{"id":10029,"date":"2021-04-01T00:00:55","date_gmt":"2021-04-01T07:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/todaysveterinarybusiness.com\/?p=10029"},"modified":"2022-06-15T17:47:52","modified_gmt":"2022-06-15T17:47:52","slug":"communications-veterinary-clients","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/navc.sitepreview.app\/todaysveterinarybusiness.com\/communications-veterinary-clients\/","title":{"rendered":"It\u2019s About Time"},"content":{"rendered":"

Many veterinary practices are dealing with staff shortages, increased caseloads, more client demands and curbside care inefficiencies. This is why it\u2019s imperative to streamline client communications while still focusing on building trust and rapport. Combining efficiency with client engagement is the key to enhanced loyalty and compliance.<\/p>\n

Why Communications Are Inefficient<\/h3>\n

Let\u2019s look at some of the reasons behind inefficient client communications. The first step is to determine what slows it at your hospital. Many of you will think of the increased call volume and respond, \u201cThe phone!\u201d If you haven\u2019t done so, be sure to implement digital solutions such as two-way texting to reduce the call volume. Because that alone won\u2019t solve the problem, I encourage you to do a more in-depth assessment of the phone calls.<\/p>\n

Inefficiencies also occur when a client service representative<\/a> lacks the knowledge to properly educate a pet owner. These team members might not know how to answer preventive health care questions, for example, or how to respond to clients asking for medication refills. Or maybe they don\u2019t know what to say about fees, dentistry procedures and your online pharmacy. Efficiency decreases when CSRs have to put calls on hold or call a client back while they find an answer.<\/p>\n

Another problem occurs during appointments when team members don\u2019t have the requisite knowledge and experience to educate pet owners or present a treatment plan. Exam room flow and curbside care are much more efficient when veterinarians can rely on the team to talk about topics such as vaccinations, parasite prevention, nutrition, supplements and discharge instructions. Moreover, client communications are more efficient when all team members can communicate the value of the practice\u2019s services and products. If only one or two employees are trained on such matters, the doctors might have to take time to provide client education. Or clients might have to wait until a knowledgeable team member is available.<\/p>\n

How to Improve Team Training<\/h3>\n

An easy way to fix inefficient client communications is team training. I bet you\u2019re thinking, \u201cHow do I have time for training?\u201d The two keys when you\u2019re incredibly busy or short-staffed are to schedule short training sessions<\/a> and focus on activities that deliver the highest gain. Start by determining your team\u2019s knowledge gaps by having employees log questions that stumped them and for which they had to seek assistance. The logs should be updated daily. Alternatively, you could query team members at daily standing meetings, eliminating the need for a log.<\/p>\n

After two weeks of tracking, managers should have a good idea about the training priorities. Let\u2019s say you determine that the CSR team receives a high number of calls about sick pets and some employees don\u2019t know whether the pet needs to be seen right away. The best approach is to give the team a few questions to ask pet owners. In addition, you can set up a series of weekly standing meetings facilitated by a member of the technical team. During these 10- to 15-minute meetings, the training should focus on what constitutes an emergency, the best questions to ask and a review of previous phone calls.<\/p>\n

How to Engage Clients Efficiently<\/h3>\n

Given the time constraints of busy, overworked teams, the tendency is to cut client conversations short whenever possible. This plays out in several ways:<\/p>\n