In conversations with me, pet owners shared their challenges with veterinary care. “I wish I could find a good vet,” one said. When I asked what that looked like, I heard, “A veterinarian who is happy to see me.” Another said: “I want a care team that knows me and my cats. I’m willing to pay for concierge care but don’t know how to go about finding it.”
Those statements highlight the difficulties that pet owners face every day. They want a practice team that treats them and their pets as individuals and works to create a partnership.
How can veterinary teams build lasting partnerships with clients? It comes down to relationships.
Relational Interactions
I perform competitive market analysis calls as part of my consulting services. Ninety percent of the calls go like this: I call for information about a practice’s services, and the receptionist answers with prices. There is no attempt to establish common ground and typically no attempt to schedule an appointment. These calls are transactional interactions, devoid of a personal connection and characterized by the receptionist merely going through the necessary motions to complete the encounter. When a client’s question receives a reply that doesn’t acknowledge the caller as an individual, the pet owner feels underwhelmed, unimpressed and disregarded.
In comparison, relational interactions occur when a team member identifies the pet owner’s needs. Clients then think the team member and, by extension, the practice genuinely care about them and their pets. They feel validated in their decision to visit the hospital, and they sense a connection, which is the first step in bonding with clients. Sadly, this occurs only in about 10% of my competitive analysis calls. What a missed opportunity!
Practices can create relational interactions by incorporating these habits:
- Ask for the client and pet’s names early in the conversation, and use both frequently. This custom personalizes the interaction.
- Invite clients to talk about their pet and the reason for the call. (See “Learn to Communicate Better” for details.)
Prices, Costs and the Value of Care
A veterinary team often confuses what clients value with what they can or will pay for services. When pet owners decline a treatment option, your team might believe the reason is price. However, a study found that only 2 in 10 clients refused care because of the price. Rather, they declined because they didn’t understand how the treatment would benefit the pet or were uncertain why the suggestion was made.
The price of care, cost of care and value of care are not the same. Here’s the difference:
- Price of care is the exchange of a fee for a service. It’s transactional and fails to individualize the client or pet’s needs.
- Cost of care considers how a recommendation affects an animal’s health and well-being. You can best convey this to clients by describing the treatment options and the benefits to both the pet and the owner.
- Value of care relates to the tangible and intangible benefits clients and pets receive from their interactions with the veterinary team. The value is built on trust and earned by doing the right things in the right way and doing both without being asked. Value of care is foundational to creating a client partnership.
How to Build Partnerships
A partnership occurs when two or more parties work together to accomplish goals while building trust and a mutually beneficial relationship. In veterinary medicine, it begins and is enhanced when the team takes these three steps:
1. LEVERAGE NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION
Nonverbal behavior comprises 80% to 93% of all communication. It includes:
- Body language (facial expressions, gestures, body position and touch).
- Spatial relationships (the distance between the veterinarian and client, for example).
- Barrier objects (a front desk, examination table, computers or pet).
- Paralanguage (voice, tone, rate, rhythm, emphasis and volume).
- Autonomic responses (flushing, sweating, changes in pupil size and breathing patterns).
The key to leveraging nonverbal behavior starts with self-awareness. Ask your co-workers about the times they saw you fully engaged in a client conversation. For example:
- Did you look comfortable, and why?
- Which nonverbal actions did they notice when you were in an uncomfortable conversation?
- What policies and procedures are you uncomfortable discussing with clients?
Nonverbal signals can telegraph unease to a client. Remember to speak in a way that feels authentic to you. Become more prepared by practicing your statements and their delivery during role-playing exercises.
2. DEVELOP RAPPORT
In this instance, rapport is a harmonious connection in which the client and veterinary team understand each other’s perspectives and can relate to each other’s thoughts and feelings. The four components that create rapport with clients are:
- Acceptance: It occurs when team members are nonjudgmental and acknowledge the legitimacy of a client’s views and feelings. Perspective is a skill that helps cultivate acceptance. It requires team members to understand their own perspectives while realizing that clients have one, too. During a successful interaction, both parties understand the other’s viewpoints, creating common ground.
- Empathy: It enables team members to communicate an understanding and appreciation of a client’s feelings or situation. When the pet owner’s opinions and beliefs are overtly acknowledged, a common understanding forms and both parties think they are working together, which creates rapport.
- Support: It begins when clients believe a veterinary team cares about them and their pets. Practice teams can show support by expressing concern, understanding and a willingness to help. This step includes using empathy statements.
