Courtesy Jill Brecklin

That is how the Gold Star Client came to be in our hospital. The thought and the process were very simple. If you had a client in an exam room who gave a compliment to the staff, was genuinely friendly, or took hard news with grace; we rewarded them with a Gold Star Client card. On the card we wrote down why we gave it to them and thanked them for their kindness.

In addition to that, we gave them a $5 credit off their bill that day. At the end of each month, I was able to run a report from our practice management system and choose a winner from our Gold Star Clients to receive a variety of prizes.

It wasn't really about the discount or prize at the end of the month, it was about encouraging positivity in our clinic, and we saw real results from the $100 box of cards. Clients were talking about how they got rewarded for "just being nice" while in our office. This led to other clients realizing sometimes veterinary medicine is a difficult business and being kind to our team really makes a difference in our day.

Sweet and simple touches

Clients love to see pictures of their pets while they are in the clinic. It makes the appointments seem warm and friendly instead of clinical or sterile. To capture these moments and create a buzz in the clinic and on our social media, we created a calendar of monthly photo themes. Once the themes are created, we purchase small décor and simple costume items for the photo sessions.

To get the idea off the ground with clients, we first highlighted our employee pets on our social media. We then started advertising our themes and encouraged them to stop into the photo area while they were in the clinic. They can take pictures on their phones, and we snap one for our social media, as well. Having clients share these photos on their own social media is a great way to increase word-of-mouth advertising for your clinic! We are now creating a monthly bulletin board in our lobby to showcase the pictures as we take them.

Some of our most popular themes have included:

• April Showers Bring May Flowers
• Hollywoof and the Catwalk
• Cinco de Mayo
• Holidays: Valentine's Day and St. Patrick's Day

Clients aren't always expecting extravagance, they are looking for sincerity. This simple idea and process have created such a warm and welcoming feeling in our hospital, in addition to being a true representation of our focus on the human-animal bond.

Giving back to those who give so much

We love to pair with our local rescue organizations for events and fundraisers. These organizations are giving so much to help pets find forever homes and are always willing to partner with veterinary clinics to help promote their cause. From hosting adoption events to food drives, there are so many ways clinics can easily get involved.

For Christmas one year, we had a tree in our lobby that had paper ornaments with a pet's picture, a short back story on them, and a QR code linked to an Amazon store. Each pet's foster family put together the Amazon store based on that pet's needs or likes; clients were able to scan the code, order the items, and have them shipped directly to the foster parent's house. Clients loved how easy it was to donate without ever leaving our lobby and we didn't have to house huge amounts of donations in our hospital! We had 25 pets on the tree, and each one received multiple orders that year.

Pet photo days are also a great way to help rescue organizations generate visibility for pet's needing homes. Having a simple photo setup open to the rescues and your clients is a great way to introduce clients to available pets and help generate cute social media content for the rescue. You can host these in just a few hours without even closing your hospital.

If you don't have the room to host in your own hospital, look for outside events and offer to work or sponsor their booths. One of our most fun events each winter is The Bella Ball, where we sponsor the Puppy Kisses and Cuddle Booth! This event was created by one of our clients in memory of her dog, Bella. She coordinates everything from food trucks, to music, to the puppies, and the proceeds all go to a local no-kill shelter. Our staff gets to attend, and we encourage our clients to go, as well. We love to share cute pictures on our social media and help promote the event each year.