The absence of Vetsulin is no reason to ignore the diabetes business

When you buy a new car, almost every dealer in America does their best to bring you back to their facility. They want your parts and service business, they want to develop deeper relationships with you and they want you to buy your next car from them. These activities are the ones that make them successful over time and the profits generated are well worth the effort. And like veterinarians, they too have to compete with a host of competitors, including Internet sites that are after parts of or all of their business.

Keeping business in the clinic

So why with the temporary absence of Vetsulin are veterinarians allowing customers to take their diabetes business out the door to competitors like Wal-Mart, Petsmart and the retail pharmacy? It would be like the automobile dealership sending customers to an auto parts store because they don’t have a certain part in stock. It does little to enhance the relationship, profit dollars literally walk out the door, and it helps start relationships with other entities that have no plans of ceding their interests back to the animal health practice.

In addition to losing the business and a chance to enhance the relationship with customers, animal health practices are promoting a behavior that could lead to the loss of other business, including flea and tick products, heartworm products, shampoos, food and more. And as time goes on and the relationship with the practice is weakened, animals will end up receiving less care. This is not a great situation for the practice, especially in challenging economic times.

DSRs can help

Helping your customers keep this business in house benefits everyone: the practice, the animal, the manufacturers, you and your company. So make your customers aware of the potential downfalls of pushing the diabetes business out of the door. Ask them how they are currently handling their diabetes business. If they have been sending it out, recommend they buy and resell the insulin of their choice to their clients, along with the insulin syringes and sharps containers that go with them. If you help them understand the potential loss of revenue, not just on the insulin and insulin syringes, but on all of their business, you will have done a lot to enhance the value you bring to the practice. It’s big business and shouldn’t be ceded to the retail outlets.

New Program Aims to Increase Feline Veterinary Visits

There are 82 million pet cats in the United States, compared with 72 million dogs, making cats the most popular pet. Yet studies show that the number of feline veterinary visits is declining steadily each year. As a result, care for cats is lagging and the industry is losing valuable revenue at all levels. A new program now being rolled out by Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc. (BIVI) aims to change that

“Feline visits are down,” said Daniel Alvarado, senior brand manager, pet segment at BIVI. “Feline visits have fallen over 10 percent while the number of cat-owning households has increased. That is the reason we developed the Have We Seen Your Cat Lately program, which we hope will result in more care for cats and more revenue for veterinary practices.” The program is aimed at helping veterinarians uncover their unseen cat potential by asking a simple question, Have We Seen Your Cat Lately?

The American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP) and American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) both recommend a minimum of one annual wellness exam for cats, with more frequent exams for senior and geriatric patients and cats with medical and behavioral conditions. And some veterinary professionals recommend semi-annual wellness exams for all life stages. Closing the gap between these recommendations and follow-through among cat owners is critical to the health of feline patients.