This past year has been tough for U.S. consumers dealing with spikes in gasoline prices and increases in the cost of goods and services. Meanwhile, as the annual inflation rate exceeds 7%, veterinary practices are hearing more client concerns about the rising cost of pet care. As a result, while clinics remain busy, some pet owners are cutting back on their veterinary spending. The Veterinary Industry Tracker, powered by the data analytics firm VetSuccess, found that as of October 2022, the year-over-year revenue at thousands of practices was up an average of 6%, but visits were down 2%. Moreover, the number of lapsed patients was trending up.
Let’s look at how to increase client visits and improve compliance, especially during times of inflation.
Monitor Monthly KPIs
Regardless of how the veterinary industry is doing, evaluate your hospital by monitoring its monthly key performance indicators and trends. Track the number of transactions (visits) and new clients, review client compliance with services such as annual preventive care exams, dental cleanings and laboratory tests, and check the sale of flea, tick and heartworm preventives. Your revenue might increase due to price hikes, but other data could indicate declines in visits and compliance.
Talk to Your Team
Growth at many practices was strong in 2020 and 2021 because of increased pet spending. However, team members struggled to keep up with the demand for veterinary care, making it difficult for hospitals to set goals and implement plans to improve compliance. Your team needs to understand that busyness doesn’t mean client compliance is high. Compliance could be low because of staff shortages, reduced hours and workplace inefficiencies.
Share the business analytics with your team and explain what the data means. Team members hired over the past three years might not be familiar with your compliance initiatives. Even tenured employees might not recognize the need to get back on track with those efforts. Remind everyone that when clients decline treatment recommendations or don’t respond to reminders, pets don’t get the care they deserve. It’s easy to lose sight of that when everyone is rushing to complete the next task or see the next appointment.
Clearly Define Job Roles
To increase client compliance, everyone needs to know their responsibilities in helping to achieve the hospital’s goals. Designating job roles helps improve operational efficiency. Workflow and client communications can become chaotic when team members lack specific assignments, leading to missed opportunities.
Does your practice assign people to:
- Educate pet owners about nutrition, annual laboratory testing, vaccines and preventives?
- Review treatment plans with clients?
- Forward-book a patient’s next appointment?
- Set up reminders in the practice information management system?
- Take photos to post on social media?
Train Your Team Members
Since pet owners don’t always appreciate the need for veterinary services and products, the entire team needs to be well-trained in communicating value. Look for gaps in training. For example, do you have new hires who need to learn more about educating clients on preventive care? In addition, double-check your KPIs. If compliance with annual laboratory tests or dental care is down, focus training on those areas.
Communicating value includes being a trusted adviser and letting clients know how much the team cares about preserving the owners’ bond with their pets. Avoid rushing appointments so that you can take the time to engage pet owners in conversation. Dialogue builds trust, leading to the greater acceptance of recommendations.
Setting standards is an effective way to train team members about conveying value. Standards help the team achieve consistency in client communications. For example:
- At the beginning of an appointment, pose broad, open-ended statements such as “Tell me all about how Mikey has been doing since we saw him last” and “What are some health topics you want to be sure we talk about today?”
- Always communicate the benefits of recommended services and products. You don’t have to list all of them, but emphasize what’s most important. For example, you might talk about the possibility of increased mobility when recommending hip radiographs and NSAIDS and how heartworm preventives stave off life-threatening diseases.
- Ask “What questions do you have?” after making recommendations or presenting a treatment plan. This approach allows you to address client concerns, which can lead to greater compliance.
Bring Up Money
Honest conversations about the cost of care and payment options are important during tough economic times. Team members should know what to say if pet owners complain about your fees and be comfortable presenting your hospital’s payment policies.
The following statements can validate a client’s feelings, focus on the benefits of your services and convey how the practice can help:
- “Yes, veterinary care can be expensive. However, I’m sure it will give you peace of mind to know Rosie’s liver and kidney values so we can adjust her treatment plan if necessary. Would you like me to review payment options with you?”
- “I’m so sorry Oliver is sick. I know it can be upsetting to see the cost of care and make decisions about his treatment. The fluids and medications will help correct his dehydration and make him feel better. We can spread out the cost with our third-party payment plans. Would it be all right if I review those with you?”
Finally, be proactive with money conversations when patients have multiple non-life-threatening conditions. Tell the owners you’ll focus on the highest priority problem and then schedule a follow-up appointment for other issues. For example, if a dog has a skin infection and needs an oral assessment, treatment and prevention, the doctor can talk about treating the immediate problem and the importance of scheduling a dental procedure to treat the periodontal disease. It’s an excellent time to discuss payment options, too. Clients appreciate knowing they can get needed care for their pets and spread out the cost or use payment plans.
BONUS TIP
Tell your practice’s social media followers about the value of your services and products. Rather than share articles that people might not read, post photos of patients interacting with your team members (with the owners’ permission). Include personal, funny or heartfelt captions that focus on the benefits of veterinary care.
LEARN MORE
For more tips and best practices on improving money conversations and client compliance, read Dr. Donnelly’s article “Get the Word Out” at bit.ly/better-words-TVB.