Spring Clean your Veterinary Practice
HOW TO GET YOUR VETERINARY PRACTICE PURRFECT FOR THE SUMMER MONTHS
Yes, it may be a little late in the year to be thinking of spring cleaning.
But May is still spring. And anyway, we should never need encouragement to ensure that all aspects of our practice are in tip-top shape, helping us to support our teams and deliver a fantastic service for our clients and their pets.
So without further ado, the Practice Made Purrfect spring clean guide is here, a list of handy hints, cheats and tips that will leave your practice sparkling in anticipation of a sunny summer 😎. Yes, our fingers are very much crossed!
We’ll kick off with the concrete jobs you can do in practice, before moving on to your digital feather duster.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS: HOW DOES YOUR PRACTICE LOOK FROM OUTSIDE?
When you consider the visual impact of anything connected to your practice you should always be thinking from a client’s perspective – but never more so than when the outside of your building is in the crosshairs.
We’ve talked about first impressions and the face of your business many times before, but usually in reference to your website and the digital space.
Your building literally is the first impression people form of your practice. No matter how strong a connection you may have built with a new client through your digital offering, nothing compares to the first time they walk through your doors with their pet.
That’s when emotions come into play. Clients are worried about their pets with much of that fear travelling down the lead! They’re hoping for the best possible service from a conscientious team who care about their pet as much as they do. And while we know that’s exactly what you are, it’s essential your building mirrors that.
Then they see litter, dog poo, weeds. Dirty windows. Broken signage. And it all goes a little bit horror movie.
Of course, how these things get there isn’t always within our control. Nature runs wild, with trees and bushes overgrowing and weeds taking root in paving and gutters. Rubbish is probably the fault of mindless people elsewhere, rudely distributed onto your building by the wind.
The good thing is it's completely within our control to correct. We can keep the car park and area in front of the practice clean and tidy by adding it to the cleaning rota. We can keep signage looking fresh by asking the window cleaner to give it a wipe on their next visit. And update logos, branding or anything else that has aged.
We can make sure the lights are working, and call someone in to slap a lick of paint on the window ledges and door frames.
Anybody walking past your practice should think of the adjectives we all want to be associated with: friendly, welcoming, reassuring. There’s no better time than now to ensure that’s the case.
VALENTINE'S VETS: BEFORE & AFTER
SECOND IMPRESSIONS: THEY STILL MATTER!
The saying goes that first impressions are everything. But you know what? The second impression matters a whole lot, too.
There’s no point scrubbing your frontage until it’s shining if your reception area looks, smells and sounds like a nervous cat’s nightmare come to life.
Sitting in a reception, or any waiting room really, can so easily become an anxious experience. We need to do everything to ensure that isn’t the case for our clients and their fur babies.
See everything through your clients’ eyes. Is it clean and tidy? Is it cluttered, with faded, out-of-date posters on the walls? Is the reception desk itself approachable and accessible? Is your pet health plan clearly communicated?
Don’t just use your eyes either, because your patients certainly won’t! Make sure the room smells 👃 as good as it looks 🤩. Refill those Adaptil and Feliway plug-ins.
We believe that Blu Tack is evil! 😈
Nothing should be attached to the walls or the front of the reception desk with Blu Tack. De-clutter and keep marketing for other brands to a minimum – if the Royal Canin logos outnumber yours, you’ve got a problem! Order perspex holders for what you plan to keep. Even better, get any marketing materials transmitted through your waiting room TV.
It’s a great idea to keep the room updated with focused, well-thought out marketing material – but don’t overdo it. Your reception needs to be relaxing, so keep marketing to a minimum.
We know your team are great – but do they look great?
Every practice’s strongest asset is its team. We’re so fortunate to be operating in an industry filled with amazing people. And most of your clients will know this as well.
Because of this, they deserve to look the part.
Stay on top of replacement uniforms, and make sure scrubs are free of stains and holes. Ensure that all team members have their name badge, and that everyone is wearing it in the same position.
And if you’ve set rules, make sure everybody sticks to them – whether that’s footwear, make-up or piercings.
It’s all about looking like a team, because that’s what you are, and a bloody good one too!
Most of this may seem run of the mill, and hopefully, you won’t be learning anything new. The important thing is to make sure you’re on top of it – and there’s no better time to make sure your practice is spotless than right now…
Or maybe in 15 minutes, after you’ve browsed through chapter two of our spring clean story right here, where we discuss how to make sure practice is sparkling through the digital ether!