How veterinary clinics can go big in 2020?
2019 has been a good year for the veterinary community for it has helped the
Vets to transform to a better position as compared to earlier. Today the
Veterinary clinics are well placed in terms of exposure to technology,
customer service to name a few parameters. But compared to other industries
in the medical or non-medical sector, Veterinaries have still a long way to go.
It is time for the practice owners to wrap up 2019, do a retrospective and plan
for 2020 to embrace the same with open arms and go big.
Here is a list of our recommendation to the veterinaries:
#1 Set Goals
Most people fail because they do no have a Goal Post and Veterinary is no different. Many practices fail because they do not harness their full potential which is simply because they have not set clear Goals for themselves. If one does not have an idea where one wants to be, how can someone reach there? Vague goals like better customer service are only namesake goals. It is important to have goals which are measurable, for instance, the above Goal can be transformed us reducing 1 Star feedback by 10% and increasing 5 Star feedback by 10%. Measurable Goals will align with your long-term vision and give you short-term motivation. Resources are limited, it helps veterinaries to organize them and achieve the required purpose.
#2 Train your Staff
One of the biggest areas on which the veterinaries should work is their staff. They say execution is the Holy Grail and if that is not done well, all marketing or technology plans will not reap desired benefits. It is imperative that the execution is done well and for that the staff that does the real execution needs to be trained and nurtured. In General practice, people are hired by someone and are expected to sail with minimal training. However, the problem arises when they sink. Pet Owners expect that they should be able to trust their veterinary clinics and if the staff service goes for a toss, it is difficult to establish or enhance those trust levels. It is important not only during induction, but the staff should be trained at regular intervals also. Conference attending is a plus, but not a substitute for training.
#3 Transition from customer service to customer experience
Ultimately this is a service industry. Also, this belongs to the medical industry. So it goes unsaid that the service levels should always be very high. Even a single staff member not doing the service well can bring down the overall service levels which will have negative impact on the veterinary clinic’s image. Customer service is about treating your customers with Joy and care. It is about Showing and Proving that you care about the pets as much as the pet owners do. Walking the extra mile for your customers is the need of the hour and in 2020, the more we do the better it is. It could be as small as walking the client to the car or engage with them when they are in the waiting area. It is a known fact that good customer service is good for business, but it is all the more important for Good Marketing. It is said that the word of mouth marketing is the best one and if your customer experience is good, it will be spread to client’s other network also. Just imagine the impact it can have on your Marketing budget as well.
#4 Increasing the use of Technology
As a veterinary clinic, Technology is an integral part of your practice. Technology can help you to get better at communicating with your patients, enhanced diagnostic capabilities and integrate business functionality. It can help the practice in various ways:- A. Schedule Appointments, Track Patient and History
- B. Integrate Patient data
- C. Measure and Monitor business performance and profitability
- D. Track and order drug inventory
- E. Integrate with Lab equipment to get scans
These are some of the benefits of technology; by no means this is an exhaustive list. It is no brainer to understand that such features will have a very high impact on the overall performance of your practice and customer service.
#5 Building Community
Just visualize a scenario of how much traction your practice will get if it collaborates with the right people or have a strong online presence. If the local pet store, groomer or a boarding facility recommends your name to their clients, it will be of great benefit to you. Relationships, which are mutually beneficial, should work and should be established with complementary businesses’ that share an overlapping set of clientele with each other. Please note that the keyword here is mutual, both parties should gain something from each other.
In summary, these might not be the only things which can be done, but these are some of the prime things which clinics should do in 2020 so that the image, experience and profitability of clinics get better by manifolds and 2020 becomes landmark year for veterinary clinics.
