A captive audience: The power of digital communication

I usually get the same answer when I ask what the biggest issue in the veterinary practice is: Communication. Most, if not all, problems within a practice or any business really stems from poor communication. Poor team, poor client, or poor owner/manager communication. The effects COVID has had on communication between clients and the practice has been dramatic to say the least. So how can we connect to our disconnected clients and improve communication? How can we use our social media platforms to bring our clients into the fold of the practice all while being online? Social media can be bittersweet for many veterinary practices. The time and effort it takes to plan and post good quality content is generally the biggest and most common hurdle. Some practices have turned to keeping clients informed on changes and updates by posting to their website, but often overlook their social media pages. Last March, everyone faced a major communication hurdle and in a lot of ways, digital communication was the primary method people used to stay in touch. Veterinary practices had to pivot quickly and adopt lots of new ways of delivering patient care and good client communication. They turned to video, telemedicine, curbside appointments, drive up prescription pick-up, an uptick in online pharmacy orders, and more. The veterinary industry has always been flexible in how it can do what it does; however, limited personal contact with clients has left the door open for negative interactions and miscommunications. [UPDATE: Looking for more on this topic? Rhonda Bell will be speaking on "Powerful Client Communication Through Social Media" at VetCE Virtual on Dec. 9. For details, including a VPN Plus+ member discount, visit here.] Effects of limited connection A sad consequence of the new communication methods imposed is that clients are not getting the same personal connection or face-to-face time they are accustomed to and the opportunities to be heard and understood are being missed. One of the primary functions of the veterinary team is to educate clients on pet care. When we can’t see confused looks, angry faces, disinterest, or other forms of emotions playing out across a client’s face, there will be a greater chance we will miss an important communication clue. Misunderstandings about care, treatment plans, expectations, costs, outcomes, wait times, services being offered or not will happen. Frustrated or angry clients turn to social media and in particular review sites, such as Google and Yelp to express themselves, and the practice plays the role of villain in the one-sided story. Reputation management is a dreaded task that has been forced upon time-strapped stressed out owners and managers because of COVID communication constraints. Anyone will tell you the emotional reaction to an unfair negative review is intense. The amount of personal energy spent under intense emotional strain replying to a negative review has deeper negative effects overall on well-being than using positive energy. Responding to a negative review under emotional tension is never a good idea. You don’t want to tell the whole truth under emotional duress. Across the country, the nature of patient visits is still varied based on location. There are some areas still locked down, while other locations are open for business as usual. There are some veterinary practices that have adopted a middle-of-the-road approach by offering curbside service and in-hospital appointments based on client preference. My veterinarian offers the option of being seen curbside or inside the clinic with my pet if I’m wearing a mask and maintaining social distancing guidelines. There is no right or wrong way, or any argument over the value of one approach over the other. I bring it up to demonstrate how this approach improves my bond with my practice because they are addressing my needs as a high-risk client and my desire to provide care for my pet. That is huge in my book. There are many high-risk individuals who are still uncomfortable going about their daily errands for fear of getting sick. Fear on one hand for their personal safety and guilt on the other for not getting care for their pet when needed. Choosing between their own health and the well-being of their pet is not ever something a veterinarian would want to force a client to do. This also demonstrates it is different wherever you go, and clients don’t always know what to expect. Veterinary practice owners and managers also have the added responsibility of keeping the team healthy to keep practicing great medicine. One sick team member can cause an entire practice to shutter its doors. People will miss work, shifts will be short, sick pets who aren’t being treated as quickly as they could have, and clients who are angry. So how do veterinary teams communicate everything that is going on and what they are doing to protect their clients, their teams, and themselves, while still providing excellent patient care? It takes a little preventive medicine by enlisting the entire practice as positive communication champions. Once your culture has become sick, it is harder to reverse course and change the dynamic. When you go to a restaurant you aren’t familiar with and you can’t readily tell what protocol you are supposed to follow during your visit, it can be awkward and embarrassing, even if it was innocent and accidental. Embarrassment leads to anger for some; for others it may be the silent factor that means they will never be back. Similarly, many hospitals report having negative interactions with clients regarding curbside rules and wait times. There have even been shouting matches, verbal assaults, fired clients, bad reviews, and more. Think about what you have seen online and on social media already. For instance, there are an endless number of memes and gifs floating around about “Karen,” the demanding and disillusioned client who spends her waking hours making irrational requests. These memes are entertaining, but sad. They make fun of someone’s misunderstanding of expectations required, which in real life would cause anger and embarrassment. The good news is a lot of these negative interactions and missed communication opportunities can be prevented long before they ever become a “situation” requiring more of our emotional energy than we