Best Practices and up to the minute news on Customer Experience Management and Service Excellence
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Best Practices and up to the minute news on Customer Experience Management and Service Excellence
No matter how skilled and talented the veterinarians at your veterinary practice are, outstanding pet care alone isn’t enough to keep loyal clients coming back or turning first-time guests into long-time customers.
“While the care, products and service veterinarians deliver are critically important, the customer experience is now vital for practice success,” according to veterinary practice management software company Covetrus.
“A great experience will positively impact your customers’ perceptions of how your practice treats them,” according to Covectrus. “It will strengthen loyalty and drive repeat business. And a great customer experience also increases the likelihood that pet owners will recommend your clinic to others.”
Here are eight tips for creating a positive guest experience for all your veterinary clients, whether they have two legs or four.
To avoid long phone holds, offer a few different contact options for making or changing appointments, asking questions and addressing customer concerns. Send text or email reminders for appointments so clients don’t have to reschedule due to missed appointments.
“Have your digital coordinator monitor your practice email, chat or text messages and social media messages, while your [front desk staffers] handle the phone lines, ” recommends veterinary practice management software provider Vet2Pet.
Train your reception staff to smile and greet guests when they walk through the door. If they’re on a call or helping another client, make sure they acknowledge customers waiting in line. If possible, give waiting guests an idea of how long they’ll be on the call and let the client know they’ll be with them as soon as they’re available.
“The waiting area of your vet clinic should be an inviting and calming space where clients and patients can relax before their consultation,” says Covetrus. “This could include providing separate spaces for cats and dogs or maybe providing a water, tea or coffee station for clients who stay in the waiting room while their pet is being treated.”
Other ideas include making pet magazines and photo books available, showing videos about pet care and health on a large TV and giving guests updates on their expected wait times.
A well-designed loyalty program rewards your clients for doing business with you, and you can also use the earning and redeeming structure to drive desired client behavior and boost revenue, according to Vet2Pet:
“For example, your clients can earn reward points for purchasing dental health products, which can then be redeemed for a percentage off a pet dental cleaning. Or, purchasing a year’s supply of parasite prevention can earn $10 off an annual 4DX test.”
Follow up with clients after appointments to check on how well treatments are working or to make sure a procedure performed was effective for the client’s pet. The client will appreciate the extra effort and feel like they and their pet are valued by your practice.
Covetrus suggests providing consistency through documented standards and processes at your practice. Creating an employee handbook and going over it with new hires in addition to on-the-job training helps ensure that all staff members are on the same page with customer service and protocols.
“Make sure all staff are aware of the expected level of service and experience you want to provide to clients,” says Covetrus. “And also [make sure] that they know the measures you’ve put in place to ensure consistency such as checking a patient record to see if they need assistance or a little bit of extra reassurance.”
“Give your clients a chance to focus on the visit by providing a distraction for their child,” suggests Covetrus. “This could include having animal-themed books or toys available in the waiting area. Or invite them into the exam room so they can see what you’re doing with their pet and how what you’re doing will help the animal feel better.”
To make a visit to the vet feel like something your pet can look forward to,
offer a treat or another prize to guests to give to their pet once their visit is complete. You can even go a step further and take this strategy to your exam rooms.
“Stock your species-specific prize box with a variety of appropriate toys, chews, and treats,” suggests Vet2Pet. “When the appointment is over, allow the pet to pick out their prize.”
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