The process of running a veterinary clinic is no easy feat, and there are a million tasks that need to happen each day to ensure that everything is running smoothly – like making sure that clients are coming in on time for preventative care.

Real quick – how many sick pet exams did you see at the practice in the last day? And how many of your clients are up to date on their vaccinations? If your practice is seeing a good number of sick visits on a consistent basis, it’s an indication there may be a communication gap between you and your clients. One reason this could be happening is that your methods of communicating don’t work for certain clients.

If you’re interested in closing the communication gap, read on.

Understanding Client Reach

Let’s think about client reach a little bit differently:

Imagine that your communication lines are checkout stands at a grocery store, and each of your clients are a customer waiting to check out. If you only have one check out lane open, what happens?

All of the customers trying to check out only have one option – to stand there and wait in one line! This situation can lead to long wait times, short tempers, and an overall bad experience for your customer.

Instead, imagine opening more checkout lanes to help more customers get through the checkout lane faster. By adding multiple checkout stands – or in your case other lines of communication – you’re able to schedule more clients, with less frustration for everybody.

Now think about the people who only need to go to the store for one or two items. They have the option of going through self-checkout. To continue the analogy, self-checkout is like an appointment scheduling app – your clients can choose when they want to book appointments on their time.

Catering to Your Clients’ Communication Preferences

If your clinic only sends out postcards as a reminder to bring their pets back in for their annual appointment, you may be missing out on a huge portion of your client database. Consider this: how often do you check your mailbox on a daily basis? And how much do you spend per postcard you spend?

There are now much more cost-effective and efficient tools to help you convey the same information quickly to your clients through more practical means of communication.

Here at PetDesk, we help connect veterinarians to their clients through four main channels:

Email
Text Messages
Push Notifications
Postcards

By adding the addition of the first three communication channels, you’re able to reach your clients much faster than if you were to only send them a postcard – and without any postage cost. Think about how many people have a smartphone in their pocket. How many times do they check their email versus how many times they check their mailbox?

Offering your clients multiple avenues of communication gives them the opportunity to CHOOSE which way is most convenient for them. One client may prefer to schedule their appointments online, while another may enjoy booking appointments through a mobile app, and even another client may enjoy receiving postcard reminders. By having all of these choices, you’re making it simple for all of your clients to contact you – no matter their communication preference.

Benefits of a Strong Communication Strategy

After implementing new communication channels, you’ll notice some big changes around your clinic:

Increase in Compliance Rates
Increase in appointments requested
Decrease in No-Show Rates
Increase in Revenue

Here at PetDesk, we pride ourselves on providing veterinary practices easy and efficient ways to communicate with their clients. If you’re interested in learning about different strategies on how to connect with your clients and keep them engaged, sign up to chat for free with one of our consultants.