What's a client worth?

It's probably more than you think. For example, a typical dog owner spends $219 a year on routine veterinary care, while a cat owner spends $175, according to the 2007-2008 APPMA National Pet Owners Survey (see Figure 1).

Figure 1

So ask yourself this: Are you doing everything you can to keep clients happy? Sometimes you'll know why clients are leaving. But often, they slip away because they don't sense you care.

"They may not be actively looking for another veterinary practice, but they take a different route to school one day and see another practice that's closer to their house," says Karen Felsted, CPA, MS, DVM, CVPM, a Firstline Editorial Advisory Board member and a consultant with Gatto McFerson CPAs in Santa Monica, Calif.

Dr. Felsted offers these tips to bond clients to your practice:

1. See your own emergencies. "I think that's hugely bonding," Dr. Felsted says. Of course, she warns, there are some issues you must consider. Can your team offer the appropriate care or will pets be better off at an emergency clinic? And how will this affect your team's life balance?

Another option: Some practices ask doctors to carry beepers until 10 p.m. Then, when clients call, they can offer a recommendation about whether the client should take the pet to an emergency clinic or wait to be seen by its regular doctor the next day.

2. Follow up. "I think any kind of follow-up is huge," Dr. Felsted says. "You should make follow-up calls for every pet that visits your practice, even if it's only to ask how the pet's doing and if the client has any additional questions. I think that kind of phone call is unbelievably powerful."

3. Respect clients' time. So if Fluffy's appointment is at 10 a.m., the appointment starts on time. And if you tell the client Fluffy will be ready to go home at 3 p.m., she's ready to walk out the door at 3 p.m.

4. Be nice. Talk to clients like they're intelligent people, explain their pets' conditions in words they understand, and answer their questions.