Client-Centricity: A New Veterinary Business RealityJuly 26, 2012 Service providers who have successfully grown their businesses over the last decade have changed the way they interact with their customers. They have built client-centric cultures in which the needs of the customer take precedence over the needs of the business. Relationships have become more important than expert opinions, and providers must offer solutions to more than a single problem and anticipate potential issues and provide solutions before the customer even knows they exist. In his book, “Making Rain: The Secrets of Building Lifelong Client Loyalty,” Andrew Sobel explains that in order to consistently “make rain” it is necessary to “reposition yourself as a client adviser rather than an expert for hire.” Businesses ascribing to a client-centric philosophy recognize that the bar has been raised in regard to customer expectations from all levels within an organization. This means the burden—or opportunity—to please clients is a greater responsibility than ever before. What They Want Pet owners demand more from veterinarians. They no longer bring pets to the clinic to seek out experts to sell them specific products or services. Expert opinions and veterinary drugs are readily available with just the click of a mouse. Instead, they …
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Software Can Lead To Leaner Operation, Improved EfficiencyJuly 26, 2012 Providers of practice management software report a spike in sales as more veterinarians rely on technology to help them get through the work day. Improving efficiency and operating a leaner business are tried and true tactics that allow practices to emerge from a down economy stronger than the competition. Practice management software can accomplish many things, including catch previously missed charges, create and access medical records, manage appointments and send client reminders. Though many software options available today spawned from programs initially intended to serve as electronic filing cabinets, such systems can now manage every aspect of the practice. Experts say a practitioner considering another software program or investing in one for the first time needs to factor in all the practice’s goals. Integrating equipment, converting to a paperless practice and saving time rank among the top functions that veterinarians want, say software companies. “It can be tough to compare apples to apples when looking at what practice management companies are offering,” says Lateefa Hayes, national sales manager for Sneakers Software Inc. of New York City, the developer of DVMAX software. “Each company presents its pricing in different ways. Some companies offer hardware along with their …
Taking Care Of Business With Practice Management SoftwareJuly 26, 2012 If the staff is the soul of a veterinary practice, the practice management software is its heart, because fully integrated PM software touches every aspect of the practice and unites the clinical and business sides. “Other than the people, there is nothing more important to a practice [than its PM software],” said William J. Griffin, VMD, CEO and medical director of the Regional Veterinary Emergency & Specialty Center in Turnersville, N.J. “If you have a rock-solid practice management software that is fully functional, then you will have an efficient team. “Our software program is the core of our business and the core of our standards of care, because everything goes to the medical record,” Griffin continued. “It becomes central to everything we do, from the medicine to the business. And it does all the reporting of our finances.” In the course of a day, a clinic’s practice management software generates thousands of pieces of client information, medical information and business information. The PM system must collect this data and present it to the practice in a way that enables veterinary staff to practice good medicine and practice owners to make their businesses profitable. Yet, as an …
The Personal And Professional Roles We PlayJuly 6, 2012 We’re likely all familiar with the saying “don’t bring your work home” and the opposite remark, “leave your personal problems at the door when you come to work.” These phrases, or some facsimile of them, assume that we can compartmentalize our lives and only live one “role” at a time. What are the roles we play? They vary from person to person, but consider these for starters: husband, wife, partner, mother, father, sister, brother, child...those are pretty easy. What about these: pet owner, neighbor, volunteer, friend, caretaker and more. Last but not least, those roles we play at work: employee (veterinary technician, front office team member, etc.), supervisor, manager, owner, veterinarian, best at putting in catheters, best at dealing with difficult clients, good with grieving clients, and sometimes, the owner’s wife, husband, child, nephew, etc. Is it fair to think we can slip into just one of those roles when doing a specific task? Hardly. We are an accumulation of all our experiences, past and present, and how we react to life is determined by this shaping. There may have been a time when someone at …
Protect Your Online ReputationJuly 6, 2012 It’s difficult enough to build your veterinary hospital’s brand without having to worry about rock-throwers attacking your reputation on the Web. The growth of online communities means anyone can undermine your hard work to build a positive practice brand. Many pet owners look online for veterinary hospitals and rely on others’ opinions when deciding where to take their pets. Satisfied clients rarely go out of their way to let others know they’re happy. Those with a bone to pick, no matter how small, tend to make an effort to share their dissatisfaction and they usually use high-profile online forums. Key people who can hurt your online reputation include: • Customers who feel poorly treated; • Disgruntled employees seeking to publicly air their grievances; • Unhappy vendors with unresolved disputes. Negative reviews and comments about a hospital are likely to turn up on websites such as Yelp.com, AngiesList.com, InsiderPages.com, and many more. They also can be found on blogs, Facebook, and a host of other social media websites. According to Yelp.com, as of December 41 million visitors browsed 15 million reviews, on which readers can comment, in just 30 days. That’s a …
