Customer Story
Great Western trusts Vetstoria with websites and marketing after booking 4000 appointments online after-hours, reducing calls by 40%
Customer Story
Great Western trusts Vetstoria with websites and marketing after booking 4000 appointments online after-hours, reducing calls by 40%
11,520
appointments booked online
40%
phone call reduction
37.8%
out-of hours bookings
Since the adoption of Vetstoria in 2016. (Through the Vetstoria platform)
Practice Type
Independent
PRACTICE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
Key Features Used
✅ Real-time Online Booking
✅ Websites
✅ Digital Marketing
About Great Western Animal Hospital
Great Western Animal Hospital has had Vetstoria helping them reduce phone calls since 2016, recently expanding to websites and digital marketing. Seven years on, they still swear by it.
Since its small beginnings in the 1960’s as a one vet practice, Great Western Animal Hospital has been renovated and modernised over the years to become a Fear Free seven-vet practice with great facilities and a dedicated, compassionate team of animal lovers.
Today, they see up to or over 50 patients per day, which includes surgical patients, which can range from 5 to 8 per day.
Strict no-overtime policy for receptionists
The Great Western Animal Hospital has a strict policy of no overtime for receptionists. To keep that in check they needed to limit phone calls— giving them more time to focus on important admin, whilst still being able to maintain a work-life balance.
They used to receive phone calls in abundance, and decided they needed some new software to enable them to take appointment bookings online.
Today, since the adoption of Vetstoria, they have booked 11,520 appointments and reduced phone calls by approximately 40%, without losing business.
“People are going electronic for everything and don’t really want to pick up the phone and call anymore. They would rather just be able to go online in their own time, maybe even out of hours, to make appointments and it is a lot more convenient for our clients, making their experience better.”
— Keira Anderson, Head Nurse at Great Western Animal Hospital
Out-of-hour bookings
Great Western Animal Hospital have since been able to generate a large amount of out of hour bookings, especially as they close on Sundays at 12 pm. In that interim period, pet owners, who might have sick pets, are able to secure a spot themselves on the following Monday morning, first thing. That gives them and the staff peace of mind.
Since 2016, 4,324 appointments have been made online out of office hours – that’s 37.8% of their bookings!
More efficiency and no pushback
When integrating Vetstoria with their systems, there was no pushback from the receptionists and other staff. Although the platform requires some initial training to grasp, it was quite straightforward to quickly begin tracking incoming appointments.
“The cooperation and the easy training led to more efficiency in the workflows within the clinic and the staff definitely had more time in hand to be able to do more things that they love.”
– Jodie Aylmer, Reception Manager at Great Western Animal Hospital
Why Vetstoria for websites?
“Vetstoria’s websites, powered by WhiskerCloud, is a veterinary specific marketing brand, amongst so many that are out there and that was a big contributor in helping us choose them.”
— Keira Anderson, Head Nurse at Great Western Animal Hospital
The team at Great Western wanted their website to look more professional. They wanted the message, ‘we are a group of vets who care’ to come across loud and clear through their website.
“When we were looking for tools and researching, we realized Vetstoria was the best out there. We came across WhiskerCloud’s services through a recommendation from another clinic who was very happy with them. Now that Vetstoria and WhiskerCloud have joined hands and we know Vetstoria so well, it was easy to trust them with our website too. Their services were tailored and suited our needs perfectly. We made the right decision with both platforms.”
— Keira Anderson, Head Nurse at Great Western Animal Hospital
They needed a modernised website design which was user-friendly so clients could access information and make a booking through the widget easily. Vetstoria also organized the home page the way the clinic preferred with their contact details and ‘Call to Actions’ aligned centrally so they were super clear for clients to see.
“During Christmas, Vetstoria was able to make it snow on our website which looked so festive and very interactive. So many people have come back and told us how good and professional our website looks. They have never said no to anything and have always come back to us within 24 hours to solve any problem. The staff are very happy and so are our clients.”
— Keira Anderson, Head Nurse at Great Western Animal Hospital
Vetstoria’s website and marketing team also took over the role of responding to google reviews for Great Western, which frees up the staff at the reception. Reviews are gathered through an appointment reminder system, where customers are asked to fill out a survey. This helps to keep the engagement intact and gives us the visibility to help solve issues, if any are flagged.
In December 2023, Great Western Animal Hospital attracted over 1,000 new users and 3,000 page views through organic search, with 75% of total website visits being made through a mobile device.
“More than anything, our clients and pet owners absolutely love our website!”
— Keira Anderson and Jodie Aylmer
Ready to attract more pet owners? Discover Vetstoria’s website & digital marketing solutions.
Vetstoria for online booking and websites
“Having a floating widget on the website, especially as most people now use their mobile phones to book online, makes it easy for our clients to book immediately. They don’t need to move from one page to another to find the ‘Book an appointment’ button. It runs with you wherever you go, increasing the chances of booking straightaway.”
— Keira Anderson, Head Nurse at Great Western Animal Hospital
Implementing Vetstoria for online scheduling and digital marketing has significantly benefited Jodie and her team. The integration of Vetstoria’s online booking system with their new website was smooth and trouble-free. Moreover, they’ve received positive feedback from clients regarding both aspects.
“Vetstoria also sends us ideas and analytics every month which assists us in creating marketing content and improving our online presence.”
– Jodie Aylmer, Reception Manager at Great Western Animal Hospital
The biggest impact has been on their clients as they appreciate the flexibility and ease of being able to book appointments online, especially after hours when they are closed. This has helped the clinic fill early appointment times which would have otherwise been left vacant, especially on a Monday morning.
With reduced call volume, the hospital has also seen an improved workflow of the reception team as their time is freed up to focus on other tasks.
We have always felt supported!
“The vets and the staff have been very impressed with the seamless onboarding Vetstoria took us through for online booking and websites. Even with customer support, there is always someone we can reach out to fix any issues. We are very happy with the services Vetstoria provides for us and we don’t plan to go anywhere anytime soon.”
— Keira Anderson, Head Nurse at Great Western Animal Hospital
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Great Western Animal Hospital is committed to high quality Healthcare, Veterinary Medicine and Surgery. This means that it is very important for all their team members to participate in ongoing education and external courses to constantly update their skills. Their vets often participate in continuing education seminars, conferences and courses to ensure we are delivering the most up to date standard of care. Their Nurses are also committed to their education by attending seminars and participating in training courses. All of their nurses are either Cert IV qualified or working towards their qualification, those that are qualified are also AVNAT Registered.
They also have a dedicated reception team who focuses on Customer Service and Satisfaction. They make sure that we maintain regular and close communication with our clients when their pets have recently undergone treatment so that the vets can better monitor their progress. They are all lovely and happy to help or answer any questions you may have.
“I started at Great Western Animal Hospital six years ago as a Veterinary Nurse completing work placement. Within a couple of years, I moved over to Reception due to a spinal surgery, and the last two years I have been in management, working closely with Keira and the other managers to grow and help Great Western Animal Hospital continue to thrive. We have a great close knit team and all work together to achieve our goals for the clinic.”
– Jodie Aylmer, Reception Manager at Great Western Animal Hospital
