We’re all aware of the old adage that it costs five times more to acquire a new client versus retaining an existing one*. Nowhere is this more evident than when applying improved reminder management processes. Implementing “best practice” programs consistently can result in a 50% or greater improvement in the number of active current with future reminders scheduled. This, in turn, can yield tens of thousands of dollars in recovered annual revenue for your practice.

Case in point:

Our data show that prior to implementing best practices in reminder management, on average 28% of current pets (pet with visits within the past 12 months) do not have reminders requesting future visits. We use $387 as the mean annual revenue per pet - in a 2.5 FTE DVM practice this represents over $379,000 of annual revenue at risk from pets without future reminders. However, practices instituting reminder management best practices have reduced the percentage of pets without future reminders to 12%. This improvement in reminder management represents an annual reduction of $216,000** of revenue at risk.

Causes

There are two primary reasons pet visits fail to receive updated reminder records:

1. Gaps in automation: Practice management software systems are set up to generate future reminder requests for services and products consumed during a particular visit. If the pet is not invoiced for any services or products that are linked to automatic reminders then the only means for these pets to receive reminder requests is if manually input by a staff member.
2. Incomplete histories for new pets: When a new pet is presented to the practice, staff members fail to input reminder requests into the pet’s record for these new pet visits, or fail to follow-up with the new client to obtain preventive care histories in order to schedule future wellness visits.

Solutions

Managing future reminder records is simple and straightforward. It involves knowing where you’re starting from, setting a goal, and establishing a standard policy that applies to all staff members in order to achieve that goal.

Your 5-step plan for improving (reducing) the number of pets without future reminders should look like this:

1. Determine your own practice’s baseline: What is the current number and percentage of current pets without reminders scheduled for the upcoming 13 months? As stated above the average practice has 28% of current pets without future reminders. Establish this actual metric in your practice as the baseline and establish a goal to reduce the number to 10% or less.
2. Conduct a staff meeting to share with all team members the number and percentage of current pets without future reminders. Initiate a group discussion as to the reasons pet visits may fail to result in reminders being updated.
3. Establish a protocol for consistent input of future reminders at the time of visit and communicate the schedule to clients in order to manage expectations for their pet’s future visits. It should be clear that staff members are responsible for updating reminder records for each pet that visits, regardless of the reason for the visit
4. Manage your numbers – part 1: Perform daily and weekly audits of pet records for presence or absence of future reminders and make modifications as necessary.
5. Manage your numbers – part 2: Generate a monthly report of pets without future reminder records to ensure inputs are being made into practice management software.

In addition to implementing good go-forward routines, it will be useful to address your practice’s current subset of pets without future reminders scheduled. ThinkPets data show the longer the interval between the last visit and the follow-up client contact, the lower probability the client/pet will be reclaimed.

Those pets and clients identified without future reminders should be contacted with a goal of one of three outcomes:

• Schedule a wellness appointment in the next 30 days.
• Input a reminder for wellness services in the upcoming 12 months.
• Inactivate the pet in the practice management software if the client no longer owns the pet or if the client informs the staff member that they are receiving wellness services at another veterinary practice. If all pets for that particular client are inactive, then also inactivate the client.

Managing future reminders is one of the most important activities a practice can perform to ensure on-going growth. Client and pet information is the practice’s most vital asset and should be managed as the “goldmine” that it is. Inquire with ThinkPets Account Consultants and Sales Executives to learn more about the reminder management systems integrated into ThinkPets communication services.

^* It costs five to six times as much to get a new (first- time) customer as it does to keep a current one. Source: the White House Office of Consumer Affairs, Washington, DC
^** 2010-2011 Pets without reminder records data from 288 practices in the ThinkPets/Vet Metrics best practices group and 1,226 practices in the benchmark mean group.