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In this week’s episode
- Are you struggling to connect with your clients? Are millennials becoming the fastest growing demographic at your veterinary practice? If the answer to either of these is yes then this episode is for you…
- Jack takes a look at how the client experience is evolving and practices are adjusting their client journeys to beat COVID and provide a better service for digital natives.
- Thom Jenkins explains the inspiration behind PetsApp and how your practice could benefit.
- Plus on the show this week, a fantastic ‘tech tip’ from Jack for those Practice Managers and vets looking to step up their technology game and an inspired book recommendation from a special guest.
Show Notes
- Our every other week on your favourite podcast platform
- Presented by Jack Peploe: Veterinary IT Expert, Certified Ethical Hacker and dog Dad to the adorable Puffin.
- Jack introduced AppSumo, a website that partners with tech companies and start-ups to help you find tools you can use to grow your practice at an insane discount!
- Jack’s special guest was PetsApp founder Thom Jenkins. They talked about changes in pet owner demographics and how the client experience is adapting and evolving to suit this new generation.
- Many thanks to Paul Green for recommending the book “Influence” by Robert Cialdini.
- In our next episode Jack will be joined by Veterinary Marketing Guru Paul Green, talking about the power of an inbound marketing strategy, why vets should adopt this strategy and how your clients and bottom line will benefit.
- Please send any questions, ideally in audio-form (or any other feedback) to jack@veterinaryit.services.
Transcription
Jack Peploe: Coming up on Modern Veterinary Practice.
Thom Jenkins: So this is where the challenge and the opportunity comes in. You have this large population of highly compliant pet owners describing our products and services as inaccessible. If we can solve for that, we’re onto something big.
Jack Peploe: Welcome to Modern Veterinary Practice. I’m your host and veterinary IT expert, Jack Peploe. On this show I interview veterinary professionals and thought leaders from across the industry. Together, we examine the different areas of a modern veterinary practice, helping you to tackle the necessary steps in transforming your practice into a modern veterinary practice.
Jack Peploe: This practical advice will help you to address the barriers that most practices face in increasing efficiency, creating a better working environment for your team, elevating your client experience, as well as driving profit into the business.
Jack Peploe: So to start this episode off, I wanted to introduce you to my secret weapon that I know will definitely help increase efficiencies within your practice, as well as save you money. It’s called AppSumo. Now AppSumo essentially finds and partners with the best up-and-coming tech companies to give you access to incredible and affordable software solutions and fantastic deals on products, saving you lots and lots of money.
Jack Peploe: And I’m not exaggerating. Some of these deals are just incredible. Now, some of the world’s best-known brands have partnered with AppSumo at some point, including Evernote, a very well-known note-taking app, and MailChimp, the marketing platform, which likely many of you will use to keep your clients up to date with helpful information, as well as products and services for our email.
Jack Peploe: Now, these are just some of the well-known brands that started off on AppSumo. Believe it or not, we’ve recently had Ready Ping, our contactless client check-in system, accepted for their marketplace. We’ve actually used the AppSumo marketplace for our own business to source chat facilities for our website, an email marketing tool to keep in touch with our prospects, an online booking tool which makes it easier for clients to book a meeting with us. The list could literally go on.
Jack Peploe: The fact is, these tools alone would have cost us hundreds of pounds per month if we’d gone direct. Instead, we’ve paid a low one-off fee. So if you’re looking for ingenious tech to help smooth out inefficiencies in your practice, or want an easy-to-use email marketing platform, perhaps a community plugin board for your website, check out appsumo.com. That’s www.appsumo.com.
Voiceover:
The interview.
Thom Jenkins:
Hi, I’m Thom. I’m the co-founder and CEO of PetsApp. I’m a vet by training and I’ve run veterinary clinic groups, both here in the UK and out in Asia.
Jack Peploe:
Cool, Thom. Really great to have you on the show. Thank you so much for coming on. I’m sure you must be getting bored now with the double act between me and you, especially when the topic of technology comes up. So I’m sorry, it’s another one.
Thom Jenkins:
Not at all. Always a pleasure, Jack.
Jack Peploe:
So I thought we could start on the topic of pet owner demographics and how the client experience is evolving with veterinary practices. So we obviously have the ever-expanding group of digital natives, the Millennials and Gen Z pet owner demographic. How, in your opinion, is this going to impact veterinary practices moving forward?
