managing Growth during a Pandemic
Veterinary services are becoming more popular during COVID-19 as singles and families give in to the “pandemic puppy” (or kitty) for companionship.
As an essential service provider, vets are in a unique position to continue to grow their business – if they can adapt their model to the new normal.
Dr David Butchart, CEO of Veterinary Growth Partners says that practices can make from $180,000 – $200,000 of additional income a year during the global pandemic. He shares how, here:
“One of the things that has been constant around the country is vets are really busy – for a while most of the country was in lockdown so there are a lot of first-time pet owners looking for a reliable vet they can trust,” says Dr Butchart.
“The challenge for vets is that they have to change the way they interact with their clients. When it comes to delivering their services, this might mean a car park waiting room where patients wait their turn in the carpark. Many vets are also turning to telehealth consultations as well where appropriate.
“The other side of the equation vets need to consider is how they are actually bringing in leads to the business – the phone may be ringing but staff may be struggling to get to it. This can be difficult for staff at the best of times and in the current climate this can be harder still if a practice has to operate with a reduced number of staff due to social distancing or if they are tied up ensuring the safety and security of patients in their consult rooms.
“We’re also finding that the no show rate is reducing as well so being able to pick up and convert those calls is proving a high value task.
“We’ve seen some really great success with our vet practices who adopt an inbound and outbound call management system even for just a half day or in the morning or afternoon peak periods.
“The financials and sales over the longer term are quite impressive. One practice in particular were averaging around 560 consultations a month. After adopting a call management system, they were up about 60 consultations a month.
“60 consultations at a minimum of $200 is about $12,000. Of those consults, you might get 10 who need a procedure that costs about $500 which is an additional $5000.
“That’s a total of $17,000 a month of additional income all due to inbound outbound call management. In a year that’s $204,000 of extra money coming into a practice.
Need help with your inbound or outbound phone calls? Our V-Care Program is the solution. Our V-Care program is a simple extension of your customer care team, where calls are answered remotely by our customer-focused team. Vet CX’s technology platform allows your virtual customer care team member to safely and securely access your Practice Management System, follow your processes and ensure a seamless client experience.
Click here to learn more.