Veterinary medicine has reached the precipice of a fantastic turning point.  For years, the pet ownership market has been stagnant - stable through rough economic waters, but offering little quarter to rising numbers of veterinary graduates.

However, recent statistics show that there is much more than a glimmer at the end of the tunnel! We are beginning to see veterinary medicine emerge under blinding stadium lighting, ready for the primetime, all because of two demographic trends: the novel attitudes of Millennial pet owners, and the resiliency of baby boomers.  In this blog we will be focusing on the former.

Alright veterinarians, vet techs, practice managers, and pet health professionals of all sorts, are you ready for a mind-blowing statistic?  Take a seat for this one, it’s a doozy.

The average veterinary clinic is missing out on $123,000 of gross revenue due to inefficiencies in phone-based customer service.

We’re talking boatloads of annoyed or impatient folks giving up on attempts to contact your practice, not because the front desk is struggling, but because it’s just impossible to provide pet owners with the instantaneous gratification they expect - a sisyphean task even for the most experienced front desk administrators.

Just take a look at a few of the results from VitusVet’s recent calling study:

Customer churn is a well known concept in business, but it's an oft-ignored statistic in veterinary economics.  And it could be costing your practice revenue, big time!

For veterinary clinics, churn refers to whenever a customer chooses to no longer use your services for their pet.  Because this decision is often made without your practice management software's knowledge, your contacts database could be hemorrhaging clients and you'd have no idea the extent of the bleeding!  

Measuring your clinic’s customer churn rate will allow you to determine the number of lost customers in a time period, help identify if you have a client retention problem, and also gauge the effectiveness of any changes you make.

In 2015 not only did Millennials surpass Baby Boomers as the largest generation in the United States, but also as the largest U.S. pet-owning population as well. According to data research during the Global Pet Expo 2015, 35.2% of the U.S. Millennial population are pet owners, compared to 32.8% of Boomers. Millennials are more likely to hold off on having children, and opting in to caring for pets, like family. The percentage of Millennials owning a pet is only going to grow as studies show that, pet-free Millennials are 39% more likely to own a cat or dog in the future.

So why is it so important that veterinary practices cater to Millennials? Because they are the ones that are going to fill your appointment books, market your practice and, most importantly, pay your bills. If you plan on attracting them, you will need to know what they are looking for.

Staying in touch with your patients outside of an appointment is more important than you might think, especially in a fast pace society. Learn from 7 different veterinary industry experts on the best ways to engage with your clients, year-round.