Tip #4 – Express Gratitude
This week, the message is very simple – say “thank you.”
A handwritten note goes a long way these days. I recently had an experience as a new patient at a new chiropractic office in my town. After a few visits and a positive experience, I referred a friend who was suffering with low back pain. Within a week I received a handwritten note from the doctor herself, thanking me, along with two tickets to the local movie theater. It’s a small, simple and easy gesture for any practice owner to implement, and when I shared the ticket with another friend, she asked who gave them to me – prompting another word of mouth opportunity to benefit the practice….
Recognizing Patient Referrals We all know that word of mouth is the best advertising. When a patient visits your office for the first time and tells you who sent her, send the referring patient a nice thank you note. This kind of thank you might include a small gift or a coupon.
Keeping Your Patients Happy Every practice has “off” days. Our patients help us when they give us time to learn to serve them better. It often requires their patience. Or they give us a wake-up call when they let us know we need to hurry up. If they become frustrated with your procedures or ways you do things, they are letting you know they may just go see if your competitor will treat them better. In either case, send a note card to let them know how important they are to you. You might say, “Thanks for keeping us on our toes.”
When Patients Say “No.” Especially on expensive procedures, patients may let you know they are going to investigate treatment somewhere else. Thank them for their time, their consideration and their honesty. Keep the door open by being friendly and courteous. Even if they don’t receive treatment at your practice, they still may recommend you to their friends.
“Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.” ~ William Arthur Ward
Thank you for reading!
About Wendy Hamel
As co-founder of Med-Marketers, and serving as Director of Client Programs, Wendy is directly responsible for guiding creative strategy and overall execution on client services for the company. Wendy has over 15 years of marketing and management experience serving technology, healthcare and retail. Prior to Med-Marketers, Wendy was the Director of Marketing at RAID, Inc. where she was instrumental in developing brand awareness and business development programs that helped the company transition into new markets and exceed vertical revenue goals. For the last 5 years, Wendy’s direct focus has been practice consulting and strategic marketing for orthodontists, orthopedic surgeons, plastic surgeons, dentists and primary care physicians within the Greater Boston area.
Her areas of expertise include patient file development, field marketing, online marketing, public relations, social media strategy, web design, SEO and collateral design.
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