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Petmania Vet Clinic faced three key challenges:
All of which put them at risk of losing new clients to competitors who offered online scheduling.
Petmania implemented Vetstoria’s online booking platform, enabling:
📉 Phone call volume dropped by nearly two-thirds
📅 2,000+ appointments booked via Vetstoria
🌙 More than 50% of bookings happen outside regular business hours
🆕 Substantial increase in new client registration.
Before joining Petmania in July 2021, Amy Noonan, Compliance and Development Manager at Petmania Vet Clinic, observed that the practice had a limited online presence, consisting mainly of inactive social media accounts. Recognising the need for a stronger online presence, Amy prioritised the development of a new website.
Concurrently, both Amy and the clinic owner independently discovered Vetstoria through their Facebook feeds and industry forums. Recognising the potential of online booking, they decided to implement Vetstoria alongside the launch of the new website.
Prior to joining Petmania, Amy Noonan had experience with Vetstoria’s primary competitor in Australia during her tenure at another corporate group. While initially considering this familiar option, further evaluation led her team to select Vetstoria. They found Vetstoria to be a more suitable solution, offering simpler integration, better alignment with their specific service needs, and seamless integration with their existing practice management software, Neo.
The motivation for choosing Vetstoria by Petmania Vets was primarily the need for an easier booking process that would reduce phone calls and allow self-service after-hours booking. The clinic also sought to alleviate strain on the reception team by optimising staff workload and reducing phone traffic.
We wanted to reduce phone calls by introducing online booking, and Vetstoria enabled us to shift calls away from reception in our busy clinic.
Before Vetstoria, phone call management was inconsistent. Depending on who answered, not all available appointment slots were offered, and staff might not have been aware of the specific preferences of pet parents or vets.
For instance, some vets prefer not to handle behavioural consults. And sometimes, it’s quite awkward for a client to say over the phone, ‘I don’t want to see Dr. So-and-so’. With Vetstoria’s impressive customisation options, clients can now select their preferences discreetly, without needing to verbalise them.
Without Vetstoria, Amy is sure that the clinic would have lost clients to competitors offering online booking.
I believe around 50% of our bookings are made outside of regular business hours. Without Vetstoria’s online booking capabilities, we might not have acquired these clients. If a competitor offered online booking and we didn’t, we could have potentially missed out on 50% of our new clientele.
Amy continues to say that the return on investment has been excellent.
Even during quieter periods, we continue to acquire new clients through online bookings. This demonstrates the significant value of Vetstoria, even exceeding the minimum cost of our website. It has consistently proven to be a valuable service with a strong return on investment. Essentially, it’s like having a 24/7 receptionist available to answer basic inquiries.
To meet evolving client needs—especially younger, working pet parents—after-hours booking became essential. Vetstoria’s online booking made it easy for clients to schedule outside standard hours, improving accessibility and convenience. “At the end of the day, we had to acknowledge our own behaviours. We were booking our physiotherapists and kids’ daycare after hours, so it made perfect sense to offer that same convenience to our clients.”
Retention wasn’t a concern, but Vetstoria’s online booking helped Petmania attract new clients by offering convenience and making scheduling easy. “With Vetstoria, attracting new clients has grown significantly. Our biggest competitor also had online booking, and we needed to level the playing field.”
Since implementing Vetstoria, Petmania clinic has booked a number of appointments! “I believe we have received around 2,900 bookings through Vetstoria, which would have otherwise been phone calls. Since we started using Vetstoria, the phones have quietened down significantly, creating more time for administrative tasks.”
Previously, if a call wasn’t answered within three rings at reception, it would automatically transfer to the nursing team at the back. This added strain to their already busy schedules, as they were often occupied with patient care, anaesthetics, and laboratory work.
With fewer phone calls (almost decreased by two-thirds), staff now have more opportunities to engage with clients personally.
For the clinic, Vetstoria has improved data accuracy by letting clients enter their own details, streamlining onboarding and helping the team better prepare for appointments.
The digital system improves data accuracy, minimising errors. Client input streamlines onboarding, enables pre-filled forms, and enhances appointment preparation through access to pet history details in advance.
Amy and the staff find Vetstoria’s customisability super helpful! “I was most surprised by how customisable it is. It’s flexible, but I can’t accidentally break anything. For example, I can adjust a locum vet’s schedule to exclude exotics or limit a new graduate to vaccines. We can control which pets and cases they see. I can quickly update the schedule by saying, ‘Dr. Tanya has openings today.’ This daily customisation is very helpful, especially for unexpected situations.”
We asked Amy if she had any advice for other clinic owners on strategies on how to increase appointments through online booking platforms. She gave us three useful tips:
Dan joined Vetstoria as Partner Manager in September 2024 after working in software for the last 10 years, 8 of which have been in Partnerships. Previous industries include customer reviews and internal communication where he worked in both B2C and B2B. Being a pet owner Dan is excited to be working in the Veterinary industry where he hopes to contribute to both pet and vet care!
Connect with Dan:
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