Client Relations & Marketing

Your clients didn't go to veterinary school. You did. So why ask your clients, who have no training or expertise, to make medical decisions about the care of their pets?

Veterinary consultant Jim Wilson, DVM, JD, produced a spreadsheet that potential owners can use to calculate the lifetime costs of their new pets. The goal is to ensure they're prepared for the expenses of adequate care.

Send your clients home with clear, concrete instructions?and take the opportunity to show them how much you care.

We have a sign out front that we put messages and sayings on. But we struggle to come up with something to put on it. Any suggestions?

A birthday wish in the mail is nice, but such kind gestures only work if you deliver a similar message in person.

Discussing money with clients can be downright scary. Learning to present an estimate with poise takes the fear out of this critical task?and improves the odds that clients will say yes to your treatment plan.

Impact Boosters Tip

Some clients view an office visit as an opportunity to catch up on an assortment of neglected pet health problems. Use these techniques to stay on topic and on schedule.

Reminders and increased client education lead to improved care at this Florida practice.

Forty percent of referrals to Deer Creek Animal Hospital in Littleton, Colo., come from pet stores, breeders, shelters, and rescue groups?that's 140 new clients a month.

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals released a list of the 10 most common poisonous plants and their possible effects.

At Carver Lake Veterinary Center in Woodbury, Minn., doctors and team members feel that learning the names of clients and pets helps them provide better service, but remembering all those names isn't easy.

When a young couple brought their guinea pig to see this doctor, she gave them another year with Daisy. And they reminded her that every pet?no matter how big or small?deserves high-quality care.

Use American Humane's Tag Day, April 1, as an opportunity to regroup and refresh your efforts to promote tags and microchips.

Valley Animal Hospital in Roanoke, Va., helped people looking for love as well as abused animals by hosting a "Speed-Dating for Pet Lovers" night. The fundraiser was for the clinic's SPIRIT fund, which defrays veterinary care expenses for abused animals. "We hosted it as a typical speed-dating setup but participants had to have a pet, and the admittance picture had to be of the owner and pet together," says owner Dr. James Poage.

Take one IV bag, stir in a concerned client, and add a dash of helpful team member.

How one practice successfully promotes dental care.

In November, President Bush signed into law an addition to the Agriculture Appropriations Bill that supports the development of open technology so all scanners can read all microchips.

You've seen it before: Sweet little white-haired Mrs. Smith turns into the Queen of Mean when she gets her first gander at her bill.

Consider starting annual, seasonal, or quarterly events to expand your client base and retain current clients. Be creative: Make your promotions fun; make them silly!

Choppers, fangs, incisors-call them what you like, but don't forget to celebrate them this February.

When clients go out of town and leave their pet with someone, suggest that they make a temporary pet tag that lists the name, address, and phone number of the sitter.

Use these tips to stay cool as a cucumber when clients get hot under the collar.

A few ill-chosen words can leave your message garbled. So if you see confusion or anger when you expected a smile, rewind your conversation and look for these verbal miscues.

If your dog leaves a treasure on the lawn Place a windmill beside it before you're gone!

... I knew this dog was more than an investment.

I just returned from a practice-management meeting at the Ritz-Carlton in Amelia Island, Fla. It was our 20th gathering, and we wanted it to be special, which is why we chose a Ritz-Carlton hotel. Everyone knows the Ritz represents the gold standard of service in the hotel industry. How do they achieve this lofty goal?

Your clients seek you out because your approach meets their needs.

"Increased customer loyalty is the single most important driver of long-term profitability," say Scott Robinette, Claire Brand, and Vicki Lenz, authors of Emotion Marketing: The Hallmark Way of Winning Customers for Life (McGraw-Hill, 2000).

Ever wonder what surgery is like from the pet's perspective? Your clients do.