My vet, my dentist, my surgeon and me all share something in common. We make follow up calls. It is unbelievable what this simple, low cost action results in and how few other people do it.
I took Wiggles to the vet this week for a stomach issue. She had been having diarrhea for 5 days, her appetite was poor and she was clearly in discomfort. The vet tech spent 15 minutes asking me questions, taking notes and listening. Then she left to run a fecal test. A few minutes later, the on call vet, who is brand new to the practice came in and we basically repeated the discussion I had just had with the tech. After the test came back negative, the vet prescribed some medications and a limited diet for a week until Wiggles returned to normal.
For them, I’m sure this was a routine issue. My dog ate something that gave her a bacterial or viral infection. They prescribed a standard medicine that treated both the infection and the diarrhea along with special food that they stock in house.
For about 20 minutes of time, the fecal test, a 7 day prescription and 3 cans of food, my bill was $200.
That’s a lot of money.
But, I spend my money on what is important and Wiggles is extremely important to me.
Two days later, one of the front desk clerks called and left a message asking Wiggles was doing and telling me I could call if I had any questions, any concerns or wanted to discuss anything. Of course I didn’t. Wiggles was doing much better. I had no questions.
That call took all of 1 minute. 30 seconds to pull up my info and dial, and 30 seconds to leave the voicemail.
Last year, I probably spent $4000 on my dogs. The majority of that, other than food and toy costs, went to this vet.
In the past 4 years, this vet has easily made over $10K from me. And I have no intention of taking my two dogs anywhere else.
Of course, I expect my vet to know how to treat my dog’s medically. I count on them to squeeze me in when there is an emergency (they do). I like that they are nearby and that I can usually schedule routine appointments within a week.
I’d like them to remember me and my dogs – but they don’t always. It’s a big practice – about half of the techs turn over each year, as do some of the vets. I’d like them to be cheaper. I’m sure there are cheaper vets nearby, but I’m hesitant to look because with a smaller, cheaper practice, I give up availability and convenience.
I chose this vet because they were close and had good reviews online. I stay because they have techs and vets whom I trust to treat my dogs. But that little extra touch of making the phone call is a simple action that makes me think they might even care.
From when I first started in sales back in the 1990s all the way through the end of my working life as a consultant, I always made a follow up call.
During that call, I never asked for a referral. I never sent a “satisfaction survey” fishing for 5 stars. I asked how things were going and if they needed anything from me.
95% of the time, my customers never needed anything. In fact, many times, they hadn’t’ even begun to use what I had sold them.
But you know what…when they needed to buy again, they often came back to me.