Over the past 2 years or so, Pete and I have attended a number of veterinary industry trade shows and conferences across Australia and New Zealand. These events provide a wonderful opportunity to chat with leaders in the industry partner sector. These businesses represent everything from wholesalers to pharmaceuticals, food, accessories, equipment, and everything companion animal-related. Most are experiencing the same challenges. Shifting a customer to their model is hard.

The reality is that the veterinary industry is risk-averse. Change is hard, and your offer must be very compelling. There are businesses that force the issue solely on price and others that innovate and create beneficial services, resources and expertise as their value proposition.

It is not different for us at SVMG. We talk to vet practice owners and veterinary trade partners daily. The reason they call us is that they know they’re not getting a return on their marketing dollars, or that they have outgrown their current marketing support and need to upgrade to stay competitive. The challenge is value for investment, and why would they choose us or switch from their current agency to us?

In this article, I walk you through the pros and cons of switching or outsourcing your marketing activities.

Most businesses don’t switch agencies because of a single disappointing campaign. The decision usually comes after a pattern begins to emerge. You may notice that enquiries have plateaued despite increased spending. Marketing reports are filled with clicks, impressions and followers, yet sales teams aren’t seeing more qualified leads. Campaigns feel disconnected, with your website, advertising, content, social media and email marketing operating independently rather than supporting one another.

Another reason we hear from new enquiries is that the agency simply doesn’t understand the veterinary industry. Marketing veterinary products and services requires more than a superficial appreciation of how veterinary businesses research suppliers, evaluate risk and make purchasing decisions. Veterinary purchasing decisions are rarely impulsive and frequently involve multiple stakeholders and extended sales cycles. Generic business-to-business marketing often misses these nuances.

Growth is another primary driver for businesses to evaluate their current marketing alliance. Most veterinary suppliers begin by managing their marketing internally or through a generalist agency. This often works well during the early years when the business is relatively small and objectives are straightforward. As the organisation grows, marketing becomes more complex.

For example, you may be entering additional states or international markets. Your product or service portfolios have expanded, and you’ve concluded that different customer segments require tailored messaging. Sales teams need stronger support materials. Distributors require consistent branding. The time has come when your digital advertising, SEO, content marketing, AI search visibility, webinars, conferences and database marketing all need to work together.

Growth requires professional support. Growing businesses bring in fresh, experienced expertise to align business units, create management flows, build HR and sales teams, and implement automation. It is also normal for growing businesses to reach a point where their marketing has evolved from creating promotional material into building a structured commercial growth system that mirrors and supports their growth.

Businesses that recognise this transition early generally gain a competitive advantage. Every marketing activity must support the overall commercial objectives, and marketing activity and messaging need to keep pace with the business’s momentum. If this is you, now is a good time to think about outsourcing.

We’ve identified three key advantages for veterinary industry partners to consider outsourcing their marketing to a specialist such as Specialist Vet Marketing Group.

Firstly, you gain immediate access to a multidisciplinary team. Rather than relying on a single marketing coordinator or a small team to manage websites, SEO, content, advertising, design, analytics, and strategy, you have specialists responsible for each discipline. This is a significant advantage, enabling each element to be coordinated and controlled by people who know what they’re doing, how to do it, and are in sync with each other.

The second advantage is the process. Tested and proven processes are invaluable. Instead of continually reinventing campaigns, we follow structured planning, implementation, reporting and optimisation methodologies. Our processes reduce risk and ensure consistency, which ultimately builds trust with your customers.

Thirdly, and probably the most important, is knowledge of and experience with your intended customers. We understand veterinarians, practice managers, and the broader veterinary sector. Time isn’t wasted learning industry terminology or the complexity of veterinary purchasing behaviour. As a specialist marketing group working with industry partners and independent vet practices, we access and utilise an enormous amount of marketing data across a diverse range of veterinary businesses. This data is the heartbeat of marketing decisions. We make informed decisions, not guesswork.

The short answer is yes. Trust is a hurdle for some businesses. When you come aboard with SVMG, for example, you’ll be asked to relinquish some control. This can, on occasion, cause heartburn; however, we need to deliver the results you’re looking for. It may require internal structural changes and parting ways with your current agency.

There will be a transition period. Knowledge, assets and historical data will need to be transferred. Current campaigns may require review, and internal teams also need to build new working relationships. Businesses may worry about losing momentum during this handover. With an experienced team handling the transfer, the disruption is usually minimal. Switching to SVMG businesses can expect careful planning, detailed onboarding and clear communication.

The objective isn’t to start again. It’s to build on what’s already working while addressing what isn’t.

As your business grows, your marketing must grow with it. While the pond gets bigger, so do those trying to protect their patch or those rushing to keep up with you. Dedicated expertise becomes a necessity rather than a luxury.
At Specialist Vet Marketing Group, we often work with veterinary industry partners whose marketing has become fragmented and no longer reflects the scale of their business.

Our approach is always collaborative. We combine your expertise and knowledge with our own, and add proven marketing expertise and process to create connected strategies that support long-term commercial success. Rather than simply delivering marketing activities, we help industry partners build marketing systems that are accountable, measurable and aligned with their busines’s future.

Change can be hard; not changing can be harder. It is up to you which “hard” you choose.