If you jumped into a time machine, zapped yourself way back and asked James Herriot what a sci-fi version of a veterinarian’s job would look like in 2024, he might dream up a few ways animal care has changed, from microchips and wearable monitors to doggy DNA kits. As technology transforms how clinicians provide pet care, clients are claiming a bigger say in how, when and where their cats and dogs receive it.
A Packaged Facts study demonstrated a few examples of generational attitudes around technology trends. For example, 35% of Gen Xers, 31% of millennials and Gen Zers, and 24% of baby boomers like the idea of veterinary telemedicine. Regarding apps and wearables that send data directly to the veterinarian, 28% of Gen Xers and 38% of millennials and Gen Zers are interested. In comparison, only 14% of boomers give the devices a thumbs-up.
Shifts in client attitudes will alter the way you practice veterinary medicine. But when did you last sit down to define your business model? I guarantee you that things have changed, even if your definition is 6 months old.
Innovation and creativity are essential to your business’s survival. And the competencies critical in your practice today might not be needed in the future. Scary thought, right?
The most important thing you can do for your business regularly is to schedule time to plan for the future. It’s a three-step process.
Step 1: Review Your Business Model
First, recognize that you’re not selling a product or a service; you’re creating progress for your clients. What does that mean? You’re creating value for specific customer segments through your bundles of products and services.
Think of it this way: What do your clients really want? Do they want an appointment or a healthy pet? If the answer is the latter, then a visit might be just one way to achieve their goal.
Your practice launched with a business model, right? Let’s revisit yours together. (If you don’t have one, you can create it here: bit.ly/3VRXe3u.)
1. Who are your clients?
Are they high-end apartment dwellers, rural families or avian aficionados? Defining your clients sets the stage for spotting behavior and lifestyle trends, whether it’s the parasite prevention they opt for or a willingness to accept your pet food recommendations. Recent research shows that more clients want to align their nutritional decisions with their pets’ diets.
2. Examine your customer relationships.
This highly depends on your clinic’s location, client base and business philosophy. Perhaps you run a high-touch practice in a large city that communicates through phone calls and follow-ups. Or maybe your mobile practice schedules appointments via app and text message. Think about how your clients like to communicate. Then, think about how changes in technology and your customer base might change your communication channels.
3. What is your value proposition?
Do you provide low-cost veterinary care or offer an elite experience with a high-end hospital and convenient hours? Compare how your practice and the one up the street uniquely serve clients.
4. Who do you team with on veterinary care?
Consider your partnerships with the emergency hospital that covers for you on evenings and weekends, your reference lab, your retail suppliers and even your cleaning crew. Which partners are essential to help your business function every day? How would you adapt if any of the alliances ended?
5. Which resources help you stay in business?
Shortages of any kind — gloves, masks and even computers — can take a toll on a veterinary practice. But the biggest shortage might involve a knowledgeable team. It’s a fact that clients are more likely to judge you on your services than your medicine. The credentialed technician shortage has only accelerated, and you’re likely feeling the labor crunch in other roles, from receptionists and kennel attendants to managers and groomers. How does the workforce situation affect your services, such as boarding, grooming, nail trims and timely veterinary visits?
6. List your key activities.
These help you deliver on your value proposition. For example, you might employ a team member who manages your wellness program or pet insurance claims. Or perhaps you offer evening or Saturday appointments for busy clients or send text reminders the day before an appointment.
7. How do clients want to be contacted?
Do they prefer postcard reminders, text messages or phone calls? Do they interact with you on social media or through e-newsletters? Define how and where you contact them.
8. What’s your cost structure?
This varies depending on the type of facility you have and the services you offer. For example, if you choose to provide emergency care, your staffing, facility costs and surgical supplies will differ from those of a wellness clinic.
9. Define your revenue streams.
They might comprise diagnostics, surgery, wellness visits, boarding, food sales and so much more. Don’t be afraid to eliminate something that no longer serves your client base.