Thom Jenkins:
It’s a real challenge and also a massive opportunity. You have now the largest pet-owning demographic being Millennials, and the majority of Millennials describe veterinary products and services as relatively inaccessible. This is in contrast with Baby Boomers, the majority of whom describe veterinary products and services as accessible. And this is pre pandemic data.
Thom Jenkins:
There’s also evidence that Millennials are among the most compliant pet owners, in terms of the extent to which they comply with veterinary recommendations. A good example here is dentistry. They’re more likely to agree with routine dental interventions, preventive dentistry for their pets. And I think this is partly because they’re the first generation to grow up with pets as siblings. Their parents were really the first to treat pets as part of the family. They’re used to jockeying for prime position on the sofa with the family dog. So they really do love their pets and are invested in their pets.
Thom Jenkins:
But the way veterinary clinics are run does not represent how they’re used to interacting with service providers. So this is where the challenge and the opportunity comes in. You have this large population of highly-compliant pet owners describing our products and services as inaccessible. If we can solve for that, we’re onto something big.
Jack Peploe:
No, I completely agree. And it’s also very evident that Millennials and Gen Z are very content-hungry as well. They love to absorb information and they’re really keen to understand and learn from veterinary professionals. Would you agree with that?
Thom Jenkins:
Yeah. I think one trend that has been flagged is a skepticism around experts. They don’t want to be dictated to. They want to be proactively and actively involved in decision-making processes. And so they expect more of a concierge type service. They don’t expect it to be this dictatorial relationship. That involves having more touchpoints in the decision-making process. So while they are more compliant, they are more likely to agree with veterinary recommendations. They need more touchpoints in the decision making process to get there.
Jack Peploe:
That was cool. And I just want to pick up on one thing that you mentioned earlier with regards to pre pandemic stats, specifically around, obviously we’re talking about Millennials and people’s expectations with veterinary services. Can you elaborate a little bit more on that?
Thom Jenkins:
Yeah, I think it’s interesting that the expectations have likely changed. This is data where there was this much stronger demographic divide between Millennials and Gen Z on the one hand. And let’s bear in mind there’s differences there too. So for example, Millennials really enjoy text chat. They really enjoy asynchronous interaction. They don’t really like phone calls and they’re not big fans, even, of video calls. They like the convenience of text chat.
Thom Jenkins:
Gen Z, on the other hand, there’s this pattern of behaviour of just spontaneous video calling. They’ll call each other on video at the drop of a hat. And of course we’re generalizing, but that’s where the video calling is becoming more normalized. And you can thank the likes of Snapchat for that behaviour.
Thom Jenkins:
And then I think over the course of the pandemic really it’s made Millennials out of all of us. So, whereas before, your Baby Boomer generation, and again, this is a generalization, whereas before they would have been used to going to a location to consume products and services, paying, and then leaving, I think the pandemic has made Millennials out of all of us in the sense that they’re much more used to digitally interactions.
Jack Peploe:
Yeah. No, I completely agree with that. So would you be able to elaborate a little bit more around how a practice might adapt, for example, their client journey to provide a better service to their clients and alleviate ultimately pressure from their team too?
Thom Jenkins:
Yeah. I think that last point, alleviate pressure from their team, is really important. Because when we talk about this, it can sound as if we’re asking for more. We’re asking clinics who are already stretched, people that are already giving that all, to do more. It doesn’t necessarily need to be that way. This can actually increase our impact while increasing the client experience, improving the client experience, without requiring more of us, and potentially requiring actually less from us.
Thom Jenkins:
One thing that I would like to see us just absolutely obliterate, absolutely move away from, is this very high pressure situation where we have a pet in for a health check, and it might be the only time we see them that year. And so we feel as vets, as vet nurses and veterinary receptionists, we feel under great pressure to advocate for everything that pet might need for the next 12 months.
Thom Jenkins:
And guess what? It’s not terribly successful. We don’t have high levels of compliance with parasiticide recommendations. We don’t have high levels of compliance with our dental advocacy. And it’s because it’s a lot for the owner to take in. Often they’ve come into that consultation with a concern of their own. It may or may not be the most pressing health issue their pet is facing, but it’s the context that they’ve arrived that they connect with. And now you have to try and persuade them that actually this matters, this matters, this matters. And they’re thinking, yeah, but what about the issue that I came in here with?
