Veterinary practices enjoy a benefit that not many other businesses or industries can claim. Callers to your office, as a concerned and loving pet owner, are already pre-disposed to avail themselves to your services and the veterinary products you provide. While they may have some knowledge of the topic they’re already calling about, the time they might spend On Hold is your golden opportunity to use veterinary hold messages to tell them about the many other veterinary health services you provide, and take-home products that will benefit the health of their dog, cat or other pet.

In order to serve everyone in the most efficient manner, it’s frequently necessary to place callers to your practice On Hold. Sure you’d like to avoid that, or minimize the time they spend holding, but when you have a successful practice, the calls are going to back up at times that can’t always be predicted. A customized Paws On Hold veterinary message from On Hold Marketing lets those callers know that you care about their business, you appreciate their patience, that they haven’t been forgotten about or hung up on, and gives you the opportunity to share your love for all things with four legs.

We know how to combine the music and messages to create effective veterinary on hold messages that occupy the caller’s attention and distracts them from thinking about the amount of time they spend holding. They’ll actually think their Hold time is less when they’re presented with information that is of use and value to them, and how you can contribute to the health of their pet. This is far and away more desirable than silence On Hold, those annoying beep tones, or a radio station that someone in your office might like but your callers don’t.

So What Do I Say?

Here’s another area where you exercise control over the patient’s “on hold” experience…and a bonus when it comes to informing patients and marketing your practice’s offerings.  The content of the messages is the key to engagement and distraction.  Your patients want to know how you will help them, so let’s use information you want the patient to know as the content for the messages.  You could be informing them about the many veterinary services that make help make for happy and health pets.  Examples include:

1. Pet Dental Services
2. Spaying / Neutering Services
3. Annual Check-Ups, more frequent check-ups for Senior Pets
4. Heartworm prevention
5. Flea and Tick control, and why it’s important year-round
6. Importance of Vaccines
7. Laser Therapy
8. Boarding Services
9. Availability of special dog and cat food products
10. In-house X-Ray and other Imaging services
11. House Calls
12. Acupuncture and other alternative treatments
13. Office Hours and Location
14. Payment information

The right content shifts the patient’s attention away from the wait time and toward the benefits of your practice…and in every case the focus is on a pain-free experience.

What kind of music will my Paws On Hold program have?

Our production library is rich with a wide variety of musical styles, genres and tempos, and we have a long and excellent track record of matching up the right music to the tone of your script and the professional image of your veterinary practice. It’s always important to remember that the messages are the stars in your program…the music is just the glue that holds them together. If a caller comes away from your veterinary hold messages humming the tune of your music, but doesn’t remember the content of your messages, we’ve failed. That’s why our music options are decidedly background in nature. We’re not going to lull anyone to sleep, we’re just going to provide them with a calming, professional, assuring background that reinforces your practice as a reliable office to bring the furry members of the caller’s family.

How often will my Paws On Hold program change?

In some parts of the country, veterinary practices really do see a noticeable change in kinds of issues they treat as the seasons change from spring to summer to fall to winter. If that’s your practice, then updating quarterly makes sense. Chances are, however, that one update for the warm weather months, say in March, April or May, and other for the cold weather months, say in September, October or November, will suffice. We’ll help you determine that when we talk on the phone. And we’ll keep you updated with the right seasonal information at the right time, regardless of how often you want / need your program to be updated.

How does my Paws On Hold program play into my telephone system?

Telephone system types vary more widely than ever before…and how you play an on hold program to caller is dependent on the phone system’s capabilities.  Many telephone systems have an audio input jack to accept audio from an external audio source.  VoIP or Hosted telephone systems usually require an audio file.  Yet there are variations to every rule so asking your telephone dealer or your on hold provider is the best way to find out what your telephone system can do.

For more information, just call at 800-342-0098 during business hours and we’ll answer the phone…and your questions or visit our Veterinary on hold page: www.pawsonhold.com.

Brian Illes

About Brian

I’m one of five seasoned professionals here at On Hold Marketing where we all have over 10 years’ experience. Our Paws On Hold veterinary service is helping veterinary practices reduce patient hang-ups and frustration, reminds callers about the benefits of regular visits and procedures that enhance the health and happiness of their dogs, cats and other beloved pets.