setting up new practice

Re: setting up new practice

Gillian Mostyn — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 08:43:40 GMT

That made me laugh out loud!

Re: setting up new practice

Michael Woodhouse — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 23:45:09 GMT

[quote user="warwickshire vet"]

Have done large client dog walks in the park

[/quote]

Is this based on a certain BMI or just anyone a little overweight? Very public spirited to do something about the obesity epidemic in pets and owners........

Re: setting up new practice

warwickshire vet — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 22:56:47 GMT

Have done large client dog walks in the park which attracted local people wondering what the buzz was and also walked about town with people dressed as pets in costume giving out leaflets - I was the only one in vet clothes/scrubs and wished I was in costume as its was perishingly cold.. we had to get permission from the local council - who had subcontracted 'collections and leafleting' to an outside agency who insisted we had £5 million indemnity insurance (already in our practice policy) and paid them £50 for a permit to keep it legit. The computer idea is always good, we do that at our polo tournaments to register new clients, but have never done a 'cold sell' like you have done - dog walkers are a social bunch so it should create a local buzz!

Re: setting up new practice

Vikki Moran — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 22:00:15 GMT

thanks, defiintely planning to do a press release for the open day, hopefully next week.

typically we just haven't had any interesting enough cases for a newspaper report.

I will definitely take on your suggestion about schools/community groups. that's a great one. I was thinking of getting in touch with the local dog training classes and offer to do a first aid session for them.

I've found a few local football and rugby teams too and was wondering about contacting them re sponsorship? I don't mean kit sponsorship, but they all have website which display adverts, so was thinking that might be a good one?

we have also had an idea about a trip to the park.... not a mobile treatment service, but more a mobile advice unit? e.g. a small table, with a big banner, a vet and a nurse, a pile of our cards, leaflets, keyrings, magnets (yep i've got some of those made up) and basic advice really, and plonk ourselves near the entrance to a local dog walking spot on a sunday, and be there to offer advice about worming, fleas etc... no treatment available there, but would be able to book appointments, as i can use our software system online, and dial in remotely using wifi/dongle. has anyone done anything like this? do we need planning permission or a licence?

Re: setting up new practice

Rebecca George — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 17:41:39 GMT

Hi - have you thought about PR? It's a cost effective way to build your profile in the local area. Do you know your local paper? Take a look through it and look at the type of stories they like. Check out your local radio station too.

When you have an unusual/funny/sad patient story put a presss release together (if the owner is happy) and get a good photo. Papers really like them. You could do a press release about your open day too. Do something novel for a charity - papers like these stories too.

Also, I suggest you offer local schools and community groups talks - they're often interested in talks on animal welfare, life as a vet etc - it's a good way to help you get you embedded into the local community and building these kinds of links and relationships in the community will pay dividends.

Hope this helps.

Cheers

Rebecca

Re: setting up new practice

Malcolm Ness — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 09:28:11 GMT

Didn't mean to patronise, merely observing that the failure of "promised" partnerships are a massively common bone of contention amongst vets. Was it Sam Goldwyn who said that a verbal agreement isn't worth the paper it is written on?

Re: setting up new practice

warwickshire vet — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 08:32:29 GMT

Your advert has to be honest and truthful (ASA regs) and you can't mention POM-V's etc, BUT you can advertise prices - if you are worried send your copy to the RCVS to comment on - its free (!)and it will stop you getting into trouble if you have used an inappropriate claim. But also advertise your lovely site and staff! Also stops you worrying if a local practice kicks off about it to the RCVS. Sounds like you have an excellent site and premises and you just need clients to see it for themselves - you can put up large temporary banners outside the practice with out planning upsets. Have a pet party for pet week and an open day.

good luck

Re: setting up new practice

Vikki Moran — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 08:11:59 GMT

thanks, we have the free listing on yell.com, which i personally think will give more traffic than yellow pages itself. everyone i have spoken to seems to think yellow pages is a waste of time these days.

we've got a national pet month open day organised (rcvs tea party would've been a good idea, but that suggestion has come a bit late for organisation purposes i think!)

we are a bit restricted in our planning permission about outdoor signs etc. which is frustrating.

we are on a fairly busy road, just off a main road, so our visibility is good, but not excellent.

the area we are in has one major competitor, the only practice in this part of the city until we opened, and one of the reasons we opened was because the nurse (who has lived here all her life) was fed up of hearing friends and neighbours badmouthing the other place. I can see why, as a practice, the buildings are old, poorly maintained, small dark, there's no parking etc.. and they don't have on site facilities, they are a branch of a larger practice, and anything that needs investigation or surgical treatment has to be transferred. I don't think most people like that, certainly not in a large city.

our advantages (I think) are that we have a massive car park, a large woodland behind the building which owners can use for walking their dogs, big waiting room, it's light and open and airy, separate dog and cat wards, isolation, prep, ops, xray room, onsite bloods (incl t4) and we are on 20 minute appointments,

now all of the above goes on everything we put out, flyers, the local rag ads (we have also done the local directory type mags) and it's going on our web site.

we also run cats protection and dogs trust neutering, and our prices are certainly competitive.

