The Case for Veterinary Membership Plans
Most veterinary professionals are familiar with the barriers preventing pet owners from obtaining routine pet healthcare, including high prices and the perception that wellness services aren’t necessary for seemingly healthy pets. Educating clients and providing better ways to pay for care can combat these issues.
Veterinary membership plans are a great option for teams looking to improve client retention, preventive pet care compliance, and hospital revenue. Here’s a closer look at how these plans work to boost the financial and operational health of your clinic.
What are veterinary membership plans?
Veterinary membership plans provide pet owners with a set of included services, discounts, and other benefits in exchange for a recurring monthly or annual membership fee. Plans are customizable to the needs of your practice and clientele.
Wellness plans, which include services like vaccinations, routine diagnostics, and dental cleanings, are a type of veterinary membership program. However, you can also offer clients plans that resemble a subscription model, with unlimited visits, priority appointment times, and free or heavily discounted products.
Offering clients a range of membership options ensures there is a good fit for all client needs, and can help many pet owners afford better, more frequent veterinary care. Clients with a predictable monthly membership fee won’t hesitate to schedule a visit when their pet becomes ill or is due for an annual exam.
Membership benefits for veterinary practices
Veterinary membership plans work for your team, too. Here are a few reasons to consider them:
- Predictable revenue – Recurring membership fees provide ongoing, predictable income throughout the year, helping to smooth out seasonal lulls and support informed practice management decisions.
- Improved client retention – Membership plans give clients a reason to return. Enrolled pet owners are more likely to follow through on preventive care and feel invested in animal health and your practice.
- Streamlined workflows – Membership plans can make care more efficient. Pets who visit more regularly also have fewer surprise findings on routine exams, which means fewer add-on diagnostics and disruptions to the day’s tasks.
- Veterinary technician utilization – Membership plans, especially those focused on wellness, provide more opportunities for technicians to take the reins during routine visits.
- Better compliance – With services bundled into a plan, pet owners are less likely to delay wellness visits or skip preventive and proactive care services due to cost concerns or disagreements over the value of services.
Membership benefits for veterinary clients
Membership plans are also appealing from the client’s perspective. Clients who choose to enroll in a plan can look forward to several member benefits, including:
- Fewer financial barriers to care
- Predictable costs over time
- Faster and easier booking
- Discounts and overall cost savings
- Deeper connections to the care team
- Active involvement in their pet’s health
Veterinary membership plan features
The beauty of subscription services is their flexibility. You can design them to align with your practice's vision, mission, and goals. However, the best veterinary membership plans are:
- Simple to understand — Plans shouldn’t be overly complex or bogged down by too many rules and requirements on the client’s part. Make them easy to understand from the client’s perspective without any hidden fees or loopholes.
- Customizable for clients — Plans should offer tiered membership levels to meet the needs of pets of different life stages and client budgets or preferences. The goal is to make plans customizable enough to appeal to clients without being overly complicated.
- Easily managed — Choose a third-party provider to administer the plans so your team can spend less time worrying about them. Look for providers that offer integration into your cloud-based practice management system for the ultimate ease of use.
Embracing veterinary membership plans
Membership plans have become part of a broader conversation about accessibility to care and how the industry can develop sustainable care models that prioritize patient and client well-being. Integrating payment plans can provide sustainable revenue for the practice, improve client satisfaction and loyalty, enhance pet health outcomes, and boost team member job satisfaction.
Pet owners are concerned about finances and finding ways to care for their pets without making sacrifices in other areas of their lives. The answer to their concerns is value-driven care and membership plans to support those philosophies. If you’re on the fence, now is the time to explore the benefits of veterinary membership plans and how they could fit into your practice’s long-term vision for success.
