Stats from the Veterinary Industry Tracker powered by Vetsource and AVMA

January 26–February 1, 2025

Client experience: It’s one of the biggest factors affecting veterinary industry customer loyalty and longevity — and a practice’s bottom line. In this article, the latest in the Blue Heron Consulting (BHC) series, guest author Nickolas Biermaier, director of hospital operations at BHC, helps practices provide exceptional client experiences.

How do veterinary practices start providing stand-out experiences?

To begin, practices must empower their teams to focus on clients and patients. This means shifting from solely medical care to a more holistic, client-first approach. This is a win for everyone, as it not only enhances the client experience but also impacts the financial and cultural health of the practice. A strong focus on client experience, especially in a hospital setting, can drastically affect online reviews, which we know play a huge role in building trust and reputation in today’s world.

A few simple ways to start include encouraging team members to consistently:

• Smile and have a positive attitude — If you’ve ever encountered a server or retail employee who seemed miserable to be there, you know how much an employee’s attitude can affect a customer’s experience.
• Go above and beyond — Everyone knows the responsibilities outlined in their job description, but employees should be empowered to go above and beyond for clients when necessary and appropriate. Team members should send texts with photos updating clients about their hospitalized pets, spend a few extra minutes in a room with a client who needs someone to talk to, add personal details clients share to the patient’s record so these details can be referenced at future appointments, and more.
• Do what they say they’ll do — If a client is promised a call-back by the end of the day, the client should get a call-back by the end of the day, even if the practice doesn’t yet have the information the client is waiting for.

When should practices focus on the client experience?

The answer is simple: now. Every day a practice isn’t focused on the client experience, they’re letting opportunities for growth and success pass them by. Many owners and managers try to take on everything themselves, but this transformation is more about operations than medicine. It’s the perfect opportunity for managers and staff to step in and lead. They should collaborate with their teams and empower them to lead the charge of prioritizing client experiences.

How do experiences for existing clients affect a practice’s ability to attract new clients?

Practice leaders should think about their own experiences with customer service — maybe it was a bad travel experience or a purchased product that didn’t meet expectations, but one exceptional employee turned things around. That one positive encounter can change everything. In veterinary practices, this often falls on front-line staff like client service representatives (CSRs), but all staff members have opportunities to leave lasting, positive impressions on clients.

By focusing on education, training, and development for the entire team, practices will see an increase in referrals and positive reviews. Building an exceptional experience from start to finish, including during appointments, checkouts, and follow-ups, creates loyal clients and positive buzz.

What do positive client experiences do for practice culture?

Focusing on the client experience has a huge impact on the veterinary team’s morale. When clients are happy, the staff feels that positive energy. Studies have shown that the client experience is deeply tied to staff satisfaction. Happy clients lead to a happier team, which is crucial because, without a motivated and engaged team, the practice won’t thrive. As practices begin to focus on the client experience, leadership should regularly check in with their team’s well-being.

What does success look like?

Practices focused on creating exceptional client experiences will begin to notice:

• Increased appointments
• Improved compliance with recommended treatments, labs, and surgeries
• More positive online reviews
• Reduced staff turnover
• A positive shift in the P&L
• Improved team performance

In short, success is not just about immediate results but the overall transformation in client loyalty, team morale, and financial performance over time. Keep an eye on the key indicators, and be patient as the changes take root.

 

Check out the Veterinary Industry Tracker for daily stats.

 

 

-2.9% Revenue YoY (Last Week)

-7.5% Visits YoY (Last Week)

 

While year-over-year veterinary industry revenue and visits improved slightly last week compared to the previous week, both remained in negative territory. Year-over-year revenue was -2.9% and visits were -7.5%, changes from -3.9% and -9.4% respectively the week prior.

 

-16.9% Heartworm YoY

-18.2% Flea/Tick YoY

 

 

-1.3% Services YoY

-8.6% Products YoY

 

Parasiticide purchases declined last week. Year-over-year heartworm dropped from -15.9% the previous week to -16.9% last week, and flea/tick fell from -16.1% to -18.2% during the same time. Revenue from services was -1.3%, a slight improvement compared to the previous week’s -2.2%, and revenue from products was similar — climbing to -8.6% from -9.9%.

 

 

+2.9% Revenue YoY (Last 12 Months)

-2.5% Visits YoY (Last 12 Months)

 

The rolling 14-day trendline showed revenue and visits declining since mid-January.

 

 

5,540 Practices

2.2M Revenue per Practice (Last 12 Months)

10.3K Visits per Practice (Last 12 Months)

 

After seeing the highest year-over-year revenue growth for months, Colorado was topped last week by Massachusetts and Oregon, the two states seeing year-over-year revenue growth at 6.1% and 6.0% respectively. Oregon also enjoyed the most growth in year-over-year visits at 0.6%, while Michigan came in second place at -0.1%.

*Numbers are subject to change based on data availability and PIMS adjustments.

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