Client Relations & Marketing

How do you handle bad behavior from good pet owners? Use this advice to deal with your most difficult clients and keep messy exchanges to a minimum.

A simple letter is all you need to help keep your clients up to date on the pet food recall.

When it's time to talk about a pet's weight with clients, be sensitive.

Your team can help heal the hurt pets feel with a pain management program that supports pet owners.

Q. Our team members make different product recommendations for heartworm and flea and tick prevention. How do we get them on the same page?

It's easy to feel warm and fuzzy over a furry feline or pooch, but other pets can inspire the same devotion from their owners. This is a lesson that my team learned after an uncommon encounter.

In the thick of media reports and hourly updates, we asked your colleagues how they were handling the pet food recall. Here are their tips from the trenches.

A white, sparkling smile is in, and that goes for pets, too. So when clients opt for dental care, show them what they paid for, says Beth Wallukait, a receptionist at Bryan Animal Hospital in Des Moines, Iowa.

Bring your knowledge and an animal or two-you'll be the greatest show on earth.

Receptionists who shortchange your relief doctor are shorting your veterinary practice's bottom line.

Referring your clients to certified trainers and behaviorists-and promoting early socialization and training all year long-is the best way to prevent aggression and bites. But National Dog Bite Prevention Week (May 20 to 26) is quickly approaching, so it's a good time to gear up.

Long-term drug monitoring doesn't have to be a hassle for you or your clients. With creativity and flexibility, you can win the chance to monitor your patients.

The team at Ottawa Animal Hospital in Holland, Mich., adopted two groups of solders in Iraq.

Your practice isn't a bank, and you're not a loan officer. Use these eight strategies to make sure your practice gets paid for services--so the practice owner can pay you.

Clients love you so much they send you endless photos of Trixie drinking from the toilet and Boots chasing a sunbeam.

Use this list of giveaways to boost your marketing reach.

Your practice is unique. Maybe you offer a service others don't, or maybe you just do it better. But if you don't tell clients why you're so special, they just might miss it. And wouldn't that be a shame?

Give your patients a license to board with custom pet ID cards, suggests Collin Babcock, the practice owner and manager at McCune Animal Hospital in Eagle Rock, Mo.

Whether from accidents, illness, or euthanasia, pets die every day, often in your hospital. Do you know what to say--and what not to say--to clients before, during, and after a loss?

When a client's beloved pet dies, Julie Roberts, practice manager at Blackhawk Veterinary Hospital in Janesville, Wis., says her practice reaches out to let clients know their pets will never be forgotten.

To increase parasite prevention and control compliance, make sure the doctors are in agreement about the standards of care and team members know what to say to clients.

An aging cat taught this doctor how to show compassion to clients with older pets.

Creating unity among clients whose pets have passed away helps solidify their bond to your practice-and shows great empathy.

We've adopted a major hotel chain's steps for providing excellent client service. Of course, we aren't in the hotel industry, but we are in the hospitality industry.

I thought I knew what the ideal veterinary client looked like-the one who's willing to pay for the highest level of care. I was wrong.

Want a fun, educational way to jazz up your reception area? Post a quiz on your bulletin board, says Laura Greer, practice manager for Above and Beyond Pet Care Hospital in Lubbock, Texas. Her practice uses quizzes to keep waiting clients informed and entertained. For example: I come in sizes that range from 2 pounds to 200 pounds, and I sweat through my feet. What am I? Answer: a dog.

Don't dump veterinary healthcare choices in clients' laps. You're the expert, so don't be afraid to tell them what's medically necessary.

I'm an associate at a small-animal veterinary practice. Is it OK for me to date a client?