Click image for larger version Name: vet cat and dog.jpg Views: 3 Size: 9.7 KB ID: 24530In part 2, we shall be looking at the ‘mother-of-all-online-opportunities' - yes, ‘selling stuff’ - even though we all know that vets don’t sell…!

…except of course for the times when you help a client find a solution to their problem: For then you are selling your time, you’re selling your expertise, you’re selling professional recommendations, sometimes even a product or two… and most importantly, you’re selling yourself!

Animal owners buy services that vets sell and they purchase products too. In fact, here in the UK we spend a fortune on our beloved pets - an estimated £2.17B in pet food alone! Yet vets - the most trusted of suppliers - hold but a tiny share of this vast market.

The pet market is buoyant, it’s big and increasingly pet sales transactions are moving online. How then can internet sales not be an opportunity for vet practices, large and small?


Three Simple Steps

If this is an opportunity you find yourself wishing to explore, there are three simple steps to consider:

  1. In order to compete you first have to have an accurate understanding of what your true costs of goods are, i.e., subtract all manufacturer and wholesaler settlement discounts to get to your true net price - and then mark-up from there.
  2. The higher price of veterinary medicines sold in-practice reflect the considerable overheads associated with operating a vet practice. This must be so or you’d go bankrupt. However, online retailers have substantially lower costs associated with the kind of business that can be run from a shed in the back garden, so if you apportion overheads accurately and mark up from true net price, you’ll find that in the majority of cases you can afford to operate on lower margins (which reflect a lower cost base) and still make an acceptable level of profit*.
  3. You may find it simpler and more efficient to restructure your practice, that is to run a separate internet business from the same premises. This can result in better use of staff during quiet periods and if you employ an SQP to run things, it’s cheaper than having a vet do it, possibly also giving a member of your team the benefit of some welcome career development.


For some entrepreneurial vets, internet sales already represent a thriving, profitable business;it’s a fact that many of the bigger online pharmacies are already owned and run by MRCVS’s!


What’s holding you back…?

Of course sometimes limiting beliefs get in the way - have you heard the one that says ‘vets can’t compete online’? Sorry… but how can that be true when vets with online pharmacies are already competing successfully with other ‘offline’ vets? If some can do it, can’t you all? The SFG Price Tracker** demonstrates what is possible providing that you have the fire in your belly to actually get out there and compete!

The other common, limiting belief is that internet sales are driven ONLY by price. Clearly this is flawed thinking as you need go no further than your own experiences with Amazon or eBay to work that one out. For many products presented online, you will find dozens, sometimes hundreds of the same item being offered at an array of prices. How then do you choose? Do you go for the cheapest? Or do other factors come into play, such as delivery times, seller reputation, postage costs…? How often do these influence your decision?

It is true that to successfully compete you will have to be ‘there or thereabouts’ on price, but if price were the ONLY decider, there would be just one of every product available on the net - the cheapest!


Look around

Whilst drugs remain a profitable chunk of every practices’ business, it’s important to remember they are but a part of total owner spend. Maybe then it’s time to remove the blinkers altogether, taking a closer look at the vast array of innovative pet products available; considering which ones support the key welfare messages you’re trying to get across throughout the year; evaluating the products that offer real value to you and your clients; choosing to stock the best of them and sell in-practice and online?

You’ll not be short of ideas for great products to stock if you subscribe to Pet Gazette or visit vetmart.net where you will find items such as:




….all these items and many more may be used to support the professional advice you routinely give and they have potential to add real value for your clients and your practice business.


The bigger picture

This is where we come full circle: The bigger picture is not just about selling products where profitable new (online) opportunities abound. It’s about providing owners with a service they want.

The twist is that in building an effective online presence you put yourself in a much stronger position to promote your unique service offering, be that while sharing photo’s on Facebook, interacting on Twitter or having an online chat anywhere else on the net about worming or firework night…or even while selling a wormer, collar or lead. So sometimes, it’s much less about the profit made on an additional sale but more about developing a relationship with a new contact, who just may one day become a client or recommend your services to someone else.

The pet care market is huge, growing and increasingly moving online, where the internet presents itself as a highly effective mechanism by which to meet and connect with animal owners everywhere. Since owners are online its where vets need to be too.

For the full, version of this report as a download, visit the SFG website.

*For members of the St Francis Buying Group, much of the work is already done for you…

SFG produce a monthly price tracker which shows which high volume products are being sold at what price on the net. The report includes:

  • a review of 600 products being offered by 12 major online pharmacies.
  • the lowest, highest and average prices being shown, demonstrating beyond doubt that in the majority of cases vet practices can compete with online competitors!


The Price Tracker report also comes complete with a spreadsheet, showing true net buying prices of the drugs you buy (so the work involved in step 1 is done for you!), and allowing you to play with different mark-ups and selling prices, ensuring you make an acceptable margin. The work is done for you!