Steven Covey published one of the most successful self-help books ever written. It's called the “Seven Habits of Highly Effective People,” and it lays out a roadmap for attaining goals and solving problems. It was named the most influential business book of the 20th century. For those who haven't read it, or read it so long ago that you've forgotten the seven habits, they are:

1. Be Proactive

2. Begin with an end in mind

3. Put first things first

4. Think win-win

5. Seek first to understand, then to be understood

6. Synergize

7. Sharpen the saw – rejuvenate your health, energy and personal resources

Many have benefited from Dr. Covey's wisdom and no doubt his advice is as relevant today as it was 20 years ago.

Today I want to share with you seven new habits, or methods, ones that are directly relevant to veterinarians. I can't promise that they will gain the notoriety that Dr. Covey's seven habits have. But I can promise that they can help you solve one of the most serious problems facing the veterinary profession today, and help you become a more successful veterinarian.

The problem is stagnant or declining demand for veterinary services. Many think it's a product of the recession, but it's not. The recession didn't help, but organizations like AVMA, AAHA and others have documented that the decline began about 10 years ago – around the turn of the new century.

Over the last year, with the support and assistance of Bayer Animal Health, we've studied the decline, and what can be done about it. A five-stage research project, called the Bayer Veterinary Care Usage Study, has helped us determine the causes of the decline and determine how to bend the demand curve upwards once again in individual practices. The research shows that there are seven ways to build that demand:

1. Build individual relationships

2. Measure Satisfaction

3. Find the cats

4. Make care and cost predictable

5. Be hard to avoid

6. Network

7. Stake a claim on the Internet

I'll review each of these steps in more detail, and show you why we think each can be highly effective for you.

Build relationships

The most important factor in building demand for your services is to build relationships with individual clients. Just like clients want to see the same OB/gyn or take their child to the same pediatrician every time, they want to take their pet to the same veterinarian. Earlier this year we completed a major survey of veterinarians and ran some sophisticated statistical analyses on what behaviors and attitudes were most associated with increased visits. The number one item that drove increased visits was the client seeing the same veterinarian every time. I realize that it's not uncommon for you to see the same clients and patients regularly. To grow your practice, every veterinarian in the hospital needs to focus on establishing those relationships so all clients have a one-to-one doctor-client relationship.

A second key driver of visits was closely rated to the first: Believing that routine wellness exams are one of the most valuable services your practice offers. It stands to reason – if you have a strong relationship with your client and you believe in routine exams, then your client is likely to believe in them too. They trust you. You have credibility with them. One of the causes of declining visits is clients NOT bringing their pets in religiously for annual wellness exams. You can change that behavior. On the other hand, if DON'T think annual exams are all that necessary, and some veterinarians don't, then the client will pick up on that and be neglectful.

If you take away only one thing from today's session, remember to have the client see the same veterinarian every time, and consistently communicate the need for routine veterinary care.

Measure satisfaction

The second way to build demand is to make sure your clients are satisfied with your service. In the Bayer Study, 99% of veterinarians told us that running a veterinary practice was as much a people business as a medical service. And 82% agreed with the statement that “I would change how my practice operates if I knew if would increase client satisfaction.” That's strong stuff. But how do you know if clients are satisfied? How do you know what to change? Do you ask?

The only way to know is to ask. And the only effective way to ask is through annual or after-service surveys. Yet only 20% of practice owners said they ever conduct after-service surveys, and only 6% said they routinely do. In a widely published 2005 study of veterinary business behaviors we identified client retention programs – primarily measurement of client satisfaction – as one of the 8 key drivers of veterinary incomes. Yet there are still less than 10% of practices doing it routinely.

Start asking, folks. You'll be amazed at what you learn. And what you learn will allow you to make very important and positive refinements in how your practice operates.

Find the cats

Eighty percent of the growth potential in companion animal practices is cats. Of the US cat and dog population, 55% of the animals are cats. In nearly every survey I've ever done of veterinarians, respondents tell us that cats represent 30% to 40% of their patients. What's wrong with this picture? There are a number of reasons you're not seeing as many cats as you could be. First, many of you don't conduct a full annual physical on your own cats or staff cats. If you don't do it, don't expect your clients to. Second, many cat owners erroneously think that the older their cats get, the less veterinary care they need. But most importantly, many, perhaps most cats don't like to visit you and they put up such a fuss that their owners will avoid the battle. You are in a test of wills with cats, and there are winning.

It takes hard work to become a truly cat-friendly practice, but I'll tell you where to start. First, every time a client brings any pet in for any reason, ask about other pets in the household. There are a lot of cats owned by regular clients that are not being brought in routinely. Some are cats owned by dog owners. Some are younger cats owned by owners of older, sick cats. Some are ill-tempered cats owned by people who also have mild-mannered cats. Regardless, if you start asking, you'll find a bunch. Once you identify them, encourage your clients to bring the cats in for a wellness exam.

The second thing is to work with cat owners to develop techniques to train cats to carriers and transportation. The Bayer Veterinary Care Usage Study identified it as the number one obstacle to regular veterinary care. Cat owners need your help. And if you don't know how to give it to them, do some research. There are great resources available from AAFP, CATalyst Council, AAHA and other organizations.

You can also increase your feline practice by having a couple of cat-only appointment periods each week. Pick your two slowest mornings or afternoons. Reserve them only for cats. And offer an incentive – a discount – for all cats that haven't been seen in the last year. Then promote it heavily.

Here's another place where there's an advantage to building a one-to-one relationship with those clients. You'll know who owns cats, and the clients will feel guilty if they aren't bringing their cats in to see you regularly.

