4 Proven Strategies for Boosting Client Loyalty and Retention at Your Veterinary Practice

For practice owners looking to grow their business, new client acquisition is a major priority. However, in order to maintain that growth, practices will need to retain those new clients and keep them coming back visit after visit. 

That's easier said than done, though.

With how competitive and saturated the market has become in some areas, simply attracting new clients isn't enough; the true challenge lies in fostering loyalty and ensuring that clients choose your practice repeatedly. Client retention goes beyond simply providing good service. It's about creating a lasting connection and offering value that keeps pet owners committed to your practice.

In this blog, we'll explore what client loyalty really means and offer four proven strategies to help boost client loyalty and retention in your veterinary practice. From enhancing the client experience to leveraging technology wisely, we'll cover actionable tips that can help your practice thrive with a solid foundation of loyal clients.

Client Loyalty Defined

Before we talk strategy, let's dive a little deeper into what we mean by loyalty and how it can differ among clients. Most practices would probably like to think that they have a loyal client base that truly understands what sets their clinic apart from competitors and the value of the services they offer. But just because a client has booked a return visit doesn't necessarily mean that they're a loyal client who will stick with your practice until the end. Veterinary practice clients can exhibit varying levels of loyalty, each influenced by different factors and behaviors. Understanding these levels can help practice owners tailor their strategies to boost client retention and loyalty – and, ultimately, profitability. Acquiring a new customer potentially costs five times more than retaining an existing customer, so practice owners need to know how to cultivate loyalty with their existing client base effectively.

Cognitive loyalty is the most basic form of loyalty, where clients utilize basic factors of a clinic's presence or operations, like location, referrals, or price, to make their decision on where to take their pet. Oftentimes, clients at this level of loyalty will continue to book appointments out of habit or convenience, but their loyalty is shallow, leading some researchers to refer to this type of loyalty as "phantom loyalty." 

This loyalty is fragile, as these clients may switch to another practice if they find a better price or more convenient location. To move beyond cognitive loyalty, practices need to highlight their key value propositions and their competitor differentiators to set themselves apart from other clinics in the area and showcase why they should be earning a client's business. In short, clients who fall under the category of cognitive loyalty may be showing up on your appointment books more than once, but there really isn't any deeper connection or relationship guaranteeing that they'll stick around long term. 

The next type of client loyalty goes a step further: attitudinal loyalty. Clients with attitudinal loyalty have a deeper connection to your veterinary practice or the people on your team through emotional or psychological attachment and are more likely to use one veterinary clinic exclusively, forgive minor service failures, and recommend the practice to others – not only helping your retention rates but also helping bring in new clients! 

The final type of loyalty – behavioral loyalty – is reflected in consistent actions over time, such as regularly booking appointments or coming in to purchase food or preventatives. These clients adhere to healthcare recommendations and return for regular visits. While behavioral loyalty can exist without emotional attachment, combining it with attitudinal loyalty can significantly enhance practice profitability. Loyal clients generate steady revenue by returning in expected intervals, reduce the need for amplified client acquisition efforts, and contribute to a more satisfying work environment for the veterinary team because your loyal clients are often your biggest fans!

You need to invest time and resources into client retention.

The Biggest Factor in Client Loyalty: Value

According to data from the 2021 AVMA Pet Owner Survey, value is one of the largest drivers of client loyalty within the context of the veterinary industry. Summarizing the data, the AVMA explained that the "most loyal clients are those who find the veterinary team friendly, and those who are happy with the overall value and quality of veterinary services."

That means that in order to build loyalty and move clients toward behavioral loyalty, practice owners and veterinary staff need to ensure that the services and care they provide are of value to their client base. Several different factors can contribute to a client's perceived value of your services, including location, prices, convenience, friendliness of staff, qualification and knowledge of doctors, number and range of service and product offerings, and more.

4 Strategies for Boosting Veterinary Client Loyalty and Retention

Now that we've established that clients can fall into varying categories of loyalty and that not all types of loyalty are equal, it's time to get into the good stuff: what you should be doing to promote loyalty and customer retention in your veterinary practice. 

1. Enhance Your Client Experience 

Enhancing your client experience is paramount in building loyalty and retention. Personalized service tailored to each pet and owner can make a significant impact; remembering details about pets, sending personalized follow-up messages, and celebrating pet birthdays can create a sense of connection, thus fostering those higher levels of loyalty we explained. 

An often overlooked element of customer experience is the physical environment of your practice. Yes, you have a great friendly front office team, but does your lobby and waiting room look cold and sterile or warm and inviting? Aspects of your physical environment can have a major impact on a client’s perception of your practice. Ensuring a comfortable environment everywhere, from the lobby to the exam rooms, helps put pets and their owners at ease. 

