Wat merkt de dierenarts van de recessie?
Iedere dierenarts-ondernemer zou graag antwoord willen krijgen op deze vraag. Natuurlijk kan de praktijk zijn omzetcijfers vergelijken met het afgelopen jaar, maar dat zegt nog niet zoveel over de ontwikkeling van de markt. Het wordt pas interessant als je kengetallen mag vergelijken met collega praktijken. Met het opbouwen van data worden ook trends zichtbaar. Een noodzakelijk instrument om tijdig strategie te formuleren en tactiek aan te passen. In UK wordt al jaar en dag meerdere indexen bij gehouden.
The Fort Dodge Index (FDI) analyses and benchmarks the performance of 250 practices across the UK. As its latest figures point to a continued slowdown in the veterinary sector, vets are being urged to take advantage of the additional time they have available to ensure their practices are in the best possible shape to take advantage of an economic upturn when it comes.
Matthew Rowe, companion animal marketing manager at Fort Dodge, comments: "It's been clear for some time that the veterinary sector is being hit by the double whammy of static growth and an increasingly competitive environment. The reduction in turnover being experienced by many practices is primarily down to current clients visiting less often and fewer new clients being attracted.
"As the FDI data show, practices which embrace change by investing in new marketing ideas and enhanced practice communication and staff development are consistently more successful. We urge all practices to learn the lessons of the last 12 months and to prepare their practices for the more profitable future already being achieved by some."
Key findings of the FDI for the first quarter of 2009 are:
- turnover growth (derived from professional fees and drug sales) has decreased to 0.7% from 1.1% in March 2008;
- turnover per vet is up 1% partly because of a slight reduction in overall vet numbers - the data show that professional fees and vet generated turnover is up by 0.8% and 2.5% respectively, reflecting increased surgical consultations but slightly reduced surgical procedures, and nurse turnover is up by 1.7%;
- transaction volume growth (derived from active client and patient numbers and their frequency of visits to the practice) has decreased to -0.7% from -0.3% last year, the result mainly of reduced numbers of new clients (-3%) compared with -1.1% this time last year;
- total client growth reduced by -0.5% this quarter and it's clear that 'bonded' clients (those with vaccinated animals) are more easily retained with only -0.2% being lost, compared with non-bonded clients, where the loss rate is higher at -0.7%;
- the contribution of nurse consultations to practice turnover has increased slightly, in that they now make up 6.7% of practice turnover, up 1.1% on March 2008; and
- average transaction value has shown a 10.7% increase from £35.97 in March 2008 to £39.83 per visit in this quarter.
FDI analyst, Alan Robinson, comments: "In the current climate, the only contributor to turnover growth in many practices seems to be a steady rise in the price of professional fees, consultations and surgery. These have continued to push up average transaction values (by 1.4%) and client values (1.2%) in this first quarter of 2009 despite reducing visit frequency. Drug-related income increases seem to be driven by a small increase of POM mark-ups in many practices.
"But this alone will not sustain a successful business and, with transaction volumes still falling, the priority for practices is to maintain client footfall despite increasing competition and falling pet ownership.
"In today's market, retaining clients is a cheaper and more effective way to maintain client and patient numbers so an emphasis on 'bonding' clients though preventative health care and heath maintenance programmes is key.
"We're seeing a steady increase in the number of practices running these programmes but the percentage of pets involved is still woefully low so the message is that practices can and must do better. The good news is that there is a wealth of information out there to help practices get to grips with some tools and techniques to become more successful."
TIPS VOOR DE PRAKTIJK
In een van de volgende uitgave van In Praktijk leest u hoe de juiste inzet van marketing en communicatie uw marktpositie kan verbeteren. Ook verwijzen wij u naar het waar een aantal lezingen en workshops ingaan op deze materie.
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