Iunderstand we aren't able to advertise prices specifically, is that right? what can we advertise? vets4pets seem to get away with advertising prices...?

Re: setting up new practice

warwickshire vet — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 23:14:58 GMT

You can get a FREE listing on Yell.com - they will pester you for a bigger better advert, but you get on the web - also 'any uk vet' web site can be edited for free and build up content. Use paid for weekly papers for adverts, use a voucher to see how they are working (free ones are todays cat litter, 'paid for' ones get read and they last all week!). We opened in Feb 2006 as a new practice, now 7 vets 2 sites, used local papers, web, editorial (Free), photos in papers (free), open days('free') polo tournaments/teams (paid for by drug companies) and a radio campaign for a year (expensive but worked really well). A good website is a must - dont use a vet specialist - they design them for vets not real people - ie your customers. But be nice and go the extra mile for your customers. Listen to them, make sure you treat the problem they percieve not just the clinical diagnosis you want to make. And you will be succesful vet grasshopper

Re: setting up new practice

Vikki Moran — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 22:52:48 GMT

malcom i am trying very hard not to feel patronised! naive is not my middle name.

partnership prospects were discussed at my initial interview, and have been discussed on a regular basis since then. the nurse who owns the practice is keen to have a vet as a partner, and is aware that i would like to be that vet. she and i have discussed the situation at length. she is not prepared to take me on as a partner until the business is doing well, and established, as she feels very uncertain about it at the moment.

please don't assume that i am just off in my own little world.

Re: setting up new practice

Malcolm Ness — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 08:28:32 GMT

[quote user="Vikkivet"]

I have been involved in a new practice since late last year. It's not my own, it's owned by a VN, and i'm one of 3 part timers who work there. I will openly admit that i'm hoping one day to become a partner, so I'm very keen to get this place up and running successfully.

so any hints and tips?

naturally we have a very tight budget. so advertising has been something we've been fairly limited on.

we've done a few of the local directory type publications, and a leaflet drop. Thomson local, but not yellow pages (other than the free one liner listing) as it really is a HUGE amount of money they want,

the website is under construction, and should go live in the next few weeks.

how do we get more people through the door?

we've got about 300 active clients so far, since early december, but of course a few of those may not come back, as i suppose clients will come and try out a new place, but not necessarily stay!

we are running a recommend a friend competition, we are also having a national pet month open day in april.

what else can we do??

[/quote]

Going off track a bit but before you invest too much emotional and other energy in this certainly worthy project, I would suggest that you sit down and discuss the "future partner" aspect in some detail - don't just assume that your employers are thinking the same way as you. Now, and not later, is the time to discover whether or not this is a real possibility or merely a personal and isolated aspiration.

Re: setting up new practice

Michael Woodhouse — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 22:43:02 GMT

[quote user="Gillian Mostyn"]

(((( erm.....also just wanted to point out that Evelyn is a 'he'! )))

[/quote]

whoops

Sorry, just assumed from the name that he was a woman............

No offence intended. Teach me not to read people's profiles!

Re: setting up new practice

Gillian Mostyn — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 22:40:52 GMT

[quote user="Michael Woodhouse"]My Yellow pages is also still in its plastic wrapping. I have to disagree with Evelyn, she must be the older generation as even my mother uses the internet to find companies details! [/quote]

He's not alone. I use yellow pages for certain searches - it has it's place when you want to find a specific company in your area without waiting for the computer to boot up. I am 34.

(((( erm.....also just wanted to point out that Evelyn is a 'he'! )))

Re: setting up new practice

Michael Woodhouse — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 22:06:26 GMT

My Yellow pages is also still in its plastic wrapping. I have to disagree with Evelyn, he must be the older generation as even my mother uses the internet to find companies details!

The internet is your friend - register with google's free business listings and then you will show on a map if people search 'vet in a certain town'. Did I say it's FREE! I also understand it may help with your google page ranking too.

In our area there are a few local magazines that drop through peoples doors and the ad costs ~£100/year and generates more work than all the other advertising put together! The ad is always there so people know where to look for it. Also brings in a fair few holidaymakers.

Re: setting up new practice

Vikki Moran — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 15:45:34 GMT

Yellow pages really is out of our league at the moment.

the website will be live when the domain name and hosting company sort themselves out - so hopefully later on today.

sadly I have no control over the advertising budget.

