Client Education-Focused On Hold Phone Messages

• Short and Concise (30 to 45 seconds) – The intent is not to “park” someone on hold and keep them busy, but rather to give them a small bit of information that may be of interest to them as a horse owner. First and foremost, is to get them back to a person that can attend to their original reason for the phone call.

• Focused Topic – The message should cover a very specific topic (i.e. roundworm problems in young horses) rather than attempting to cover broad subjects (i.e. parasite control for all horses). Three to five of these short items can be strung together for a continuous loop so there is some variety to frequent clients.

• Factual – Make sure content is up-to-date information that can be documented if challenged. This helps to keep veterinarians, techs and office staff abreast of new information and “on their toes” as clients may inquire about new or recent information that may deviate from the traditions in the practice area.

• Timely and/or Regional Topics – Try to supply information that is more unique to your region or the time of year. A recent outbreak of VS or the West Nile season can be the basis for effective client education information.

• Easily Understood – The language of the message should be presented primarily in layman’s terms and without complicated concepts of diagnostic or treatment protocols. The voice should be pleasing and the presentation should be friendly, casual.

• Stimulate Further Client Inquiry – The message should encourage clients to gain more specific, additional information about a subject from the office staff or veterinarians through the channels of appointments or consultations.

• Work with local phone company – Many companies have an in-house service that will take the concept and develop it for your specific needs for a one-time or monthly fee. In general, the phone company will manage the operational aspects, while you supply the dialog/information. This can be very workable if you have a phone company contact person that has an interest in horses and is aware of equine health issues. If not, the relationship with that person may take some time to develop properly to get your ideas across.

• “In Practice” Development – Many phone systems allow you to supply "on hold" music or messages that are selected by the staff. It just takes time to develop the tapes or recordings of the appropriate owner education information. If someone in the office has the desire and skills to manage the program, it can work very well. It has to be managed constantly for quality control, new information, any glitches that may occur and constant update. It is a primary function of anyone that may oversee this task because it is one of the first things that a client may come into contact with in relation to the practice.

• Private Message Companies – There are many areas where private companies have the service of developing marketing messages for businesses. They will develop the recordings based on the information supplied. They have the technological expertise to develop whatever you want in terms of voicing, background music, style and presentation. They may work on a contractual basis or a per service basis. There are some companies that supply “canned” presentations. Whether these will work within your individual practice has to be determined on a case by case basis.