Tips & Tricks
When was the last time you said something great about your staff to your patients?
I encourage motivating practice staff by “loving” them exactly as you want them to “love” your patients. For example, I strongly encourage the habit of sincerely complimenting your team (including the doctor) in the presence of the patient when s/he is moved from person A to person B on the team. You might say something as simple as, “Kayla will take great care of you – our patients just love her.” It doesn’t have to be long or complicated, just so it conveys sincere appreciation and respect. This reassures your patient and enhances her confidence. And at the end of the day, everyone feels a little better for having been affirmed by their team mates throughout the day.
Tips to Create Your Brand:
Be sure your patients know why you are unique such as board certification or advanced medical skills or experience. Tell your patients what you offer that most of your competitors don’t- offer evening and Saturday morning appointments, or 24-hour recovery support. Do things differently to stand out-some practices provide transportation for their patients to and from their office or the hospital. Specialize and be selective. Be where your prospective patients are- Build rapport and trust with every patient-use the patient’s name when speaking to them in person or over the telephone. Stay in contact with your patients throughout the year by sending them a practice enewsletter, birthday cards, and thank you notes when they refer a patient to you. Refine your patient relations processes-have your staff introduce themselves by name to new patients and then walk all new patients from the reception area to the exam rooms.
For those physicians who take branding seriously, the payoff could be huge. The difference between a good practice and a great practice is in the details. Pay attention to every aspect of you, your staff and your practice to ensure it is consistent with your personality and the image you are trying to portray.
How do you get patients to talk about your practice?
For some plastic surgery and dermatology practices, referrals are 60% of new patient business. But how can you increase referrals from your existing patients? Here’s a few tips you might find helpful:
Innovate: Design new services or procedures that stand out in the market place. Such “signature” procedures are often the bridge to increased media coverage.
Differentiate: You have to be different to make an impression. However, you don’t have to go to major steps to People talk about small things.
Focus: Make a commitment to deliver a positive patient experience for all your patients. Focus on five promises you know your patients want and you can deliver. Share your list of promises with your staff and focus on delivering on those expectations.
When the Hybrid Cars hit the market, people quickly started talking about it. However, people didn’t focus on the hybrid concept. Almost exclusively, they told stories about the little things such as the Keyless-entry and the futuristic dashboard. Patients are less able to distinguish between a good and average doctor, but they sure know how to evaluate their waiting rooms. Your office decor is the direct extention of you.
Tip on patients and staff:
How your staff feels is eventually how your patients will feel. No matter how much you try, the bottom line is your patient will have more contact with your staff than with you. How your employees feel about their situation at work will ultimately be translated to how your patients perceive your practice. Fill your practice with happy, positive and motivated people and you will increase the opportunities for your patients to have a positive experience.
Educational Medical Content
Offering relevant and educational medical content is a new strategy being employed by large pharma and medical device companies. This strategy makes their website ‘stickier’ as well as it helps to brand them as a reliable resource for high quality information – further elevating their brand in the mind of consumers.
Examples include:
It is no secret that consumers use the Internet to research elective based procedures. Why not become a resource for helping their educational process?
Tip: Provide more information on your website than just about the practice. Give your visitors information about their condition and help them to become more educated. They will pay you back with loyalty and business.
Site Feedback:
Providing your website users the ability to offer site feedback is a simple and inexpensive way to get high quality information about what is working on your website and what isn’t. Users often are willing to provide their opinions about what they feel is missing from the site (or what isn’t working). Make it easy for them to offer feedback by having a small form on the top or bottom of each page. This way they can quickly provide their feedback and keep surfing.
Tip: Give website users a simple way to offer feedback and you’d be surprised to see what they say.
