A robust communication system coupled with the right practice management software will ensure a veterinary clinic can run efficiently and manage client expectations.

A veterinary practice should be equipped to handle calls from distressed pet owners and others trying to schedule routine visits. Vet clinics should be easily contactable during work hours for them to develop and maintain a strong reputation as a trustworthy and reliable veterinary practice.

Communications are fundamental especially in a dynamic and time-critical organisation like veterinary practices. Our cloud telephone systems can integrate with your veterinary practice software to provide you with all the features needed to run your operations effectively and guarantee a high level of customer service.

Veterinary Challenge 1 – The impact of missed calls on your veterinary practice

Veterinary receptionists answered the highest volume of telephone calls on Monday from 9-10am. This was followed by Tuesday and Wednesday mornings, respectively.

But imagine a pet owners’ frustration and disappointment when they call and no one answers, or they are holding for a long – or they hang up too soon! These can leave a negative impression and if they are a first-time caller, they will inevitably call the next vet surgery on the list.

There can be numerous reasons for missed calls, staff off sick, pandemic or flu, busy

– but your customers aren’t aware of this.

It’s important to ensure you have visibility of what is happening so you can put contingencies in place.

Veterinary Solution 1 – Call Management phone systems for vet’s practices

Our call management software can do the following:

• Abandoned calls followed up with a single click, so you don’t miss any emergencies or important calls.
• Analyse call statistics giving your practice the ability to assess busy time and quiet times.
• Call navigation enabling you to route calls to specific people or inboxes.
• Voicemail to email which enables you to read emails in your inbox so you can prioritise.

Veterinary Challenge 2 – The True Cost of Missing Phone Calls!

What is the true cost of missed calls? While veterinary practices and vets’ office managers strive to provide top-notch services to their existing customers, it can be easy to overlook the importance of telephonic communication.

The fact is that each call a member of staff misses can cost a business in the form of reputation and lost revenues.

A study has shown that 70% of customer callers will be placed on hold at some point during a call and if no message is playing whilst the customer is on hold 88% of people will hang up!  Maybe you are on the phone and need to check the calendar to book in an appointment. You could be dealing with an emergency in the practice or even just need to transfer a call to another team member.

These are all situations in which a caller may need to be placed on hold. And if you don’t have a message playing, do you really want 88% of callers to hang up on you?

Is your vets practice phone system losing your business revenue?

Veterinary Solution 2 – Phone systems for vet’s practice – On-hold marketing

There are many ways that our phone systems can help your business including our on-hold marketing opportunities.

We can help your practice to develop tailored on-hold messages specific to your vets practice and patients, these are flexible and can be changed easily whenever your practice requires. These can integrate with your telephone system to enable you to do the following:

• Keep your callers informed about any new developments or new legislation.
• Reduce abandoned calls by educating and informing your patients while they are hold.
• Generate new revenue streams through promotion of treatments and offers.
• Free advertising on offers or treatments which are popular and profitable for your business.

Veterinary Challenge 3 – Multi-site veterinary groups do not interact with each other as well as they could

Having multiple sites within a veterinary group can be beneficial if planned and utilised correctly. It can be frustrating for a customer if they have to call different numbers, this service needs to be seamless for your customers and staff.

Veterinary Solution 3

Our solution allows you to bring all your numbers across to the centrally managed system, which can route telephone calls to any number of extensions regardless of their geographic positioning.

This means that if a call is unanswered in one location it can also be presented to another to spread the traffic. Additionally, easy access to the web portal allows you to forward calls to other sites straight away if one ever goes down.

For more information on how we have helped Synergy Veterinary Group with robust IT and communications solutions, visit our case study here.

How can we help?

HBT Communications have been in the communications sector since 1988 and cover all the UK. Our support team are based centrally from our Coventry Head Office and our consultants have over 60 years combined experience in delivering the best of breed solutions and ensuring that these are delivered in the most cost-effective way.

Contact us today to discuss how we can help you.