It’s easy to view your existing client base as a measure of your veterinary clinic’s success - clearly you’re doing something right if these people have chosen to entrust you with their pets’ lives! Unfortunately, that frame of mind can also lead to complacency, which breeds the sort of bad service that can drive away clients permanently after a single negative interaction. 

Below is a list of 5 common mistakes that can cost you clients, and ultimately that shiny new ultrasound you’ve got your eye on!

According to client experience guru, Bruce Temkin, 2016 is the “Year of Emotion” - the year when businesses will awaken to the power of emotions in shaping their customer experiences. Emotion is not only the component of the client experience that has the largest impact on loyalty, but it is also an area where veterinarians tend to struggle and often seemingly ignore. This needs to change.

Generating positive sentiment about your practice is the first step in a feedback loop that will continue to drive results for your veterinary business well into the future. Each time a client interacts with your practice, it’s essential that no matter what the medical outcome for their pets, they see the interpersonal aspects of their experience as a brilliant ray of sunshine, rather than a dark stormcloud. This sort of emotional response is the difference between a loyal client - loyalty is defined as an emotional connection, after all - and one that’s likely to try out your competitors, looking for a better offering. From there, the equation is simple: loyal clients equals recurring revenue with low overhead, and personal recommendations that facilitate continued growth.

Loyalty is a powerful connection that runs hand-in-hand with emotion. Ask yourself, to whom are you most loyal?? The first people that may come to mind  are your friends and family. They may not always be perfect, but you remain loyal because of that bond. But what about businesses? To have a shot at establishing client loyalty you must first build an emotional bond with your clients.

Never assume that a client is loyal just because they continue to use your services. There are many reasons why a client might repeat their business despite not being satisfied - and this sort of client will be the first to “jump-ship” when new competitors arrive.

Client loyalty results from positive interactions and experiences with your practice.

To build client loyalty, your veterinary practice's client experience needs to blend the physical, emotional and value elements of an experience into one cohesive experience.

You know your clients love you, your clinic is a community staple, but business is flat and your appointments are slowly decreasing. This is an all too common statement veterinary professionals are making across the U.S., and increasingly we are turning to client surveys to try and diagnose the problem Surveys, however, don’t tell the whole story.

Jan Miller from Veterinary Best Practice says it best: “[In] a typical customer satisfaction survey, you are given choices that range from very dissatisfied to very satisfied, with the middle choice of “satisfied”. When a customer selects “satisfied” they are telling you that you have achieved the lowest level of acceptable service. “Satisfactory” doesn't sound so great, does it? In fact, I would argue that it’s insulting.” Just "satisfied" customers switch veterinary practices all the time, loyal customers stay - but what exactly have you learned from the survey question? One of your clients is nearing the precipice, but you still don’t understand why.

There is more to measuring client satisfaction than a few questions you ask your clients once every couple of  years. You can ensure more loyal, happy, paying clients by using better measures of client satisfaction that give feedback all year round.

The Digital Age is upon us. There’s no denying that the introduction of tablets and smartphones into our lives has made us more contactable than ever, and consumers are now expecting more from their service providers, veterinary clinics are no exception. I know we are busy and keeping up with the modern day customer isn't easy, but there are definitely steps that we can take to make it more possible.

First, gauge how digitally advanced your veterinary practice is. This quick 7 question quiz can help you figure out if your practice is stuck in the stone ages or if it's a place Judy Jetson would be proud to take their dog, Astro.