Step 2: Try Science Friction
The Lowe’s home-improvement chain serves as an example in Elvin Turner’s business leadership book Be Less Zombie. Using what its strategists call “narrative-driven innovation,” Lowe’s collects data and passes it to science fiction writers. The writers imagine how trends might cause friction in the lives of Lowe’s customers. Then, cartoonists develop the storylines into sketches that feed the company’s innovation discussions.
I’m not suggesting you hire sci-fi writers and cartoonists to visualize your future, but perhaps you and your team can invest a portion of each staff meeting to think like them.
Find the humor and friction that occur during client interactions. For example, you might give your team members a journal and ask them to record the trends they notice. Maybe your receptionist sees more people scheduling appointments through your app, or your technician spots more dental treats flying off the shelves. Ask everyone to share their discoveries at each team meeting.
Also, dedicate time every week to think about the future. Start by thinking about these trends and how they affect your practice:
- Shortages of veterinarians, technicians and other staff members.
- Shifts in pet spending, telemedicine and nutrition.
- Fewer private practices as younger veterinarians show less interest in ownership.
- The accelerated pace of corporate ownership and consolidation.
- The mental health challenges that veterinary professionals face.
Now, ponder what some of the trends could ignite. What if:
- Corporatations become the primary owners of veterinary practices?
- Gen Zers spend less on pet food?
- Clients demand more telemedicine options?
- Lower-income pet owners become a greater percentage of your clientele?
- Artificial intelligence delivers new tools to improve the quality or efficiency of the care you offer?
Consider each scenario and how your practice could reposition itself.
Step 3: Set Your Experiments
It’s now time to involve your team in testing ideas for your practice’s future. Your team should conduct constant, minimally viable experiments.
Harvard Business School Professor Dr. Stefan Thomke makes the case that businesses should “create an environment in which curiosity is nurtured, data trumps opinion, anyone can conduct a test, all experiments are done ethically, and managers embrace a new model of leadership.” Further, he writes in Harvard Business Review, “It’s actually less risky to run a large number of experiments than a small number. If a company does only a handful of experiments a year, it may have only one success or none. Then failure is a big deal.”
Therefore, let your team fail, but make the risks and stakes low. One minimally viable experiment might be to display leashes on your shelves or add a line of treats your receptionist raves about. Measure the data and embrace what you learn.
Experiments help you build big ideas. For example, maybe you want to beta-test a new service, like Uber pickups for the pets of busy owners. Or maybe you thought about a concierge service that takes pets from home to a dog park several times a week. Before launching a service, choose a few of your best clients who might be candidates. Explain that you’re testing an idea and would like their honest feedback.
Consider these criteria for your experiments:
- Limit what you’re measuring. If the experiment is too complicated, you’ll have trouble sussing out and analyzing the data. For example, if you want to know whether a social media post about a new wellness plan drives appointments, hold off publicizing it in your e-newsletter. Or you might ask anyone who schedules a wellness appointment how they heard about the program.
- Empower your team to lead. If you agree to an experiment, choose a project leader and step back. The results will likely wow you.
- Set a timeline for the experiment. Start and end dates will keep you on target and help you decide on adjustments.
- Think big(ger). While your experiments should be lean chihuahuas — big in spirit, small in size — your ideas must be Great Danes. Although all kinds of ideas will help your practice, future-proofing requires you to think about the “out there” ones to help you anticipate trends.
The future is coming, and as fewer veterinarians opt for practice ownership and the profession responds to labor shortages, you need to predict your business’s future proactively. Take the time to prepare. Your future self will thank you.
ANIMAL FORECASTERS
HowStuffWorks separated facts from folklore regarding whether animals can predict the weather. The report, posted at bit.ly/3vRj3pe, examined these claims:
- Cows lie down in the pasture before rain.
- Frogs croak loudly when it’s about to rain.
- Birds evacuate before major storms.
- Sheep huddle up before rain or snow.
- Sneezing cats predict rain.
- Wolves howl when a storm is approaching.
DID YOU KNOW?
According to Wired, “Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel Frankenstein is often considered the first science fiction novel. Voltaire was writing much earlier than Shelley, so does he deserve the title instead? It depends on your definition of science fiction.”