WELCOME WELCOME
OCTOBER 11, OCTOBER 11, 20132013
Who Said It?
“The budget should be balanced, the
Treasury should be refilled, the public
debt should be reduced, the arrogance of
officialdom should be tempered and
controlled and the assistance to foreign
lands should be curtailed lest (we)
become bankrupt. People must again
learn to work, instead of living on public
assistance.”Cicero, 55 BC
Factors Effecting Economic Growth
• Interest Rates
• Taxes
• Government Stimulus
What Happens before Interest Rates
Increase?
• Unemployment declines
• Demand increases
• Factory Utilization increases
• Inflation increases
• GDP grows
Future of Tax Rates
• US Spending and US Debt
• History of Tax Rates
• Nickels and Dimes
History of US Surplus and Deficit
History of US Federal Debt
• Unearned Income Medicare Tax – 2.9%• Hospital Income Tax – 0.9%• Income Tax Rate – 39.6%• Capital Gains and Dividend Tax Rate –
20% • Exemption Phase Out – AGI Threshold• Itemized Deduction Phase Out – AGI
Threshold
Nickels and Dimes
Income Levels where you get “nickel and dimed”
Single Married Filing Joint
Income Tax Rate, Capital Gains and
Dividend Tax Rates$400,000 $450,000
Exemption and Itemized Deductions
Phase Outs$250,000 $300,000
Unearned Income Medicare Tax and
Hospital Income Tax$200,000 $250,000
Future of Gift and Estate Tax Rates
Lifetime Gift Tax
Exclusions
Maximum Estate Tax Rate
Annual Exclusion
2012 2013
$5.12M
$5.25M 35% 40%
$13,000
$14,000
Ok…
So Now What?
Keeping & GrowingYour Client Base
Mike Pownall, DVM
2013 Purina Equine Veterinary Conference
Keeping Clients
• Excellent Customer Service• Excellent Vet Skills• Caring Vets• Fair Pricing• Latest Technology• Etc
OK….So Now What?
Customer Surveys
• Are we as good as we think we are?• Overall impressions• Problem areas
Past Customer Surveys
InconvenientAnnoying
<10% response rate
The Net Promoter Score
The NPS
• Promoters (9-10)• Passives (7-8)• Detractors (0-6)
Promoters – Detractors = NPS
The NPS
• Promoters (9-10) 30%• Passives (7-8) 60%• Detractors (0-6) 10%
Promoters – Detractors = NPS30%(P) – 10%(D) = 20% NPS
Good Profit vs Bad Profit
The NPS
• 4 questions• Surveymonkey.com• Target clients• Results shared
Results
•Ave NPS score = 84%•Ave response rate = 33%
Challenges
• Time•Repeating clients•No industry standard•Can’t relate to growth
What We Have Learned
• Initiatives working•Good profits• Empowered staff
The Business Cycle
• Typical Growth Pattern
• Expected Growth Pattern
Rates Rates
Typical Business Cycle
Rates ↑Value ↑
Rates ↓Value ↓
Inflation
Rates ↔Value ↑
Plateau
Plateau
Rates ↑Value ↓
Rates ↑Value ↑
Time
Rates Rates
Expected Business Cycle
Rates ↑Value ↑
Rates ↓Value ↓
Inflation
Rates ↔Value ↑
Plateau
Rates ↑Value ↑
2013 2009 2007
So What Now?
Historically Low Interest
Rates
+ Higher Taxes
+ Slower Growth
= Gain Market Share
• Build value by return on equity• Gain market share– Acquisitions of existing practices– Expand geographic locations
How do I react?
Growing Your Client Base
& Keep the Ones You Have
Gaining Clients
• Excellent Customer Service• Excellent Vet Skills• Caring Vets• Fair Pricing• Latest Technology• New Services
OK….So Now What?
Digital Marketing?
Strategy
• What is our goal?• Who is our target?• How are we going
to do it?• How do we know
we are successful?
Strategy
• Facebook is not strategy• Facebook is a tool.
• Herd health is a strategy to minimize the spread of infectious agents• A vaccine is a tool
4Es of Social Media
• Educate• Entertain• Engage• Evangelists
Digital Marketing Universe
Web Site
Blog
We Want to be Found
Which Platforms?
Which Platforms?
eNewsletters
Mobile
The Social Media PlanCan We Measure It?
Example - Dentistry
• Declining sales• Severe competition from lay dentists
Goals
• Show value of vet dentistry• Increase sales 10%
How
Results
31%
The person doing Social Media at a vet practice
is as important
as the person who answers the phones
June 2011•6500 web page views•28,000 FB Impressions•3000 phone calls
Questions?
Mike Pownall
Lets Keep in Touch
• www.veterinarybusinessmatters.com• Linkedin.com/mikepownall• Facebook.com/veterinarybusinessmatters• Twitter.com/dvmbusiness• [email protected]
John A. Chalk, Jr., CPA, JD, CFP®
[email protected] – 416 – 5970
Thank You