Don’t leave the "have-nots" behind
The study has significant implications for veterinary practices that are placing more of their communications online.
According to a study carried out by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) on behalf of the Keep Me Posted campaign, households without internet access pay an average of £440 more a year for goods and services. And the irony is that it is those who could most benefit – the elderly and other vulnerable groups in our society – who are missing out more than anyone else.
Some 7 million people in the UK have never used the internet, with the vast majority (72 per cent) being the poorest 10 per cent in society, and almost half (48 per cent) of them aged 65 years of age or more. Many of these people are pet owners and so the CEBR study has significant implications for veterinary practices that are placing more of their promotional communication, client education and financial transactions online.
This study emphasises the importance of taking the demographics of your practice catchment area seriously when devising a marketing plan and compiling the services you will offer your clients. Variables such as age, gender, household structure, income, education, occupation and social status will all influence the services, products and prices your clients – and potential clients – are seeking.
But perhaps, most significantly, the CEBR research highlights the increasing importance of including use of online and mobile media in any investigation of the demographic profile of your clients, together with a consideration of the balance of methods you will use to communicate with them.
There are some useful online resources that are available to help practices make these decisions, including the UK Office of National Statistics and ACORN (A Classification of Residential Neighbourhoods) produced by the marketing data company CACI.
So by all means encourage clients to use online methods of communicating and transacting with you; but do consider the overall mix of your clients and their backgrounds to make sure that you are not leaving a significant number of pet-owning over-65s and less wealthy clients behind. And once you have them on board, perhaps you can do your bit to persuade them of the advantages of going online.
RCVS Knowledge has welcomed Professor Peter Cockcroft as editor-in-chief for Veterinary Evidence. 
