The Scaling Playbook: How to Turn Early Success into Industry-Wide Adoption
Early Wins Are Not Enough—It’s Time to Scale Smart
Getting early adopters on board is an exciting milestone, but if your growth slows down after those first wins, you’re stuck. Scaling adoption requires a system, not just enthusiasm. Here’s the strategy to transform your veterinary technology from innovation to industry standard.
Beyond the Blueprint: Expert Perspectives
Each edition, we will bring you insights from industry leaders who share their expertise on scaling, innovation, and strategic growth.
This week, Michael Sullivan offers his perspective to help you navigate the path to industry-wide adoption:
“Scaling a business effectively begins with a deep and continuous understanding of customer needs. Understanding the customer and the myriad dimensions which challenge, excite and frustrate customers is the 'gold' in building a successful business. Companies must resist the urge to build products or expand offerings based solely on internal capabilities or assumptions. Instead, success lies in starting from the customer and working backwards—immersing in their experiences, pain points, and desires. By actively listening through interviews, feedback loops, behavioral data, and market trends, businesses can uncover both explicit and latent needs. This customer-first approach ensures that every strategic decision—from product development to market expansion—is rooted in delivering meaningful value, making it far more likely that the business scales with purpose and sustained demand. Once customer needs are clearly understood, the next critical step is evaluating how well the company's current solutions meet those needs—and where they can be strengthened. This means honestly assessing the company’s unique value proposition and identifying the specific ways its offerings stand out from competitors. Are the solutions delivering tangible impact? Are they solving high-priority problems in a way that customers deeply appreciate? A rigorous analysis of product-market fit, backed by customer testimonials, usage patterns, and retention metrics, helps validate the company's position and informs how to refine or innovate to maintain alignment with evolving customer expectations. Sustainable scaling comes from embracing what makes the company unique and intentionally seeking new customer journeys that align with those differentiators. Rather than trying to serve everyone, focus on replicating success among customer segments who share similar needs and behaviors. This involves mapping out existing successful use cases and identifying adjacent segments or markets where those same needs exist. By doubling down on what the company does best and finding more of the “right” customers, businesses can grow with clarity, coherence, and consistency—building a brand and offering that is both scalable and resilient."
His insights reinforce the core principles of this playbook: scaling is not just about expanding reach, it’s about solving the right problems in a way that makes your solution indispensable. Keeping this in mind, let’s dive into the steps that will turn early success into sustainable market adoption.
1. Build a Repeatable Growth Engine, Not Just Word-of-Mouth
Early adopters find you. The rest of the market needs structured outreach. You can’t rely on organic referrals alone; you need a system to attract, educate, and convert at scale.
How to create your growth engine:
Automate education. Develop a series of onboarding emails, video tutorials, and interactive guides.
Invest in digital marketing. SEO, PPC, and targeted LinkedIn outreach to bring in new vet practices at scale.
Use CRM and data tracking. Map out exactly where potential users drop off and refine your sales funnel.
Case Study: PetWellClinic
When Dr. Sam Meisler founded PetWellClinic, he faced the same challenge many new veterinary businesses encounter. Competing in an overcrowded, full-service market. But instead of going head-to-head with traditional hospitals, he identified a gap in the industry: pet owners wanted convenient, affordable, walk-in care for routine services.
By shifting to a preventive care model with upfront pricing and streamlined services, PetWellClinic carved out a new niche. But what truly fueled its growth wasn’t just the concept, it was the ability to scale systematically. Through a franchise model, PetWellClinic established standardized operations, including 8-hour vet shifts, transparent pricing, and an open-clinic layout. This repeatable system made it easy for franchisees to replicate the model, leading to expansion across 150+ locations nationwide.
Tying Back to Expert Perspectives: As Michael Sullivan emphasizes, scaling isn’t about pushing internal assumptions—it’s about deeply understanding customer pain points and designing a business model that meets those needs at scale. PetWellClinic's success proves that when you create a structured, repeatable growth engine, you don’t just attract customer, you build an entire movement.
2. Shift Your Messaging to Appeal to the Mainstream Market
Innovators adopt new technology because they love change. The majority of veterinarians don’t, they need certainty and ease. Your messaging has to shift from excitement about the tech to ROI, reliability, and workflow integration.
What works for scaling?
Lead with business benefits: “Reduce diagnostic wait times by 35%” instead of “AI-powered technology.”
Show competitor comparisons. Prove how your product outperforms legacy solutions.
Address workflow concerns. Demonstrate how your tool integrates seamlessly into daily operations.
Case Study: PetDx (OncoK9)
When PetDx introduced OncoK9, the first liquid biopsy test for early cancer detection in dogs, early adopters, particularly veterinary oncologists and progressive general practitioners, were quick to embrace the cutting-edge technology. However, for mainstream adoption, PetDx had to shift its approach.
