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 \u2014 the peak usually in midsummer, the valley in winter and the curve heading up in spring and down in fall.<\/p>\n
That is no longer the case. Today, the curve looks more like a case of ventricular tachycardia, with the best month ever sometimes followed by the worst month ever.<\/p>\n
Over the last few years, national trends show decreasing transactions and fewer new clients. What can be done to metaphorically bring the V-tach back to some sort of predictable rhythm? In one word: marketing<\/p>\n
First off, we need to recognize that we cannot predict or create sick pets. Variation from day to day, week to week and month to month is more of a case of controlling well-care visits. Second, realize that new-client transactions are less controllable if you lack an aggressive and expensive marketing campaign, and even then, you need a compelling call to action for a pet owner to become a client. Finally, understand that you have a computer or file cabinet full of existing clients who are begging for more information about how to better care for their pets.<\/p>\n
Remember when February was the shortest month of the year? Now, in veterinary practices, February is what? I hear you: It\u2019s National Pet Dental Health Month. (Thank you, Hill\u2019s Pet Nutrition.)<\/p>\n
Remember when February was the nadir of your bell-shaped curve? After we focused on dental care and did some imaginative marketing, our dental care revenue and service numbers peaked in February, pushing up that point in the revenue curve. Did clients\u2019 pets have dental needs the rest of the year? Absolutely. We just focused on dental care and \u2014 voila! \u2014 February was no longer a lost month.<\/p>\n
How many of you have Heartworm Month? You do 80 percent of your heartworm testing and prescribing that month. Are pets at risk the rest of the year or just that month? We focused on getting clients in during Heartworm Month.<\/p>\n
To smooth the ups and downs:<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s look at each one.<\/p>\n
Decide on 12 months of topics on which you want to educate clients. Then, create educational content, identify the clients who you think will take action and who have a pet in need, and design a call to action \u2014 something the client needs to do. Using available marketing tools, such as letters, postcards, email, text messages, your website, telephone calls or social media, tell pet owners what they don\u2019t know, why they need to act, and how you can help.<\/p>\n
A sample calendar:<\/p>\n
Do I suggest marketing to your entire client base every month? Absolutely not. Twenty percent of your clients provide 80 percent of your profits. Focus on them. Fifty-five percent of your clients provide 95 percent of your profits. Focus on this group next. Remember that young dogs do not qualify for senior care and that senior pets shouldn\u2019t qualify for spay\/neuter month. Selectively choose the qualifying clients and educate them on how to be a better pet owner. They want to hear from you more than once a year at vaccination time.<\/p>\n
Specific breeds come with inherent concerns and conditions that may present themselves at different stages of a pet\u2019s life. For example, there are young dog conditions: hip or elbow dysplasia, PDA (patent ductus), PCS or PSS (portal systemic shunts). There are the any-age conditions: patellar luxation, KCS (dry eye), glaucoma, cardiomyopathy, cancer. And there are the elder conditions: cancer, hypothyroidism, diabetes. The conditions above may be more prevalent in certain breeds.<\/p>\n
Your action plan:<\/p>\n
Using the variety of marketing tools available, educate, educate, educate. Become their Doctor Google before they consult the other Doctor Google.<\/p>\n
Breed-specific marketing can be done monthly, quarterly or any other time you want.<\/p>\n
Cat videos and puppy videos are cute. Cases that come to your practice are informational. Staff pictures are engaging. All of these are great posts for Facebook, tweets for Twitter or pictures for Instagram. As much as they can fill your social media platforms, they don\u2019t inherently come with calls to action.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s what you can do:<\/p>\n
This one is a no-brainer. How many rechecks don\u2019t come back for a re-evaluation? How many prescriptions don\u2019t get refilled for chronic conditions? How many therapeutic diets are dispensed once but never again? Don\u2019t let the simple things slip through the cracks. You need a follow-up and follow-through system to ensure consistent care.<\/p>\n
So, do this:<\/p>\n
The peaks and valleys in practice begin with variables outside of your control. Bad weather, the school year, a slowing economy and other things happen. Given the V-tach world we practice in, staffing and inventory management can become a challenge and profitability can take a huge hit.<\/p>\n
By integrating my advice above with other programs such as forward-booking and lost-client recovery, we can do a better job of educating clients about their pet\u2019s needs and encouraging them to act earlier. The key to treating the ventricular tachycardia plaguing our practice is getting your entire team onboard to educate clients and then reaching out and touching them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Focused marketing efforts can cure the ups and downs of seasonality.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":75,"featured_media":1616,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"iawp_total_views":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[341],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1615","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-december-2017-january-2018","column-features","clinical_topics-client-communication","clinical_topics-practice-management"],"acf":{"hide_sidebar":false,"hide_sidebar_ad":false,"hide_all_ads":false},"yoast_head":"\n