18 Jun 2026
Marketing expert Huw Aveston urged BVA Live delegates to consider their practice’s value proposition as they work toward CMA compliance.
Chris Simpson
Job Title
Huw Aveston, chairman of Digital Practice.
Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) measures for the sector represent an opportunity for practices to consider their positioning within the market, BVA Live delegates were told.
Speaking in the session “Countdown to compliance: how many months before you’re ready?”, Digital Practice chairman Huw Aveston offered a marketing perspective on the CMA’s remedies around pricing.
He said: “Beyond the regulation, actually the industry is at a certain point where this also represents an opportunity.
“It represents an opportunity for everyone who runs veterinary practices to think about your practice, your pricing, your positioning, your brand.”
Mr Aveston called for “holistic thinking” from practice leaders about “how you sit within the ecosystem”.
He suggested competition for clients “has heated up fairly significantly” in the past 12 to 18 months, adding: “We’re into a new era where you need to actively position yourself and compete for clients.”
He concluded: “The most important thing is you need to think about what is your value proposition, and a value proposition comes in many different shapes and sizes.
“Are you a particular specialist in something? Are you cheaper? Are you faster? Are you better quality? Is your customer service better?
“You need to really think about what is your value proposition, and it’s not just price. If you retreat back into thinking that it’s price… you’re going to miss the point.”
Joining him in the session, Digital Practice’s head of compliance and veterinary content, David Harris, suggested there was “cautious optimism that this is a much more doable task than the original draft report suggested we might be faced with” in regard to the CMA’s remedies.
Asked how remedies might apply to mixed and farm practices, the vet replied: “It’s gonna be a mess.”
He suggested that while those practices will not be required to feature equine and farm price lists like they will have to for small animals, clients will come to expect it and “it will come to be considered as standard”.
Mr Harris added: “I don’t think the CMA is going to want to re-enter the trenches and go through the whole business again – because, to be fair, I think it’s quite bruising on them as much as it has anybody else – to look at equine and farm.”