Practical Tips: Through Your Client's Eyes, Part 1

Your Practice's Visual Image

Ever thought about the “experience” your clients have with your clinic when they call or come in with their pet and talk with multiple members of your staff?

Have you ever “played” a client calling in or visiting your own practice? Have you ever had a friend or family member not necessarily familiar with your clinic, play a client by calling in or visiting, and then reporting back to you about their experience with your clinic and staff? Is this client “experience” important? Is it worth the time and effort? Well perhaps it is time to find out.

There are many “touch points” a client has with your practice that create their ultimate “experience” when they use you as their veterinary clinic for their beloved pet. As an owner or manager it is very important to monitor these touch points. Some such touch points include; when a client calls in to the clinic and talks to a receptionist, when a client drives up to your clinic, when they walk in front door, their first communication with a receptionist as they come in, their time in the waiting room, their visit with the technician and veterinarian in the exam room, their visit to your restroom and their checkout at the end of their visit. Your website, merchandising, and educational approach can also have a big impact on “experience” levels. What about the continuity of information the clients receive from each member of the staff…is everyone giving them the same educational and recommendation message?

In this series of articles, we will explore and dissect each of these and at the same time provide very simple tactical advice on how to monitor and easily maintain a level of excellence for each one. Providing a first rate experience for your clients from beginning to end creates loyalty, trust and encourages proactive referrals to their friends, families and perhaps more critical than ever, their recommendation through social media sites like Facebook. In a nut shell, your clients having an excellent experience when dealing with your clinic and staff can help keep your practice healthy and growing and provide an atmosphere that you and your staff will enjoy working in each and every day.

This first article looks specifically at the visual image of your clinic through the eyes of a client.

Article I: The Visual Image of Your Clinic

The “Visual Image” of your clinic is very important as it can create an immediate assumption about the quality of medicine being practiced. It is often overlooked from a management perspective, particularly the outside of the clinic…what a client sees when they first drive up. The reasons for this vary, but for many clinics, the veterinarians and staff do not use the front door when they come and go from the clinic, so it is a simple matter of “out of sight, out of mind”.

What does the front of your clinic look like? Is it clean and professional? Is the landscape well maintained? What about smell? We might be talking about the “Visual Image” of your clinic, but the senses of touch and particularly smell, play a large part in that image. Dogs being brought in throughout the day often do their “business” coming in and leaving your clinic. A few of these “messes” can very quickly be offending to arriving and leaving pet owners. The simple solution of course is to monitor the front of your clinic every hour or two throughout the day and keep it clean. Having a working hose close by that can be used to spray off the offending areas is a plus.

When a client comes in the door, what do they see? Are the waiting and exam rooms clean? This includes not just the floors, but the seats and tables too. How about the corners of the room? Pets shed A LOT! Every pet owner knows that. And it seems like a nervous pet sheds a great deal more. Compound that with 10-20 nervous pets all together and that equates to a lot of hair in the waiting and exam rooms. It does not take long before the floors, seats and tables are just covered with it. Taking some sort of mop, broom or vacuum to the waiting room every hour or two is a good idea. And of course exam rooms should be thoroughly cleaned after each patient that is seen. Once again pay close attention to touch and smell. If a pet has an accident, react quickly. Thoroughly clean the area and at the same time have some sort of air-freshener spray readily available in case a bad odor is an outcome of a mess.

What about posters, merchandising and educational material? Are they framed, in nice stands or displays? How old are they? Keeping clean décor and up-to-date literature add to the positive image of your practice.

How does your staff dress and present themselves? Your clients look to veterinarians as professional doctors and expect them to dress nice and wear a white coat. They also expect your staff to look like professional nurses. Anything less than that detracts from the visual image of a clinic, and not to mention can once again put a question in to the client’s head about the quality of medicine being practiced. Jeans and sweats do not carry any kind of professional image, but clean khaki pants, medical scrubs and jackets do. Having a solid dress code goes a long way in your client’s eyes in adding a professional image to your clinic.

And finally, least favorite but very important, is the restroom. This one is also often overlooked with no surprise. Who wants to clean the bathroom? Nevertheless, it needs attention every couple of hours as well. Use the same guidelines as the exam and waiting rooms. Keep it clean, fresh smelling, change the garbage regularly and never run out of toilet paper or towels!

In general, none of what is written above is rocket science, but our hope is that it is a just a good reminder about things that really are important in maintaining a positive image of your clinic in your client’s eyes. Remember that perception is reality! Never forget that. Even if your clinic practices the very best in veterinary medicine, this visual image of your clinic, if not the greatest, can chase off a client even before you have had a chance to see their pet. Cleanliness and professionalism sets the stage for you to show your clients the amazing quality of medicine you practice! It also assures that they walk away feeling that their pet was taken care of as well as they, themselves, are taken care of when they see their own general practitioner.

Next week, through your client’s eyes, we will visit, “The Verbal Communication Experience." Now that we have the “Visual” experience under control and on the radar, let’s see what the experience is of your clients as they speak to your clinic’s staff and veterinarians, over the phone and in person.

Until next week…

-Jeannine

Jeannine M. Courser, MBA
Right Course Consulting
rightcourseconsulting@comcast.net
Where business and personal success meet!