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Pfizer Index Shows 'Green Shoots' Improvement

Author: Pfizer Animal Health
Posted: Monday 11th July, 2011. 17:48:27

London, 11 July 2011 – The first Performance Index from Pfizer (formerly the Fort Dodge Index) quarterly report for 2011 shows mildly improved trading conditions for the companion animal veterinary market. Although the improvements are modest, they are moving in the right direction.

Those aspects of veterinary business that are showing an improvement in the first quarter of 2011 include: turnover growth (+0.8%, up from -0.1% in March 2010); client retention (+0.1%); the average number of visits per year (+ 0.17%); annual transaction value (+ 1.1%); average transaction value (+0.8% to £41.74); fee per product service (+0.2%) and products and services sold per visit (+0.6%).

Leveraged sales (typically pet-care products), which were down 2% (from 40% to 38%) in 2010, have increased 0.9% in the first quarter of 2011 to make up 39% of practice transactions.

Less positively and pointing to the need for veterinary practices to implement ongoing marketing initiatives, the number of new clients coming into practice is down (-0.4%) as is the number of active clients (-0.26%). Revenue from loyal clients (those that visit the practice for additional products and services, particularly vaccination and other preventative healthcare programmes) was static. Although flat growth is an improvement on previous reports, this is still a concern, as it is these clients who are the driver for revenue growth in many practices.

Pfizer Business Consultant, Simon Fowler, comments on this year’s first quarterly Index: “Although the figures are only very slightly improved this does mirror what we are seeing in practices that we visit. Practice turnover growth of 0.8%, while only small, is much better than any quarter in 2010. So we may be seeing the first green shoots of recovery, but there’s still no room for complacency. Before we all breathe a collective sigh of relief, however, it should be remembered that as this is the first report for 2011 it is only an early picture, while a fuller story will be gleaned from the second report, which will show results from the first six months of the year.

“What is clear is the need for practices to market themselves in order to attract new clients, increase growth from active clients and increase client loyalty. VetSupport+ includes a range of marketing services to help practices in this respect. A practice has already achieved TV coverage via our Public Relations support service, while others are using PressRoom newsletter templates to keep potential and existing clients up to speed with the practice’s news.”

Pfizer’s team of Business Consultants is working with practices throughout the country to pinpoint their individual business challenges, offer solutions through the company’s VetSupport+ service and work with the practices to implement the solutions. Further information is available at www.vetsupportplus.co.uk.

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