Re: setting up new practice

Evelyn Barbour-Hill — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 03:01:38 GMT

[quote user="robloxley"]P.S. just got new yellow pages through the door and threw last year's away, unopened! Is advertising in the YP cost effective? Who reads it rather than Googling?[/quote]

Lots of people look in Yellow Pages. I do. Not only is it personal preference (many people are old-fashioned), you find what you want quicker. It's not the most important source of clients (that is of course word-of-mouth) but you have to be in it. Even more unfortunately, in my part of the world you also have to be in the business section of the telephone directory (the pages of which are............... yes, yellow). BT and YP are locked in competition and the two books are both consulted. That wouldn't matter if every practice stuck to its free basic entry. The trouble is, many practices have for reasons of their own gone overboard with huge coloured display adverts ("we're caring and sharing down at Prettipet Pet Vets") so your little free one-liner gets completely swamped. It is horribly expensive but you do have to have at least that semi-display style if you are to be seen at all.

Re: setting up new practice

George Cooper — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 22:29:24 GMT

you're at it again. you're imagining all the blackest of black dark deeds without actually knowing the sort of thing I'm talking about.

If what I am "pushing" is blatant profiteering then I will agree. However - if we choose to follow the "ten commandments" of responsible pet ownership which are formulated, not to treat a sick animal (which clients don't want) but to help to KEEP the pet well (which clients DO want) then there is no push.

and always, always remember that clients have a choice. They can say "yes George, I can see that will help, and you've explained it well" or they can say "actually, no thanks - but thanks for taking the time to explain".

If we fall over ourselves in dreaming up ways NOt to offer things, perhaps to save the client money - we'll never grow a business.

And I'm not advocating what so many practices do, and that is to do every test and work-up 'because they can', I am talking simply and specifically about striving to maintain a healthy pet that is under our control - because we have the best knowledge, the best products, and the time.

Will your clients ever get the right worming advice from a checkout girl in Tesco?

G (off to bed - knackered from pushing brick walls and shouting at deaf vets!!!!)

Re: setting up new practice

Robert Whiteford — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 22:13:35 GMT

George

You said that no client should ever leave the practice without some sort of appointment - some patients dont need seen for a year unless they are ill - be realistic and don't push the loyal, intelligent client too far....

You'll kill the goose that lays the golden egg....

Re: setting up new practice

George Cooper — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 21:38:01 GMT

[quote user="Robert Whiteford"]

[quote user="George Cooper"]No client should ever leave your practice without some sort of appointment booked in the future. (i can expand onthis if needs be).[/quote]

This can seem a bit pushy but definitely something in their hand with your contact details - I too can expand on this.....

[/quote]

If it is done purely and simply "for the sake of the health of the pet" then nothing is pushy. This outmoded sensitivity has been the thing that has stopped our profession from achieving what it should be able to over the years.

Re: setting up new practice

Robert Whiteford — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 21:07:38 GMT

[quote user="George Cooper"]No client should ever leave your practice without some sort of appointment booked in the future. (i can expand onthis if needs be).[/quote]

This can seem a bit pushy but definitely something in their hand with your contact details - I too can expand on this.....

Re: setting up new practice

Robert Whiteford — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 21:04:48 GMT

Money for advertising is tight right now - dont waste money on Yellow Pages - use the internet to get your page optimised in searches.

Get free publicity in local press by story of gastric or intestinal foreign body removed including smiling photo of nurse or vet clutching the offending article ( hopefully something dramatic like a gold coin and not something dubious like a condom!) - just re-read this - better with the condom - you might get nation-wide coverage!!

Establish standard operating procedures (SOPs) from the start as to what you display on notice boards and what charities you support so that reception can deal with enquirers without referring to the owner all the time.

[quote user="Jane Dunnett"]Beware the notice-boards which seem to develop a life of their own with outdated, peeling posters and hand-written ads, business cards etc. [/quote]

Definitely keep smiling and interacting with all the members of the family - especially your patient

Good Luck

Re: setting up new practice

George Cooper — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 20:38:40 GMT

Hi again

No client should ever leave your practice without some sort of appointment booked in the future. (i can expand onthis if needs be).

Re phone calls - clients really appreciate a call FROM THE VET, so it pays to take ownership of this and DO IT. Particularly immediately after an operation, as the nurse is rreturning the pet to the kennel, give 'em a ring.

Re: setting up new practice

Rob Loxley — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 20:34:27 GMT

[quote user="Jane Dunnett"]I disagree slightly with Rob about the website. I don't know about anyone else but broken, incomplete, constantly "under-construction" and clunky websites drive me mad. Don't roll out the website until it's got all the basic info (you can add to it later)[/quote]

Wasn't suggesting rolling it out until it works and has the basic info, but a single page with a happy photo, address, phone number & welcoming paragraph goes a long way. So you advertise in the paper, or get a news story in, or Mrs Jones recommends you - what is the most likely way someone will look for your address, phone number and more info - Googling you. The vets profiles, owner literature, blog, 3D VR practice tour can come later!