Instead of positioning OncoK9 as a breakthrough in genomic science, they reframed their messaging to emphasize practical value: “A simple blood test that detects cancer early, helping you improve patient outcomes and boost revenue.” This shift resonated with general veterinary practices that prioritize ease of use, clear ROI, and patient care benefits over scientific novelty.
Tying Back to Expert Perspectives: As Michael Sullivan points out, successful scaling depends on ensuring that solutions truly meet customer needs. Innovation alone isn’t enough. Messaging must align with the real-world challenges veterinarians face. PetDx’s ability to reposition OncoK9 as a must-have diagnostic tool rather than just an exciting technology played a critical role in driving industry-wide adoption.
3. Create a Scalable Customer Expansion Strategy
Growth doesn’t just come from new customers it comes from maximizing value within your existing user base. Too many companies focus only on new signups when they should be leveraging upsells, expansions, and referrals within their customer base.
Scalable expansion tactics:
Offer multi-location rollouts for existing clients instead of just single-practice adoption.
Develop advanced feature tiers that encourage clinics to upgrade.
Use data-driven cross-selling—recommend additional services based on usage trends.
Case Study: PetWellClinic
Instead of solely chasing new customers, PetWellClinic maximized value by targeting multi-unit franchisees. Their model encouraged franchise owners to expand within their regions, growing from single-unit to multi-location deals.
THAVMA INSIGHT: Like PetWellClinic, you should focus on deepening engagement with existing customers. Expanding within your current base increases revenue and reinforces long-term loyalty.
4. Expand Footprint Through Digital and Content Strategy
Scaling isn’t just about selling. It’s about visibility. A well-executed digital and content strategy ensure your solution stays top of mind and is seen as an industry standard.
How to drive adoption through digital and content:
Develop thought leadership. Publish case studies, whitepapers, and industry reports that position your company as the go-to expert.
Expand your webinar and podcast strategy. Host live Q&A sessions with industry leaders and share real-world success stories.
Create a multi-channel content approach. Use LinkedIn, industry blogs, email newsletters, and veterinary forums to continuously educate and engage your audience.
Develop evidence-based content marketing. Create educational content that showcases clinical research, scientific validation, and real-world case studies.
Case Study: PetDx (OncoK9)
To scale adoption, PetDx didn’t just sell, they educated. They sponsored clinical studies, created CE content, and leveraged industry reports to make OncoK9 a standard part of veterinary diagnostics.
THAVMA INSIGHT: Market leaders don’t just sell; they teach and influence. Content marketing, thought leadership, and industry-backed research can accelerate trust and adoption.
5. Leverage Strategic Partnerships to Scale Faster
Instead of trying to win every new vet clinic one by one, scale adoption through key partnerships.
Vet school programs. Get your product in front of future practitioners early.
Large corporate veterinary group. A single deal could mean hundreds of locations.
Pharmaceutical and diagnostic companies. Bundle your technology into their existing sales channels.
Case Study: PetDx (OncoK9)
PetDx teamed up with IDEXX and Antech, embedding OncoK9 into their existing lab workflows. Overnight, thousands of clinics had easy access to their cancer screening test, accelerating industry-wide adoption.
THAVMA INSIGHT: One well-placed partnership can grow adoption 10x faster than individual sales efforts. Strategic alliances accelerate credibility and market reach.
Market Leaders Aren’t Born. They’re Built with Strategy
Early adopters got you here, but achieving mainstream adoption requires more than momentum, it demands structure, strategy, and a repeatable growth engine. The companies that rise to industry leadership don’t rely on luck or fleeting trends; they build a foundation that ensures long-term success.
As Michael Sullivan emphasizes, businesses scale effectively when every decision is rooted in customer insights. The most successful companies don’t just push innovation for innovation’s sake, they listen, they adapt, and they continuously refine their approach to align with real-world needs.
When strategy meets deep customer understanding, growth becomes inevitable. Scaling isn’t about chasing numbers, it’s about creating lasting impact, solving the right problems, and becoming indispensable to the industry you serve.
The veterinary space is evolving, and those who embrace smart, structured, and customer-driven scaling strategies will set the standard for the future. The path to industry-wide adoption isn’t reserved for a select few; it’s available to those who are willing to build with intention, iterate with insight, and lead with purpose.
As you look ahead, ask yourself: Are you just growing, or are you building something that will transform the industry?
Connect
If you haven’t yet explored our previous Thavma Insights editions, now is the perfect time! Let’s connect on LinkedIn: Fotine A Sotiropoulos. Want to implement a scaling strategy for your veterinary technology? Schedule a Consultation.
Sources for Case Studies
Harvard Business Case Study on PetWellClinic’s Growth Strategy – Blue Ocean Strategy and franchise expansion.
PetWellClinic’s Record Franchise Growth in 2022 – Expansion to 18 locations with plans for further growth.
PetDx (OncoK9):
PetDx Partners with IDEXX to Expand OncoK9 Access – Widespread distribution through IDEXX.
Antech and PetDx Expand OncoK9 for Multi-Cancer Detection – North American expansion via Antech.
