Abstract
The veterinary industry is continuously evolving due to all the technological advancements made within the 21st century and this stimulated innovation within the industry. The veterinary practices had become aware of the increasing pressures to deliver high levels of communication to their clients to ensure client satisfaction is met. Although the pressure to communicate more had increased, the veterinarians' on-call responsibilities had not decreased. A literature review was conducted to determine a direct correlation between client satisfaction and the service and high-level communication provided to a pet owner by the veterinarian. To ensure veterinary practices can comply with the expectations from clients the introduction of a customer relationship management system can be introduced. A customer relationship management system (CRMS) has the ability to assist a business to develop networks with individual clients while providing them a service, which in turn strengthens the network of the business and its clients. Within the context of the veterinary industry a CRMS will assist the veterinary practice with a platform to communicate seamlessly with clients ensuring they are able to meet the expectations of clients. The purpose of the research study was to determine what capabilities would a veterinary practice and its clients expect from a customer relationship management system (CRMS). A mono-qualitative research methodology was utilised within this research study and the data collection method was in-depth interviews. The in-depth interviews with veterinarians and clients were conducted to determine the value of customer relationship management (CRMS), whether this would increase customer experience and what the expected capabilities are of the customer relationship management (CRMS). The results revealed that both clients and veterinarians see value in a customer relationship management (CRMS) within a veterinary practice. The customer relationship management (CRMS) could provide the client with the ability to book appointments, receive status notifications and to be able to have the information on their pets’ health at their fingertips through a CRMS.