In our last post, we talked about critical success factors and the difference between the Practice of Wellness and the Business of Wellness™. This week’s post focuses on how to best implement the Business of Wellness.

 

To that end, we’ve shared below a series of fundamental Business of Wellness goals. These goals are designed to position your wellness program for success:

 

Goal 1: Build a practice brand and culture

 

Hospitals face competition these days. Your wellness program helps set you apart from competitors large and small, and build your relationship with clients. Your wellness solution should integrate into your practice, becoming part of your culture to create consistency in brand messaging and marketing.

 

Goal 2: Create a club/membership program for loyalty

 

Your wellness plan program should integrate other service areas and offerings in your practice to encourage clients to take advantage of all that you offer. Consistent usage of your services builds relationships and loyalty.

 

Goal 3: Incorporate additional practice areas 

 

Similarly, your wellness program should extend throughout the practice, allowing you to personalize plans to include grooming, boarding, specialty medicine, chronic illness plans, and much more. Customizing add-on services to each pet can boost the value of your wellness plan by 20%.

 

Goal 4: Don’t discount, unless you need to

 

Many people mistakenly believe that big-box discount models are the sole approach to wellness. Yet, based on your brand strength, you may not need to discount at all, and may instead be able to charge a significant premium over corporate brand competitors. 

 

Understanding your local competition and your brand strength is key to understanding if you should consider discounting at all, and if so, how little is required to do the trick!

 

Goal 5: Deliver real-time analytics 

 

Without real-time data about your wellness plan program, how can you evaluate whether it’s increasing pet care or revenue? Capturing real-time insights is particularly important when launching multi-location wellness programs.

 

Goal 6: Increase practice valuation

 

Well-implemented wellness plan programs can easily generate 10% overall revenue growth in the first year — and almost triple that in three years or less, according to VCP data. During slower months, monthly payments from wellness plans can provide reliable cash flow. A balance sheet with predictable monthly recurring revenue typically leads to a higher practice valuation.

 

By now, you may have realized there’s a lot more to wellness plans than you initially imagined. We’re here to answer your questions at sales@vcp.vet or 888-9MY-VCP1 (888-969-8271).