Customers have a world of choice when it comes to buying pet products, from big box and grocery stores to specialty pet boutiques. But they are still buying a lot of food, prescription drugs, and nonprescription items from veterinarians. According to a 2014 estimate, veterinarians accounted for 58 percent of sales of pet medications, with brick-and-mortar retailers accounting for 28 percent and Internet/mail order retailers accounting for 13 percent.1
Pet food and product sales represent approximately 20 percent of the $33.9 billion in veterinary services revenue in 2014.2 But there have been changes in how that revenue is generated: lower margins, higher volume, and a different mix of products. How can you ensure your product thrives in this valuable channel?
Working with pet food and pharma clients, and advising vets who founded the nonprofit Cat Healthy, WS has a lot of experience with this channel. We have developed relationships with vets and a familiarity with the clinic environment. The result? We know what they expect from marketers and the support they need to carry and move products successfully. Here are five things you should consider when you market your product to veterinarians.
Begin with education. Veterinarians are scientists. They want to know how your product works. Clinical studies are a must to gain their attention and trust. Without scientific evidence and corroborating data, veterinarians might not give your product a chance. So back up whatever you say with research, and present it with comprehensive product literature. However, avoid just throwing a ton of information at them. Start with the basics and provide more when they want it, easily accessible on your website, through social media and in packages they can request. Back up your product with recommendations from credible, practicing peers.
Veterinarians should always be in the know—make sure they are the first to hear about your product, before pet owners. Ensure you’re getting your information to the right person in the clinic. For a line of food, for example, the nutritionist on staff is the person that needs your product information.
Lead the way. Solve problems. Listen to veterinarians, learn their pain points and do something about them. Innovate and bring something new to the market, something that will improve the lives of not only pets and their owners, but of the veterinarians who serve them.
It could be as simple as changing your packaging to dosage-based sizes, or as complex as formulating a specialty food for a topical issue or a health condition. If the product is the first of its kind, highlight that fact. New products are exciting, so be sure to let veterinarians know how this one fills a gap and can benefit pets. If the product isn’t new, make sure they know what makes your product better, easier or more cost-effective than the one you want it to replace.
Then engage industry leaders and get them on board with your product. Veterinarians are more likely to try something they’ve heard another vet speak highly of.
Building relationships will help you gain trust and credibility. Make every effort to meet in person with veterinarians when promoting a new product. A personal approach will make them more comfortable with the product, the company and the research supporting it.
Provide fun and informative on-site training and information seminars for veterinarians and staff, allowing them to explore and understand your product. Lunch-and-learns are a good way to capture the audience and spend time with clinic staff in their environment.
Once you’re fostering relationships and understanding the community you are trying to reach, you will find it easy to stay up to date and knowledgeable on trends and consumer behaviors impacting pet owners. Getting to know both veterinarians and pet owners will provide unique insights to position your product in the clinic channel.
Outside of the clinics, build a relationship with pet product distributors. Clinics see this person as a “one-stop shop” where they can buy food, meds, and other necessary items. That means if your product is part of that person’s offerings and presentation, it’s more likely to get noticed, ordered and promoted.
You can also gain exposure for your product by sponsoring meetings, seminars or events with national and state/provincial veterinary medical associations. This is a fantastic way to get in front of a large, and potentially new, audience. Outside the clinic, veterinarians are more at ease, less distracted and open to new ideas. Sponsorship or even presentations in these surroundings will build awareness and credibility for you and your product.
Veterinary clinics are businesses. They need your help to stay profitable. As a veterinarian stated in a 2015 Federal Trade Commission Staff Report, “In the past, we’ve seen little competition for our clients’ hearts and pocketbooks. Consumers didn’t shop competitively for most products, and the profession enjoyed a prescribing and dispensing monopoly. But that’s changing . . . [as] several retail outlet pharmacies are hoping to take that business away by actively seeking pet owner prescriptions” and offering low prices on pet medications.1
Do your research within the product category when pricing so you have a thorough knowledge of the landscape for the category, the product and the region/community. These considerations can affect the offer you put together. Ensure it is priced competitively with room for markup. Keep in mind that dispensing fees or prescription charges may be at play in a clinic as well, and factor that in to your decision-making.
Sweeten the deal by offering rebates or discounts as incentives to carry the product. If a vet was to bring in a whole line of food or a certain volume of medication, you could offer a bonus amount for free. They can sell the free product, and that’s pure profit for them.
It goes without saying that veterinarians didn’t become veterinarians just to stock and sell your product. They’re extremely busy juggling the responsibilities of caring for animals and running a business. The easier you can make their lives, the more success you’ll have.
Be considerate of the veterinarian’s time. Make an effort to understand the veterinarian and clinic dynamic, and make it convenient to order your product, whether through a distribution channel or directly from your company.
Provide product samples. Samples are a good way for veterinarians and their staff to try your product firsthand, see how it works and familiarize themselves with it. Be sure to provide enough samples to give them a clear understanding of your product’s features and efficacy, and enough for thorough customer trial as well.
Provide samples, but also provide compelling point-of-sale materials and tactics to build awareness for your product. Keep construction and application simple, and provide them with materials that fit their space. A huge display for a small waiting room will just frustrate veterinarians and their staff. Be provocative, interesting and engaging when you speak to consumers in clinics. Dr. Elizabeth O’Brien, feline specialist, multiple clinic owner and one of the founders of Cat Healthy, suggests, “Veterinarians like resources that help teach their clients, that help them communicate and start a conversation.”
Finally, remember their customers are your customers. You’re in this together. Help them with their business by considering ways to drive traffic to their clinic, benefiting everyone involved.
Pet owners don’t know your company like they know their veterinarians. A veterinarian can become a trusted spokesperson for your product. Successfully engaging your veterinary channel is a great way to increase sales, but it also builds your brand trust and credibility. To ensure you make the most of this important asset, above everything else, remain authentic. Stay true to the fact that the optimal health and well-being of animals is your motivation. Veterinarians are in it for the love of animals. You should be too.