- Sensitivity: The final step in building rapport is using sensitivity and kindness during embarrassing topics, such as a client’s financial limitations or fear of being judged as an unsuitable pet owner. I became aware of that fear after an emaciated dog’s examination. The client said she was afraid I would judge her because of her dog’s poor condition. She thanked me for my kindness, nonjudgmental approach and support. Her admission shocked me because I had not detected any fear or hesitation in our interaction. How many other clients have the same reservations?
3. INVOLVE CLIENTS IN THE HEALTH CARE JOURNEY
Before the pandemic, veterinary hospitals were making positive strides in practicing client-centered medicine, where the doctor and pet owner mutually set the agenda and goals for the visit. The veterinarian elicited the client’s perspective, resulting in shared decision-making and an interactive, collaborative relationship.
The pandemic extinguished that effort in many practices, as curbside care and time constraints minimized client participation during exams. The result was a shift from relationship-centered care to a veterinarian-centric practice model, where the doctor controlled the visit’s tone and pace, diminishing the client’s voice.
To build rapport, clients must participate in their pets’ health care journey. Practices may accomplish it in these two ways:
- Share thoughts: Ask about the client’s observations and goals for the visit. Communication skills that encourage interaction include open-ended questions, pauses and reflective listening.
- Explain your recommendations: Empower clients by educating them about the whys behind your clinical recommendations and the options. This step helps them understand the veterinary team’s perspective, treats them as individuals, and incorporates their needs and values in shared decision-making.
I agree with poet Maya Angelou, who said: “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” It’s time for practices to get back to prioritizing and building client relationships and treating pet owners as honored guests.
LEARN TO COMMUNICATE BETTER
Strong communication skills help veterinary team members understand client needs more effectively and enhance the formation of a partnership. Such skills elevate client satisfaction, improve job satisfaction and increase client adherence to clinical recommendations.
Here are seven tips:
- Open-ended questions, which cannot be answered with a “yes” or “no,” help a team member visualize the issue from the client’s perspective. These questions usually start with “what,” as in “What concerns do you have today? or “how,” such as “How did Ruby end up living with you?” To invite more explanation, try saying, “Tell me more” or “Anything else?”
- Communicating empathy is a critical component in building relationships. The first step is to grasp the client’s situation and feelings. The team member then supportively shares the understanding with the client and pauses to allow the pet owner to feel the employee’s empathy and sensitivity. Examples of empathetic statements include “I can see how worried you are. How can I help?” and “Wow, that’s tough.”
- Partnership statements support the client and build rapport. They merge the team member (“I”) and client (“you”), creating a team (“we”). Examples include “Let’s work together to come up with a plan” and “We have some options.”
- Reflective listening happens when team members confirm the pet owner’s emotions or restate in their words what they heard a client say. It verifies that what the team member heard is what the client meant and demonstrates that what the client said is important and was heard. Reflective listening statements sound like, “Let me make sure I have this right” and “You are concerned about …”
- Signposting directs the client to what you are about to say and why. It’s the verbal equivalent of waving a flag and often explains what will happen next, helping increase the client’s comfort and lessen anxiety. One example is, “Mrs. Jones, Humphrey is an adorable kitten! During today’s visit …”
- Summarization reviews what the client heard. Its main functions are to verify that the message is accurate and to identify missing information. Summarization is often used when obtaining a patient history or explaining a treatment plan. You might say, “Mr. Moore, Remington first began limping in his right hind leg three days ago after he chased a fox out of the yard. At first, he wouldn’t put weight on his leg, and in the past day, he began putting his foot on the ground but won’t walk on it. Anything I missed?”
- Pausing helps elicit the client’s perspective and allows the pet owner to feel empathy. It starts with listening for comprehension rather than thinking about the next question. After the client speaks, the team member waits for three or four seconds in case the pet owner wants to continue talking and so the person feels the team member’s support and understanding. Using this skill might include saying, “I can see this is hard for you. (Pause.) Would you share your thoughts with me?” and “A lot is going on with Casey. (Pause.) How can I help?”
STORY ARCHIVE
Dr. Wendy Hauser is a frequent contributor to Today’s Veterinary Business. Check out these previously published articles:
- “Patch the Cracks in Your Patient Base,” go.navc.com/cracks
- “Beyond Burnout,” go.navc.com/beyond-burnout
- “Follow the Leader to Be the Leader,” go.navc.com/mentors