How can you make your appointment reminders more effective? You need to aim for what marketers call “stickiness.” Keep your reminders simple, make them stand out, and make it easy to act on them and clients are more likely to do business with your clinic.


Pick the Right Medium

A regular windowed envelope can easily be mistaken for junk mail or a bill, but a colorful card is likely to get a client’s attention. Add in some graphics that call attention to the purpose of the card, and it’s far more likely that the client will stop to read what you say. Have a logo for your clinic? If your clients can quickly identify who it’s from, they’re even more likely to pay attention.

Cards don’t have to be one design, either. Along with standard designs, you can change things up with seasonal cards to help your reminder stand out.


Give a Good Reason to Visit

Why does the client’s pet need to visit your clinic? Take some time to think of ways to connect with clients in these common situations:

• The card is reminding the client about an appointment they scheduled months ago and may have forgotten.
• The client missed an appointment and needs to reschedule.
• Their pet is due for a regular checkup.
• The pet is due for a round of vaccinations to ensure they stay healthy.
• A follow-up visit is needed to check a pet’s condition after a major health issue
• Diseases like heartworm may be active in your area.

Running a special on a particular service? Having an event? Don’t forget to put it on the card. This will give the client one more reason to act now instead of putting off a visit.


Keep Your Message Simple

A reminder should just be when the animal needs to visit and why. When you decide on your message, try to keep it down to a sentence or two so they know why they should contact your clinic.


Build Toward a Positive Experience

Put yourself in your client’s shoes: while checkups and treatments are necessary, they can be scary. They might find out their pet has serious health issues, and the pet probably doesn’t like being transported to the vet and surrounded by strange people and animals.

When you send out reminder cards, make sure to phrase everything in a positive light, presenting health care to give pets a long, healthy life. If the client missed an appointment, they’re more likely to reschedule if you asked politely.


Provide a Call to Action

Now that you have the client’s attention, you need to make it easy for them to act. Have your clinic’s contact information on the card and encourage them to get scheduled or ask questions about an upcoming visit.


Getting the Right Reminder Cards is Easier than You Think

Since 2008, Positive Impressions has helped veterinary clinics connect with clients through a wide range of products including reminder cards. We have a wide range of designs, and we offer custom printing, so your cards will have all the information your clients need. Make sure to check out our Specials page to see our latest offers.