Originally published by Veterinary Practice News.
For veterinary practices to thrive, it is wise to consider what millennials, the largest segment of pet owners, are looking for in pet care.
Considering millennials own almost one-third of U.S. pets,1 they represent a large and lucrative customer market for veterinary practices. According to the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA), 75 percent of millennial pet owners are willing to spend money on pet care,2 so connecting with them requires an understanding of how they prefer to communicate and do business.
So, what do millennials want and expect from their veterinarians? Short answer: the “best.”
Millennials (like most) dote on their furry, feathered, and scaly friends and want their animals to be treated the same as their human family members. In fact, a 2022 survey3 found 81 percent of millennials “love” their pet more than certain family members. Further, 58 percent of millennials would rather have pets than kids.3 This gives a sense of how millennial pet owners value quality pet care and expect the “best” diagnostic tools, treatments, medical procedures, and possibly, holistic and integrative approaches to pet care.
As veterinarians focus on establishing deeper pet parent relationships, many practices also face challenges around increased patient loads (up by 11 percent between 2019 and 2021),4 office inefficiencies, and high support staff turnover. How can veterinarians build deeper, more personalized relationships with millennial pet parents, while addressing the challenges of the modern vet practice? Offering a tech-forward veterinary experience—one that is convenient, responsive, and individualized—is a good way to start.
Use technology to connect with pet parents, handle support issues, streamline operations, and increase efficiencies. This gives everyone in your practice more face-to-face time and opportunities to address the increased expectations of millennial pet parents…
Read the full article here.