Kynetec - Making an impact...The 2023 perspective

The tracker surveys 500 small animal veterinarians in the UK annually, with the next wave fielding in February 2024.

Key trends seen back in 2020 were similar to that of today. Veterinarians are still overworked and stressed. The lack of staff and time has intensified pressures. While in 2018 and 2020 the biggest challenges were related to workload and lack of time, current challenges are almost entirely about staffing. In fact, 72% of UK veterinarians state that staffing issues are the biggest challenge facing their veterinary clinic today.

Financially, veterinarians are struggling. After a year of growth, particularly in 2021/2022, the financial situation of UK clinics has shown a marked decline. For the first time since 2014, the number of those doing worse vs the previous year is almost the same as those who are better off. In other words, they cancel each other out.

Financial situation sees a marked decline

Q: The current economic climate has affected different business in different ways. Compared to last year would you say…

Source: Sales Rep Survey UK Base: All vets - 403; 2023, 400; 2022, 445; 2021, 248; 2020, 445; 2019, 443; 2018, 451; 2017, 300; 2016, 300; 2015, 303; 2014, 400; 2013, 408;2012, 422;2011

Significance testing ↑ ↓ denotes significant of 95% against previous wave

After years of growth, the financial situation of UK vets shows a marked decline. For the first time since the end of the financial crisis, the number doing worse than the previous year closely equals those better off.

The financial strain of the cost-of-living crisis extends to the personal lives of veterinary professionals. Our cost-of-living tracker recently found an increase in the number of UK veterinarians stating they are very worried and struggling to keep up financially. The impact seems to be vast and unforgiving.

The intensified pressures are driving more veterinarians to leave the profession. Our cost-of-living tracker also found an increase in the number of UK veterinarians thinking about leaving the profession – just in the past 6 months. Markedly, now 1 in 4 UK veterinarians have considered leaving the profession for higher pay or lower working hours.

Financial strain pushes vets to make tough choices

% UK Veterinarians very worried and struggling to keep up financially

cm-article-0124_financial-strain-worried

% UK Veterinarians who have considered leaving the profession for higher pay or lower hours

cm-article-0124_financial-strain-leaving

Q: Thinking about your personal circumstances, how much of a worry is keeping up with the increases in cost of living that we are all experiencing at the moment? Thinking about the things that might worry you regarding increases in the cost of living, please rank each of the following according to what you are most concerned about?

Source: CM Research - Cost of Living Tracker W1, W2 UK(115)

UK vets’ worry level has increased compared to 2022. In addition, a quarter of UK vets have considered leaving the profession for higher paid job/fewer hours.

Declining interactions

Lack of time and staffing challenges mean sales representatives continue to have to work hard to get the attention of veterinarians. In fact, since 2020 we have seen a decline in the number of contacts with sales representatives (either personal or clinic visits).

The number of interactions has stagnated. Yet, is it a case of less is more?

Despite a decline in visits from sales representatives (and other contact methods), direct ratings of manufacturers remain stable since 2018. This is interesting when knowing that in 2018 the number of visits from sales representatives was nearly twice that of 2023.

At first look, it seems like at least less is not less. But, when we asked veterinarians to provide a detailed evaluation of manufacturers across sales support, sales force, and commercial support, we find that on an aggregate level performance of manufacturers is in decline – now at the lowest point it has ever been. The average manufacturer rating stands at 7.2/10, showing that there are very few veterinarians currently being delighted by the service they receive from manufacturers.

Ratings suffer alongside decrease of direct contact

Average total practice contacts
with manufacturer

Aggregate average manufacturer detailed performance - All manufacturers

Q: Based on everything you know about the following manufacturers, their products, their people and their services - how would you rate their overall performance? Please give them marks out of 10, where 10 means "excellent performance" and 1 means "very poor performance". / Q: How many sales representatives have visited your practice in the last four months? / Q: How many sales representatives have contacted your parctice, in any form, in the last four months? / Q: How many sales representatives did you personally see in the last four months? / Q: How many sales reps have you personally been in contact with, in any form, in the last four months?

Source: Sales Rep Survey UK Base: All vets - 406; 2023, 400; 2022, 347; 2020, 445; 2019, 443; 2018, 451; 2017, 300; 2016

The average number of sales reps visiting practices has started to recover, but still far from pre-pandemic days. Performance on the whole has continued to fall and is now at the lowest level it’s ever been.

Not good enough

What is holding manufacturers back? Back in 2020, a key area for improvement was commercial support. More than anything, veterinarians wanted transparency and more communication. In 2023, the story has not changed. Our cost-of-living tracker found that close to half (47%) of UK veterinarians have received no support from suppliers to address the current financial situation. Better discount/loyalty options, better management of price hikes and more communication as a whole are key areas where improvement should be made. In fact, at least 40% of UK veterinarians need support across these areas, but less than 5% are getting it. This gap is significant and should be addressed.

