De’Ath, Slaughter, Davis & Jones, MsRCVS

time for a rebrand?

CASE OVERVIEW

This fictitious case study focuses on marketing and branding. It describes the various changes that have occurred to the caseload of an old, established rural veterinary practice, and discusses how the dynamics of the business have altered over the years. Based on feedback from the partners, staff, clients and referral practices, it is clear that several changes need to be made. The case explores whether a total rebranding is required and discusses the sorts of decisions that will need to be made in order for this to happen. The financial information provided in the case allows the reader to gain further insights into how the business has changed and determine the extent of the resources available to move forward.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

After reading this case study, students will be able to:

• Appreciate that the veterinary marketplace has changed and that client expectations need to be met.

• Understand the importance of getting practice feedback from both staff and clients.

• Draw on marketing and branding theories to make proposals that could help the old established rural veterinary practice depicted in this case study to deal with the changes to its caseload.

Introduction

It was a beautiful spring morning as John Davis, Senior Partner at De’Ath, Slaughter, Davis & Jones, walked his two Jack Russell terriers, Rinty and Jonty, across the Mendip Hills. This was John’s favourite place to think, especially when he had tough decisions to make. During the 35 years he had spent in general practice in Somerset he had often drawn inspiration from the hills and beautiful views extending towards Glastonbury Tor and the Bristol Channel. He certainly had a problem now and needed to think about the way forward. The practice had reached a point where it needed to decide its future direction – to stay the same or to change? But not everyone was in agreement; John and Adam De’Ath wanted the practice to stick with its traditions and roots, while Mike Slaughter and Maggie Jones were pushing for a more modern marketing approach. The practice had recently invested in a new hospital on an out-of-town site and was about to move into its new premises, with the grand opening scheduled to take place in three months’ time. However, a number of important issues still had to be resolved. For example, should the practice change its name? The consensus amongst the staff was that it should, and while a few suggestions for new names had been put forward, no firm favourite had yet emerged. How would the new hospital be advertised? While it was generally agreed to launch a marketing campaign, there was no marketing expertise in the practice. What about focus? Should the hospital stick to referral work or should it continue to include first-opinion services? It looked like this was going to be quite a long walk.

Practice history

The veterinary practice of De’Ath, Slaughter, Davis & Jones was first established in the city of Wells in the 1960s by John’s grandfather, Charles; Charles was later joined by John’s father, James. Over the years, Charles and James built up a successful practice. They both retired, and three additional partners – Adam De’Ath, Mike Slaughter and Maggie Jones – joined the practice and, in 1985, they formed the current partnership of De’Ath, Slaughter, Davis & Jones.

The practice had initially developed to serve the farming community, located as it was in the heart of a strong dairy farming area. At the time, dairy farms were progressive, so it was important that the practice continued to serve them well during both the good and the leaner times. The practice became well established, developing a reputation for delivering prompt, effective service at a fair price.

By the late seventies, the practice had become a successful mixed practice, with the majority (around 80%) of the work being large animal. Small-animal work was carried out by all of the partners, but most of them preferred ‘real’ veterinary work with large animals.

Amongst the several changes witnessed by the veterinary profession in recent decades (see Box 13.1 for some additional background information), the gender shift is probably one of the most significant. The veterinary profession had traditionally been predominantly male dominated; however, by 1980, it started to undergo a rapid change through a significant increase in the number of women applying to vet schools. In 1975–76, 34% of graduates were female, but by 2005 this percentage had risen to 73%. In 1983, Maggie Jones was the first female veterinary surgeon to join the practice. Despite the existing partners’ and farmers’ concerns about Maggie’s ability to cope with large-animal work, she soon proved herself more than capable and quickly became a highly respected member of the team. John and Maggie got married in 1985 and had two children. Their daughter, Alison, also became a veterinary surgeon and was now working in one of the Australian universities, thus continuing the family tradition.

Box 13.1 Background information: some industry facts and figures

Current large-animal market

According to DEFRA (http://farmstats.defra.gov.uk), there has been a considerable decrease in the numbers of sheep, dairy and beef cattle over the last few years. Some of this has been as a result of disease outbreaks, such as foot and mouth in 2001. The number of farms continues to decrease, while herd sizes increase. Therefore, the need for the veterinary surgeon to supply a service for the single animal is generally in decline, and the new need is to provide a one-stop shop for the farmer through the larger framework of herd health planning.

Farm animal practice

There has been much consolidation in practices over the past few years as workloads have dropped, partners have retired and younger vets appear unwilling or unable to go into farm animal practice. Despite this, there are equally many examples of thriving farm practices in the southwest, e.g. Synergy Farm Health Ltd. and the Shepton Veterinary Group. However, it is no longer the case that farm animal clients will be satisfied with a ‘fire brigade’ service. It is essential to provide herd health planning, INTERHERD services and consultancy services in addition to the day-to-day care of animals registered with the practice.

Veterinary surgeon numbers

The number of veterinary surgeons in practice has risen from 8606 in 1996 to 10 399 in 2001, representing a 21% rise (RCVS/BVA/SPVS, Practice Survey 6, 2001). Total annual turnover of practices has risen from £1.07 billion to £1.45 billion over the same period – an increase of 35.5%. In 2011, 17 817 veterinary surgeons were registered on the ‘practising register’.

Growth of referral practices

The number of referral practices in the UK has risen substantially in the past 5 years. Ten years ago most referral work was only provided by universities (six) and the Animal Health Trust (AHT). Interestingly, in the local area, the data suggest there is a consistency with the national trend. There are currently over 50 practices offering some type of specialized services within this case study practice’s catchment area of 40 miles. In 2005, there were only 151 practices altogether in this area (RCVS Directory of Practices 2005). These figures demonstrate an expanding marketplace for veterinary services and an opportunity to increase market share for practices if the service offering is right.

One of the key factors in the recent expansion in the number of referral practices has been the growth in university-based qualifications. Universities have trained increasing numbers of postgraduate students, many of whom have taken up posts in private practices. The RCVS awards national certificates and diplomas, holders of which are eligible to become RCVS recognized specialists. In addition, there are specialist American and European colleges that award diplomas by examination. These also allow the holder to apply for specialist status.

The largest concentration of animals in the UK is found in the southeast, and the number of referral centres has been growing steadily in this area. This is now starting to have an impact on the southwest. Clients will travel long distances to ensure care at this level. Most competition in the southwest is from first-opinion veterinary practices with their own ‘specialist’ capabilities, often staff with certificate holders rather than diploma holders.

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