How online booking can grow your veterinary practice and boost revenue

If your staff is having difficulty getting in touch with customers to arrange or confirm upcoming appointments, it’s probably because customers are too preoccupied trying to get everything on their “to-do” list completed.

Most businesses these days accept that a website is a valuable tool for making their customers’ lives easier and saving them time. Our recent survey confirmed this, with nearly 90% of respondents saying that they had both a website and a social media presence t and interact with clients.¹

Interestingly, however, only 25% had websites that enabled fully fledged online bookings (not just an online form) even though this tool offers customers increased convenience and time savings.² Online bookings provide a fast and convenient option for your busy clients, while also increasing your practice’s efficiency, revenue, and customer experience. If you think this sounds like a win-win, you’d be right.

Provide customers with greater control

In customer service, the more options, convenience, and control you offer your clients, the better. Online booking supports this by taking the control for scheduling appointments out of your hands and putting it in the hands of your clients. In addition, with numerous technological advances over the past several years, customers have come to expect—and demand—access to information and services during times and utilizing methods most convenient to them, which are often outside normal practice hours.

For example, our Covetrus® Comms client communications suite – which integrates with our various practice management solutions – offers two-way online scheduling between pet owners and your practice via online booking.

Give customers the power of online booking

Based on the parameters you set, customers can schedule appointments in real time, at a time and place of their choosing, and receive automated appointment reminders ahead of time. This means they can schedule appointments from their smartphones at a time that’s convenient; for example, during a lunch break, while waiting to pick up the kids after sports practice, or on the bus after work.

Rather than going back and forth with reception staff to find a date and time that works for both parties, clients can see the dates and times available online immediately and select one that works best with their schedule. And if something comes up and they need to cancel or reschedule, this is easily achieved through the online system, too.

Offer customers multiple contact options

Importantly, having an online booking system doesn’t replace traditional methods. If clients prefer to call and make an appointment over the phone, there’s nothing stopping them from doing this. An online booking system provides your clients with more options, so they can choose to make appointments in the way that best suits them. The power of choice is a great boost to customer loyalty. If potential and existing customers feel like they don’t have a choice, they may look elsewhere for their veterinary care.

How online booking impacts your bottom line

Appointment no-shows and cancellations can negatively impact your practice revenue and cause inefficiencies in office staffing and overall operational performance. Online booking – coupled with automated reminders – increases compliance and reduces no-shows. Our research has found that as many as 9% of appointments are no-shows, resulting in $94,500 in lost annual revenue for the average practice.³

Whether a no-show was the result of an unexpected event or just plain forgetfulness, an online booking solution is likely to help improve these statistics. Allowing clients to book appointments online and receive automated reminders closer to their appointment time will help to improve your no-show figures.

Furthermore, research shows that with online booking, 26% of appointments are scheduled for the same or following day.⁴

Online booking is the ultimate call to action

Practices with an online booking option provide clients with the ultimate “call to action” – the ability to book an appointment at a time and place of their choosing.  When a new customer visits your website, they’re showing an interest in your practice. The next step is getting them to make an appointment and walk through the doors, which is where online booking comes into its own.

Online booking prompts your customers to turn their interest into action, there and then. When we surveyed practices that had online booking systems, we found that 17% of the appointments booked were for new clients.⁵ For existing clients, an online booking system can also act as a subtle reminder to book an annual check-up or routine appointment.

Just as online booking is great for getting new customers through your doors, it’s also another way of getting existing clients to browse your website while they’re visiting it. This means that they’re more likely to come across other important content you may have posted, such as promotions, your online pharmacy storefront, and educational resources.

Online booking systems free up staff and boost revenue

Aside from all the benefits for your customers, an online booking system also has positive benefits for your practice. It frees up time for your staff and eases the huge workload of having to field calls from clients who potentially could – or would rather – book online.

In fact, 50% of appointments made via an online booking system are done after business hours, demonstrating the value of a 24/7 online scheduling service.⁶ Online appointment bookings eliminate a lot of unnecessary administrative tasks, reducing the workload on your staff and freeing them up to perform more valuable activities.

While many practices still rely on traditional methods for scheduling appointments, many of today’s clients are looking for the convenience offered by booking online.

¹ Covetrus research, 2019.

² Ibid.

³ Ibid.

⁴ Ibid.

⁵ Ibid.

⁶ Ibid.