A friendly, professional, and informative voicemail greeting for your veterinary practice will accommodate your clients when you can’t reach the phone. Learn how to write the perfect voicemail script for your practice.

Answering every phone call your clinic receives can be challenging if your staff manages a busy schedule. Setting up a professional voicemail greeting is a convenient way to communicate your services to potential customers and provide quality service even when you can’t answer the phone.

Knowing what to include in your message is essential for keeping your clients happy and promoting customer retention.

How Can an Effective Voicemail Improve Practie-Pet Owner Relationships?

Prospective clients expect you to pick up the phone when they call. Busy or unanswered phone calls discourage them from reaching out a second time.

Your veterinary office voicemail greeting should assure your callers that you care about their concerns and will get back to them at your earliest convenience. It should also encourage them to leave a message with contact information and the reason for their call.

Offering these basic courtesies ensures that your clients don’t feel ignored and helps your practice retain a good reputation. Sometimes, a friendly voicemail greeting could mean the difference between a good and bad review on your practice’s Google My Business page.

Outbound voicemail messages could also be useful for your client outreach strategy. Voicemail Drops enable you to leave messages for clients with appointment reminders or follow-ups without their phones ringing. This convenient tool prevents disruptions during their day and lets them listen whenever they please.

What Should You Consider When Building a Voicemail Script?

Creating your own voicemail greeting provides a touch of authenticity, but there are some common mistakes to avoid. Write your greeting on paper and rehearse it several times out loud before recording. This method helps you avoid wordiness or awkward pauses that may confuse your caller.

Make sure to record your greeting in a room with minimal background noise. After all, you want prospective clients to be able to hear what you are saying.

You can avoid the hassle of creating a DIY greeting by investing in professional recordings from a reliable third-party service. This strategy may be practical if you have a sizable multilingual clientele. 

Professional voice actors can record the same greeting in another language, promoting a more inclusive experience for your clients. You can hire voice actors at surprisingly affordable rates on sites like Fiverr or Upwork to record your practice’s voicemail.

What Are Some Examples of Voicemails Your Practice Could Use?

Explore some of the most common veterinary practice voicemail greeting examples:

“Hi, thank you for calling [Your Veterinary Practice Name]. Due to a high call volume, we cannot answer the phone at this time. After the beep, please leave a message with your name, number, and email address. We will call you back at our earliest convenience. Thank you.”

The above message is straightforward, giving your clients clear instructions on what to do next.

“Hi, thanks for calling [Your Veterinary Practice Name]. We are assisting other clients at this time and cannot pick up the phone. Leave a message with your name and number and our staff will return your call as soon as possible.”

A casual greeting may improve client relationships if you own a small practice.

“You have reached [Your Veterinary Practice Name]. We operate between the hours of [Insert Your Practice’s Hours of Operation]. We value your call but are unable to respond at this time. Please leave a message after the tone or use the keypad for more options: 

If you have questions about your billing, press one. If you would like to schedule an appointment, press two. Para español oprima tres.”

Formal greetings with a phone tree feature and multiple language options are best if you manage a larger practice.

How Can a Veterinary Practice Optimize Its Voicemail Features?

Managed veterinary office communication technology — such as Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) — lets you set custom voicemails, redirect callers to relevant digital extensions, and store incoming messages. 

Consider rewriting your script if you notice clients aren’t leaving messages. It may also be worth asking a non-employee to test your voicemail and give feedback. This method offers you an outside perspective.

Veterinary Office Phone Solutions That Benefit You

Communication is key to your veterinary practice’s success. A professional veterinary practice voicemail greeting demonstrates to your clients that you care about their time and encourages them to stay in touch.

Another way besides a proper voicemail greeting that you can improve client retention and satisfaction is to offer other methods of communication for pet owners. 

Chckup’s software solutions solve this problem. You can include in your voicemail that you offer other options to meet the need of your clients when you can’t answer the phone, like online scheduling, 2-way communication, prescription and boarding requests, etc. 

Schedule a demo today to learn about our suite of digital tools that improve communication and client care at your practice.