Thom Jenkins:
And so, if instead, we can create several lower pressure touchpoints throughout the year, if we can break up those advocacy opportunities throughout the year, I think we’ll do much better for pets. We’ll do much better for pet owners. And it would take a lot of pressure off the teams. And I think the way you do that is by bringing the pet owners into your digital ecosystem, so you have this opportunity for these joined-up online to offline experiences.
Jack Peploe:
Yeah, that’s perfect. And just picking up on the asynchronous side, and with regards to information overload, because I can very much relate to that. I actually read a really great article from Bayer the other day, and it stated that 20% of people go online almost immediately after a veterinary visit. As I said, I am shamefully one of those 20%. And it’s only because in some ways, there is an element of information overload during the visit, but this moves us nicely onto the topic of communication types.
Jack Peploe:
Now, veterinary practices have very much been used, I suppose, to more synchronous-based communication with clients. However, with the recent pandemic, practices are obviously reviewing their client journey, and with some, it has involved introduction of asynchronous communication. Where in the process are you seeing this used and what is the benefit of using it over synchronous communication?
Thom Jenkins:
So asynchronous communication has the benefit that you can fit it in when it suits you. And it also has the benefit that you have an opportunity. We use something called an automated welcome message that kicks off every asynchronous interaction, every chat interaction. And that automated welcome message allows you to set expectations. A phone call doesn’t do a very good job of setting expectations. In fact, when I was running veterinary clinics, I trained my teams that we had three rings to answer the telephone. We had to treat every telephone call as if it was an emergency until proven otherwise. We were dealing with so much uncertainty, it was almost as if Schrödinger was ringing about his cat every time. We’d have to drop whatever we were doing. We pick up the phone and we find out it’s just Mr. Smith asking about our opening hours.
Thom Jenkins:
And that’s important. It’s important Mr. Smith knows when we’re available for him and his pet, but it’s not worth dropping everything else. With an asynchronous text chat, you can prioritize at a glance. You can see, “Okay, they’re just asking for a refill of the prescription diet.” That can wait an hour, if not more. So actually, if I was just about to grab my lunch, I can go and have my lunch and come back to this and respond later. And that might sound frivolous, but getting your lunch is incredibly important. We know there’s very strong evidence that shows hunger negatively impacts decision making. And our job is to make decisions on behalf of pet owners and their pets all of the time. So if you have a system where that puts you in better control of your own workflows, you can improve the experience of your team, and improve outcomes for pet owners and for your patients.
Jack Peploe:
No, that’s perfect. And I suppose that is the key of automation, isn’t it, in a way, in the sense that it gives you a lot of power, and ultimately, like you say, it does set expectations for that pet owner. So they can at least be a little bit more relieved rather than getting frustrated on the phone, waiting to get through to someone and to be held for a very long period of time. It’s a much better way of working.
Jack Peploe:
So I mean, the other area that, I think, has to be considered is the fact that not all pet owners are very keen to embrace technology. It’s great to see that a number of veterinary practices are looking to adopt these new ways of working and evolving their veterinary practice. But what about the people that really are not keen to embrace technology? How can a veterinary practice handle that sort of situation?
Thom Jenkins:
I think it’s about meeting people where they are. And so you do sometimes see a client coming through on the text chat and the clinic saying, “Oh, give us a call.” It’s like, no, no, no, no. They came on to text chat because they want you to chat with them asynchronously. But it’s the same for these people that maybe they don’t want to download an app. They don’t want to chat with you. They do just want a phone call.
Thom Jenkins:
Well, by taking the pressure off the phones and bringing as much of other client base as you can onto the asynchronous manner of interacting, which puts less pressure on your team, it means that sort of 40%, 30% that want to interact in a more traditional way, well, that channel is freer for them to use it. So it’s there for the people that want it.
Thom Jenkins:
And I think going back to something we were talking about, we just touched on, Jack. I think we have to remember how unfamiliar the pet owner veterinary care journey is to them. If they are coming in to see us just once a year, they don’t know what to expect and we get to set those expectations. So I think sometimes we can assume things about pet owners about how they want to interact, how they’re used to interacting, without the evidence to back that up. And I think there are many more people willing to engage with this stuff and willing for you to set the expectations of what an interaction looks like than you would necessarily imagine.