Re: setting up new practice

George Cooper — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 20:11:44 GMT

[quote user="Vikkivet"]

how do we get more people through the door?

what else can we do??

[/quote]

Without ANY question the way to build a successful practice is to realise that every single client at the reception desk is your future. They will be your "free" advertising, your emissaries, your advocates. You must make them feel SO SPECIAL that they'd never dream of going anywhere else. Think of how you personally glow with pride perhaps at a hairdresser's who compliments you, or the carpet salesman who just goes out of his way to go the extra mile for you. Then - translate that into action with clients.

It isn't just the vet, it is also (and in my opinion, more importantly so) the team on reception who must convert calls into consults, treat each client as a best buddy.

The most important thing is to recognise what is important to the client - and that is their beloved pet! That is why they're there, to care for it , even if it is greasy, stinks, and has fleas and a clotted botty. It probably shares their bed! So talk to it, and be kind to it! Find out why they came to you - and be direct. Ask! If you hear stories of the "opposition" being uncaring, or gruff, or rough then do the opposite.

By looking after clients you will have a dozen (or more) chances each day to promote your practice AT NO COST.

Because you are a start-up you need some sort of media presence EVERY WEEK, even if it is just a small insertion in a freesheet. A basic "we're here and we're new and caring" website will suffice. And avoid the yellow pages.

Hope this is of use. Good luck. Oh - and having continuity of vet could be important... ... as will be getting them back for repeat consults to monitor progress of the case.

George

Re: setting up new practice

jd2008 — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 20:01:29 GMT

In view of the fact that money is tight, your first aim should be to maximise what you already have.

1) Reception/receptionists. This is the first contact new clients will have with the clinic. Train your receptionists on everything from answering the phone within 3 rings (no excuses) , always speaking with a 'smile', engaging the client from the word go (ask what type of pet, how old, name etc etc etc and booking the consult before even mentioning costs) to knowing when to hand a call on to a vet/nurse fort further advice rather than bullsh*tting

Explain to them just why their role is so vital and get them really fired up to do their job excellently.

Make sure the reception area - whole practice ideally, but start with reception - screams "professional" It doesn't have to be cold or clinical but too many vet clinics I've been in veer anywhere between cutesy/shambolic, pile-em high pet shop or just downright tatty. Think of what you'd expect in a private medical clinic.

Beware the notice-boards which seem to develop a life of their own with outdated, peeling posters and hand-written ads, business cards etc. Much rather have an enclosed,glass-fronted display board in which you can put up timely, targeted displays.

I hate leaflet racks. They get messy and outdated very quickly and just how often do our clients actually take the leaflets? Much better to hand over suitable literature to a client with an explanation of why it's relevant to them

If the walls look a bit too stark once you've cleared the clutter pop down to Ikea (I know, I think it's a dimension of hell too.....) and get some simple picture frames. If anyone you knwo is handy with a camera they can take some nice animal photos otherwise their are numerous websites from where you can download professional photos for a very reasonable fee.

Thed reception desk must be absolutely clear of clutter. Set up a separate area for your staff to do the claim forms etc away from public view.

Absolutely no food allowed on reception.

Make it part of the rota'd duties to sweep your forecourt/pavement outside every morning to keep it clear of litter.

Keep consult rooms clutter free too.

I disagree slightly with Rob about the website. I don't know about anyone else but broken, incomplete, constantly "under-construction" and clunky websites drive me mad. Don't roll out the website until it's got all the basic info (you can add to it later), is easy to navigate and guaranteed to run well.

Avoid gimmicks (I'm not too sure about free first consults - you are a professional with a valuable service, giving away stuff for free devalues you and your time/skills and the client won't actually appreciate it or necessarily want to come back just because of that) just concentrate, as Gillian says, on providing excellent value for money. Greet every client with a warm smile and carry the cat basket into the consult room for them then out to the car afterwards. If a pet is soiled or matted, clean it up for the client (or get a nurse to do it) and clean out the basket. Don't just dispense the worming tablet, administer it yourself.

Once you've made your diagnosis have on hand some extra literature the client can read through at home (I love fabcats.org and Veterinary Partner for this). Give them your contact details and make the follow up appointment then or tell them what times they can call to speak to you to report progress (playing phone-tag with a vet is frustrating)

Get your nurses (or yourself) doing post-op calls the day after the procedure.

I could go on and on but I'll stop before everyone loses the will to live!

Believe in yourself, get your team on-board, motivated and fired up and you'll be absolutely fine

Jane