| Case Study: Tap Retired Workers to Make Callbacks
"We initially hired a retired client to make past-due reminder calls three times weekly between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m.," says Dr. Bishop. "We had better luck connecting with clients between these hours. Over the years, we?ve hired three people to do this job." Dr. Bishop created a written job description for the position and has a trained receptionist work with the caller for a few weeks to fine-tune his or her delivery. He asks the callback worker to keep a list of several things on a monthly basis:
The caller also tracks the number of clients who've left the practice and their reasons. For example, the client or pet died, moved out of state, chose to visit another veterinarian, or used a less-expensive vaccination clinic. "From this information we can identify trends in our practice, see how well we're doing with reminders, and update our client database," Dr. Bishop says. He says workers usually call all clients with past-due reminders after the practice sends three written reminders. He has workers call clients once a month, with a maximum of two calls. "For our practice, using retired people for this job duty lets us use our receptionists more efficiently," says Dr. Bishop. And, he says, both the practice and its workers benefit from the arrangement. If you have any questions or comments, e-mail us at ve@advanstar.com. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ WEB POLL Do you agree or disagree with the use of "guardian" to describe the pet owner's relationship to his or her pet? Click here to answer: www.vetecon.com. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ SEND US YOUR IDEAS! Do you have an idea that helped boost practice profitability? We'd like to hear about your approach! Send your growth strategies to ve@advanstar.com with Growth Bulletin in the subject line. We'll pay $40 for any submitted growth idea we use. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I SURVIVED! Have you weathered a tough experience and survived, even thrived? Do you have lessons learned that you?d like to share? We?d like to hear about your experience. Get in touch by e-mailing us at ve@advanstar.com with I Survived in the subject line. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ LINK OF THE WEEK Still haven't signed up for the Central Veterinary Conference (CVC), to be held Aug. 27 to 30 in Kansas City, Mo.? Register online at www.thecvc.com. And don't forget to check out what's going on before CVC begins: Veterinary Economics Hospital Design Conference; the Progress in Practice seminars, which focus on valuing your practice, managing transitions and embracing change, and making a partnership work; and Firstline Live, a three-day training program on client service, team building, and communication strategies. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ If you find the Veterinary Economics Growth Bulletin useful, please forward it to others! If this e-mail was forwarded to you and you would like to be added to the circulation list, please send an e-mail to join-veterinaryeconomics@listmgr.advanstar.com. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ You received this e-mail because you subscribe to Veterinary Economics. To unsubscribe from the Growth Bulletin, send an e-mail to leave-veterinaryeconomics@listmgr.advanstar.com. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Questions? Comments? Please e-mail ve@advanstar.com. For more information about Advanstar Veterinary Healthcare Communications, visit our Web site at www.advanstarvhc.com and to learn more about Veterinary Economics visit www.vetecon.com.
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