Strengthening our ability to #bhere for pets by embracing change

Every year I look forward to our National Field Leadership (NFL) conference. It’s a time to reconnect with hundreds of our Associates, our strategy, and our shared purpose: A BETTER WORLD FOR PETS. This year I was proud to unveil our three strategic priorities for 2021 with our chief operating officer, Mony Iyer. With a unified focus across our practice we can create an empowering Associate culture that drives industry leadership and provides high-quality pet care in new ways.

Live our Purpose

The human-animal bond has never been stronger and the demand for veterinary care continues to rise. At Banfield, we have an essential role to play as providers of preventive care for pets throughout their life stages. We also have the responsibility to use our size and scale to improve processes, drive change, and make data-based decisions that create meaningful impact in service of our purpose.

A Banfield study found that 75 million pets in the U.S. may not have access to veterinary care by 2030, in large part due to the critical shortage of veterinarians. If we want to accommodate care for all pets, we need to see a dramatic shift in the traditional model of veterinary care, and I’m proud that Banfield is leading the charge. We’re looking at multiple ways of increasing access to care; through medical equipment advancement making our work more efficient and effective; through partnership within our Mars ecosystem to better know the pets we serve — with genetic information, nutritional recommendations, and activity monitors — to better support their health; and through digital innovations — such as virtual visits and Vet Chat? — that allow us to see more pets, where and however they need it.

Power up our People

In order to deliver on our purpose, we first must take care of our people and continue to build a culture that truly empowers Banfield’s 19,000+ Associates. Our ability to #bhere for the pets that need us is because of our people. In 2021, ongoing development will be an integral part of how we strengthen our culture at Banfield and continue to foster an environment where Associates can #bpassionate to start, stay, and grow their careers. When we can all #bempowered to own our current role and see clear career pathways and opportunities, we can unlock the potential in our people. Their talent is what enables us to be our best for the pets counting on us.

We’re also elevating the role of credentialed veterinary technicians (CVTs) across the profession and in our hospitals. We’re delivering 11,000 CVT visits per week — that’s tens of thousands of pets per month that might not have gotten care otherwise. It also frees up time for our veterinarians to expand their care, too. By increasing access to care, we are ensuring that pets get the important preventive, proactive, and sometimes reactive care that they need when they need it.

Transform our Growth

More than ever, we need to embrace change. Putting clients at the center of what we do allows us to reach even more pets with the quality care they deserve. As Banfield’s chief marketing officer, Lisa Stockmon, shared at NFL, 2021 will be about listening to pet owners and making data-driven decisions to propel us forward and deliver customer-centricity. One way is through eCommerce and our new #bhome delivery service, which allows for subscriptions and single shipments of products to be delivered directly to a client’s home. It’s a win-win, removing added wait times in our lobbies for refills, while ensuring pets receive wellness products recommended by their veterinary team at their doorstep.

Along with convenience, pet owners also expect experiences that are tailored uniquely for them … and veterinary care is no different. Later this month, we’ll be unveiling a redesigned Banfield website and app that adds greater personalization and increased functionality to important digital touchpoints with our clients. In addition to rich new content to help educate and engage clients to support their pets’ health at home, there will be a variety of simplified user experiences and updated features to help make it even easier for clients to connect directly with our hospital teams. I’m excited to see all the ways we continue to innovate and provide seamless client experiences that positively impact the quality of care we provide to pets.

Our strategy is grounded in our purpose and powered by our people. Through these initiatives and others, our Associates will continue to #bempowered, #bpassionate, and #bhere to improve care to pets and the people who love them.