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Hang up on snail mail: Revolutionize your veterinary reminder system
Once clients are out of your sight, your veterinary practice is probably out of their mind. Find out how to sends the most effective and cost-efficient client reminders.
Chances are your veterinary clients aren't counting down the days until their next appointment. That's why sending reminders is so important, says Dr. Julie Clark-Blount, owner of Laurel Oaks Animal Hospital in Kings- land, Ga. Her practice used to send postcards to remind clients about upcoming appointments and needed treatments but recently switched to a phone-tree calling system—and they haven't looked back. "It's my voice that's recorded, so I'm personally talking to clients," Dr. Clark-Blount says.
"The only thing that's automated is the pet's name and the appointment time. We do the message ourselves so it's more personal."
More in this package:
Spreading the word about emergencies and recalls
She and her team made the switch after calculating the cost of postage and the time team members spent addressing postcards (hundreds of dollars each month) versus the one-time cost of a phone tree ($2,000 to $3,000). "The system paid for itself right away," Dr. Clark-Blount says. "Our phones are literally ringing off the hook with clients making appointments." You can even install a separate line just for the phone system so the outgoing reminders don't interfere with your practice's incoming calls. Another major plus: The calls are carefully scheduled. "The system doesn't make early calls and stops at 6 p.m. so we're not invading clients' personal time," she says.
E-mailing clients is another noninvasive cost-efficient way to send reminders. However, e-mails from your clinic can get stuck in junk-mail folders. What's more, you must be diligent about collecting e-mail addresses. More practices are switching to e-mailing and even texting client-reminders, but not Dr. Clark-Blount. "With the phone system we're able to reach more people. And hearing my voice makes clients more motivated to make an appointment."
More in this package:
What types of client reminders does your practice send?
What does your clinic send reminders for?
Spreading the word about emergencies and recalls
Spreading the word
Dr. Julie Clark-Blount also uses a phone system to send blanket calls to clients alerting them about veterinary product recalls and other veterinary-related emergencies. To listen to actual examples, visit dvm360.com/clientreminders.
More in this package:
What types of client reminders does your practice send?
