Keep your practice from being viewed as a commodity.
There is a new trend among some pet owners: They see veterinary medicine more and more as a commodity. When clients view our relationship transactionally instead of socially, practices see lower compliance rates. Teams experience more stressful interactions. And profitability suffers.
How to avoid this trap? The answer is to have a well differentiated practice, and to communicate those differentiators in an effective way that attracts your target clientele.
Potential Differentiators
There is an incredible range of potential differentiators for veterinary practices. Here are just a few:
- High touch, high tech: Leveraging medical and communication technology to improve patient care and client communications.
- Accreditations, such as AAHA or Fear Free: Earning accreditations that build trust in a specific kind of expertise.
- Care that is more convenient to access: Reducing the barriers to communication or care through technology, expanded hours, or visit protocols.
- Leading with empathy: Prioritizing the emotional needs of the pet owners who come to see you.
- The way you build relationships with clients: Building authentic and meaningful relationships with your clientele.
- The way you educate clients: Helping pet owners see the bigger picture and the road ahead.
- How you treat your team: Supporting and empowering your team members.
- How you work up cases: Your personal brand of medicine.
- Charitable work: Causes and organizations that you actively support.
- Your culture: The sum of your team’s behaviors and values.
If you start recognizing and talking about what makes your practice different, consumers will stop thinking of your practice as interchangeable with others in your area. They will understand the unique attributes of your practice. And if those attributes resonate, they will see substantially more value in partnering with you in their pet’s care.