What’s in a story?
Talk the Talk
Encouraging clients to talk about their pet or lifestyle will help bond them to your practice and improve compliance.
Imagine an older gentleman visits your practice for the first time with his newly adopted gray kitten, Gunny, who is due for a second set of vaccines. The veterinary team asks about the cat’s age, which vaccines were given previously and whether he was neutered. The veterinarian examines Gunny and brings up preventive care. She […]
Care repair
Talk the Talk
When client service falls short, remember the expression “Notice something, say something, do something.”
Something occasionally goes wrong at any business, but how employees respond to the situation can make the difference between losing and retaining a client. With planning and training, you can create a team that knows how to make things right when things go wrong. A significant part of the planning involves establishing that you have […]
How to communicate value
Talk the Talk
A consistent message, outstanding education and the latest technology solutions can help bond a client to the practice.
For as long as I can remember, our profession has stressed the importance of communicating the value of our services and products to pet owners. Dad and I talked about it when I was growing up and working at his veterinary hospital. Practice management speakers discussed it with my senior veterinary class. In 2011, the […]
Why embrace Generation Y?
Talk the Talk
Millennials are the largest pet-owning demographic and — listen here, practice owner — they value the latest communication tools.
To help more pets get the care they deserve, veterinary teams need to respond to trends in pet ownership. One of the biggest involves millennial pet owners. Check out these statistics: The millennial generation, also known as Generation Y, makes up about 29 percent of the U.S. population, having surpassed baby boomers, who are about […]
It’s your call
Talk the Talk
Delivering exceptional phone service can make the difference between a pet owner who agrees to book an appointment and one who gets a quick answer and hangs up.
Callers begin to make assessments about a veterinary hospital based on the telephone interaction with team members. These conversations can easily influence the decision to book an appointment. This is especially true when pet owners who aren’t established clients call to inquire about services and fees. Since the prices of routine services are likely to […]
Critical points of contact build pet owner loyalty
Talk the Talk
Clients will remember three key front-office interactions.
When pet owners visit a veterinary practice, their first and last interactions are typically with the front office team. Consequently, client service representatives (CSRs) need to be well-trained to create positive impressions. A pet owner’s service experience is a major factor in determining how bonded she is to the practice and how likely she is […]
Hear, see and feel
Talk the Talk
Accommodating a client’s preferred learning style can lead to a more educated pet owner and better compliance.
Several years ago, I took my Papillon, Chloe, to a veterinary dentist for removal of an oral tumor and any necessary dental care. In addition to reviewing details of the surgical procedure, he showed digital radiographs to explain which teeth needed to be removed. The dentist’s combination of auditory and visual client education built trust […]
The calm after the storm
Talk the Talk
Soothe angry pet owners and raise the level of service by training the team to listen carefully and respond the right way.
When faced with an angry client, veterinary team members tend to have two default responses: They either become defensive or suffer in silence. Unfortunately, neither response makes an unhappy client feel any better. While no one likes to be confronted by a livid pet owner, team members who are trained to respond with compassion will […]
Ask the right questions at the right time
Talk the Talk
Getting to know a pet owner on a more personal level can build trust.
Imagine a 12-year-old pet diagnosed with an operable brain tumor. Most clients would struggle to decide whether to proceed with surgery. Now imagine having to make this decision twice. I know how hard these decisions are because I was that client in 2013. My beloved Papillon, Chloe, came through her first craniotomy with no complications. […]
