The impact of customer service part 2: Providing exceptional customer

Issue: April 10, 2012

ByPaul M. Stubenbordt

Paul M. Stubenbordt

Our marketing agency stresses the importance of a great website, search engine optimization, social media and a solid external marketing campaign. However, the best marketing is often found within the four walls of your practice. We call this internal marketing — anything that takes place within your office that can generate word-of-mouth referrals, “buzz” or patient retention.

Internal marketing encompasses a wide umbrella of implementations: the way the staff dresses, the paintings on the wall, the design of the nametags and other myriad subtleties. This article will focus on what I feel is the most important part of internal marketing: customer service.

Why customer service?

Your patients are customers. Your practice is a business. Sometimes that can be easy to forget, and patients today want luxury for less. They do not want to be placed on hold, nor do they want to wait an hour to see the doctor. They expect everyone to know their name, and they expect prompt service.

Think of when you go to a great hotel or restaurant. Immediately you can recognize the difference between good and bad service. Either way, you tell your friends about your experience, and you might even write a review on Yelp or Google to let the rest of the world know.

For example, Chick-fil-A has experienced double-digit growth for more than 16 years by providing over-the-top service to its customers. They provide their customers with fresh flowers and fresh ground pepper, they carry the food to the table for mothers with strollers, and they open doors for the elderly. They also say “it’s my pleasure” rather than “no problem” when a customer says thank you. They even have an employee who goes around and asks customers if they need refills on their drinks. And this is all at a fast food chicken joint.

The right people

I believe all great internal marketing begins with good people. As Jim Collins says in his book Good to Great: “Leaders of companies that go from good to great start not with ‘where’ but with ‘who.’ They start by getting the right people on the bus, the wrong people off the bus, and the right people in the right seats.”

This is essential for any practice that wants to thrive. I cannot tell you how many practices I have visited where I knew nothing positive was going to happen unless they made some key personnel changes.

Service with a smile

When patients check in at the front desk, it is important for the staff members to greet them with a smile, make direct eye contact and call them by name. This will make patients feel validated and valued. I would also recommend keeping it formal by using their title and last name.

Waiting time

Patients, like you, are busy. Many have taken time off from work to come see you, and they do not like waiting, even if you are a specialist. Patients will sometimes wait for more than an hour to see the doctor, and then the doctor rushes them through their visit with one foot out the door the entire time. This does not mean you have to spend a lot of time chitchatting, but asking the patient if he or she has any additional questions or concerns is worthwhile. Most importantly, never let the patient sense that you are in a rush.

Free Wi-Fi

I will often pick places that have free Wi-Fi for lunch or for coffee, simply because I need to work. For many people, Wi-Fi is a necessity. It allows patients to use their laptops, mobile devices and tablets to surf the Web, work or connect to social networks while at your office. I recommend taking it a step further by providing free tablets, such as an iPad, for patient use while waiting. Also, here is something to keep in mind: According to a recent study by Pew Research, the fastest growing Internet user segment is adults aged 70 to 75!

It is important to make the practice as convenient as possible for patients. I was recently in an office that had signs in the waiting room saying “No cell phones.” Out of curiosity, I asked the practice administrator why they had those signs up. She responded that patients who talk on cell phones disturb her staff, and they cannot focus. Remember, in trying to create a premier practice, the focus must be on the patients.

Gourmet beverages and snacks

DoubleTree Hotels have used gourmet cookies as a key way to market to their customers. Back in the 1980s, these kinds of things were reserved for VIP guests only. DoubleTree treats everyone like a VIP, and it works! Why a cookie? DoubleTree explains, “Cookies are warm, personal and inviting, much like our hotels and the staff here that serves you.”

Otis Spunkmeyer has a wonderful small business program in which they loan a free oven and display case with the purchase of cookie dough. In addition to cookies, you may consider offering gourmet coffee, a refrigerator stocked with bottled water, soft drinks and juice, and anything else that could provide your patients with a little “carbohydrate happiness.”

Implement a patient satisfaction survey

It is important to know what your practice does well and what not so well. We learn from our mistakes. I recommend mailing out a survey to between 100 and 200 hundred patients. Here is an example of topics it should address:

Please rate the following from 1 to 5 (5 being excellent and 1 being poor):

Wait time in the reception room
Friendliness and professionalism of staff
Comfort and appearance of office
Explanation of procedure
Explanation of fees and financing options
Explanation of risks and possible complications
Explanation of our surgical results
Answering all your questions

I recommend also keeping a supply of these surveys internally to hand out or for patients to grab at any time. Another great way to perform surveys is by email. You can use SurveyMonkey.comor QuestionPro.com for a very nominal fee, and the reporting is fantastic. Use this feedback to improve your practice.

Reward your employees

Employees work very hard throughout the year. They show up on time and take a lot of complaints from patients on a whole slew of issues. Great employees want to feel appreciated, and rightly so. I believe employees want a “thank you” or a “good job” from doctors and administrators more than anything else. Acknowledge that they are an integral part of the team and that you would not know what to do without them.

One thing you must do to keep good employees happy is reward them. If your practice has a good quarter, share the profits. Even if it is a small amount, your employees will absolutely appreciate it.

I also recommend challenging your employees for ideas to make a patient’s experience better. Every time you take one of their ideas and implement it, reward them. You will find that you have an army of employees giving you great ideas every month.

Conclusion

We live in a customer service-driven world. Although you may not consider your patients customers, they expect to receive the same level of customer service as they would from any business, perhaps even better.

Remember your patients have options, and do everything you can to be the better option. As Walt Disney once said, “Do what you do so well that they will want to see it again and bring their friends.”

For your information:

Paul M. Stubenbordt can be reached at Stubenbordt Consulting Inc., 104 Houston St., Suite D, Roanoke, TX 76262; 682-831-0900; fax: 682-831-0903; email: paul@stubenbordt.com.