Survey clients to learn where you can improve

Measuring client satisfaction can help you maintain a more stable, satisfied client base. After all, giving pet owners a chance to share their positive and negative experiences with your team sends the message that you care about their opinions, gives you a chance to address specific problems with individual clients, and prepares your team to do a better job going forward. Of course, the positive feedback can help keep morale high and rewards team members' efforts. How can you tap the power of this great tool?

The first step is to decide who to survey. "I recommend you check in with new clients," says Veterinary Economics Hospital Management Editor Mark Opperman, CVPM. "They're still deciding whether they will come back. Established clients already decided they like the practice, and they're more likely to return."

Next, decide what you want to find out and how you'll use that information. Do you want to know about clients' experiences as they check in? Or are you more concerned about their impressions of your veterinarians and technicians?

"The main thing to remember is that if the questionnaire is too long or complicated, your response rate will drop," Opperman says. "Your survey could be as small as a 3-by-5-inch card and should never be longer than both sides of an 8-by-10-inch sheet of paper," Opperman says.

Be careful about how you word your questions, too. Short and simple is best—and try not to ask leading questions. "The way you ask the question affects clients' responses and their views of your practice," he says. One simple example: Check-off boxes and multiple-choice questions make it easier for clients to respond and for you to tabulate. You can still collect specific, individual comments by asking one open-ended question and leaving space at the end of the survey.

Finally, decide how you'll distribute the surveys. You could simply set them on the front desk for clients to pick up. Or, you can send them out with reminders or newsletters or staple them to your invoices. To increase your response rate, cover the postage. "If you send out the questionnaire with a self-addressed stamped envelope, you can expect a 30 percent to 40 percent response rate," Opperman says.

When the surveys come in, share the responses with your staff members. "Post the responses, good and bad, on the staff bulletin board," Opperman says. The one exception: "If a response mentions problems with one or two particular people, sit down with them individually to discuss it."

To follow up, discuss the survey results in your next team-training meeting, and decide what specific changes, if any, you'll make to address issues clients raise. "Remember to celebrate your successes, too," Opperman says. "Ideally, your survey should give you a chance to publicly recognize team members who clients single out for praise. Of course, conducting a survey doesn't have to be a one-time thing. In fact, you might send a different survey every month or two, depending on the information you're seeking.