Mark Opperman is right when he says, “It’s what’s up front that counts.” To me, this means that your front desk team members need to be completely focused on client service at all times.  This is especially true for those clients who are physically in your facility, as they rightly expect to be a focus of your attention. I’ve long believed that client reception is the most difficult job in a veterinary practice. In fact, I love the title “Client Service Representative (CSR)” as that’s really what they do. As one co-worker once told me, “Reception is an area…not a person.”

Why do I say this job is so difficult? There are many reasons but high among them is that it’s not easy to always be smiling, friendly, and “on.” To be calm in the face of upset clients and sick pets. Certainly you can and should hire for personality and bring on people who enjoy serving others, but on a busy Saturday morning when there’s a line out your door and the phone is ringing off the hook, even your best performers can be put to the test.

So you’ve hired the right people and are continually training them on the core values and standard procedures of your hospital…what are their biggest pain points?  What tasks not only make your CSR’s job the toughest but also lead most directly to poor client service? I think there are three specific areas where modern veterinary hospitals put excessive burden on their CSRs, that lead to poor experiences for your clients:

One of the most interesting things I learned in business school was that consumer communication preferences are changing very fast. This can be intimidating for veterinarians who, to put it charitably, don’t have a history of being early adopters. The fact that the average veterinary clinic is a good ten years behind the times with respect to consumer technology isn’t cute anymore...it’s a threat for those practices that don’t adapt.  And a tremendous opportunity for those that do. One of the biggest areas where this is evident is in the changing preferences with respect to the almighty telephone.  

According to Ian Bogost in his August 2015 article in The Atlantic entitled “Don’t hate the phone call; hate the phone.”

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.