Make QR codes spell out awesome for your veterinary practice

According to a 2013 comScore, Inc. study, 55 percent of people in the U.S. owned a smartphone and they use those phones to make business decisions every day. 

Make it easy for them to find you on the web without having to go through the fumbling of typing in your website address on those tiny little smartphone keys. Anyone can simply scan a code with his or her smartphone and it's easy to create a QR code (www.qrstuff.com) or download a free app.

Still not sure what to do with the QR code once you have it?

> Put a sign in your exam rooms that encourages clients to check out your virtual tour online while they wait for their doctor.

> Use a QR code taking your client to a video that shows how to pill the cat on a sticker that goes on the bottle with the first prescription of a medication. 

> Put it on the back of your business card to make it easy for someone to check you out right when they get your card.

> Create a referral card to give to satisfied clients to share with their friends and family that will take them to a special place on your website that provides an incentive for new clients. 

> Send home instructions that include a QR code that takes the client to additional instructions and information on how to care for their pet and when to call the clinic if the pet is not doing well. This makes your practice's website the online resource where the client will go to check information for the needs of  their pet, not Dr. Google. 

Sheila Grosdidier, BS, RVT, PHR, is a practice management consultant and partner at VMC Inc. She originally wrote this piece for CareCredit.