Watch Your MouthJuly 5, 2012 I am often stunned by what veterinary clients tell me about their experiences with colleagues, general practitioners or specialists. And the same situation seems to occur in human medicine. People, friends, family members often come back from their physicians and they don’t have a clue what they were told. All they heard were fancy, long, difficult-to-pronounce medical terms. One smart, educated client recently told me that she didn’t want to have her dog have a TPLO with another surgeon because she didn’t understand a word of what he said. He apparently used expressions like “cranial tibial thrust,” “rotational deformity” and even the seemingly benign “cranial cruciate ligament.” She wasn’t impressed. (Note: I stubbornly refuse to call said ligament the cranial cruciate ligament [CCL]. I will continue to call it the ACL until pet owners know what the CCL is. Most client has heard of the ACL, or the “typical football player injury.” Very few know what the cranial cruciate ligament. So why mention it?) So I went over my TPLO “spiel,” using everyday words and a simple explanation, plastic model in hand. There is no need to be condescending, but we do have an obligation to …
Watch Your Mouth, Part 2July 5, 2012 Following our first installment on the vitally important topic of client communication (Watch Your Mouth, Part 1), here are some more thoughts about things to say and things to ban. Never say, “Don’t worry” to a nervous client. Murphy’s Law says that if you ever use those fateful words with a veterinary client who is fearful of anesthesia, anxious because her pet is being hospitalized all day, or worried that her pet will be fasted all morning, something bad will happen. It never fails. A colleague who worked at an MRI facility was always peeved when her radiologist called a disc hernia “moderate.” To her, moderate is a tricky word. Think about it: In politics, a moderate is kind of stuck in the middle. So our colleague’s concern is that neither the referring vet nor the client might be encouraged to act on a moderate disc hernia or a spinal cord that is moderately compressed. She prefers the word “significant.” So she believes a disc hernia should be described as mild, significant or severe. “Moderate doesn’t lead to action. Significant usually does.” Thanks to this wise colleague, now I actually …
The Veterinary Clinic In The Digital WorldJuly 3, 2012 It’s a digital world. Every day, there seems to be some new gadget out there that promises to make your life better. For most of us, it’s overwhelming. Which devices are actually useful? Which will end up in next year’s garage sale? Here are my top picks that will save you time and headache, and let you focus on what you need to get done, rather than wrestling with the technology. Samsung Galaxy Note These days, tablets are all the rage. When you mention the word “tablet,” most people think of Apple’s iPad, or one of the many Android models that are on the market (Asus Transformer, Samsung Galaxy Tab, etc.). Tablets are great, but they tend to be quite expensive—the new iPad ranges from $499 to $829—and they’re just a little too big to be convenient. Just try to fit one in your lab coat pocket. Luckily, there’s a new product on the market that brings together the best parts of your smartphone with tablet functionality to create a whole new genre. Enter the Samsung Galaxy Note, which is being called a “Phablet.” I first experienced this creature at the …
Therapeutic Lasers For Elite Level Equine CompetitorsJuly 2, 2012 The United States equine competition season for three-day eventing reached its apex at Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event in Lexington, Ky. It is one of the pivotal international competitions which help determine who is to be selected for the Olympic teams competing in London this summer. The pressure on every athlete, human and horse, to stay healthy, focused and yet relaxed and comfortable is enormously challenging. The eventing season is an endurance trial that requires either avoiding or recovering from fatigue and injuries. Managing these conditions in both the human and equine athlete plays a big role in determining who advances and who goes home. Virginia is home to many of the top three-day eventing competitors, who mostly travel and compete in Florida and the Carolinas for the winter, then return North for the summer and fall events. As equine sports medicine veterinarians to elite competitors, my wife, Stephanie Davis, DVM, and I travel with our clients not just as their veterinarians, but also as participants. Dr. Stephanie is also an avid eventer at the preliminary level. We seek every advantage with technology to keep our sport horses at peak performance. Many …
On The ‘Fairness To Pet Owners Act’ And Other Prickly Access-to-Pet-Med IssuesJune 29, 2012 Ever thought you were getting the shaft when it comes to selling drugs and supplies? If so, you’re not alone. Rx flea-and-tick supplies, monthly heartworm meds, must-stock anti-inflammatories and antibiotics (among others)? If you’re like a lot of us, you’re caught between a rock and a hard place. Not only is it getting tougher to turn a profit on drugs based on the big-hit financial outlays, spooky interest rates, skyrocketing shipping charges and creeping inventory management costs, but we’re expected to stock them. If we didn’t, the grumbling would reach an uncomfortable crescendo, as happened to us recently when we temporarily decided to outsource many of our ophthalmology drugs. Moreover, most of us are in no position to dismiss a profit center, no matter how minimal the margins. This economy is taking no prisoners and few of us can afford the luxury of discarding any source of income—minuscule and headachy though it may be. Caught in the Act Enter the “Fairness to Pet Owners Act” proposed by Congress. This bill is being touted by its backers as a necessary bit of consumer protection legislation that would require us to inform our clients of …
