Category Archives: Business Tips

Veterinarian bill stuns cat owner

While scanning news clips I saw this headline….“Veterinarian bill stuns cat owner”. I thought to myself, “Yes, I’m not surprised.  It must have been a big bill.  I wonder how much it was?” Over the past year I’ve been receiving more comments like this from pet owners who are upset over the prices vets are charging for their services.  Some pet owners write in asking for our help in finding someone who is good but cheap (the old saying of “You want fast, good and cheap?  Choose 2” applies and we tell them that as … Continue reading

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Tech Tips: What does your phone number spell?

We’ve all heard and seen commercials where the business gives their phone number as a word: “Call 1-800-HEAL-PETS and talk to one of our friendly receptionists…” Phone numbers that spell a word are usually easier for people to remember – in fact I can start humming a jingle from a local carpet cleaner whose phone number spells a word.  I’ve never used this company because we have hard surface floors at the office and at home, but I do know their number in case an urge ever comes over me to clean carpets. However most … Continue reading

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Tech tip: How to use Gmail to handle ALL your email accounts

Image via CrunchBase As you may or may not know, I’ve been part of the internet, and email, since 1994, and email has been part of my life even longer.  All things internet have evolved at light speed over the ensuing 16 years and this certainly includes email, which is still an indispensable part of most of our lives. But along the way email started to get out of control. There became too much of it, SPAM got really bad, and it started taking too much valuable time away from the things you should be … Continue reading

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Poor website design can be a dealbreaker for potential customers

Image by stevegarfield via Flickr In a recent survey by whose results were presented at the National Association of Women Business Owners 2010 convention, 75% of people surveyed admitted to making judgment about a business based on the businesses website.  And while the survey was directed a business websites in general, veterinary and pet health businesses have sometimes felt they were not as affected by how pretty their website was because their other factors, i.e. proximity and services, were more important than having a website. That was then. This is now. In today’s tougher economic … Continue reading

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FYI – Your clients are getting a second opinion from Dr. Google without telling you first

How many times have you heard this one from a pet owner:  “I read on the internet………….” Probably more times than you want to remember. Often when you’ve covered a report of findings with a pet owner, they go right out to get a second opinion from Dr. Google to make sure your finding are correct (or they come in armed with Dr. Google’s opinion of what’s wrong with their pet and they want YOUR opinion as the second one). Dr. Google is easy and good, and his advice is free.  He doesn’t even need … Continue reading

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Give pet owners more knowledge of vet tech responsibilities

Image by Erica_Marshall via Flickr I remember going to the dentist when I was young and I think my dentist took care of all of the work in my mouth. Because my mom was religious about going there twice a year, we got to know each other very well and I kept the same dentist for many years.  When I finally switched, I recall going in for a procedure that my old dentist normally did himself and anticipated the same thing from this new dentist.  I’d made an appointment with THE dentist, but the procedure, … Continue reading

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Negative reviews and a lesson on what not to do from BP

BP = Broken Pipe How does your business respond to negative feedback? A recent Fast Company article talked about what a mess BP has made of it’s business brand through its handling of the Gulf oil disaster.  The CEO of the company seems to have a knack of saying the wrong thing at the wrong time and, as one publicity expert said earlier today “The best thing BP can do is keep the CEO as far away from any microphone, television cameras and reporters as it possible can.  The man is a walking PR disaster!”  … Continue reading

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AVMA’s revised policy on what to do when with a rescue that has a microchip

Image via Wikipedia The AVMA has revised their guidelines on their recommendations on what to do when a rescue comes in and is discovered to be microchipped.” The AVMA has revised a policy on electronic identification of animals to clarify what veterinarians should do when a lost animal is found and ownership is not disputed. The amended AVMA policy, “The Objectives and Key Elements Needed for Effective Electronic Identification of Companion Animals, Birds, and Equids,” was approved by the AVMA Executive Board at its April meeting. The State Advocacy Committee and the Council on Veterinary … Continue reading

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Business Tips: Online Surveys Best Practices

Best practices for creating effective online surveys that result in more business, loyal customers and a better bottom line. Surveys are handy things because they can be used in so many different instances where a decision needs to be made. Thinking about painting your building?  Survey everyone who comes in on the paint color. Want to add music to your reception area?  Survey your clients on what they like to listen to. New marketing piece on the drawing board?  Survey your staff. Communicating the importance of the survey along with how the results will benefit … Continue reading

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Business Tips – How to stay resilient in today’s economy

There’s no doubt that today’s economy is throwing curve balls at businesses today, some areas have them coming fast and furious and others not so much. The following video is from American Express and contains good information on how to stay resilient – and get ahead – in today’s economy. What steps have you taken to cut costs and improve your bottom line in today’s economy? Let us know by leaving your comments below.

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