How to maximize the impact of online booking and automated reminders

Today’s pet owners are busier than ever, and more technologically savvy. With higher expectations for convenience, providing great veterinary care these days may no longer be enough on its own to attract new clients, increase retention, and grow patient visits.

As you’re no doubt discovering for yourself, modern veterinary practices not only have to compete with other local clinics, “Dr. Google,” and online retailers. But you’re also up against your clients’ conflicting priorities. The net result is that it’s becoming increasingly difficult to get your clients to return with their pets for regular check-ups, which can be damaging to your bottom line.

There are solutions to these modern challenges, however, one of which is to consider implementing a total client communications solution. This simple strategy will help increase compliance, improve client retention, reduce client no-shows, attract new clients, and streamline your practice workflows all at the same time.

Keys to successful client engagement

Secure more bookings

Making it as easy as possible for clients to book their next appointment is a key factor in ensuring they bring their pets in for their next check-up. Even if they have an appointment booked already, providing them with the option to change the time or day makes it much more likely they’ll turn up. If they still need to reschedule, this means you can offer the appointment time to another client.

The best way to do this is through online bookings. Your clients will appreciate the convenience of making appointments at a time and a place of their choosing. When combined with automated reminders, online scheduling is a powerful tool in helping to both reduce no-shows and keep your appointment calendar full.

Improve recall

Everyone you talk to these days complains about how busy they are. You’re busy, your staff and colleagues are preoccupied, and your clients are most likely telling you how full their days are, too. It’s no wonder that your clients sometimes forget that their pet is due for an annual check-up!

Automated appointment reminders not only streamline your practice’s recall and reminder process, but they also remind your clients of the value of this critical part of their pet’s care.

When you send reminders to your clients, provide them with the ability to reschedule if necessary. A good way to do this is to include links in your reminder emails or texts to your online scheduling platform. By linking reminders and recalls back to your online booking system it makes it much easier for your clients to confirm, book, or reschedule appointment times as required.

It’s also good practice to have any reply emails or texts go to a monitored inbox rather than being “no-reply.”

Break through the clutter

It’s estimated that in America the average office worker receives 121 emails every day.¹ So, it’s easy to imagine that your reminder email may get lost amongst this huge volume of incoming email traffic.

Covetrus research has found that it’s good practice to send several reminder communications across various channels in the weeks before a scheduled appointment. This includes email, SMS messages, and postcards.

Texts—as SMS messages are commonly known—are particularly helpful to send as reminders. Consider the following stats:²

• 97% of Americans own a mobile phone.
• 95% of text messages are read and responded to within three minutes of being received.
• 48% of customers prefer communication from businesses to come from text messages.

Another great feature of text messages is that they’re quick and easy to respond to. You can send a message a few days before the appointment and request “Y” or “N” confirmation that the client will attend. If they don’t respond within a specified time frame, only then does your team have to pick up the phone and contact the customer.

Customer feedback

Referrals are one of the most effective ways to gain new clients. Also, people are much more likely to trust the word of someone they know (or even an online review by a stranger), than what a business has to say about themselves.

Providing your patients with a way to review your practice and services quickly and easily and post these online is a super-effective marketing tactic. Combine this request with a short survey asking how they found the experience and you’ll also get invaluable information about what in your practice is working, what’s not, and what improvements your clients would like to see.

¹ “How Many Emails Does the Average Person Receive Per Day?,” Email Verify, February 13,2024. https://emaillistverify.com/blog/how-many-emails-people-receive/
² Max Adler, “SMS marketing statistics 2024 for USA businesses,” SMS Comparison, January 2024. https://www.smscomparison.com/sms-statistics/