Pet Talk: Bridging the gap in client visits
Explore opportunities to bridge the gap between veterinary clients in your practice management system and those who return for regular visits. Using insights from the 2025 AVMA Pet Ownership and Demographics Sourcebook, you’ll examine the difference between pet owners who have a regular veterinarian and the smaller proportion who visit annually—and how to close that gap.
Learn practical strategies to increase client return rates, including forward booking, effective follow-up processes, and professional team development. Come away with actionable steps to educate pet owners on the importance of regular preventive care while fostering consistent client touchpoints that reinforce the veterinary team’s role in supporting pet health.
AVMA’s Pet Talk series explores practical insights into pet populations, purchasing behavior, client communications, and other topics with AVMA economists and guest experts. Bringing to life data from AVMA’s Pet Ownership and Demographic Sourcebook, you’ll learn how to use the information to enhance your practice.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
- Discover the role of forward booking as a standard part of every consultation to improve return visits.
- Understand how to evaluate your follow-up and reminder processes, examining timing, delivery methods, and messaging.
- Invest in ongoing professional development opportunities to ensure team members are well versed in the latest preventive care recommendations and evidence-based communication strategies.
| Maisey Kent is an economist and the assistant director of statistical and data analysis at the AVMA. She ensures the integrity of the statistical and data analyses in AVMA’s Veterinary Economics Division, builds and maintains primary data sources, develops analyses, and creates data-driven visualizations. She holds a master’s degree in business administration with an emphasis on information systems management from Delta State University. |
| Dr. Bryan Clarke was born and raised in Tampa. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation from the University of Florida in 2006. He continued his education at the University of Florida and earned his Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine in 2010, graduating in the top 8% of his class. He then entered private emergency and general practice in Jacksonville before moving back to Tampa and joining Tampa Bay Vets in 2012 at Pebble Creek Animal Hospital. In 2017, Dr. Clarke helped bring All Creatures Animal Hospital into the Tampa Bay Vets family. Dr. Clarke is board certified in Canine and Feline Practice by the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners, with professional interests that span internal medicine, oncology, and endoscopy. He holds a certification in flexible endoscopy from the University of Georgia and is certified in PennHIP imaging for hip dysplasia detection. Additionally, he has earned his Cat Friendly Veterinarian and Human-Animal Bond certifications through the American Association of Feline Practitioners and the Human Animal Bond Research Institute, and is a Fear Free certified veterinarian. Dr. Clarke serves as the Vice President of the American Animal Hospital Association for 2024-2025 and is actively involved in committees for the American Veterinary Medical Association and Hillsborough County, Florida. He and his wife, Kim, are proud parents to their son, Hudson, and share their home with two Standard Poodles, Charlie and Stella, an Irish Setter, Emma Rose, and a lively cat, Monamie. In his free time, he enjoys equestrian activities, backpacking, cheering on the Lightning hockey team and Gator football, and, most importantly, spending quality time with his family. |
