Commentary
The call from a local but unrecognized number seemed random. Still, I answered it. It was from my dog’s veterinary clinic. Sharing her name and the clinic’s, the vet tech was calling to check on my dog, noting I hadn’t responded to two wellness visit emails. Yes, I remembered one of the emails but did not act on it at the moment, nor did I act on one text message either. [The appointment has now been set.]
Why share this? The experience caused me to reflect on all the noise our industry makes about the need for change, upskilling, digitalization and more. Yet, the lack of a caller ID nearly negated the clinic’s efforts to get my dog’s appointment set and his vaccinations updated.
Is it possible practices are missing easy ways to raise client adherence because they expect tech to handle it? Sometimes we need to Just ASK!”
In reviewing the Veterinary Product News Veterinary Economic Outlook Survey results <Link>, these responses were notable:
- 65 percent of respondents chose marketing and client communications as a high-to-moderate priority area.
- 42 percent anticipated investments in website, SEO and digital marketing
- About one-fifth believed they would invest in telemedicine
- More than 70 percent of respondents indicated hiring and training was a priority, BUT do the investment intentions reflect this?
Source: Veterinary Practice News, August 24, 2025. Link. More than two-thirds of respondents identified as practice owners, managers, or veterinarians, representing small teams with four to five doctors on average.
INSIGHTS: It is clear veterinary teams remain passionate about their work. Still, studies often show that opportunities exist to focus on the client-veterinary relationship, make it feel synergistic and adapt to client and patient needs.
Call to action: Consider using the time saved using digital SOAP notes to make five to 10 outbound calls daily to clients who missed appointments, whose pets need a vaccine booster or those who haven’t been to the clinic in the last 12 to 18 months.
Related: VetWatch® Commentary, September 2025. Link. According to the latest VetWatch® Weekly Insight Report*, unique clients were down 2.3 percent, total invoices were down 3.2 percent, and unique patients were down 2.8 percent despite a year-to-date revenue rise of 1.7 percent.
*Year to date through week ending October 11, 2025
Image: Link.