How do you communicate the value in what you do?

RE: How do you communicate the value in what you do?

Francisco Gomez — Thu, 01 Oct 2015 10:21:10 GMT

Should we start talking about the benefits of what we do rather than the savings the clients get? ;-)

RE: How do you communicate the value in what you do?

Anthony Dennison — Thu, 01 Oct 2015 10:12:31 GMT

I always try and tell the owner the work involved.

For example:

Primary vaccinations: Cost covers both jabs, full health check at each visit, free flea treatment, free worming tablet, 4 weeks free insurance (via petplan) and a complementary 6 month health check with a nurse.

Neutering: Price includes pre-op check, operation, pain relief on the day and pain relief to go home with, buster collar, and post op check, all inc VAT.

Dental: price includes pre-GA bloods, GA, dental procedure, pain relief on the day and to go home with, any medication that might be needed, and post op checks. In older dogs PABs will show up any issues that might need looking at after GA.

If I ever give an estimate, I always explain the work that goes into that procedure. Most clients do accept that.

RE: How do you communicate the value in what you do?

Evelyn Barbour-Hill — Wed, 30 Sep 2015 19:02:18 GMT

[quote user="Virginia Campbell"] "Did you know that blah out of blah dogs have gum disease? Hurrah buy dentastix "scientifically proven to reduce tartar buildup by up to 80%". Unspoken message - that is all you need to do to ensure lifelong dental health for your dog. Terribly misleading - probably legal marketing though as in some dogs it might conceivably reduce 80% of the tartar buildup on the one carnassial they prefer chewing with. [/quote]

Probably off thread already, but they somehow forget to mention that reducing "tartar buildup" by 80% will not reduce periodontal disease by anything at all.

[quote user="Virginia Campbell"]Maybe I need to dress in yellow and pin a red rosette on myself. [/quote]

Yep.

RE: How do you communicate the value in what you do?

Evelyn Barbour-Hill — Wed, 30 Sep 2015 18:56:50 GMT

[quote user="Virginia Campbell"]

I have just thought of something else I might do to add perceived value- everytime the owner asks the cost of anything, from an MRI + dorsal laminectomy to a worming tablet, I could say "£X, including VAT". Mentioning the VAT is no help to the owners- we have city dogs, not working farm dogs- but if they hear VAT mentioned at every turn and itemised separately, it might hit home where a big chunk of the money is going.

Does anybody else do this? Or does it just sound chippy and pointless?

[/quote]

I've always done that. Or rather, if asked for quote, estimate, "the bill", etc., I reply "£x plus VAT".

Never occurred to me to do otherwise. I don't get the VAT, I'm just collecting it on behalf of and by order of the government.

RE: How do you communicate the value in what you do?

Hannah Wynne Richards — Wed, 30 Sep 2015 18:23:11 GMT

My invoices mark VAT seperately

Wynne

RE: How do you communicate the value in what you do?

Virginia Campbell — Wed, 30 Sep 2015 18:15:37 GMT

Does anybody else do this? Or does it just sound chippy and pointless?

RE: How do you communicate the value in what you do?

Virginia Campbell — Wed, 30 Sep 2015 18:08:31 GMT

Well, I've just taken still photos and some video of me wiggling the loose teeth in a sewer-mouthed 11yo Daxie that I did almost 2 hours' worth of work on. On my afternoon off. (Not enough theatre time for somebody else to do it today or tomorrow and he had stopped eating over the past couple of days - wouldn't even take the ad broth we offered last night - and I feared he would go downhill if I didn't sort him out pronto. Considered staging it but all the cheek teeth were so horrendous that I couldn't bear to leave any in).

I had agreed to charge £400 - if charged correctly including bloods, fluids and overnight stay it would be almost double that. The owner looked a bit staggered at the £400 quote, so I hope the photos, the ziplock bag full of minging teeth I have kept (as insurance against the potential horrification that I deprived her darling of so many gnashers), and the fully itemised bill with everything charged and "reduce to estimate: -£370 inc VAT) will persuade her that she got a good deal; along with - hopefully- a happy dog. If I'm wrong and the dog had finally stopped eating because it has neoplasia somewhere then I'm snookered. Next goal is to get her other two Daxies in for dental checks and get her to save up for the next-worst one's dental./COHAT/oral equivalent of Hercules mucking out Augean stables/whatever.

And that may be one, ONE client converted to the value of maintaining good dental health. You can plaster pictures of stage 4 perio disease all over the clinic, have a dental month every year offering free dental checks and discounted procedures (ours starts tomorrow) and still the majority of clients will be doing it badly, or not at all. They may buy "those dentystix" because they like the packaging, and that TV ad with the human dentures in the dogs.

They will still fear lungworm and want to buy advocate, because of the Bayer ad on TV. They will not fear pancreatitis in their fat schnauzer fed rubbish, because there is no shiny TV ad for a product preventing pancreatitis. Many of them may not fear pyometra, till their bitch nearly dies. There is no TV ad for pyometra.

The trouble is, product marketing for the likes of Pedigree is relatively simple. Our marketing, showing the true value of our work and the time and effort the owner needs to put in, is unpalatable.

Dentastix marketing: beautifully professionally shot video aired on major TV channels when typical grocery buyer is at home watching TV. "Did you know that blah out of blah dogs have gum disease? Hurrah buy dentastix "scientifically proven to reduce tartar buildup by up to 80%". Unspoken message - that is all you need to do to ensure lifelong dental health for your dog. Terribly misleading - probably legal marketing though as in some dogs it might conceivably reduce 80% of the tartar buildup on the one carnassial they prefer chewing with.

My dental marketing: Brief description and demo at puppy vax consult of how to accustom puppy to brushing, and why. Directed to our own video on our website. Reinforced at adolescent health check. Some people take heed, most ignore. Fast forward to vax at 2 or 3 or 4yo: first mention of tartar on record. "But I give him those dentystix". Free sample bags of t/d given; number of bags of t/d bought thereafter: 0. Subsequent vax consults and other visits: point out to Os increased tartar buildup, start of perio dz, increasingly passionate recommendations/exhortations for dental work. "But I give him those dentystix". (So the tartar and perio dz I'm making you look at is a figment of my imagination??). It's easy to believe in dentastix. You don't have to stick your finger in an unwilling dog's mouth; or accept that it will still ,despite the best of dental care require a scale and polish now and again, with the perceived risk of GA and real cost of the procedure (often heavily discounted as above - O perceives expensive, I perceive far too cheap but so essential to animal's welfare at some point that I can't bear not to do)

Even then the owners will not lose faith in the Pedigree brand. Vaccine consult at 9 or 10 years old: I point out the signs of arthritis. "But I give him those Joint Care sticks". They've been ignoring for years my recommendations on weight control and exercise; will probably decline my offer of referral to our excellent physio vet; it is all I can do to force a small bottle of meloxicam or trial dose of Trocoxil into their unwilling hands: "How much is this? I don't think he needs it. I give him those Joint Care sticks...."

Maybe I need to dress in yellow and pin a red rosette on myself.