Sunday Feb 17, 2019
Got up early and headed downstairs to the Starbucks. Made my first cup of coffee in the room, then went downstairs to the Starbucks. “It’s only 6:15, so I should beat the morning rush.” Holy mackerel!! There’s a high school girls volleyball tournament going on here, too, along with the WVC! There are approximately 2.6 thousand girls, parents, coaches, and college recruiters standing in line for Starbucks. Fortunately there are two Starbucks, one full food service, and one smaller kiosk with limited food service. There are only about 628 people in the kiosk line.
Sally recently had foot surgery, so she’s in a wheelchair for the conference. It’s approximately 5 miles from our room in the Mandalay Bay to the Mandalay Bay Conference Center. Okay, make that 0.5 miles. It’s still a long way. Note to self: If this happens again, next time rent the motorized wheelchair.
Key bullet thoughts from today:
- Suicide is growing among veterinarians, and it’s reaching epidemic levels. It’s very tough, as an owner, a senior leader, or an associate. Sometimes you just need somebody else to talk things through, whether it’s about medicine, business or personal.
- When things aren’t right, you are responsible, not your team.
- Standards give your practice something to measure performance by. Don’t forget that you have to live by them, too.
- Remember Einstein’s Definition of Insanity: Doing the same thing and expecting different results.
- Great conversations with a number of members of VetPartners today. Need to take a deeper look at joining this organization. They seem like the real deal.
Monday Feb 18, 2019
Discovered that the Keurig coffee pods in the room cost 7 bucks – each!Could that be right?? Note to self: Need to catch the tram downtown and find a store that sells Keurig pods. Headed down to Starbucks at 5:45. “That’s early. Should beat the rush. Teenage girls don’t get up that early anyway.”Wrong!! Only ~1.2K people in line this early at the Starbucks this morning. A few early risers from the conference, and almost all of them are industry exhibitors. Spent 45 minutes in line talking to two moms from Missouri whose daughters are hoping to get scholarships to play at UCLA. They tried explaining how the tournament works to me. Apparently there’s a lot more going on in the world of women’s volleyball than I imagined.
Key bullet thoughts from today:
- Perceptions
- Veterinarians: People come to a veterinary hospital to see a veterinarian; staff can’t do the job.
- Clients: Veterinary hospitals are all pretty much the same, and veterinary care is pretty much a commodity.
- Clients don’t understand if they received good medicine, they do feel if they got good service.
- A bad client experience negates the best quality medicine experience
- When we do a lunch & learn, we need to tie it PKIs or some actionable outcomes! Then follow up with the staff!
- Great conversations with the IDEXX team today. IDEXX Cornerstone is a great product. Need to get back with them tomorrow.
Tuesday Feb 19, 2019
An equal amount of happiness and crying going on in the elevator last night, as teams are eliminated from the volleyball tournament. Less than half as many people in the line at Starbucks this morning, and there were even 4 muffins left over in the kiosk case. I took all four of them with very little guilt.
Key bullets from today:
- Pet insurance is here!
- It’s going to stay, and it’s a growing and highly competitive market.
- It makes a huge difference in compliance
- It helps get clients back in the door for additional pet care, and generates additional revenues that would otherwise be missed
- You have to work ON your practice as well as IN your practice.
- Price elasticity in for veterinary practices is -0.04% (Note: Follow up on this analysis!)
- Loyalty programs traditionally focus on discounts
- Focus on building loyalty
- You cannot buy client loyalty. You have to earn it. You do that by demonstrating good value for the money
- DON’T DISCOUNT ANYTHING IF YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND YOUR FEES AND PROFITS
- Great conversations with the Hill’s Science Diet team today. Need to follow up with them.
Wednesday Feb 20, 2019
The girls volleyball tournament is finally history for this year. The thrill of victory, and the agony of defeat. Lots to learn from watching how the girls, parents and coaches manage both of those emotions. Not much of a line at Starbucks this morning. Actually got to The Big Starbucks, and picked up a couple of breakfast sandwiches AND pastries.
Key bullets from today:
- How to grow your business
- To grow, you must attract and retain customers, staff, and owner equity
- Focus more on retaining clients than finding new clients (Ray’s point: It’s harder to find a new client than keep an old client).
- Focus more on Customer Loyalty rather than GROWTH
- 4 Drivers of Client Loyalty
- Attitude about your brand
- Brand Image
- Perceived Value
- Customer Experiences
Thursday Feb 21, 2019
Closing Thoughts
The last morning brought a snow storm as as we were checking out of our room. This has been a great conference! Well worth the time, effort and cost. Some of the practice management and business presentations were very good, and some pretty basic from a business and social media perspective, but all highly worthwhile in gaining insight into the industry.
Shuffield Tye Consulting needs to look at all of the industries that support veterinary practices as part of our network base, both for referrals and as potential clients. Business management consulting and leadership coaching cuts across all of these industries.
The exhibitors are very helpful in explaining what they do, and the features and benefits of their products. Some are better at differentiating themselves than others. Most of them are highly competitive, yet still friendly. Think “frenemies.”
Ray is relatively new to the veterinary world. People in this industry are very open, honest and friendly. And sharing. They share EVERYTHING! Even when Sally and I had to split up during the day, someone would help her with her wheelchair! This is notlike management, IT and cybersecurity consulting in the DC metro area where I came from, where you never know who or what you’re talking to. This is going to take some getting used to. Work on it.
