Advantages of having a practice Web site.
Les Orsborne · PubMed · 2003
Dear Sir: This letter is in response to the article by Dr. John Tait entitled “Making practice newsletters effective” (Can Vet J 2002;43:803–805), in which creating different types of newsletters to reach and serve the interests of both clients and the practice is discussed. I thought that my staff and I would share some of our experience with your readers. Our veterinary practice is located in a rural town in Ontario with a population of approximately 5000 people. In the past, clients were informed of seasonal issues through a combination of “generic” and semipersonalized newsletters; these newsletters were generally geared to canine owning clients, so we were missing a large part of our clientele who don't own dogs. To reach a larger audience, we experimented with a Web site for a few years, but because it was managed through a third party, it was rarely kept up-to-date or personalized. Approximately 7 months ago, we switched our Web site to a Web-site service offered by Schering-Plough. This system not only allows clients to be reached effectively through newsletters, but it also contains information, pictures, and video-graphics on many different aspects of pet care. Furthermore, the Web site can be personalized with constantly updated pictures of staff, clients' pets, and current events. The Web site also gives the clients another avenue of communication with the clinic via e-mail. Clients can also access the Web site at any time to review previous newsletters or pet care procedures, or send an e-mail, etc. During appointments, we actively discuss and encourage use of the Web site, and we include our Web site and e-mail address on appointment and business cards. The Web site is easy to manage; in fact, one staff member responsible for Web-site care was able to update some information while in England. This Web-site concept has greatly enhanced our ability to communicate with and inform our clients. Not all of our clients are able to access us online, so we still continue to send out seasonal information by mail. However, with our current Web site, we now have another great resource with which to develop a closer relationship with our clients.