RIP Abbi, And Thanks Drs. Foster and Smith
Last month, my wife and I had to make one of the toughest decisions a pet owner could ever choose. We had to put Abbi, our 10-or-so year old basset hound, to sleep.
And while Abbi is at peace and the decision still has us in tears, we were also very thankful for Drs. Foster and Smith. We’re not experts in the field, and we weren’t sure we fully understood the unemotional droid-like veterinarian who did the ultrasound meant when he gave us the diagnosis. But before we could again consult with our own vet, we were able to learn more about her lymphoma from Drs. Foster and Smith’s PetEducation.com site.
Though I’d known about PetEducation.com through interviews I’ve done with Gordon Magee, Drs. Foster and Smith’s Internet marketing and analysis manager, I didn’t put the two-and-two together when I Googled the phrase “lymphoma in dogs.”
But when the results of Abbi’s biopsy were in and we found out there was no evidence of lymphoma, but that it was either sarcoma or carcinoma, we were prepared to make that unfortunate and horrible decision that I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy.
So when I talked with Magee last week for an article that will appear in the November issue of Multichannel Merchant, I made sure I thanked him for his indirect help.
E-commerce is evolving, and a merchant cannot afford to solely be a seller of goods on the Internet. Merchants need to be an Internet community as well, a destination for people looking for information and entertainment. More merchants need to look at the multichannel path Drs. Foster and Smith and try to emulate that.
I think my wife and I are proof positive that consumers will consider buying from a merchant when they aren’t looking to buy. Knowing that Drs. Foster and Smith helped us in our time of need has made us more willing to purchase a product from them than make a trip to our local pet store.
Now if only we thought about Googling “esophageal issues with basset hounds” in November 2006, when we had to put our first boy, Sam (at left) down at the age of 15-ish (we adopted Sam in 1998 and Abbi in 2001 from Tri-State Basset Hound Rescue, so their ages were estimates), that decision would have been easier to make as well.
Related Topics: Cross Channel, E-commerce, Catalog, Etc. - Multichannel Marketing, Etc.
