Insights: Healthcare Marketing

This is probably one of the most common questions I hear from physician practices. No one likes to hear criticism or bad news, especially when it is broadcast on the Internet for all to see. 

While the temptation is to just delete the comment if possible, negative reviews can be relationship-building opportunities in disguise. They provide a platform to engage, to be human, to be transparent, to take accountability, to correct, and to repair.

So, how should you respond?

1. Acknowledge that you have heard the complaint.
2. Apologize for their experience.
3. Reinforce your commitment to patient care, safety and satisfaction.
4. Diffuse the situation and take the conversation offline by offering a contact person and phone # to call.

In my last post, I talked about how trust throughout society is dwindling, and trust of physicians and healthcare organizations are no exception. In general, consumers have become more skeptical of everyone and everything, including traditional marketing and advertising.

So who do people turn to when making purchasing decisions?  

In just about every sector, including healthcare, people are increasingly turning to their friends, family members, neighbors and colleagues for recommendations. This is because they trust their experiences and opinions. 

And thanks to social media, these opinions are more readily available. We even turn to the opinions of complete strangers who happen to share our life experiences, health challenges or purchasing decisions.  

Trust. It is the foundation of any sustainable relationship — personal or professional. 

In your medical practice, building trust — with patients, referring physicians, your own staff, and others in your community — has become more important and yet more difficult at the same time.

We live in an era of skepticism, amplified by social media and allegations of “fake news,” where people are finding it harder and harder to trust. Combine this with how rapidly the world of healthcare changes, and we have our work cut out for us. 

This makes each of your one-to-one relationships and interactions with patients and referral sources all the more important. 

I often talk about the 4 A’s that I believe are the cornerstones of physician survival and success:  Access, Availability, Accountability and Accommodation. However, I believe there is a 5th A that is just as critical and perhaps the linchpin to the other four:  

Action

We can think and plan and develop and strategize and analyze, and all of those things are important. However, if at the end of the day, we don’t act on those ideas and do so in a timely manner, we miss opportunities — opportunities to meet, to connect, to communicate, to thank and to grow. Opportunities to forge new relationships and to strengthen existing ones.

Acting on the little things everyday — that is what makes the biggest difference.

Woody Allen has been quoted as saying, “80 percent of success is showing up.” 

And showing up means more than just your physical presence going through the motions of the day. It means being being accessible, listening, asking, understanding others’ needs, adapting, learning, improving, evaluating, thanking, and always making the human connection. 

In the technology-driven world we all live in, this is more important than ever before. And it applies to new and established practices alike. In fact, sometimes established practices need this reminder the most. We see it happen in business and sports all the time — successful companies and teams start to rest on their laurels. They begin to take their success for granted and stop “showing up.”  So,

Woody Allen has been quoted as saying, “80 percent of success is showing up.” 

And showing up means more than just your physical presence going through the motions of the day. It means being being accessible, listening, asking, understanding others’ needs, adapting, learning, improving, evaluating, thanking, and always making the human connection. 

In the technology-driven world we all live in, this is more important than ever before. And it applies to new and established practices alike. In fact, sometimes established practices need this reminder the most. We see it happen in business and sports all the time — successful companies and teams start to rest on their laurels. They begin to take their success for granted and stop “showing up.”  So,

No doubt you have heard of or played the game Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon. In it, players take turns linking anyone in Hollywood to Kevin Bacon through the roles those actors have played, and they do so within six steps/connections. 

So what does this have to do with your medical practice? Quite a bit actually.

A colleague of mine has a chronic health condition and was telling me about her most recent visit with her specialist the other day. I already knew my friend loved this doctor and has thrived under her care. She frequently shares stories of the quality of both the customer service and medical care provided at this practice. What touched my friend the most at this recent appointment though was a simple question the doctor asked at the end of the visit: 

“How is your mom doing?”

See, the doctor remembered my friend had shared at her last appointment how her mother had been going through some tough health issues. This simple question and the conversation that ensued was so genuine and heartfelt, that it endeared this physician to my friend even more. 

You know who they are. Or at least you should. And so should your staff.

They are your long-time customers. Depending on your practice, they could be patients or referring physicians or maybe even both. Frequently, they are “ambassadors” for your practice, raving about you in conversations or on social media, and referring their friends, family, neighbors and colleagues to you. 

Do you take them for granted?

Make sure you don’t. Recognize and thank them — in person, by phone, in a handwritten note — and do so frequently. Make sure it is personalized, meaningful and heartfelt. 

You know who they are. Or at least you should. And so should your staff.

They are your long-time customers. Depending on your practice, they could be patients or referring physicians or maybe even both. Frequently, they are “ambassadors” for your practice, raving about you in conversations or on social media, and referring their friends, family, neighbors and colleagues to you. 

Do you take them for granted?

Make sure you don’t. Recognize and thank them — in person, by phone, in a handwritten note — and do so frequently. Make sure it is personalized, meaningful and heartfelt.