3 Critical Tips On How to Communicate With Veterinary Clients During the Pandemic

Communicating with veterinary clients could and should be a six-week intensive course, as there are so many nuances to this relationship. Even more so than with humans, pet owners have a fierce sense of loyalty and protection when it comes to their fur babies. After all, the buck stops with them, so if anything happens to these pets, the owners would never forgive themselves. So unless pet parents are heading to the veterinarian for a well visit, emotions are likely already running high. They’re wondering what’s wrong, what’s the diagnosis, what’s the prognosis, and what it’s all going to cost them—before they’ve even crossed the threshold.

Now, add to this a pandemic and, well, there goes the neighborhood. The old way of doing things has gone out the window and, with that, the comfort level of these clients. There is an art form to dealing with pet owners during this time of crisis and, until you figure that out, you risk losing them to the competition. We’ve rounded up three tips on how to best interact with veterinary clients during the pandemic, along with some advice from some renowned DVMs.

1. There Is No Such Thing As Too Much Communication

In times of uncertainty, there is nothing better to arm yourself and those around you with than knowledge. A client that doesn’t know whether you’re open, how you’re working things during this pandemic, your policies on telemedicine, and the like isn’t likely to be a client for long. Even if their precious pet isn’t currently sick, they’ll want to know what happens in the worst-case scenario.

As Dr. Peter Weinstein - Executive Director of the Southern California VMA and Owner of PAW Consulting - noted during his time as a guest on Webinar Wednesdays with GeniusVets:

"Just reach out to them [clients] and give them some education. Your pet is not carrying COVID. There are other concerns that we have in terms of infectious disease. If you're traveling with your pet, here are the things to worry about. It’s really important that you become the go-to source of information and not the 16-year-old working the desk at the pet stores selling a bag of dog food to a cat owner. You need to stay in touch."

Dr. Michele Drake - DVM and Practice Owner of The Drake Center in Encinitas, CA - echoed this sentiment during the Coming Back From COVID webinar on how to be successful as we navigate this pandemic:

“I’ve provided weekly videos for any clients who want to stay abreast of what’s going on with us. I think of it just as when I’m flying on airplanes. I appreciate it when the pilot comes on the loudspeaker to tell us why we’ve been delayed and communicates what’s going to happen next. The videos are simple. It’s just: ‘We’re here. We’re open. We’ll get through this. Please answer your phone when arriving at our curbside!’”

Dr. Adam Christman - Chief Veterinary Officer of fetch dvm360 - has also partaken in the Webinar Wednesdays with GeniusVets, and what he offered up was a virtual Master Class when it comes to keeping in touch with clients. From his “yappy hours” and TikTok presence to his use of two-way messaging apps and his Boomerang videos sent to clients, Dr. Christman wholly embraces the concept that there is no such thing as too much communication when it comes to veterinary clients.

As he explains of the power and ease of sending a Boomerang video during his episode of Webinar Wednesdays:

“These videos are just for your wellness appointments because, again, they may not be with you because of COVID. So go on Instagram and use the “boomerang” feature to snap your dogs, cats, or exotics. Boomerang is just a cute little couple seconds of them going forward and backward, but it's always us hanging with the puppies and kissing them. We send them a message and say, "Just so you know, this is what we're doing right now with your dog." They'll send out a reply like, ‘LOL, LMAO, this is so adorable. Thank you so much. Can I share this?’”

2. Don’t Be Afraid to Experiment

There is no “The Last Time We Had a COVID-19 Pandemic” playbook. This is uncharted territory, so when it comes to communicating and interacting with clients, you have to take risks...calculated risks but risks all the same. When you think about it, curbside veterinary treatment is all one giant experiment. It’s clunky and imperfect but it’s also made it so many veterinary clinics that would have otherwise had to close to be able to stay open.

When Dr. Drake realized that the way they were initially communicating with clients who were arriving for appointments was slow at best and allowing for some to fall through the cracks at worst, she knew she had to do something. She turned to her business partner and GeniusVets CEO Harley Orion, who made a bunch of calls to research apps and they decided on Zingle. The app’s bot pre-screens clients, which has cut down on so much chaos and has allowed Dr. Drake’s clients to be able to make appointments and check in when they show up for appointments, giving her practice back some much-needed efficiency.

3. Admit Your Mistakes

No one expects you to be perfect, particularly during a pandemic. Everyone is going to make mistakes as we experiment with new ways of doing business. Don’t ignore them or hide behind them. Admit them, embrace them, and learn from them. Your clients will surely respect this over someone who tries to gloss over a super long wait time or a missed communication.

Dr. Matt Demey - DVM and Practice Owner of Seven Hills Veterinary Clinic in Aurora, CO - noted during the Coming Back From COVID webinar:

“What we can’t do is what we’ve always done. We have to anticipate and stay ahead, which is why our practice has established this a judgment-free period. Don’t be afraid to acknowledge just how clumsy figuring this out can be when you are interacting with clients. It can even be a good ice-breaker.”

Again, this is all new to every human and in every business, but there’s no denying that COVID-19 has presented some truly unique challenges to veterinarians and their clients. This has made the need for clear and open lines of communication that much more important.

Dr. Weinstein put it so perfectly by saying, “You don't need new clients; you just need to take really good care of the ones that you currently have, and any new clients that you get are gravy.”

If you’d like to learn more about Webinar Wednesdays by GeniusVets, go HERE.