Any busy practice owner knows that callers will have to be put on hold sometimes. It’s just the way it goes! Yet, instead of giving your callers music to listen to, a general “thanks for holding” message or, even worse, silence, why not give them customized, educational messages? Customizing your on-hold program is a strong marketing strategy that promotes your practice, team, and services to callers, thereby increasing inquiries into those services and building trust with your client base.
Let’s take a deeper dive into why your veterinary practice needs custom on-hold messages.
1. Educate Callers About Your Services
Think of all the services you offer… does your average client know about every single one of them? Chances are, that’s a no. Clients usually only know the services you tell them about, and veterinary message on-hold can help with that. Imagine getting more appointments for laser therapy, dental cleanings, and other higher ROI services, all with no extra effort from you or your staff. That’s the kind of power a customized, well-written veterinary on-hold program has!
When writing your program, or working with an on-hold message provider, it’s important to highlight your services, but not every single one! Choose those that you wish your clients would take more advantage of like annual wellness exams, vaccine boosters, and dental cleanings, and then educate your clients about why those services are so important. You can also choose to highlight services that are new or innovative like laser therapy, acupuncture, or other holistic therapies. Educate your callers about how these therapies can complement their pet’s current treatment plan and offer more comprehensive healing.
2. Update Callers About Changes to Your Hospital
In light of the recent COVID pandemic, this one has taken on even more importance. Instead of having to explain to every caller about your new hospital protocols like reduced hours, curbside services, and mask requirements, use your on-hold program to do the work for you! Be sure to include clear messages about your policies, and when things change again, update your program!
Now all this updating and changing your program may sound like a hassle, but it doesn’t have to be! We believe updating your on-hold program should be a breeze (and affordable).
3. Inform Callers About Your Accreditations… And Why They’re Important
Is your hospital accredited by the American Animal Hospital Association? Are you a Cat Friendly Practice? And is anyone (or everyone!) on your team Fear Free Certified? Brag about it! These accreditations are more than flashy logos you can paste on your website. They actually help better inform potential clients about the kind of practice you are, and how much better you can care for their pet than your competition. Yet, in order for them to have any meaning, people need to understand how you earned them. Be sure to talk about each of these in your on-hold program and detail what it took to earn them, like having to meet AAHA’s Standards of Excellence, having your staff complete extra training to better recognize and address anxiety in dogs and cats, and making changes to your hospital to make it more friendly and welcoming to both canine and feline guests.
4. Provide Seasonal Tips to Help Owners Avoid Common Injuries or Illnesses
Do you get an influx of patients during certain times of the year? Maybe allergy cases in springtime, heat exhaustion in the summer, or poisoning and digestive issues around the holidays? You can use your veterinary on-hold program to talk about these seasonal hazards and help your clients avoid these potentially dangerous situations! These kinds of messages help build trust with your callers, and they’ll be more likely to identify the early signs of heatstroke, allergies, and digestive problems thanks to you, and get their pet into the hospital sooner rather than later!
5. Help Callers Get to Know You Before They Visit
Pet parents don’t just choose an animal hospital or veterinarian based on simply the services you offer. Your hospital personality, history, and atmosphere all play an important role! A custom on-hold program can help callers get to know you better. Include bios of your doctors, a bit about your hospital’s history, and ways you make sure both pets and people are comfortable when visiting you (including Fear Free or Cat Friendly certifications here certainly doesn’t hurt!). Plus, every message in your program, when custom-made, will give off the right tone that reflects your practice such as professionalism, warmth, kindness, and, of course, a love of what you do.
Interested in crafting a custom message on-hold program for your veterinary practice? We can help with that. Get InTouch today to learn more about our message on-hold services and how we can help you grow your practice!