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CVMA Partner, Moneris Provides Advice on How to Navigate Your Practice During this Difficult Time

Jun 17, 2020

To help veterinarians survive the repercussions of this unprecedented time, one of the CVMA’s business partners, Moneris submitted this article in the hope of making circumstances a little improved.

We won’t sugarcoat it: it’s a tough time for businesses. Across Canada, many have shut their doors for the foreseeable future in response to the pandemic. It’s the right thing to do to slow the spread of this virus, but it has left business owners uncertain about their future, wondering when they’ll get back to normal again.

There may not be a definitive answer to this question, but that doesn’t mean you can’t maintain your practice. Communicating with your clients, and getting creative about how you can adapt, can help you navigate these rapidly changing times.

Get realistic — then get creative
As an essential service, closing your office may not be an option. But it might mean that you’ll have to rethink how it operates.

Setting up contactless pick up can help your patients get food or recurring medication when they need it. Offering contactless delivery on essential items can help your clients practice social distancing.

Sharing free tips and support over Instagram Live can help you stay connected to your community. And enabling phone or video conferencing appointments can help you interact with a pet parent, while you examine their pet.

Communicate with your clients
Once you’ve decided how your practice is going to handle the next few months, you’ll need to loop in your clients. Be as upfront and informative as possible. Have a client newsletter? Send out an update with information on any changes to practice hours or closures, purchase or return policies, and anything else that will impact clients.

Echo this on your social media accounts. Making your plan as clear and widely available as possible will eliminate confusion and help everyone to start looking to the future.

Take your practice online
Sell specialty pet food, treats and toys, but don’t have an online storefront? This is a great opportunity to change that.

You don’t have to build an entire online store from scratch. There are many options available, from setting up an e-commerce site in minutes with Bookmark to processing payments online using a virtual terminal. The key — having a secure online payment solution in place.

Prevent fraud while your practice is at its most vulnerable
Allowing more online purchases can leave you vulnerable to fraud — which is the last thing any business needs.

It’s essential to stay informed about the different kinds of online fraud out there. Using a trusted e-commerce payment solution built to prevent fraud and enable online fraud prevention tools, is the easiest way to keep your business safe.

Remember, this is temporary
You may feel overwhelmed by the amount of change you have to adapt to right now. Remember, while there’s a lot you can’t control, you can minimize the negative impact on your practice.

One thing’s for sure — you’ll come out of this having learned a great deal about what it means to be agile in the face of uncertainty.

Call 1-888-552-0341 or visit (moneris.com/associations) for more information.