Veterinarians' perceptions of online services

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to evaluate the perceived usefulness of online materials from a veterinarian’s perspective. The authors used an online questionnaire that was posted on the homepage of a Veterinarian News site. Questions were based on previous publications and added contemporary services such as remote pet monitoring by means of wearable electronic devices. According to our study, the perceived usefulness of online services can be condensed into four major dimensions: 1) Authoritative Knowledge & Updates; 2) Practical Online Content delivered by webportals; 3) Remote Monitoring/Tracking of pets; 4) Health Coaching. The findings have implications for the cooperation between suppliers and veterinarians. One size does not fit all. Veterinarians want to use digital media for receiving competent personalized advice in order to sell it on to their customers. Suppliers will have to provide unbiased advice to compete for veterinarian’s heart share instead of simple market share.