For over a decade, wellness plans have been pitched as a silver bullet for non-corporate practices, promising to increase client loyalty and improve preventive care. But let’s be honest: they’ve been an absolute failure for most practices for 12 years running and the writing was on the wall back in 2012. I wasn't even in the veterinary industry at the time, but was asked to review all the documents of the first wellness plan being offered to local practices as a "membership expert". While having a family dinner with my mother in law (Dee Allen, an amazing CVPM btw) and said, I would definitely not run this plan as designed and presented! "I'll make a custom plan for your practice and let's see what Dr. Putnam says". Shockingly, he let us try it. 12 years later, Foothill Animal Hospital is still going strong with 500+ members. I'll attach that early case study later, but for the purpose of this article, I need to vent! It's time we face the truth—wellness plans are too complicated, too expensive, and simply don’t work for independent veterinary clinics. If you’re still trying to make these cookie-cutter corporate models work in your practice, it’s time to rethink your strategy completely.
They’re complex, have low conversion rates, and create administrative headaches—trying to replicate corporate models with them only leads to frustration.
Complicated and Confusing: These plans typically involve multiple tiers and fine print that confuse both clients and staff. Explaining these complex plans takes significant time and effort, and in many cases, both clients and your team end up frustrated, wondering if the plans are worth it.
Low Conversion Rates: Despite all the effort, wellness plans rarely convert enough clients to make a meaningful impact. Most clients who inquire about wellness plans at local clinics only do so because they’ve seen them marketed by Banfield or other large corporate veterinary chains. They have better marketing, more money to invest, and they can pay a vet tech to really work the plan. Their conversion metrics are not duplicatable and if they are that low, what's the point anyway?
In fact, according to DVM 360, many independent practices find wellness plans administratively burdensome, requiring significant resources to manage enrollment, billing, and client communication. (DVM 360).
Discount Based:
Offering a 10% discount through wellness plans can severely hurt clinic profits by eating into already slim margins. Though intended to add "membership value," it often shifts clients' focus to savings rather than care quality. Adding a blanket 10% discount to all services just deepens this profit loss—wellness plans are only getting worse each year for the practice owner!
The evidence is clear, it’s time to stop trying to force wellness plans into your practice and start thinking about alternatives. Non-Corporate practices need solutions that are simple, scalable, and specifically designed for their unique needs. Instead of adopting cookie-cutter corporate models, it’s crucial to find or create membership options that focus on what your clients actually need and what your team can realistically manage.
If you want to boost client loyalty and retention, don’t get bogged down by confusing wellness plans. Instead, seek out membership models that prioritize flexibility, clear value, and ease of use for both clients and staff. I'm sure they are out there. If you wanted to give us a shot, setup a demo and I'd be happy to give you a tour of a 12 year old wellness plan alternative that works.