The bit before you
Between us, the Onswitch team talk to lots of veterinary professionals, working with business owners, vets, nurses and customer care teams to help them deliver a truly customer-centred service. And whilst there are always things to be done within their businesses - improvements to processes, training for people, development of longer-term strategies etc. – increasingly we find ourselves talking about the stuff that happens outside the practice. The bit before you.

You can bet that every single pet or horse owner who calls your practice, sends a message or launches a live chat with your team has done a lot of research and a lot of thinking before reaching out to you. There are countless sources of advice, information and support available to anyone looking for help:
∙ Friends and family recommendations
∙ Groomer / farrier / cattery advice
∙ Video vets (often free with pet insurance policies)
∙ Breeder forums
∙ Facebook pages
∙ Social media influencers
∙ Online reviews
∙ Blogs

Of course, this informed reality doesn’t just relate to veterinary care. Think about the last holiday you booked, the last time one of your household appliances broke down, the driving lessons / dance class / Scout group you needed to find. Chances are you used at least one of the places above to find solutions. It’s just what we do now, it’s human nature to try and find answers ourselves before enlisting the help of others.

Which means that whilst there are undoubtedly many more ‘bits’ before you than there used to be, many practices haven’t yet understood what this means for them

Directing the customer journey
If you’ve ever worked with Onswitch, you’ll know that we talk a lot about the Customer Journey - the path people take to and through your practice. Long before they call you, if they are not already clients they’re finding out about you. Asking around, checking your socials, looking at reviews, googling ‘vets near me’. That’s why it’s so important that the picture of your practice that they create from all this research reflects the warmth and professionalism of your team:
∙ Your website should be engaging and unique, featuring photos of the team as well as your practice story and mission
∙ Social media pages are refreshed regularly with lots of stories and photos of the people and animals you care for
∙ Online reviews are always acknowledged and responded to

This is where owners are forming impressions of their options, deciding who to call, who to trust with the care of their beloved family member. Because you aren’t the only vet they could choose, and they aren’t just going to choose any old practice.