As a veterinarian, you get to deal with some of the most fascinating, most agreeable clients: animals. But they don't come alone. Their humans are part of the package and in order to be the best veterinarian to one, you must cater to the other.
Humans won't trust you with their fuzzy friends unless you build a bond with them as well as understand the bond you have with their pets. This is at the very heart of improving your veterinary practice in 2021.
Here are some great ways you can raise the bar at your veterinary practice.
1. Improve customer service
Nothing will get your clients talking about your vet practice to their friends like an upgrade in customer service. This requires an honest look at what currently obtains at practice and making some improvements.
Is your lobby and reception area bland, probably a little shabby? Lighten it up with some paint and new furniture. Music or TV in the reception will also give your practice a lively atmosphere. How about giving your clients the option of having tea or coffee while they wait? Their pets will certainly appreciate new toys and other amusements while they wait as well.
Special discounts and access to pet products and services will put you in both your human and pet client’s good books. A social media page with pics and achievements will help build a community among your clients, your staff, and yourself. Your practice starts to feel more like a family. Reminders about pet and human birthdays and upcoming appointments will put the icing on top of the cake.
2. Use automation software
You need a way to organize all the information your practice generates. Those client birthdays, preferences, and reminders need to be stored somewhere. This is where timesavers like this cloud based veterinary software come in. You can use this to organize and catalog all the important client information that gives you that customer service edge over your competitors.
Even better, because all of your information is stored in the cloud, you have certain advantages. You don't have to store any of this information on site. You don't have to pay someone to manage its on-site storage. You and your staff can access it and update it from anywhere. You can book appointments, set reminders, store pets' health data, whatever you need.
3. Build relationships with vendors
You won't be able to give your clients special discounts and access to new pet products and services if you don't have a special relationship with your vendors.
How do you do this?
Well, it helps if you establish exclusive relationships with a small number of vendors. This way you can devote your time to them and get to know each of them better than you would a larger group. This is the only way you'll find out about any special offers they have so you can pass them on to your clients. Recommend their products and services to your colleagues as well. Your vendors will appreciate the business you send their way and will most likely reciprocate.
4. Have the client see the same vet each time
You would have noticed a focus here on building relationships. This is because relationships underscore any improvements you hope to make in your vet practice. If you have a multi-vet practice, make sure that your human and pet clients always see the same vet whenever they come in for their appointments.
Your vet gets to know both clients and they get to know them. This way neither feels as though they are reinventing the wheel every time they come to your practice. The service doesn't feel impersonal and removed. You'll reap dividends for this as invested clients, who know and like your vets will be more likely to return as well as recommend them to others.
5. Focus on continued animal wellness
A large part of veterinary practice is concerned with emergency services for animals. Their humans bring them in when something is wrong with them or if they are injured during some activity. They are diagnosed and a course of treatment is performed or suggested.
Vet practices that have maintained growth are also incorporating a continued program of wellness. The vet makes the human owner a partner in the care of the animal, so together they are able to prevent the animal from getting sick in the first place.
The vet can suggest a regime and diet specific to the species and breed of the emphasized animal. The vet can also make referrals to adjunct pet services, i.e. groomers, sitters, trainers, who'll be able to help the animal and human with any other situation the vet practice may not specifically handle. So whether it's suggesting that new line of food and treats or that new series of pet/owner yoga videos, you have your clients covered.
6. Market your practice
This cannot be emphasized enough. You can't grow your practice if people don't know about it. Today, it's even easier to get the word out with all the social media and Internet marketing tools out there. They are easy to use and designed for busy practice owners like yourself.
Set up Facebook and Instagram accounts to personalize your practice and help potential clients get to know you and your staff and go behind the scenes of your practice. Make sure you post lots of videos of your charges. Lots of people like and watch videos about dogs, cats, and other amazing animals, even non-pet owners. Your latest referral may come from one of these to a relative who has a pet.
Set up a LinkedIn account to make connections with professionals in your field. Post regularly about new developments in your field. If you can, write informative posts about your field. You'll develop a reputation as a thought leader and clientele tend to gravitate toward people perceived as leaders in their field.
For 2021, give yourself the gift of a bigger, better practice. Work on strategically building and bettering the relations that feed your practice, i.e. your clients, your vendors, and support services. These are some ways you can do that.
