Seminar overview

How can you increase client compliance for your recommendations? Learn ways to educate clients with handouts, report cards, wall posters, consent forms, models, and hands-on demonstrations.

What you’ll learn

 How to project the right image

 Exam-room communication techniques

 Ways to provide educational handouts

 Tips to increase compliance

 How to be a patient advocate

Top client communication tools

 Reminder cards

 Reminder phone calls

 Brochures

 Anatomical drawings

 In-clinic posters

 Newsletters

 Anatomical models

 Clinic library

Source: 1997 study of 31,000 veterinary clients by Pfizer Animal Health

Project a confident image

 Review the medical record BEFORE entering the exam room

 Greet the client and pet by name

 Shake the client’s hand and pet the animal

Display your credentials

 Veterinary degree

 CE certificates

 Board certification

 Management training

Personalize your exam rooms

 Community awards

 Family photos

 Picture of you with your pets

 Police dogs or other special patients

Recognize doctors and staff members

 Post names of doctors on sign or door

 Photograph employees with their pets for the hospital scrapbook

 Describe CE and training

Remember, exceptional customer service is everyone’s responsibility

 Rule #1: If we don’t take care of our customer, somebody else will.

 Don’t let one grumpy client ruin the next appointment

You are what you wear

 Look like a doctor

 Wear a white coat with a nametag

 All staff members should be in uniform

Exam room communication

 Help clients see inside pets

 Organ models

 Drawings

 Specimens

 Anatomical models and drawings

 Interactive diagnosis

Use radiographs as teaching tools

 Hips

 Joints

 Fractures

Use photos as teaching tools

 50% of all pets are overweight

 Show before-and-after results for weight management programs

Use digital photos as teaching tools

 Photograph a pet’s teeth before and after a dental prophy

 Dental radiographs

 Capture images during surgery and recovery

 Create cards, reminders, and report cards

 Use handouts in your veterinary software

Display wall posters

 Never use tape and push pins

 If it’s worth hanging, it’s worth framing

 Change posters every few months

Use photos to introduce new services

 Acupuncture

 Ultrasonography

 Physical therapy

 Laser surgery

Educate clients about pain management

 Pain patch

 AVMA consent form

 Tour of hospital

Display wall posters

 Hang at eye level

 Watch for fading colors and tattered edges

 Use to entertain kids

Give hands-on instructions

 Administering injections

 Applying flea control

 Giving a pill

 Changing a bandage

 Trimming nails

Give every client a business card

 Also utilize technicians

 End every exam with “Do you have any more questions?”

Get feedback on your exam-room communication techniques

 Coaching from practice owner

 Shadowing other veterinarians

 Visiting colleagues

 Seeking suggestions from staff

Provide educational handouts

Create a clinic library

 Books donated in memory of pets

 Videos for children

 Pet-selection counseling

 Resources on grief and pet loss

 Vendor brochures

Keep handouts in reach

 Wall-mounted racks between exam room doors in treatment hall

 Brochures on countertops or in wall-mounted racks

 Use three-ring binders

Organize handouts by subject

 Common behavior problems

 Housebreaking and litter box training

 Nutrition topics (feeding guide, weight management, recommended treats)

 Senior care, dentistry, exotic pets

Verbalize the handout

 Use a yellow highlighter

 Ask clients to repeat home-care instructions

 Give a business card in case they have questions at home or work

Increasing compliance

An educated client follows instructions

 Provide written estimates

 Use consent forms

 Give an exam report card

 Use Post-It Notes and e-mail reminders for medication

A well-educated team can teach clients

 Incorporate training in EVERY staff meeting

 Delegate client education to staff members

 Tap vendors for in-clinic seminars

Ease clients’ fears

 Create a clinic scrapbook that shows surgery, dentistry, equipment, and staff training

 Host an open house to demonstrate your equipment and expertise

 Offer a tour of the surgery suite

 Give pagers to clients for surgery and dentistry patients

 Give a child a stuffed animal to care for while you care for her pet

Focus on the human-animal bond

Never prejudge clients

Discuss Veterinary Pet Insurance (www.petinsurance.com)

Discuss Care Credit (www.carecredit.com)

Educated clients say, “Thank You!”