You know the saying, “Out of sight, out of mind”? You’d hate for your veterinary practice to fall into that pattern, only becoming needed or important to your clients when they have a sick or injured pet. However, you also don’t want to become so annoying to your clients that they immediately send all your communication straight to the spam folder.
So, how do you remain top-of-mind for your clients without being obnoxious? Here are three tips for you to effectively engage with veterinary clients between visits.
1: Educate your clients on pertinent information
Instead of emailing or texting your clients about every single pet-care tidbit you can think of, ensure the communication they receive from you is personal and tailored to their needs. So, if you want to highlight a specific pet holiday like National Walk Your Dog Day, you need to avoid sending this light-hearted notification to cat owners.
Another time to focus on a specific demographic within your patient pool is when sharing healthcare tips based on a pet’s age. This is the perfect time to discuss the need for more frequent screening tests and physical exams for senior pets.
You may be thinking that sifting through your patient database to ensure the correct communication reaches the correct clients will take forever. But, there are client connection platforms and veterinary practice apps that can pair with your PIMS to make it easy. With a few clicks, you can schedule app notifications to be sent to specific clients regarding specific pet topics.
Seasonal and community events are also great ways to stay in touch with your veterinary clients when they’re not in your practice. Send a notification to your entire client list when your team will be appearing at a pet expo, or let clients know about a 5K run that is benefiting the local animal shelter. By ensuring the communication you send to your clients is timely and applicable, they’ll appreciate the tips and will be less likely to send your communications to their spam folder.
2: Entertain your clients with pet antics
Social media is full of delightful pet stories that are funny and heartwarming. Many of your clients will stop scrolling to read a story about a kitten saved from a fire by the family dog, or to see which pet took top honors at a pet costume contest. As you come across these types of features in your own scrolling, you can quickly and easily share the link with your clients through a notification from your veterinary practice app or, if you’re an admin on your practice’s social media channels, share them directly there.
A funny, pet-related story or video will provide a wonderful break in the day for your clients.
Another fun way to brighten up your clients’ day is by encouraging them to share photos they take with or of their pets. Pet owners can capture their pets being their most goofy, loving, funny selves, and these photos can bring such joy to other pet lovers. Your clients can easily share their pet photos with you through your client connection platform or veterinary practice app, and you can share them on your social media channels.
3: Use promotions to encourage engagement
Keep your clients in the loop by encouraging regular engagement through promotions. If your practice uses an app or communication platform, create a veterinary loyalty program and use your app or communication platform to send exclusive promotions to clients who engage with you there.
Examples of VIP promotions for clients who use your app include:
- Three bonus loyalty stamps for donations made during holiday, disaster, or community drives
- $50 off dental cleanings during a specific week
- BOGO on pet treats
- Free heartworm test when a year’s supply of prevention is purchased
- Bonus loyalty stamp for online reviews
- Birthday promotions, such as a free bath or nail trim
You can also tie in your online veterinary pharmacy and encourage your clients to use it by giving an extra loyalty stamp if they order online.
Client communication considerations
There are two major factors to consider when communicating with your clients:
- Frequency — How often should you reach out to your clients? That depends on what you are sending and why you are sending it. At a minimum, your clients should hear from you twice per month with information unrelated to appointments, and be sure to space the messages out. Avoid multiple promotions within a month, which will cheapen your services overall. Ensure all communications are relevant and specific to your audience, compelling them to take action. Above all, avoid overwhelming your clients with communications, because that’s a surefire ticket to the spam folder.
- Delivery — How should you reach your clients? When considering your delivery system, use your different platforms. Your clients are on a variety of digital channels every day, so reach them where they spend most of their time. Ask clients about their communication preferences annually, and ensure your team is honoring their requests. Add the question, “How would you like us to communicate with you?” to your client paperwork, and include checkboxes with your available delivery methods, including app notifications, text messages, emails, social media, phone calls, and more. By providing value across all your communication channels, you can ensure you remain important and present for your clients.
Your clients want to stay in the loop on all things related to their pet’s healthcare. Easily reach them with a veterinary client engagement system that features 2-Way Chat, 2-Way Texting, Email Messaging, and so much more. Schedule your demo of the Vet2Pet system to discover how you can effectively engage with your clients—in and out of the hospital.
