Client Relations & Marketing

"I tell veterinary clients, 'If you don't come back for a recheck, even if the animal looks good, then you've wasted my time, your time and your money.'" CVC educator James Noxon, DVM, DACVIM, helpfully but truthfully addresses the real elephant in the room when a dog has otitis and needs medicine at home.

Hint: Most of the time, it's not on the pet. Educate veterinary clients about the role the environment plays in their flea infestation.

Heres what veterinarians think about difficult pet owners: how it feels when clients lash outand whos willing to show them the door.

Using prevalence maps from the Companion Animal Parasite Council, you can drive home the importance of year-round prevention to your clients.

Toxic veterinary teams are a problem, and the data shows its not just about bruised egos from the gossip and rudeness. It hurts patients too. And the damage caused by one pet's bad experience may never be reversed.

This veterinary team was concerned that a baby had been exposed to leptospirosisbut the pet owner was threatening to sue. Heres how it all went down.

Startling data proves that there is a link between toxic veterinary team angst and the care patients receive. Read these tell-all tales from veterinary professionals who've been there and have seen the very worst.

You can't guarantee parasite preventives will work perfectly EVERY TIME. And you can't make pet owners use veterinary approved preventives and use them correctly EVERY TIME. But when a parasite outbreak happens, here's how to ask the right questions and remind everyone to educate clients EVERY TIME.

Veterinarians seek to reduce the prevalence of inherited disorders in companion animals without condemning or stigmatizing specific breeds.

Believe it or not, millennials might not be the only problem here. If your veterinary practice is reminiscent of a current-day classic rock show, you may need to cut the leather and leopard print out of your act and get with modern times before your show gets cancelled.

Want more web traffic? Got 60 seconds? Goodlisten to Bash Halow.

If your reception area could use a refresh, start with the reception desk says veterinary architect Heather Lewis. That one change will make a big difference in your space.

Knowing why youre struggling is important, so its not helpful to label every negative experience in the veterinary profession as compassion fatigue. When I took an honest look at how I was feeling, I wasnt running out of compassion. My fatigue stemmed from making ethical decisions within the boundaries of clients (often) illogical values or unreasonable budgets.

Look, we cant go home with our clients to make sure theyre following our advice. But we can offer them classes to make sure theyre getting the knowledge to offer the care their pets need.

Companies can get burned online when employees accidentally post personal comments on company accounts or on company websites or accidentally expose customer information. Here's a tip to keep your work social media device free and clear.

The notion that excellent veterinary care is enough to attract and keep clients and set you apart from other practices is outdated. The new differentiator is client experience, and knowing what your clients want will require research.

The Veterinary Hospital Managers Association shares Insider's Insights data on who's talking to pet owners about financing optionsand when they're broaching the topic.

Three choices for the killer (literally) cat in your life.

When a flea, tick or heartworm preventive doesn't work, this veterinary practice manager doesn't point fingers. Here's why.

If cleanings and extractions aren't flowing like water spray during dental procedures, let veterinry dentistry advocate Dave Nicol, BVMS, get you pumped.

The era of one-size-fits-all neutering advice has come to an end. Its time to move from recommendations to conversations.

Some of us want attention when we're hurting. Clients should know their pets tend to bury the fact.

Your veterinary client is still confused about online pharmacies and you still dont know what to say. Use these ideas to get started.

You veterinary clients can start here when it comes to training their feline friend.

6 ideas to keep clients content while they wait in your veterinary practice.

Better vaccinations, kinder physical exams and taking time to relax and reward pets in the veterinary practice are all crucial parts of creating a lower-stress visit. But if you don't tell pet owners why you're doing and why, you're leaving it to them to guess.

Serving up some raw honesty with a side of complete idiocy at your next holiday dinner party.

By skipping the simple solution and taking the route to what's easy, we trade quality for convenience, inside and outside of a veterinary clinic.