As a Technology and Solutions Strategist (TSS) at MWI Animal Health, a subsidiary of AmerisourceBergen, I am fortunate to be entrusted with a wide range of exciting and fulfilling responsibilities. In short, I’m both client and internal-facing – and I help to bridge the gap between the development of our technology solutions and their adoption by the thousands of veterinary practices that rely on MWI’s suite of offerings.
This article is sponsored by MWI Animal Health.
I joined MWI in 2015, and eventually took on the role of a TSS two and a half years ago – in the middle of the pandemic. It was a time when there were many reasons for our veterinary practice customers to be stressed, to say the least, but also many ways for me to make a difference for these customers when they needed us most and our industry was experiencing such rapid change.
I’m very focused on our customer relationships, and the TSS role within MWI is one of the ways which differentiates how we support our customers.
I feel I am at the heart of understanding the common challenges that customers are experiencing, for example: upholding pet owner expectations for care, retaining existing customers and acquiring new ones, all while balancing that with keeping their practices running in an efficient manner.
New Solutions for New Challenges
The primary function of my job is to understand those challenges and work with our customers to mitigate them via the introduction of specific MWI solutions that best address their practices’ unique needs.
Whether it is introducing the newly refreshed AllyDVM PetPage Patient Portal to support pet owner communication and retention, or helping a practice expand their pet-owner compliance and keep more revenue in-house by offering Easy Care preventive care plans, the work we do helps practices operate more efficiently and allows them to focus on what matters most: taking care of their patients while freeing them from the burden of administrative tasks. As someone who started their career by working in a veterinary clinic, that mission is something I never lose sight of.
There are many opportunities that our customers are interested in investigating. A popular one, for example, is how they can implement new solutions or tools to enhance their practice’s quality of service. Running their practices more sustainably is also a key issue. And of course, given the pressure on staffing across the industry, everyone is interested in exploring measures to alleviate pressures on clinical and support staff.
Opening Doors: Our Territory Managers
As a TSS, I am responsible for 14 territory managers across six states. I cover MWI’s Central States Region, a geography that stretches from the middle of Tennessee all the way up to Louisville, Kentucky and over to Kansas and Oklahoma. It is an incredibly diverse region – one that encompasses as many veterinary clinics in metropolitan cities as it does in rural parts of America.
I touch base with my territory managers every single day, working to understand their accounts and mapping out the strategy needed for them to succeed. Ultimately, our goal is to help clinics understand the ways in which deepening their relationship with MWI improves their operations.
For example, we can explain how sending out automated appointment reminders through AllyDVM’s client engagement platform can lessen the administrative burden on staff, or that an Easy Care preventive care plan can keep clients in-house and compete with big box and online retailers.
In effect, the territory managers open the door for the change that MWI can help practices implement in their clinics. Once that door is opened, the TSS can come in and really get into the nuts and bolts of how implementing these solutions can not only make a significant difference to practices’ efficiency and profitability, but also improve the happiness and job satisfaction of their staff.
Conversations Count
My relationship with each of my customers starts with a conversation. By understanding the change they are experiencing – in their practice, in the industry, in their needs – I can find the best solution from MWI to help them meet it. Practices may find, for example, that the changing customer demographic means they need to adapt to the changing demands of a new generation of owners – and we can offer advice and products to address those demands.
The needs I handle are constantly changing. Partnering with a practice, understanding their needs and offering a solution is the most rewarding part of my job. Through the solutions we offer, we can make their staff retention better, their days easier and their customers more satisfied. What we don’t do is come in and try to change what they are doing – instead, we listen and then offer solutions to help them adapt to the changes already happening in the industry, such as changing pet owner expectations and the drive toward digitization.
Our partnerships are as diverse as our clients. One day I can oversee the implementation and integration of new technology solutions and equipment, and the next I may meet with contractors, coordinate shipping times for new equipment and navigate integration issues. I’m on the ground too, meeting with clinics from Arkansas to Kansas to find the best solutions for their needs, whether that take a few days or a few months.
Ultimately, building relationships with our clients is the most important part of my job. When they are happy, I know we have made a meaningful difference in their practice.
Pieces of the Puzzle
Undoubtedly, I run into potential roadblocks everyday – I wouldn’t be a solutions strategist if I didn’t!
Many of the issues come from the customer side – finding the right solution for them is one thing, but then you have to get it up and running. And the specific issues they face are as unique as their practices.
Sometimes, it is helping a client understand how the equipment they ordered can be used to improve their practice. Other times, it is picking up the phone and calling the contractor on the clinic’s behalf if there are install-related issues.
These are big and small pieces of a larger puzzle: how to improve their operations. Whether it is onboarding an AllyDVM client engagement platform, or helping a client grasp the full offerings of their Easy Care preventive care plan or setting them up with reusable delivery totes to cut down on their packing waste and save staff time unpacking, there is a whole range of details to help them figure out.
Time to Sign Off
Helping the customer and the clinic are my north star. This industry is home for me: it is where I began my career 25 years ago. At the end of each day, I know I have taken stressful situations for veterinary practices and found solutions.
As the industry evolves, we know that sometimes clinics feel that change is being forced upon them. My role is to make sure that, when they want to embrace that change, MWI Animal Health is standing ready to help them make the best choices for their practice, every step of the way.
MWI Animal Health’s Technology Solution Strategists act as your practice’s own trusted business consultants, devising data and technology-driven solutions that enhance efficiency and boost your bottom line. Book an appointment with a TSS today to find out what we can do to help you boost your practice’s success. Click here to learn more.