Make care and cost predictable

Pet owners, like the rest of us, don't like surprises. They want to know what they should do, and how much it's likely to cost. That's why they eat at McDonalds and why they shop at Wal-Mart. The experience is the same every time.

Not so much with veterinary care. First of all, they aren't veterinarians. They often don't know what their pet really needs, and what they should be looking for from year to year. With themselves or their kids, they know. They can't pick up a popular magazine without seeing article after article about how to avoid diabetes or lower their cholesterol. For their animals, they need you to tell them. In a major national survey of pet owners one of the things that pet owners said they wanted most, and would cause them to visit the veterinarian more often, was an annual health plan for their pet. What is appropriate for the age. What it should be fed. What illnesses or injuries are common. How often they should visit the vet, what should be done there, and why. Spell it out for them in writing, and you'll make a lot of clients really happy.

The other thing they want is predictable costs. They've noticed how vet fees just go up and up ever year. When asked, 54% of survey respondents said that veterinary costs were usually much higher than they were expecting. Surprise! Clients don't like that. So how do you eliminate cost surprises? After all, you have to make a living too. The health plan we talked about earlier will help. Also, provide written estimates. When pets need treatment or are scheduled for a regular exam, provide an estimate. Always.

Offer payment options like CareCredit. These allow pet owners to pay for your services, and work them into the family budget over a few weeks or months time. Promote pet insurance. And the one thing many pet owners want is wellness care billed in monthly installments. Banfield and a few independent practitioners are really making this work for them. Consider it for your practice, too.

Be hard to avoid

Another way to say this is “make it extremely easy for clients to make and keep appointments.” There are many things that will help. First, always schedule the next appointment before the patient leaves the practice. Always. Only 4% of you are doing it now. You all should. Your dentist does it, and many doctors do too. There's a reason – it works. Second, post your hours online and make it possible for people to schedule or request an appointment via your website or through email.

That way people are more likely to put the appointment in their iPhone or Blackberry or whatever other device they use. Use mail reminders. And also send email reminders. Both. Forty-eight to seventy-two hours before the appointment, call the pet owner and remind them that they have an appointment with Dr. So-and-So for Fluffy. Also call clients who haven't brought a pet in within the last year and check on the status of the animal.

If you're in an area with a lot of young professionals, consider late evening or Saturday afternoon hours, maybe only once a month if weekly isn't feasible. Promote drop-off appointments. It's a service most of you offer, yet a significant percentage of pet owners told us they don't know about them.

Most of your clients are busier than they'd like to be and have a lot of demands on their time. The easier you can make it for them, the more likely they are to schedule the appointment and show up. Don't let inertia – theirs or yours – drag your business down.

Network

Most of the methods we've discussed today help build demand among your current clients. But that's not enough. You have to reach out and find new clients as well. In the Bayer Study, veterinarians told us that they have an average of 15 practices in their trade area. That's a lot of competition! Yet there are a lot of pet owners, perhaps new people moving into your neighborhood, that want the kind of service you can provide.

Now some veterinarians feel that advertising and promoting their services undermines their professional credibility. In the Bayer Study when we did the driver analysis we discovered that such an attitude was commonly associated with veterinarians losing business. Conversely, believing that marketing and advertising are key parts of a business strategy was one of the four key drivers of increased visits.

One of the most effective ways to market your practice is through referrals. Word of mouth works, and you can stimulate it by rewarding clients for referring new clients. Build relationships and referral networks with realtors and Welcome Wagon or other new-homeowner services. Make referral arrangements with other pet service providers such as pet stores, groomers, dog sitters and walkers, shelters and pet adoption services, and breeders. Talk to the major employers in your area, and offer employee discounts, whether it's a firm with 15 employees or 15,000. Include rewards or incentives for referring. In some cases, this will simply be a matter of mutual referrals. But in other cases perhaps you can provide discounts on your services or coupons towards veterinary care at your practice for those who refer.

There are many other ways to market your practice as well, of course. You must have a website and a clinic brochure. You should also consider such things as a first free exam for pets adopted from shelters, or discounts on first visits for new clients. But most importantly, network. Build up your posse of people who refer pet owners to your practice.

Stake a claim on the internet

Today, if you want to talk to new clients, or existing clients, you'll find them on the Internet. Pet owners index higher for Internet usage than the population as a whole. They rely on the websites of pet service providers for information, and they are heavy users of email. What does that mean for you? You need a website; 23% of veterinarians told us they don't have one. You need to email with clients. Have an electronic receptionist. Have her or him send out appointment reminders via email. Accept appointment requests via email. Offer online appointment scheduling if possible.

Perhaps many of you already to these things. Some don't. But you need to do even more. Have a Facebook page. Put a brief weekly newsletter on your website. That's the same thing as a blog, and it will significantly improve your rankings on search engines. Consider conducting webinars on important pet health topics. For example, perhaps there's been an outbreak of rabies in your area. Or parvo. In our recent veterinary survey, the fourth key driver of visits was the use of social media. I think that really demonstrates how valuable it is to be Internet savvy. I'll bet there's at least one receptionist or tech on your staff right now that is a real Facebook junky. Put them to work for your practice. Create a Facebook page and keep it active. Your clients will love it. And will visit more.

Summary

Demand for veterinary services is soft, and there's a lot of competition. Building your business isn't easy. But the seven methods we discussed today have proven techniques. In the research studies we have conducted, veterinarians and pet owners themselves told us they work.

Remember the seven: