How PetDesk’s direct booking simplifies Pet Dental Health Month for veterinary clinics

PetDesk Direct Booking is your partner in Pet Dental Health Month and beyond, helping you save time, reduce calls, and prevent errors while handling peak customer volume with ease. Here’s how our 24/7 direct online booking platform can simplify your preparation for and management of Pet Dental Health Month, allowing you to maximize team efficiency and clinic profitability.

1. Simplifying veterinary appointment scheduling

Appointment volume can skyrocket during Pet Dental Health Month, and can lead to a domino effect of challenges for your veterinary team. PetDesk Direct Booking is our 24/7 direct online booking platform that provides pet parents with the ability to book your services whenever they want and wherever they are. Empowering pet owners to request their pets’ dental checkups anytime and on any device is key for decreasing your rate of calls, saving time from scheduling-related errors, and improving the overall client experience.

• Less call volume: When more pet parents book your services online, your team can enjoy less time dealing with appointment-related phone calls. That means more time focusing on in-clinic client and patient care without having to pick up the phone or place callers on hold.
• No scheduling errors: Our real-time veterinary booking feature checks your practice information management system (PIMS) twice per client booking, which prevents the chance of double-booked appointments and other scheduling problems. You’ll also have access to all the rules and customizations you need to stay in total control of your appointment process, including which clients can book certain services and when.
• Better experience: Offering pet parents a convenient way to book the dental services they need anytime, anywhere, and on any device makes it easier for them to be an active participant in their pets’ health journeys. Plus, you’ll be able to capture the 40% of appointments that are booked outside of practice hours¹, essentially keeping your front desk open 24/7 without you having to work extra hours.

2. Increasing financial commitment with veterinary appointment deposits

Whether it’s Pet Dental Health Month or just another day at the clinic, no-shows and last-minute cancelations can completely derail your daily routine. PetDesk Direct Booking is equipped with advanced veterinary payment software that allows you to request pre-appointment deposits or full payments to pet parents before they arrive for their dental appointments. This helps clients follow through with the services they’ve booked while assuring their pets get the care they need, all while keeping your schedule on track and free of surprises.

• Secure financial commitment: Requiring upfront deposits and payments from pet owners during the booking process encourages them to stay committed to the appointments they’ve confirmed at your clinic, helping to reduce the rate of missed appointments and retain your revenue.
• Encourage responsibility: Once their appointments are confirmed and the deposit has been placed, pet parents will become more invested in their pets’ health needs and ensure they receive timely veterinary care, which helps to promote better patient outcomes.
• Improve operations: Fewer last-minute cancellations means less wasted time and resources for your team, allowing you to get the most out of your clinic’s schedule instead of worrying about clients not paying or showing up.

3. Keeping pet care on track with automated veterinary appointment reminders

Another way to manage high volume during Pet Dental Health Month, keep pet health journeys on course, and win the battle against no-shows is through our automated veterinary appointment reminders. Sent well in advance of their scheduled visits, these automatic alerts keep pet owners on top of their pets’ healthcare to prevent them from missing their appointments or canceling at the last minute.

• Timely notifications: Stay focused on pet care while our email reminders are automatically delivered to clients’ inboxes two days in advance, allowing them to confirm, reschedule, or cancel their appointments well before they’re scheduled to arrive.
• Improved communication: Pet parents can use PetDesk Direct Booking to directly manage their dental appointments from any device they wish. This skips the need to call your clinic and reduces the back-and-forth that often comes with appointment scheduling.
• Lower operational costs: Time truly is money in the veterinary world, and wasting valuable time waiting for clients to show up late or not at all can increase your cost of operations. Online booking maximizes your appointment scheduling process to keep your calendar full, clinic costs down, and your earnings on track.

4. Strengthening the veterinary clinic-client relationship

PetDesk Direct Booking is a convenient, user-friendly platform that enhances your overall client experience, which in turn can also create stronger client relationships. Through features like real-time direct appointment scheduling, upfront veterinary payments, and automatic reminders, PetDesk Direct Booking can help make your clinic the go-to place for veterinary care in your area, especially during Pet Dental Health Month.

• Build trust with pet parents: Clients appreciate transparent and accessible veterinary care for their pets. Instead of being placed on hold or waiting for the clinic to open, PetDesk Direct Booking creates an enjoyable booking experience that enables pet parents to get what they need for their pets when they need it. This level of transparency establishes a sense of comfort and trust for pet owners and keeps them coming back to your team for care.
• Improve pet health compliance: A simplified booking process that has convenient features like advance billing and consistent appointment reminders allows clients to easily prioritize their pets’ dental health, and further encourages pet owner responsibility.
• Keep clients satisfied: More than building trust and keeping pet health on track, offering pet parents fast and reliable booking services promotes customer loyalty and satisfaction with your clinic. This helps to boost your credibility, grow your community, and give you peace of mind that you’re providing your clients with the best possible booking experience.

5. Boosting revenue and growing your veterinary practice

Pet Dental Health Month is an excellent opportunity to increase your clinic’s revenue. PetDesk Direct Booking can help you grow your business by attracting and retaining more pet owners, keeping your calendar full, and ensuring every patient receives focused and personalized dental care.

• Maximize appointment capacity: Efficient scheduling leads to less no-shows and last-minute cancelations, allowing your practice to accommodate more patients. Our direct booking platform helps you keep your momentum without having to restructure your schedule or lose time from no-shows.
• Enhance accessibility: If a pet parent can’t quickly and easily book a dental appointment online, chances are they’ll move onto another clinic. Online booking makes it easy for clients to quickly request appointments on their own time, increasing the likelihood that they’ll return for more care in the future.
• Improve resource allocation: Manually following up with and confirming client appointments are time-consuming and repetitive tasks. Online booking and automated reminders save your team the effort and allow them to keep their concentration on more important to-dos, boosting team efficiency and optimizing clinic profitability.

Simplify Pet Dental Health Month prep with PetDesk!

Preparing for Pet Dental Health Month doesn’t have to be stressful. The PetDesk team is here to make February’s volume more manageable for your team, ultimately helping you grow your practice and ensure all patients receive the dental care they deserve.

Our online veterinary booking software makes appointment management easier than ever by simplifying the scheduling process, securing financial commitment from pet parents, and enhancing the client experience. By saving time, reducing call volume, and keeping business on track, you’ll create an efficient veterinary environment that provides quality dental care to every pet who walks through the door.

¹ Data pulled from over 3,500 PetDesk Direct Booking customers in North America between June 2023 and June 2024.