Thom Jenkins:
I always think about when we first launched PetsApp as exclusively a video consulting platform, which was a mistake. When we first launched it, we saw people requesting a video call with a vet and then hanging up before it connected. And we interviewed these users and we said, “What are you doing? You paid for a video call. Why have you hung up?” And they said, “Look, I didn’t realize it was going to be put straight through to a vet. Yeah, that’s the magic of it. Why is that a problem? They were not sure that their issue justified bothering a vet.
Thom Jenkins:
And it mimics something that I see in-clinic. When I was operating in veterinary clinics, you saw that pet owners would often be in a consult with a vet. The vet would say, “Anything else you need help with today? Anything else I can help you address with Fluffy?” And the owner said, “Oh, no, all good doc.” Then they go through to reception and they’d ask the receptionist everything that they should have just asked the vet. At which point the vet is in a consultation with another pet owner, and doesn’t have the opportunity to address those issues for that pet.
Thom Jenkins:
And I think you mentioned Googling. That’s just a reflection of the same sort of behaviours, where owners are trying to protect you from their ignorance, but they’re showing this willingness, this desire to engage in the health of their pet, and they’ll choose lots of different channels to do that. And I think we just have to bring down some of these barriers.
Thom Jenkins:
Technology is one way to do that. It’s not the only way to do that, but ultimately what we want to do is take this very high trust touchpoint that we have. In general, believe it or not, pet owners absolutely love vets and their veterinary team. Take this very high trust point that we have and layer on convenience. If we can layer convenience on top of trust, there is not a force in the world that can disrupt your local veterinary clinic.
Jack Peploe:
That’s perfect. No, that’s brilliant. Well, thank you so much, Thom. Now, obviously you do have a fantastic app, PetsApp, that many, many veterinary practices are already using, which actually assists practices in a number of the elements that we talked about today. Can you tell us what it is and where they can find it?
Thom Jenkins:
So PetsApp is a current communications engagement application for use by veterinary clinics with pet owners, and they can do text chat, take digital payments, do video consults, and push notification campaigns. You can find out more at petsapp.com. We’d love to give you a demonstration of what we’ve built.
Jack Peploe:
Amazing. Thank you very much, Thom.
Voiceover:
Recommended reading.
Jack Peploe:
Every week we ask a veterinary professional to suggest a book that might resonate to our listeners. And this week’s recommendation is from Paul Green, a veterinary marketing guru, who also happens to be the next guest on our show.
Paul Green:
There are so many books that I could pick for this. The single most influential book is probably got to be Influence by Robert Cialdini. It’s a 30, maybe even 35-year old ld book, and it’s about psychology in marketing. It doesn’t sound like the most riveting read, but it explains why people act the way they do. And I have studied that book. I must have read it 20 times. I’ve studied it. I put it into everything I do. Things like social proof. I mean, Robert Cialdini was the first person to coin the phrase, social proof, which is testimonials, reviews, case studies. Even the most cynical person is influenced by social proof because it is a psychological driver, right at the core of our own basic programming in our brain. We cannot escape social proof.
Paul Green:
Scarcity. If there is not much of something left, it forces us to make a decision whether or not we want it. We’ve all seen the last cake on the plate and thought, I want that. And I think Robert Cialdini is an absolute genius. He’s a professor of psychology based in New York who focuses on marketing. And he’s a genius at helping us, ordinary business owners like us, to understand how to influence our customers.
Jack Peploe:
That’s Paul Green, a veterinary marketing guru. He’s going to be here next week, talking about the power of an inbound marketing strategy and why you need to adopt it for your practice and how your clients and bottom line will soon benefit.
Paul Green:
We are in a wonderful state of technology where you are held back by your imagination rather than by what you can do. And that’s only really happened in the last 10 years. But you think of anything you want to do in terms of tracking people, in terms of reaching people, in terms of communicating with clients, in terms of sending out personalized messages, all of these things can be done relatively easy and there’s stable, good software out there that can do it.
Jack Peploe:
That’s it for this episode. All links and recommendations we talked about are in the show notes. If you have a great idea or a question you’d like covered as part of the podcast, or want to get involved, make sure to get in touch with me on jack@veterinaryit.services. Don’t forget to subscribe and share the podcast if you found it useful. In the meantime, thanks for listening and see you next time.
