Brush up your message for stronger customer engagement (Sponsored by Virbac Animal Health)

In a recent study commissioned by Virbac Corporation, about half of pet owners surveyed reported that their veterinarian sells dental health products. However, these customers purchased only 14% of their dental products at the veterinary clinic and 74% of dental health products at retail outlets. Addressing this apparent discrepancy in consumer behavior could represent a significant revenue gain for your clinic. Get started with these three steps:

1. Highlight the differences. Eighty-seven percent of respondents stated that veterinarian recommendations had the most influence on their purchase of dental hygiene products. Use that influence to highlight the differences between the dental products you stock and grocery store brands and explain why these products are better at helping to remove plaque and reduce tartar. Emphasize the need for ongoing home dental care, and actively prescribe the products you recommend.

2. Focus on engaged pet owners. Pet owners that bring their dog to the clinic three or more times per year could arguably be identified as more engaged pet owners. Yet even this core group of clients buys 71% of their dental products outside the clinic. These clients are likely the most receptive to your advice since they already value your services and your expertise, so consider focusing your educational efforts and outreach to target them.

3. Make it easy to buy from you. About 50% of pet owners surveyed purchased dental products online. Consider partnering with a service to build an online pharmacy and offer these clients the option to re-order dental products online with you. Online pharmacy and home delivery service options can be supported by client communications that improve compliance, grow practice revenues, and simplify inventory management.

If your team prefers not to maintain an on-line presence, consider such alternative client service solutions as increasing the frequency of reminder calls to the pet owner regarding their pet's dental health and to check the quantity of dental products on hand. You could also offer samples of dental chew products, to give the pet owner confidence that their pet will enjoy the dental chew-and, even more important, to highlight the oral health benefits provided by a product that they can only purchase from you.

Engaging the right pet owner with the right messages and meeting them where they're already engaged helps your patients get the care they need-and your practice succeed.