Thinking outside the box.

Hello beautiful people, I hope you are all well and happy this week. So I was brainstorming some blog ideas last night while scrolling through the news so that as I get busier towards Christmas with my two jobs and can still write a blog each week for you lovely people who actually read this. Anyway so this week I'm going to be talking about the decrease in the number of pet owning households. Here goes...

So Since 2012 there has been a drop in the number of households with pet ownership, in 2012 the percentage was 63% now in 2017 it's only 56% that's a decrease of 7% which is rather significant and has caused vet practices to have to come up with way to tackle this decrease in income. The Federation of Independent Veterinary Practices has urged the vets to think "outside the box". This is vital as the decrease in pet ownership means less animals coming in for routine check-ups and operations, hence a smaller income for the practice and for an independently owned practice this can be a major issue and measure are having to be taken to try and decrease this affect.

By thinking outside the box the FIVP suggested that the practices think about starting up more specialist areas like hydrotherapy or imaging, this would bring in people from a wider area because they are areas which aren't included in every veterinary practice. Though the cost of this extra equipment will be high, it may be worth it in the long run because it will bring in more clients. Along side these extra more high tech additions to a practice there were also mentions of offering dog grooming, this though maybe not fully run by the practice could bring in more income by renting out the space and bringing in new customers to the clinic. Also maybe selling pet shop supplies would help out the practices because even though it won't be direct income there will be some profit from selling. I think that the whole idea of thinking outside the box is good as long as not every practice does it. The ones I've mentioned here are good however they can be costly and if it's a small practice then selling pet shop supplies might not be the best thing.

I also think that some other things practices could do is maybe for one of the vets to get an extra qualification in exotics this would bring more clients in because exotics vet practices aren't very common. Also if a member of the practice got an animal behaviour qualification it would be good for any owners having problems to be able to see that person and have extra assistance. I have seen a few practices around me having open days to allow people to see behind the scenes, this has been very well advertised so I think that it could really help the practices and boost their customer numbers.

All in all I think that the vet practices are going to have to take some of these measures, the drop in pet ownership is out of their control however offering the clients different and new things will keep them coming back and provide a greater income for the practice.

Thank you so much for reading I know this was a short one sorry I promise another long one next week, already got the plan written out for it. I hope you all have an amazing week, be thankful and count your blessing. And don't forget to smile at someone. Thank you for reading see you next week.

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