One last element of creating an excellent customer experience is staying on top of your client communication efforts. Efficient communication is key when it comes to working with pet  owners — keeping clients informed about their pet's care, appointment reminders, and follow-ups through various channels like text, email, and phone calls can greatly enhance their experience and showcase your practice’s organization and proactive approach.

Checklist

  • Personalize the service you give clients
  • Provide everyone who steps foot in your practice with a comfortable environment from the lobby to the exam rooms
  • Be efficient and purposeful with communication

2. Reward Your Clients and Make Them Feel Appreciated 

Making your clients feel appreciated through rewards can also boost loyalty. Implementing loyalty programs that reward clients for frequent visits, product purchases, or referrals can encourage repeat business. And there's data to back that up: Merkle's 2024 Loyal Barometer Report found that a solid customer loyalty program has an 84% impact on a consumer's decision to keep doing business with a brand. Consumers love these programs and, more often than not, are willing to be a part of them, too. That same report revealed that 77% of consumers belong to up to five customer loyalty programs, and 93% shared that they earned or redeemed a reward in the past six months.

Showing appreciation for clients who refer friends or leave positive reviews by offering discounts, free services, or other perks can strengthen their connection to your practice. Regularly offering small perks like discounts on services, free product samples, or special promotions can make clients feel valued and increase their likelihood of returning. But don't worry about these perks cutting into your profit and financial growth; the total lifetime value of your loyal clients will greatly outweigh any minor promotions or discounts you've offered throughout the years.

Checklist

  • Create loyalty programs to give your clients an incentive to keep coming back and building a relationship of loyalty
  • Reward clients for referrals and reviews
  • Offer discounts, samples, and other perks for return clients

3. Use and Implement Technology Wisely

Today, technology is changing faster than most of us can keep up with. Practice owners need to embrace digital transformation and leverage technology for practice efficiency.

Using and implementing technology wisely is crucial in today's digital age, regardless of what industry you're in. Leveraging technology to streamline processes such as appointment booking, reminders, and record-keeping can make clients' lives easier and improve their overall experience while also increasing the efficiency of your internal team – often meaning less stress for them. However, practice owners need to use and implement technology responsibly. You don't always need the latest and greatest, and sometimes, a tool or software already in your tech stack might be the best fit for your practice.

Technology in veterinary practices needs to be used strategically.

It's important not to switch technology too often, as frequent changes can frustrate and confuse clients. Think about it: if your favorite app changed its layout and navigation every year and forced you to continuously relearn how to use it, would you find yourself coming back to it, or seeking out an alternative? That same concept can be applied to imagining how clients feel about technology in your practice and how it affects them.

Stick with reliable systems and ensure any transitions are smooth and well-communicated. Choose technology solutions that align with your practice's needs and client preferences, whether it's telemedicine, online portals, or mobile apps, to provide real value to your clients. If you have the budget for it, there are even some software and products that can help with those loyalty programs we talked about!

Checklist

  • Leverage technology appropriately and responsibly in ways that make clients lives easier 
  • Don't switch technology too often and upset or confuse clients
  • Use the things that make sense for your practice

4. Be a Better Resource than Dr. Google 

We've said it before, and we'll say it again: If you want to win clients and kick off a trusting relationship built on your expertise, you need to become their go-to source of information. In the age of the internet, this has become increasingly difficult but not impossible. When your clients have a question or need information about something, it's imperative that they feel like they can visit your website or give your clinic a call to get help. There's so much misinformation being served via online blogs and social media posts through "Dr. Google; it's up to you to be a resource your client community can trust and always turn to.

To start, you can position your practice as an expert in pet care by educating clients on common health issues, preventative care, and the importance of regular check-ups. Go above and beyond with educational initiatives such as blogs, webinars, live Q&A sessions, social media freebies, and informational handouts. Tailoring your educational content and programs to meet the unique needs of your clients can strengthen the client-practice relationship and encourage loyalty in information seeking behaviors. For example, if you live in an area with high tick density, sharing information on tick prevention, removal, and treatment is a great way to get ahead of the information your clients are bound to come looking for. By implementing these strategies, veterinary practices can enhance client loyalty and retention, ensuring a thriving business and a satisfied client base.

Checklist

  • Be a source of reliable information
  • Go above and beyond with education with blogs, live classes, or online Q&As
  • Tailor your educational content and programs to meet the unique needs of your clients

Need help building out strategies designed to keep your clients coming back visit after visit? Book a demo with our team of experts to see how GeniusVets can help you acquire new clients and keep your existing ones loyal and engaged.