Ten Steps to Improve Your Pet S veterinary Care Skills

Transcription

1 Using Technology to Communicate Value Eric Garcia, IT & Web Consultant Simply Done Tech Solutions Tampa, Florida USA What Leads to Poor Compliance Overwhelmed clients Stress of bringing pet to the practice Exam, heartworm & flea medication, dental, diagnostics, current problems, vaccines/pet exposure, semi-annual follow up Lack of understanding Recommendations are not heeded Lack of value What s the difference between you and the cheaper vet? Inadequate Understanding Inadequate understanding by pet owners of the need for routine examination of their pets is key client-driven factor for the declining use of veterinary visits One of the Five Key Solutions from the Bayer Veterinary Care Usage Study: Manage pricing and communication of value to avoid sticker shock Development of new canine and feline preventive healthcare guidelines designed to improve pet health. JAVMA, Vol 239, No. 5, September 1, 2011 Client Perspective $50 on an exam $300 on lab work $150 on x-rays $50 on medications I have just spent $550 I do not think it was worth it; Elvis still isn t better

2 How to Enhance the Client Visit Reception team should review invoices with clients. INVOICE REVIEW $50 on an exam Use your PIMS while conducting an exam to create a patient report card for the client to take home. Pet Health Report Card Evaluation of Body System Functions Invoice Review $300 on lab work Add value by automatically having your software print a description of the lab work and what individual test it may include. Invoice Review $150 on X-Rays If you are using digital radiology give the client a copy of the radiographs on a CD for them to take home. Always review radiographs in room with client Optional: Telemedicine consultation (save client time)

3 Invoice Review $50 on medications Veterinary Pharmacy Reference (VPR) software Client education Client Handouts LifeLearn Client Handouts Small Animal Series 161 canine health and wellness issues 114 feline health and wellness issues 84 behavior topics 148 topics for exotic pets and birds 132 drugs 68 diagnostic tests Pet Portals 24/7 Client Education YouTube Departing instructions on an invoice: Ear cleaning products: Video on ear cleaning Transdermal medications: Video on how to apply Toothpaste/Brush: Brushing teeth video New Puppy/Kitten Exam: Video on caring for new pets Senior Pet Exam: Video on caring for senior pets Pre-Surgical Exam: Post op care at home

4 Educate client on value of diagnostics DURING the visit Transforming Medicine and Client Engagement VetConnect PLUS Instant access to IDEXX in-house and reference lab results, supporting the practice of Real-time Care. Cloud-based software install access outside of the practice Works in any PIMS environment Easy graphical trending of historical results When normal is abnormal When abnormal is normal Free Preventive Care

5 Preventive Care Value of Diagnostics Client Loyalty Review historical trends Celebrate good results Telemedicine consultation Board Certified Radiologist Board Certified Internist VetConnect PLUS Client Handouts Don t let this become your online presence...

6 Good Reviews = Good SEO Placement Best Veterinarian in Tampa SIMPLIFYING THE MANAGEMENT OF YOUR ONLINE REPUTATION Step One: Claim Your Online Listings Claim your online listing with Google, Bing, Yahoo and Yelp Search for your business on Google, Bing, Yahoo and Yelp Click on Is This Your Business or Claim Your Listing Verify by automated phone call or postcard Step Two: Setup Alerts Free (more aggressive than Google) How alerts work You type in search queries (i.e. name of your practice, owner and associates) When information matching any of the terms in your search queries is posted online you will immediately be notified by

7 Step Three: Monitor Reviews Save all of your online listing websites in a favorites folder in your browser Monitor 1 2 times monthly Step Four: Engage with Reviews The average veterinary practice receives 1 review a month on the largest search engine Google Reply to Positive Reviews Thank you for your kind review We appreciate you as one of our most valued clients. Reply to Negative Reviews We apologize about your experience. We have not been able to reach you by telephone. We would like to make this situation right with you. Please call our medical director directly at (123) Step Five: Solicit Positive Reviews Reviews on Google are important to your business Google takes on over 70% of the search engine market share Bing & Yahoo take on a small portion of all searches Only reviews by Google users can be left on Google Non-Google reviews are not syndicated on Google Step Five: Solicit Positive Reviews At checkout the reception team should ask visibly happy clients if they would mind leaving the practice a review. Sample script: "Mr. Garcia, we appreciate you as a client. Would you mind leaving us a review online? We want happy clients like you to be able to find us online easily.". If client says, yes. "Thank you May I have your and I will send you a link to our online listing with Google? Collect addresses and at the end of the week (or during any down time) send a mass by placing each collected address in the BCC section of a new . Copy and paste the template and send.

8 Template Dear Valued Client, We really appreciate you trusting us with your pet s veterinary care As a small business we need as much help as we can get to help us with our online presence. Would you mind giving us a review on Google? It really helps happy clients like you to find us. To do so, you just need to go to this link and click on the Write Review button: Insert Google Listing Link Here You will probably find this site really helpful when posting a Google review: The_WebSpecialist_Blog/post/How_to_Leave_a_Google_Place_Review/ We greatly appreciate your willingness to leave us a review online We look forward to serving you in the future with your pet s health needs. Warm Regards, The Doctors and Staff of Simply Done Vet Clinic Determine Your Bonding Rate Print a list of all new clients from 18+ months Go through each new client account file and determine if they have come back for a follow up visit, medication, food, sick care, wellness, etc. Write Y for Yes and N for N Add up your Yes and No Determine your rate Example: Say in April 2012 you received 30 new clients and only 15 come back in between April and October 2013 your bonding rate is 50% Call clients or send surveys to look for trends (i.e. are you priced to high or lack of value, switched to another practice, stopped obtaining care, etc.) Goal: 85% for average practices Exception: Military or College towns Bonding Rate Example Study Some practices are making it happen 140 Cornerstone Practices - Percent Growth Practice Revenue % of practices have grown greater than 5% N (1) < -20% -20% to -15% -15% to -10% -10% to -5% -5% to 0% Change in Gross Income (yearly) (1) Total number of clinics is 408, of which 122 have had growth of greater than 5% 0% to 5% 5% to 10% 10% to 15% 15% to 20% 17 > 20%

9 Observations About Growers Skilled at recognizing and implementing innovative technologies and enabling strategies that strengthen the client bond Crave tools that enable them to practice high quality medicine AND improve practice management Recognize the imperative that drives better client communication Clients want to be more empowered Clients as consumers are more critical of value they get from all products/services Information is empowering and value is a must Noticeable Differences Growers distinguish themselves by their focus on client experience and practice marketing Growth attributed growth to client communication methods VS. Decliners lacked focus on client communication methods What tools will we rely on to remain successful in the future? Education & Communication THANK YOU Eric Garcia, IT & Web Consultant Simply Done Tech Solutions, LLC 1 (813) eric@simplydonetechsolutions.com