Marketing isn't just about ads or social media; it's about how people feel when interacting with your practice. Every member of your team, from the receptionist to the kennel assistant, plays a role in shaping that experience. When clients feel heard, supported, and confident in your care, they're more likely to return and recommend you to others.
When the team understands this, they become part of the practice's growth strategy. A cohesive, client-focused culture doesn't just improve satisfaction; it boosts retention, referrals, and even compliance with recommendations.
Help your team:
Understand how daily interactions shape client impressions.
Recognize each team member's role in delivering consistent, positive service.
Build team-wide awareness around the goals of client satisfaction and retention.
Clients feel more trusting when they receive a similar tone and level of care from every team member.
When clients discuss your clinic, whether positively or negatively, it affects your reputation. Great team experiences drive positive word of mouth.
Marketing should not sit solely on the shoulders of leadership. Team members across all roles must be equipped, empowered, and encouraged to contribute. Receptionists shape the first impression, technicians reinforce value through education, and assistants create warmth through compassionate care. Marketing becomes a shared responsibility when everyone sees their interactions as opportunities to influence client perception.
Team Training Topics:
Discuss how phone tone and attitude influence client decisions. Smiling while answering the phone softens the tone and slows the delivery rate.
Use role-play to practice difficult conversations (e.g., cost discussions, wait times). The more confident and optimistic the team is when navigating difficult conversations, the better the conversation's outcome.
Share client feedback during staff meetings so everyone learns from praise and complaints. Consider both as ‘opportunities’ of things to continue doing great, and things that can get to great with a bit of work from the whole team.
Encourage team members to suggest ways to improve the client experience. When team members suggest and implement ideas, they become champions of the suggestion.
Crosstrain staff so they understand how different roles contribute to the overall picture. Cross-training has many benefits, with team alignment, utilization, and efficiency being the most significant advantages.
Actions to Implement:
Hold a monthly 15-minute "client touchpoint" huddle to share wins and concerns.
Post one client compliment (from reviews or in-person) in the break room weekly.
Have each team member write one way they personally contribute to client satisfaction.
Create a "welcome checklist" for how new team members are trained in service standards.
Assign one team member weekly to “spotlight” an exceptional moment of client service and share it with the team.
Build marketing tasks into existing workflows rather than adding them as extras—for example, techs snapping photos for social media during downtime or CSRs tracking client compliments.
With purposeful team engagement, the weight of marketing becomes lighter and the impact much stronger.
