Since we began publishing this series of articles on the CVMA National Benchmarking Program last March, we have provided an overview of the various online benchmarking tools. These tools, accessible from the CVMA Web site (www.canadianveterinarians.net), offer veterinarians a chance to compare a certain aspect of their practice to other clinics regionally and nationally.
Two more tools are examined in this article: “How well am I marketing my practice?” and “Who's managing my office?” Both tools look at the management aspect of a veterinarian's enterprise with a view to facilitating more effective individual decision-making to achieve business objectives.
Tool name: “How well am I marketing my practice?”
What you will learn: Compare your practice's marketing strategy with other practices.
Clients and patients will be lost in even the best-run practices; therefore, attracting new clients to a practice is always important. “How well am I marketing my practice” compares the types of marketing efforts made by various practices. The “Why is this important?” section discusses ways to determine what clients want and how to implement new marketing initiatives. The “Recommended treatment” section focuses on the importance of internal marketing efforts versus outside promotion and advertising.
Tool name: Who's managing my office?
What you will learn: Find out how many management duties are performed by doctors and other staff in your practice.
Financially successful practices are, almost by definition, well-run practices. During certain phases of a practice's business cycle, it may be possible to be very profitable without a strong management framework, but the profitability will not be maintained for long. The tool titled “Who's managing my office” analyzes the total time spent in management activities, as well as the breakdown between veterinarian and staff time. The “Recommended treatment” section gives tips on improving management within a practice, as well as sources of management information.
These tools are interactive and easy to use. The more data input, the broader and deeper the data becomes, resulting in richer and more comprehensive output. We invite you to log on to www.canadianveterinarians.net and find out how your care compares!
For more information on the CVMA National Benchmarking Program, contact Ms. Suzanne Lavictoire, CVMA Director, Programs, at 1-800-567-2862, ext. 18, or at slavictoire@cvma-acmv.org
(by Suzanne Lavictoire, CVMA Director, Programs)
