Veterinary and Animal Hospital Phone On Hold Messages, So That Marketing Your Clinic Is Never On Paws!
It’s estimated that 37-47% of all households in the United States have a pet (Source: APPA), and according to an American Animal Hospital Association survey, 73% of pet owners would go into debt to provide for their pet’s well being. Families love their pets and consider them as a member of the family, so it comes as no surprise that they take the utmost careful consideration when it comes to choosing a veterinarian or animal hospital. But with more than 40,000 vet clinics in North America, pet owners certainly have lots of choices when it comes to Fido or Fluffy’s pet care needs.
Like any other healthcare professional, a veterinarian spends the vast majority of their time treating pets, performing surgeries, conducting research and maintaining on-going education, etc. This leaves little time to focus on their marketing efforts, but it’s a critical component to help pet owners make informed decisions about choosing YOU and your practice. AT&T reports that 70% of all business calls are placed on hold, of which 35% hang-up and don’t call back, never giving you the opportunity to serve them. So, when it comes to veterinary and animal hospital marketing, implementing an on-hold message solution for your telephone is the perfect place to start!
Since your telephone is the customer’s first impression of your clinic, what are you doing with this opportunity? If your callers wait in dead-silence, than the answer is – absolutely nothing. Phone etiquette is a big deal. It sets the tone (no pun intended) for the practice and is a crucial part of client communication. When using on-hold advertising at your vet clinic or animal hospital, you engage callers about your services and products, thus reducing the perception of on-hold wait time as you help to increase your revenue for your practice.
Veterinary and Animal Hospital custom branded on hold messaging can include a variety of topics that can differ from month to month, such as flea and tick prevention, heartworm disease, vaccinations, wellness exams and more. While many of your customers may know about your primary care services, do they know about advanced services they may not be familiar with such as: soft tissue surgery, digital radiology, ultrasound, or ophthalmology. Do you offer micro-chipping, boarding or grooming services? Then inform callers with a message on hold that there’s no need to look elsewhere, and prompt callers to inquire about lesser-known services and available products.
Your telephone on hold message can also help boost revenues in other ways such as, promoting your website for easy online appointments, convenient order of pet med and wellness products delivered right to their door. Do you use email marketing at your practice? If so, then mention in your music on hold message any monthly newsletters or blog resources to provide pet healthcare and wellness information which can help to increase sign-ups and members.
You don’t need to be a marketing genius to figure out that they key to growing your practice is growing your patient base. One of your best methods, and least expensive ways to accomplish this task is by tapping into the resources of your existing customers. Use your message on-hold to remind patients that the highest compliments to your clinic and staff, is the deep appreciation of the trust and confidence they have in you, when referring others to your practice, and they’re likely to tell a friend or two. This same philosophy can also be applied to helping to grow your social media fan base by mentioning it to callers on-hold, or asking them for feedback by posting to online review sites.
While there’s literally endless marketing opportunities for your clinic or animal hospital with custom branded on hold messaging services, it can also help to improve efficiency with office staff, thus lowering costs. Think about this. What are the most common questions your office receives every day? Your office hours? .. Location? … Insurance or payment information? By answering this question, and setting up your on-hold accordingly, your valued staff will spend less time answering the phones, and more time caring.
People love their pets and want nothing but the best for them. The bottom line: Good phone service is good business. Veterinary and Animal Hospital on hold messages can help grow your practice exponentially. If you show your clients that they have called a warm, caring environment with a qualified staff, you’ll have happier clients and higher profits!
