WhiskerCloud works with veterinary professionals worldwide, and most hospitals are looking for the same thing—better veterinary clinic communication tools. The “COVID Crazy” might be slowing down, but that doesn’t mean your clients won’t stop coming in, calling, and have their needs change daily. With an influx of appointments, burnout within the clinic, and eager pet parents waiting to get seen – it’s hard to keep your head afloat. Technology can help.
Practices have found themselves scheduling weeks or months ahead, answering endless phone calls from clients wondering what their new hours are and when their pet can get seen. Better veterinary clinic communication won’t only lead to a better flow internally, but it will also build a connection between your veterinary practice and your clients.
Our recommendations for better veterinary clinic communication:
1. Your (hopefully) Custom Veterinary Website
Your website is the nerve center of your online presence and is the place where all of your marketing, advertising, SEO, PR, and word-of-mouth funnels end. 75% of people base business credibility on a website, so it better make the user feel comfortable when they land there. When clients are looking to contact you, they will likely visit your website to find your location, hours, phone number, email, forms, and more for the information they need the most. When you commit to a website that holds all of your information and keep it consistently updated – your clients will trust your website to fall back on. And the best part is: they won’t feel the need to blow up your phone lines.
Your website should make it easy to contact you by showcasing a click-to-call phone number and click-to-email link on all pages, accessible contact information and online forms, and a simple way to make an appointment. Having a new client center section of your website will allow new users to complete the necessary paperwork needs online before their visit. No more lengthy phone calls of gathering that information over the phone, and no more clipboards in the waiting room or car that drive clients crazy.
Anyone can have a website, but not everyone has a completely custom veterinary website that offers unlimited options and automation. From custom forms to funnels, pop-ups for users that come from social media only, and everything else in between, you have the ability to create your perfect online communication center with WhiskerCloud. Looking for ideas? You can check out our website inspiration articles.
2. Your Custom Veterinary Social Media Strategy
A proper social media and content marketing plan is the perfect way to compliment your custom WhiskerCloud website. Our content team strives to improve your practice with a powerful combination of engaging social media posts and relevant blog content that’s tailored to your clinic.
Having a strong social media presence is essential for the success and growth of your veterinary hospital. Did you know that 95% of businesses worldwide use Facebook and 1.6 billion people are connected to small businesses on the platform? Your clients want to connect with you on social media, so don’t miss out on this marketing opportunity!
Your social media should be the go-to spot for sharing every update happening within your small business. When COVID causes unexpected closures, reopenings, and new protocol implementation – your social media platforms are a great way to share the word. When you’re implementing new curbside protocols, social media gives you a way to showcase everything visually.
One of the great things about having a social media presence is that you can have fun with it! Sharing images of your patients, new team members, events, and more is an easy way for your clients to be up to date with you.
On WhiskerCloud’s Content Plan, you’ll work with our team on a custom veterinary social media strategy that is built just for your clinic. Save time and get consistent branding and professional graphics directly from our team. We can help with your next campaign, or help shine a brighter light on what makes your clinic great. Plus, we track everything for you!
3. Implement a strong Client Communication System
The average business call duration is 4 minutes and 52 seconds, meaning every time a customer calls, it takes about five minutes of your time. If you receive just a dozen calls a day, you lose one full hour of work time daily. If dozens of customers are calling you per day, it’s hard to get anything else done. While WhiskerCloud can help automate information via forms and success pages, it’s important to find a tool that makes sure your communication with clients before, during, and after appointments with clients is optimized.
WhiskerCloud partners with top-tier appointment service providers to help care for your clients when you don’t have sufficient enough time. WhiskerCloud also provides custom forms to decrease your phone time and focus on what’s important: taking care of your client’s pets.
Apps like PetDesk take care of essential, time-consuming tasks so you can focus on the moments that matter most. Your practice management system stores information. Together they’re a powerful duo. With appointment requests, reminders and confirmations, two-way messaging, and more, it’s the perfect add-on to your WhiskerCloud website and marketing platform.
You can learn more about getting started with PetDesk here.
4. Learn to implement better internal veterinary clinic communication
Most companies struggle with internal communication, and it’s important to be better. Two stats to know:
1. 60% of companies don’t have a long-term strategy for their internal communications
2. 72% of employees don’t have a full understanding of the company’s strategy
Veterinary hospitals are businesses, and it’s important to treat internal communication as such. Using tools like Slack (we use this) to keep communication alive and well is a great start. Be sure to set up ongoing training and meetings to ensure all voices are heard, ideas are shared, and broken processes can be fixed.
Better communication internally and with clients can lead to a happier, calmer team in your clinic. Follow these tips for better veterinary clinic communication.
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