How Independent Veterinary Pharmacies Can Compete with Big Box and Mail Order Veterinary Pharmacies Jay Morton MBA
Disclosures Jay Morton declare(s) no conflicts of interest, real or apparent, and no financial interests in any company, product, or service mentioned in this program, including grants, employment, gifts, stock holdings, and honoraria. The American College of Apothecaries is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education as a provider of continuing pharmacy education.
Learning Objectives At the conclusion of this program, the participating pharmacist or technician will be able to: RECOGNIZE IDENTIFY DEMONSTRATE Scope and size of the Pet Industry / Pet Rx What Veterinarians Want Today Tips, Tools and Techniques to adopt in 2018
IDENTIFY The Pet Medication Industry
How is big is the Pet Industry? 90 million 94 million 60 million Households Avg. 1.5 dogs per home 47 million Households Avg. 2 cats per home
And their Revenue Size? $69B Pet Compounding 550M Estimated Breakdown: Food - $29 billion Supplies/OTC Medicine - $15 billion Vet Care - $16 billion Live animal purchases - $2 billion Pet Medications - $7 billion Flea, Tick and Heart Worm 6.5B 550M. 44,000 Vets. 200 patients = $63.00 avg. pet compound price
How about the Veterinarian Market? 44k Companion Vets 25k Veterinarian Practices 1.76 Vets Per Practice
What about their Clients/Patients? 4000 Active Patients VS 1500 Active Patients 1 Annual Check a Year 1 Annual Check a Year
Pet Medications Revenue 20% of Practice Revenue comes from Pet Medications* Mark up Averages - Flea and tick products marked up rate of 78.2 percent* - Heartworm preventatives are marked up 82.9 percent* - Other related veterinary products can be marked up 100 percent* *Federal Trade Commission Report, May 2015
Prescription Requests? Fairness to Pet Owners Act of 2017 To promote competition and help consumers save money by giving them the freedom to choose where they buy prescription pet medications, and for other purposes. Adopted by 49 States
Customers are shopping online
What Does the Industry Have to Say? These days everyone is selling pet drugs, both prescription and non-prescription, said Karen E. Felsted, DVM, CPA, MS, CVPM, chief executive of Felsted Veterinary Consultants. There s no doubt that veterinarians are feeling the competitive pressure. Jennifer Inbody, CVPM, PHR, of Lead Dog Consultants in Punta Gorda, Fla., notes that many veterinarians and practice managers are concerned about competition from online pet pharmacies, as many practices are seeing a decrease in revenues from pharmaceuticals. Ernie Ward, DVM continues to advise veterinarians to search out areas in which they can leverage a competitive edge, such as on issues of trust, care and convenience. He also advises practitioners to think rationally and not emotionally when faced with the realities of competition. Pet industry insiders suggest that it's pointless for veterinarians to fight the growing retail competition, which is not going anywhere anytime soon.
Office Revenue Declining Vets office revenues are rapidly declining Vets are forced to match online prices Vets are forced to partner with online companies to still retain 20-30% Vets are looking for other sources of revenue lost
What About Pet Compounding? 22,000+ Independent Pharmacies < 2,000 Offer Pet Compounding < 200 Market as Pet Compounding Pharmacy
Pet Compounding - Market Leaders 50% 25% 10% 15% Market Dominated by Top 3 Pharmacy 1 Pharmacy 2 Pharmacy 3 Others
Pet Compounding Revenue? $550 M Industry 44,000 Vets Avg. Vet writes 5% of their Active Patients a Pet Compound or 200 patient a year @ $63.00 per pet compound $12,600 Per Year Per Vet Revenue Opportunity
RECOGNIZE What Your Veterinarians Want
What Does Your Vet Want? TRUST
Local Pet Compounding Expert Vets prefer to support their Local Pharmacist. Trust your pharmacy will take care of their patients Expertise and knowledge on different treatment modalities Prompt service and support
Partner not a Competitor Vets want to trust that their pharmacy is not competing against them. Pet medications (flea, tick and heartworm) Other pet products sold in their practice Trend to partner with online pharmacies?
What Does Your Vet Want?
Efficiency with Ordering Vets want an EASY and efficient way to order their patient Rx s How long does it take your Vets to reach you? Fax alternatives? Online ordering options?
Dosing and Pricing Transparency Vets want up-to-date information to advise their patients on their ordering options. Can the Rx be flavored? What form types are available for each drug? Price alternatives?
Got Promos or Rewards? Vets love to be loved on Food a huge perk Give-away s in high demand Thank you for their business rewards?
DEMONSTRATE Tips, Tools and Techniques
Tips to Implement Now Get Involved with your local Pet Community
Tips to Implement Now Get trained with ACVP Continued Education Hands on Classroom training Live and on demand webinars Home study courses
Tips to Implement Now Become Your Own or Hire a Pharmacy Ambassador
Tools to Implement Now Leave Behinds - Marketing Tools Drug Promo Rack Cards Magnets/Calendars Pens Rx Reference Guide
Tools to Implement Now Website Upgrades Show that you are your neighborhood s trusted pet pharmacy Online Ordering Options Website forms E-prescribe options Text (SMS/MMS) message
Tools to Implement Now Social Media Integration Facebook Instagram Yelp Google
Techniques to Implement Now Know what Vet s order each month Top 40 Compound Drugs Create a Vet Profile to compare and contrast ordering histories Probe with open-ended questions regarding treatment modalities ex: What are you using to treat Cushing s disease? Build trust with knowledge and deliver value with tools and service
Need More Info? Jay Morton CEO LocalPet Inc. jaym@localpetrx.com www.localpet.com