Few UK vets get support they desire

What support veterinarians want from their suppliers vs what they got - % total veterinarians (Top 10 only)

Q: What actions, if any would you like your suppliers to take to help address the current financial situation? / Q15b: And what actions, if any, are your suppliers currently taking to address the current financial situation?

Source: CM Research - Cost of Living Tracker W2 UK (115)

Vets have more needs than the support areas that suppliers are delivering in. For all veterinarians, improving or introducing discounts and loyalty schemes and limited price increases and out of stocks are the top needs.

So, how can sales representatives make a difference? Every year we ask veterinarians to rate manufacturers across 35 different service aspects. We use these ratings to determine which have the strongest relationship, thus highest impact, on manufacturer performance. We find that frequency of visit and technical helplines play a lesser role this year than they have in the past, which means that every visit really does count. What plays an important role this year is a can-do attitude – and more so than previous years. It is also key to build a partnership with veterinarians and ensure that support is provided as/when needed. A personal approach is therefore key, one that provides ongoing commercial support and transparent communication across the specific areas identified in our cost-of-living tracker.

Areas to action for growth

Top drivers of manufacturer performance

TOP DRIVERS - Reasons to celebrate

MAINTAIN EFFORTS across these areas. Attributes currently drive performance and are highly rated

Helpful, with a can-do attitude

Ease of working with the manufacturer overall

Appearance of sales representative

Answers questions promptly

Good presence at exhibitions and congresses

TOP DRIVERS - Areas to improve

RAMP UP EFFORTS across these areas. Attributes currently drive performance yet are poorly rated

Ability of the company to work with you to make your business more profitable and productive

Quality of information provided to clients

Commitment to you and your practice

Key drivers of manufacturer performance
Q: Using a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate the performance of the following manufacturers? Please give them marks out of 10, where 10 means "excellent performance" and 1 means "very poor performance" / Q: Using a scale of 1 to 10 how would you rate the overall performance of the following manufacturers in terms… Please give them marks out of 10, where 10 means "excellent performance" and 1 means "very poor performance"

Source: Sales Rep Survey UK Base: All vets - 403; 2023

Detailed ratings were given by vets for the manufacturer they considered the best and for the most recent manufacturer they have seen. Manufacturers were rated across 35 different service aspects.

In-person isn’t everything

Intriguingly, our data shows that whilst there is a strong link between the number of manufacturer interactions and ratings, the impact of sales representatives is in decline. It is becoming more and more difficult to use interactions as a medium to improve perceptions (and ultimately sales) among veterinary professionals. In-person sales representative visits now represent 20% share of total contacts with veterinarians, which is nowhere near pre-pandemic levels.

Yet, sales representatives and their visits to clinics are still important and key to maintain (or even ramp up). Out of all interactions, those with sales representatives have a stronger impact on overall ratings than any other type of interaction.

Importantly, we find that veterinarians want to continue to see sales representatives in-person. However, a mixed mode approach is essential. In fact, only 14% want in-person visits from their representative and even less (4%) want remote engagement only.

Key takeaways:

Pushed to the edge: Current challenges are almost entirely about staffing. With financial pressures growing, more veterinarians are being pushed to make tough choices – including leaving the profession.

More commercial support is essential: In light of rising pressures, our cost-of-living tracker shows that manufacturers aren’t doing enough to support veterinarians. Support is lacking most across the areas where support is needed most. As a result, manufacturer ratings are suffering. Action is key. Above all, partnership, commercial support and transparency in communication are necessary to ensure you keep veterinarians on your side.

Interact across the board: Whilst sales reps are still strong contributors to performance, their share of interactions is now smaller than ever. There continues to be a strong relationship between number of interactions and performance (sales), so a mixed approach (remote and in-person) is key to success. Few want only in-person or online remote contact with manufacturers.

Be the problem solver: The focus should be on quality interactions. A personal approach, with a can-do attitude, is more important than it ever has been. Focus interactions in understanding individual personal and professional challenges. Support should be accessible, but technical helplines play a lesser role this year.

Interested in our latest Sales Rep Survey or Cost of Living Tracker results? Want to subscribe to the next wave (Feb '24)? Early subscriber discounts are available. Get in touch to find out more!

CM Research is now part of the Kynetec Group.

Making an impact... the 2023 perspective

By Tanya Michelsen

Our Sales Rep Tracker has been tracking the performance of the top animal health companies in the UK since 2011.

The tracker surveys 500 small animal veterinarians in the UK annually, with the next wave fielding in February 2024.

Financial situation sees a marked decline