have to give. Use your practice’s social media channels to share your culture and expectations in a proactive and positive way. Bringing clients in virtually on what is happening at the practice will help bridge the communication gap. Our clients really don’t know what is happening in the practice, they don’t understand the workload a team faces on a daily basis, they don’t understand the inexplicable increase in appointment demands or take into consideration more workers are working virtually and noticing their pets need care. In addition, they don’t understand why some practices aren’t doing elective procedures, such as nail trims or anal gland expressions, while the practice down the street never stopped doing them. They also don’t know you lost two team members to quarantine because they have high-risk family members at home. The reason clients don’t understand what is going on behind the scenes is because they don’t know—they haven’t been told. They only find out at the door (that they aren’t allowed to enter) or in some cases, after waiting for a very long time in the car with no sign of life from inside the practice. Had they been informed, clients would likely be understanding and compassionate. The importance of social media What can we do to help build a culture of positive, proactive client connection and communication? Let’s start with what we can do now. Enlist a team member who is social media-savvy to be the clinic’s social media liaison. This person is allowed to take pictures and keeps an eye out for great Instagram moments for the practice’s pages. The entire team should regularly inform clients to seek out the practices social media channels for additional information. Social media liaisons and positive communication champions should always be on the lookout for social-media ready opportunities that can be shared. Listing your Facebook and Instagram pages on invoices and email reminders is helpful, too. Let’s look at some other easy ideas for posting on your practice page. Post regularly about practice updates such as hours, closures, service offerings, payment options, telemedicine instructions, curbside protocols, or whatever else clients need to be informed about. If you are offering boarding, be sure to post about it from time to time. Similarly, if the practice closes on Saturday at noon, tell clients by posting a reminder. The holidays are approaching, and for the first time ever we are planning for end-of-year tasks within the confines of COVID, but what will that be like for your practice? Be sure to share it with your clients. It is okay to be transparent on social media without crossing any privacy lines. For instance, if a veterinarian is out because he is caring for a sick family member you can say something like “Our team wishes Dr. Soandso the best while he cares for a sick family member at home. If you are scheduled to see Dr. Soandso, our team will be reaching out to you soon. Please show Dr. Soandso some love and support by commenting below and we will be sure to pass along your kind words. We know he would love it!” Be sure to include a picture of Dr. Soandso treating a patient and provide the practice phone number for client convenience. Now clients know you are short a doctor and their compassion is engaged because Dr. Soandso is struggling with a sick family member and we can all relate. Be sure to share staff highlights. This puts a human face to the practice team members. If you are celebrating a work anniversary, birthday, graduation, or recent licensure, bring the clients in on that celebration. They will connect with your team members and bond with them. Once the bond has begun online, it can be nurtured in person through (socially distanced interactions) in the practice. Create short educational videos. I recently helped a practice create a video on what to expect during a curbside appointment. It was short and cute, and explained exactly what happens from the time the client pulls into the parking lot until they swipe their card on the handheld payment terminal, all while waiting in their car. The video is less than two minutes long. I’ve also seen videos on how to trim your pet’s nails, clean ears, give subcutaneous injections and fluids, diabetic injections, good in-house exercises to keep pets healthy during quarantine, and more. Your practice can also share funny or entertaining videos. The use of video to communicate and engage audiences has really emerged as comedic relief for many people and businesses, and brands are really paying attention. Practice teams have been creating dances and sing-a-longs to break the ice or to ease tension, and they are sharing these videos on their social media channels. Consider hosting a virtual video competition between clients and practice team members, or a dance-off with videos posted to the page and voting from the audience. It doesn’t need to be complicated to be effective. Stay relevant A final reminder is to update your business listings online. Check your listing on Google My Business, Yelp, and Facebook, or wherever else you may have your information posted. If they need to be changed, be sure to do it immediately. You can also add posts on platforms sharing important news, upcoming events, and hours. Paying a little money to boost a post about your practice from time to time is a great way to get more exposure. The art of timing, tone, and tact is what will make or break communication online and if done well, it can strengthen the veterinary-client-patient-relationship (VCPR). Waiting until there is embarrassment, anger, frustration, or bad review is too late. Be the proactive positive communication champion for your practice. Rhonda Bell, CVPM, CCFP, is the founder and CEO of Dog Days Social Media Management Consulting, which has specialized in managing veterinary practice social media platforms for the past three years. She is a certified veterinary practice manager and a certified compassion fatigue professional with 15 years of experience with the day in and day out struggle of running a veterinary practice. In her spare time, Bell along with her family cares for their many pets. Together they have three rescue cats, two pugs Kona and Gus, and recently an adorable feral cat colony of little black kitties that has chosen their home as their own.

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